*batteries not included (1987)
Five ordinary people needed a miracle. Then one night, Faye Riley left the window open.
In a soon to be demolished block of apartments, the residents resist the criminal methods used to force them to leave so a greedy tycoon can build his new skyscraper. When tiny mechanical aliens land for a recharge, they decide to stay and help out.
In *batteries not included, consciousness is carried by machines — a plane of “mechanical‑helpers”. The story fights on E9/E10 of the E0–E14 reality ladder, compressing class, exploitation, rebellion, technology, belonging.
Same rung, same subject
Films fighting at the same level of reality, about the same things.
Same subject, different rung
The same preoccupations examined at another scale — one mind versus a nation.
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)E11/E14 · rare rung · class, technology
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)E6/E11 · rare rung · exploitation, technology
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)E6/E12 · rare rung · exploitation, technology
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)E8/E11/E13 · rare rung · exploitation, technology
Space Pirate Captain Harlock (2013)E11/E12/E13 · rare rung · rebellion, technology
Transformers One (2024)E8/E11/E13 · rare rung · rebellion, technologyAlso bends a rule of reality
Other films that change a standing rule of their world — ranked first by those bending it at the same rung.
Fullmetal Alchemist: The Revenge of Scar (2022)alters at E3 · same rung · loose
Finch (2021)alters at E3 · same rung · loose
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)alters at E3 · same rung · loose
The Three Musketeers (2011)alters at E3 · same rung · loose
Descendants (2015)alters at E3 · same rung · loose
A Minecraft Movie (2025)alters at E3 · same rung · looseAlso hides consciousness here
Other films that move a human interior onto the same kind of thing.
Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)consciousness in machines · digital arcade internet
Metropolis (2001)consciousness in machines · plutocratic robot metropolis
Space Sweepers (2021)consciousness in machines · space junk economy
Vice (2015)consciousness in machines · synthetic resort
Maximum Overdrive (1986)consciousness in machines · machine apocalypse
Freejack (1992)consciousness in machines · corporate immortality dystopiaSame subject, different mask
The same preoccupations carried by a different kind of thing — grief told through the dead, an animal, a machine.
Joe's Apartment (1996)consciousness in animals · belonging, class
Jupiter Ascending (2015)consciousness in aliens · class, exploitation
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)consciousness in animals · exploitation, technology
The Boxtrolls (2014)consciousness in monsters · class, technology
Battlefield Earth (2000)consciousness in aliens · exploitation, rebellion
Promare (2019)consciousness in monsters · rebellion, technology
