In a Person vs. Technology or Machine conflict, a character has a problem with robots or machines. This type of conflict is often found in science fiction.
Check out the books and videos to use when teaching this skill.
Book Examples to use for Teaching Person vs. Technology Conflict in Literature
Picture Books
- The Legend of John Henry
- Comic Book – Iron Man
- Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel
Children’s Literature
- From Hatchet – Brian flying the airplane after the pilot dies
- The City of Ember – Lina and Doon must find a way out of Ember before the generator dies and the city is in total darkness.
- I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912
- Fantastic Mr. Fox – The foxes must dig faster than Boggis, Beans, and Bunce on their tractors.
Teaching Person vs. Technology Conflict in Literature with Movie Trailers
Steve Jobs
This biographical movie covers 14 years of the life of Steve Jobs, personal computing innovator and Apple Inc. co-founder.
2001: A Space Odyssey
While on a mysterious mission, the ship’s computer system, HAL, begins to display strange behavior. This leads to a showdown between man and machine.
I, Robot
In 2035, a technophobic cop investigates a crime that may have been committed by a robot.
Transcendence
Dr. Will Caster, the world’s authority on artificial intelligence, develops a computer to upload himself into a computerized form as he dies.
Transformers
Two races of robots, the Autobots and the Decepticons, bring their war to Earth. The good Autobots help Earthlings. The villainous Decepticons bring war. Only a human youth named Sam can save the world.
