Speculative Interiors of Technology

This study examines Sophie Barthes’ film The Pod Generation as a speculative critique questioning the future biopolitical, ethical, and ideological functions of interior design. Set in a near future, where artificial womb technology and corporate parenting are normalized, the film positions architectural spaces not as passive backgrounds but as active tools of “affective governance,” referring to the subtle regulation of emotions through spatial and sensory design strategies that shape human behavior, emotions, and social roles. The study aims to analyze how speculative interiors in the film are constructed around concepts of control, standardization, emotional detachment, and autonomy, and the implications of this construction for the individual. The research methodology is based on the thematic spatial analysis of six critical scenes selected via purposive sampling and Roland Barthes’ semiotic model (denotation, connotation, myth). The theoretical framework is supported by Foucault’s disciplinary space and biopolitics, Deleuze’s control society thesis, Baudrillard’s simulation theory, and posthumanist discussions. The analysis reveals that the sterile aesthetics of clinical birth centers, the simulated reality of “nature pods,” and domestic smart interfaces entrap individuals within mechanisms of surveillance and algorithmic direction. Consequently, this article demonstrates that speculative cinema offers a potent critical ground for discussing the transformative effect of future technology-driven spaces on human subjectivity and social relations.