Algorithmic Control and Biopolitics: A Postcolonial Feminist Reading of Vikramaditya Motwane’s CTRL

Abstract

This research tends to configures the entangled role of artificial intelligence in the structurally inequivalent society where women’s autonomy is undermined through systematic violence in the third world countries. It aims to critically evaluate the marginalized sections of society with the heightened technological advancement by integrating artificial intelligence (AI), postcolonial feminism and biopolitical theory. For this purpose, the movie CTRL , directed by Vikramaditya Motwane (2024) serves as a primary text, as it centres` around a female protagonist whose narrative is directly shaped by her interaction with digital technology. Further, by employing Roberto Esposito’s biopolitical framework, the paper interrogates the implications of AI’s encroachment on human autonomy, particularly for women in postcolonial contexts. Esposito’s critique of the politicization of life is extended to consider how algorithmic decision-making may exacerbate existing gender disparities and reinforce colonial power structures. With the incorporation of feminist analyses, particularly commentary by Rafia Zakaria’s (2021) Against White Feminism: Notes on Disruption, the research underscores women’s multifaceted marginalization in postcolonial societies, being oppressed both by patriarchy and by the residual impacts of colonialism. It contends that the unchecked exploitation of AI can exacerbate inequalities, violate bodily autonomy, and further socio-political oppression. Finally, this study mandates the creation of feminist and decolonial frameworks for AI regulation, and asserts the need for critical, inclusive viewpoints in the production and deployment of new technologies.