The Tempest and The Forbidden Planet emphasize two different perceptions of risk in human attitudes towards technology, or power beyond unaided human ability. In The Tempest, technology first appears threatful and dangerous in the storm initiated by Prospero and then evolves into harmless in epilogue. The power itself is an instrumental means to achieve human ends. The opposite movement happens in The Forbidden Planet, where technology moves from seemingly beneficial to destructive and even fatal. The film seems to the perils to chase technology as ends in itself while forgetting its instrumentality.
The technology optimism lies in Shakespeare’s demonstration of magic1 as a powerful and stable means to achieve the protagonist’s aim. Although both The Tempest and The Forbidden Planet treat technology as a highly authoritative, monopolistic, and manipulative power over others, the one held by Prospero seems to remain fundamentally unchallenged throughout the play. Prospero, as the only magician and patriarch existing on the island, employs Ariel (The Tempest 1.2.305), exploits Caliban (The Tempest 1.2.375), and conjures up spirits and storm. Prospero’s magic helps him to gain everything he wants: he successfully manipulates his enemies, makes Miranda the “Queen of Naples” (The Tempest 1.2.540), and regains his dukedom. During the whole process, Prospero only encounters mild challenges from Ferdinand (The Tempest 1.2.563), Miranda (The Tempest 1.2.595) or Ariel (The Tempest 1.2.287). Sometimes Caliban challenges him through ridiculous and even pitiful rebellion (The Tempest 2.2.3), but none of these actions are effective.
Yet Shakespeare also endows this strand of technology optimism with a deeper layer of complexity by suggesting the inequality and illusions generated by this absolute power. Prospero monopolizes the magic on the island, making himself invincible in taking advantage of the “invisible”. He commands Ariel, as a representation of invisible magic itself, to constantly eavesdrop on other people’s conversations or voyeuristically spy on Miranda (The Tempest 3.1.38) and his enemies (The Tempest 3.2.127) for his own interest. The monopolistic ownership of magic also suggests that this ability beyond unaided human power will be only for the wielder’s good and personal benefits. By weakening the agency of the non-wielders, it thus creates inequality between Prospero and other people in the play.
The power controlled by Prospero is also portrayed as unreal, insubstantial, and illusionary. Magic is a stable tool indeed, but it dissolves into illusions when wielded without a clear purpose. Approaching the end, Prospero claims “all which it inherit, shall dissolve…[w]e are such stuff/As dreams are made on”(The Tempest 4.1.171) and recognizes that “[his] charms are all o’erthrown”(The Tempest 5.1.1). However, the play still demonstrates an optimistic attitude by presenting the power held by Prosper as reversible. When he realizes he has already achieved his ends and “drown[s] [his] book” (The Tempest 5.1.66) voluntarily, Prospero can still come back as Duke of Milan and pay no cost at all. The power seems innocuous for the wielder except for mental and moral constraints.
As a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s grand finale, The Forbidden Planet takes a relatively pessimistic attitude toward technology, which corresponds with the social atmosphere of the 1950s. When people lived in the post-war boom incentivized by technology, nuclear trauma, Cold War, and the fear of holocaust loomed behind the superficial prosperity. All the settlers dying within one night by invisible “planetary forces” (The Forbidden Planet 20:37) almost directly alludes to panic about the nuclear bomb, and “the monster from the id” (The Forbidden Planet 1:25:00) resembles a darker representation of problematic ideologies and indoctrination.
Even putting aside the history, the audience can easily detect the pessimistic stance throughout the film. From the very start, when everything looks normal and even advanced, Dr. Morbius tries to warn the spaceship crew to leave the planet and recounts the horrible death that happened to the starship Bellerophon (The Forbidden Planet 20:37-22:13). When human civilization has advanced into 23rd century, the ominous fate, or so-called “premonition” as called by Dr. Morbius still haunts Captain Adams and his crew(The Forbidden Planet 1:12:38). The background electronic music further adds the uncertainty of some invisible forces lurking in the dark.
With the story unfolding, the technology pessimism aggravates, and the legitimacy of its existence is constantly challenged: unlike the stable magical power dexterously held by Prospero in his scheme, Dr. Morbius’ inability to comprehend all Krell’s knowledge suggests a failure in attempting to learn things beyond human capacity. Captain Adams, after being attacked by an invisible monster, challenges Dr. Morbius’ intellectuality by saying they should “get [their] IQ’s boosted a couple 100 percent” with a “plastic educator” (The Forbidden Planet 1:11:12). Doctor Ostrow succeeds in knowing the origin of the monster, at the cost of death caused by educator’s side-effect (The Forbidden Planet 1:24:20-1:25:00). The irreversibility of IQ boosting further distinguishes the movie from the play – when humans strive to hold power beyond themselves, the action is inherently illegitimate and irreversible, and the negative repercussions arising thereof can only be stopped at a prohibitive cost. In The Forbidden Planet, Dr. Morbius’ IQ is artificially broadened, and the correspondingly appearing monster from his subconscious can only be stopped at the expense of his own death. Unlike The Tempest, in which the power is successfully tamed, The Forbidden Planet displays human’s insatiability and failure to play God himself. Captain Adams’ saying that “we are, after all, not God”(The Forbidden Planet 01:37:40) highlights the limit in technological development and pursuit of absolute power.
Two works shed light on human perception of risks in technology. As a person who takes a neutral stance on the issue, I am personally more prone to the portrayal in The Tempest, where technology creates both inequality and misery and the potential to achieve human aims. It has instrumental values, but when its wielder and users regard it as ends in itself, adverse implications will ensue.