Raj Koothrappali and the desired machine

a discourse analysis on subject, meaning, and marginality in The Big Bang Theory

Abstract

The presence of artificial intelligence in media narratives has aroused considerable interest in analysing the ways in which the subject is constituted and represented in relation to machines. Within the realm of television fiction, human characters establish complex affective and identity-based bonds with artificial agents, thereby reconfiguring traditional boundaries between the human and the technological. This phenomenon is exemplified in The Big Bang Theory. This study proposes to examine, through the framework of French Discourse Analysis (as developed by Michel Pêcheux and Eni Orlandi), how the fragmented subject is discursively inscribed in relation to affective machinic figures – specifically, the character Raj Koothrappali in his interaction with the virtual assistant Siri. Discourse Analysis explores discursive formations and subject positions that emerge within texts, bringing to light the ideological effects and underlying power dynamics. Theoretical insights from Foucault and Derrida will be employed to deepen the understanding of discursive practices and the deconstruction of classical dichotomies between the subject and the other. The analysis of the episode demonstrates that televisual discourse contributes to both the construction and fragmentation of the subject, revealing tensions between presence and absence, desire and recognition. It identifies discursive regularities and displacements, thereby broadening our comprehension of the circulation and transformation of meaning within culture.