ROBOTS!!!
I'm all twitterpated about the upcoming movie release, "I, Robot". Not cuz it's going to be any good... Oh, no. I do think it's going to suck. However, the trailer makes me think that it might harken back to Karel Capek's 1922 play R.U.R. ...I'm in a mood to see if I can't find a copy of the play to read -- and I've been looking through my DVD collection, thinking that I'll do a historical review of robots in film. A bad movie might be redeemed if the anticipation process has independent joy of it's own.
So, I've been thinking about what robots represent, in a literary kind of way. My most interesting question so far: "What makes a robot story a robot story? One where it has to be about a robot -- and that character couldn't be replaced by a space alien of some sort?" ...I mean, is a robot just a strange creature whose skin is shiny instead of scaly? Heck no.
Slavery Metaphors
It seems to me, from what I know, that robots are most often used to explore slavery themes... The Star Trek: Next Generation episode where scientists want to dissemble Data, and Picard argues that the precedent here will establish a slave race of machine men, stands out in my mind. Seems like the more similar to people the robots look, the more authors want to show "man's inhumanity to man" through how the robots are treated. A.I. and Blade Runner come to mind as good examples.
Viewed as an exploration of slavery, the story can go in a couple of directions. There's the domestic drama, where a the single robot servant rebels and murders its "master" -- makes me think of Old South anxieties about the slave raping the master's wife. There's the anxiety, from the owners' perspective, that the servant class will rise up, cracking the very foundation of a future society. The Dr. Who episode Robots of Death [4th doctor, Leela as companion] stands out in my mind as an example of this. Taken to its extreme, you have dystopian movies like The Terminator and The Matrix, where robots have already overthrown humanity -- past tense.
[It seems to me like Terminator and Matrix exist in the same universe -- the "rise of the machines" story explains how the matrix came to exist. The interconnectiveness of the two seems even more stark if you watch The Animatrix.]
On the other hand, you have robot movies that are sympathetic to the plight of the robots. One could say, stories that take the point of view of the slaves, rather than the masters. Blade Runner does this somewhat, with the love interest. A.I. is more clear cut, depicting bigots who take pleasure in murdering the robots.
Pinocchio
I know I'm kind of pushing the race metaphor, but it seems like there is a theme in robot movies that has to do with assimilation: robotic Uncle Toms? In the first episode of Star Trek: Next Generation, you have Data saying that as "perfect" as he is, he'd give it all away to be a "real" human being. Riker says jokingly, as I recall, "Hello, Pinocchio". The Pinocchio theme comes up again in A.I., with our main character pointing his little ship at a statue of the Blue Fairy for thousands of years, waiting.
The flip side of this theme, I suppose, is human beings who want to be like robots. The Dr. Who episode Robots of Death explores this, with an insane human -- who dresses up to look like a robot -- being the instigator of the robot revolution.
...But is the "Pinocchio" theme inherently robotic? In a sense, the robot wishing that he was a "real boy" is a coming of age story. Story-wise, you just need a character who is on a quest to transform themselves. It's a Bildungsroman arc, the boy becoming the man. Think Wizard of Oz -- the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion all get their wish fulfilled by a Blue Fairy character.
Parent-Child Metaphors
In addition to the "robots as slaves" metaphor, I think the "robots as children" metaphor is inherent. The purpose of a robot is to serve. The nature of the robot is that it was created by another human being. Once the robot becomes self-aware, its essential question to its creator is "why did you make me?"
As *philosophical vehicles*, robots allow the author to explore what it means to own a sentient being, without the specific historical baggage attached to the enslavement of originally African people. Similarly, as a philosophical vehicle, robots allow the author to explore what it means to create another person without the biological baggage attached to our bodies' inherent potential to do so. Whereas slave-owners could (hypothetically) blame tradition, as could parents -- with the inventor of a robot, it seems we have to examine intentionality head-on.
Other Themes
I mentioned earlier that there are movies where robots could easily be replaced by space aliens -- where they're just aliens in silver drag. Let me back up that claim. R2-D2 and C3PO from Star Wars -- they're just comic relief; there's nothing about them that requires them to be robots. The Cylons from Battlestar Galactica -- also just aliens in silver drag. Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still -- his function is intergalactic cop. Doesn't have to be a robot.
I feel compelled to mention a few themes that show up in *robot stories* that don't seem essential [or perhaps I mean "very interesting"] to me...
(1) War machines that get out of control. The artificial intelligence in War Games. The robot in the Disney version of The Iron Giant. There are a bunch more whose names I can't think of -- either where you have a super computer that threatens to take over the world [The Forbin Project?] or there's a killing machine that we lose control of [e.g. Hardware]. ...To me, these stories aren't so much about the robots as about war itself: if we continue down this path, will we be able to pull ourselves back from the brink?
(2) What makes us human beings? Do robots have a soul? What do human beings have that robots don't? Is it our free will? Our self-awareness? Our emotions? In this sub-genre of robot stories, robots only provide a foil to questions about people... Perhaps with the ironic twist, that we wind up feeling that the robots are more human that the humans are -- or perhaps that modern society has somehow made us all robot-like, because it's so dehumanizing. ...This theme doesn't seem to really be about the robots themselves. It's a story we could play out with a space aliens: this thing doesn't look like me, is it really life? [The silicon based life form on Old Trek seems like a good example of this.] For that matter, you could do a similar story using an intelligent gorilla. "Is it enough like us to be treated compassionately?" is great fodder for anyone with an animal rights mindset.
[I tend to really dislike these stories. Why? Perhaps because of how self-congratulatory they tend to be, "celebrating the human spirit". The conclusion that "it's good -- nay better -- to be a human being" seems both supremacist, and like it's a foregone conclusion. Like proofs of the existence of god, that say "life is so good -- how can it not be god's fault?" Humanity is a good thing, cuz, well... it just is.]
(3) The line between man and machine. Stories that deal with bionics, half-human + half-robot cyborgs, and monster robots that use organic bits [like brains] for spare parts -- all essentially set up a continuum, where robots are on one end and humans on the other. With bionics, obviously there's The Bionic Man. One step down the ladder, you have the gargoyles from Neal Stephenson's book Snow Crash, or the villain from Tank Girl who replaces his head with a hologram. Further down the ladder still, you have the Cybermen or the Daleks from Dr. Who, who are more machine than organic being at this point in their evolution. ...In general, the line between machines and humanity isn't very interesting to me. On the one hand, you have the fetishization of technology ("Wouldn't be cool if you could access email via your eyes?") -- and on the other, you have revulsion toward the mechanical things. Either because you're giving up your humanity, or simply because machines are scary. To me, these are basically questions of aesthetics -- not philosophical explorations.
My Hidden Agenda
I like robots. I mean, pretty much any robot makes me giggle with glee. I'm a gourmand, and I know it. I like robots as a genre element, like a Western fan likes horses just because they're what the cowboys are riding on.
But I'd like to be brainier than that. I'd like to get to use robots as a philosophical vehicle, rather than just as pretty shiny things--
--because I'm sorely tempted to try to write a robot story of my own. I think it would be just too cool if our film makers group took on such a project... Trick is, if anyone's going to write a script for such a thing, it's going to be me. Which, now you understand, is the real motivation behind this little impromptu essay of mine...
I'm all twitterpated about the upcoming movie release, "I, Robot". Not cuz it's going to be any good... Oh, no. I do think it's going to suck. However, the trailer makes me think that it might harken back to Karel Capek's 1922 play R.U.R. ...I'm in a mood to see if I can't find a copy of the play to read -- and I've been looking through my DVD collection, thinking that I'll do a historical review of robots in film. A bad movie might be redeemed if the anticipation process has independent joy of it's own.
So, I've been thinking about what robots represent, in a literary kind of way. My most interesting question so far: "What makes a robot story a robot story? One where it has to be about a robot -- and that character couldn't be replaced by a space alien of some sort?" ...I mean, is a robot just a strange creature whose skin is shiny instead of scaly? Heck no.
Slavery Metaphors
It seems to me, from what I know, that robots are most often used to explore slavery themes... The Star Trek: Next Generation episode where scientists want to dissemble Data, and Picard argues that the precedent here will establish a slave race of machine men, stands out in my mind. Seems like the more similar to people the robots look, the more authors want to show "man's inhumanity to man" through how the robots are treated. A.I. and Blade Runner come to mind as good examples.
Viewed as an exploration of slavery, the story can go in a couple of directions. There's the domestic drama, where a the single robot servant rebels and murders its "master" -- makes me think of Old South anxieties about the slave raping the master's wife. There's the anxiety, from the owners' perspective, that the servant class will rise up, cracking the very foundation of a future society. The Dr. Who episode Robots of Death [4th doctor, Leela as companion] stands out in my mind as an example of this. Taken to its extreme, you have dystopian movies like The Terminator and The Matrix, where robots have already overthrown humanity -- past tense.
[It seems to me like Terminator and Matrix exist in the same universe -- the "rise of the machines" story explains how the matrix came to exist. The interconnectiveness of the two seems even more stark if you watch The Animatrix.]
On the other hand, you have robot movies that are sympathetic to the plight of the robots. One could say, stories that take the point of view of the slaves, rather than the masters. Blade Runner does this somewhat, with the love interest. A.I. is more clear cut, depicting bigots who take pleasure in murdering the robots.
Pinocchio
I know I'm kind of pushing the race metaphor, but it seems like there is a theme in robot movies that has to do with assimilation: robotic Uncle Toms? In the first episode of Star Trek: Next Generation, you have Data saying that as "perfect" as he is, he'd give it all away to be a "real" human being. Riker says jokingly, as I recall, "Hello, Pinocchio". The Pinocchio theme comes up again in A.I., with our main character pointing his little ship at a statue of the Blue Fairy for thousands of years, waiting.
The flip side of this theme, I suppose, is human beings who want to be like robots. The Dr. Who episode Robots of Death explores this, with an insane human -- who dresses up to look like a robot -- being the instigator of the robot revolution.
...But is the "Pinocchio" theme inherently robotic? In a sense, the robot wishing that he was a "real boy" is a coming of age story. Story-wise, you just need a character who is on a quest to transform themselves. It's a Bildungsroman arc, the boy becoming the man. Think Wizard of Oz -- the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion all get their wish fulfilled by a Blue Fairy character.
Parent-Child Metaphors
In addition to the "robots as slaves" metaphor, I think the "robots as children" metaphor is inherent. The purpose of a robot is to serve. The nature of the robot is that it was created by another human being. Once the robot becomes self-aware, its essential question to its creator is "why did you make me?"
As *philosophical vehicles*, robots allow the author to explore what it means to own a sentient being, without the specific historical baggage attached to the enslavement of originally African people. Similarly, as a philosophical vehicle, robots allow the author to explore what it means to create another person without the biological baggage attached to our bodies' inherent potential to do so. Whereas slave-owners could (hypothetically) blame tradition, as could parents -- with the inventor of a robot, it seems we have to examine intentionality head-on.
Other Themes
I mentioned earlier that there are movies where robots could easily be replaced by space aliens -- where they're just aliens in silver drag. Let me back up that claim. R2-D2 and C3PO from Star Wars -- they're just comic relief; there's nothing about them that requires them to be robots. The Cylons from Battlestar Galactica -- also just aliens in silver drag. Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still -- his function is intergalactic cop. Doesn't have to be a robot.
I feel compelled to mention a few themes that show up in *robot stories* that don't seem essential [or perhaps I mean "very interesting"] to me...
(1) War machines that get out of control. The artificial intelligence in War Games. The robot in the Disney version of The Iron Giant. There are a bunch more whose names I can't think of -- either where you have a super computer that threatens to take over the world [The Forbin Project?] or there's a killing machine that we lose control of [e.g. Hardware]. ...To me, these stories aren't so much about the robots as about war itself: if we continue down this path, will we be able to pull ourselves back from the brink?
(2) What makes us human beings? Do robots have a soul? What do human beings have that robots don't? Is it our free will? Our self-awareness? Our emotions? In this sub-genre of robot stories, robots only provide a foil to questions about people... Perhaps with the ironic twist, that we wind up feeling that the robots are more human that the humans are -- or perhaps that modern society has somehow made us all robot-like, because it's so dehumanizing. ...This theme doesn't seem to really be about the robots themselves. It's a story we could play out with a space aliens: this thing doesn't look like me, is it really life? [The silicon based life form on Old Trek seems like a good example of this.] For that matter, you could do a similar story using an intelligent gorilla. "Is it enough like us to be treated compassionately?" is great fodder for anyone with an animal rights mindset.
[I tend to really dislike these stories. Why? Perhaps because of how self-congratulatory they tend to be, "celebrating the human spirit". The conclusion that "it's good -- nay better -- to be a human being" seems both supremacist, and like it's a foregone conclusion. Like proofs of the existence of god, that say "life is so good -- how can it not be god's fault?" Humanity is a good thing, cuz, well... it just is.]
(3) The line between man and machine. Stories that deal with bionics, half-human + half-robot cyborgs, and monster robots that use organic bits [like brains] for spare parts -- all essentially set up a continuum, where robots are on one end and humans on the other. With bionics, obviously there's The Bionic Man. One step down the ladder, you have the gargoyles from Neal Stephenson's book Snow Crash, or the villain from Tank Girl who replaces his head with a hologram. Further down the ladder still, you have the Cybermen or the Daleks from Dr. Who, who are more machine than organic being at this point in their evolution. ...In general, the line between machines and humanity isn't very interesting to me. On the one hand, you have the fetishization of technology ("Wouldn't be cool if you could access email via your eyes?") -- and on the other, you have revulsion toward the mechanical things. Either because you're giving up your humanity, or simply because machines are scary. To me, these are basically questions of aesthetics -- not philosophical explorations.
My Hidden Agenda
I like robots. I mean, pretty much any robot makes me giggle with glee. I'm a gourmand, and I know it. I like robots as a genre element, like a Western fan likes horses just because they're what the cowboys are riding on.
But I'd like to be brainier than that. I'd like to get to use robots as a philosophical vehicle, rather than just as pretty shiny things--
--because I'm sorely tempted to try to write a robot story of my own. I think it would be just too cool if our film makers group took on such a project... Trick is, if anyone's going to write a script for such a thing, it's going to be me. Which, now you understand, is the real motivation behind this little impromptu essay of mine...
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