The term 'cultural materialism' was first coined by Raymond Williams who associated culture with materialism, and maintained that culture was material of arts. The theory he put forward was "part of a wider movement, begun in the 1960s and 1970s, towards new theoretical paradigms that acknowledged the necessary materiality of cultural texts and institutions" (Milner and Browitt 36). It is a Marxist approach which reveals the connection between culture and hegemonic authorities and it focuses on "how individuals shape culture even if they are also affected by historical circumstances beyond their control" (Auger 68). Hence, it is concerned with individuals' (the weak group's or the marginal's) power to shape the circumstances rather than the influences of the authority (the dominant ideology) on the circumstances. It identifies the existing subversive elements (marginal groups) within the oppressive authority. However, it does not deny the power of the authority, either. On the contrary, cultural materialism emphasizes that the authority plays a determining role in the formation of the dominant ideology in society, politics, and literature. It claims that texts are imbued with hegemonic ideologies and in order to comprehend the underlying themes in these texts, one needs to be aware of these manipulations present in texts (Brannigan 119). Hence, through a cultural materialist reading the aim is to provide a deeper understanding of the text by taking into account all kinds of possible influential elements of the age the text is written.
This paper aims to analyze Edward Morgan Forster's short story The Machine Stops from a cultural materialist point of view. It is a work of science fiction which flourished in the twentieth century. The initial mission of the genre was to spread scientific ideas among as many people as possible (Drabble 904). Forster, with this story, reverses this aim of the genre and uses it to demonstrate the destructive and unappealing effects of excessive scientific and technological developments. It deals with a futuristic world where mankind is going through a process of dehumanization and materialisation. It draws a pessimistic picture of the future, yet the ending of the story states that there is always hope for the future. Hence, there is a glimmer of hope for the subversive elements against the authority and this prospect gains the story a significant perspective to be analyzed by a cultural materialist reading.