Cool
Movie Robots
"Is your robot housebroken, or is he going to leave batteries all
over the floor?"
You can find robots in all kinds of movies - whether they're science fiction like Star Wars or animated cartoons for kids, like Wall-E, or just completely strange ones like Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. There must be thousands of different kinds of robots in film history!
What's the difference between a robot, an android and a cyborg?
A robot is really any programmed device that can act automatically. An android (also known as a humanoid), is a robot that looks like a man. It has human features and qualities. A cyborg is also known as a bionic man or woman. These cool guys are human, but they have special body parts which are electronic or mechanical. These parts help them fulfill whatever mission they need to accomplish. One example of a bionic man is Inspector Gadget.
What makes an awesome robot?
Plausibility: how likely is it that such a device could be built using today's technology? I guess this could go either way - the more realistically one could build it, the cooler it would seem because it relates to reality. But the less realistic it is, the better - just because the idea is so totally out of this world, its implausibility is that much better.
The cool factor: How cool is the robot? It is well-designed and sleek? It is all chrome-like and shiny? How good-looking is this robot? I guess humans are superficial even when it comes down to robots.
Dangerousness: Apparently dangerousness is a word, albeit a very silly-sounding one. We must not only take into consideration the kind of built-in weaponry does this robot has, but also how eager they are to use it to their advantage. God didn't insert laser beams in your robot's artificial eye sockets for nothing.
Comedic Relief: Robots need to add some sort of entertainment value to the movie, and this usually comes in the form of humour. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy robot, Marvin the Paranoid Android, is a severely depressed and bored robot. This in itself is a hilarious concept just because a robot usually doesn't have any feelings in the first place because he's not human. What a conundrum…
A
human being without the proper empathy or feeling is the same as
an android built so as to lack it, either by design or mistake.
We mean, basically, someone who does not care about the fate
which his fellow living creatures fall victim to; he stands
detached, a spectator, acting out by his indifference John
Donne's theorem that "No man is an island," but giving that
theorem a twist: that which is a mental and a moral island is not
a man.
-
Philip K. Dick
The
first robot in film history: "Fake Maria" from
Metropolis, 1927
One of the earliest robots, anyway. This movie was about an elite
upper class controlling poor workers who ran tech machines. A mad
scientist named Rotwang builds an evil version of a sweet union
leader named Maria, whom he kidnaps. "Fake Maria" is evil,
seductive and sadistic. Oh, and it was a silent film, too.
The
Wizard of Oz: The Tin-Man
The Tin Woodsman is a silver-faced robot with a funnel cap on
top. He joins Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road. The Tin Man's
deepest wish is to have a heart. He constantly needs to be oiled
because his joints become immobile from moisture.
Fembots
Fembots are female robots, usually designed in a very feminine
manner. You've probably heard of Fembots from the Austin Powers
films, but they date back to a 1964 parody of James Bond's
Goldfinger - a film with Vincent Price titled Dr.
Goldfoot and the Bikini Machines. In this old movie, these
Fembots were programmed to find billionaire bachelors and charm
their way into marriage and fortune.
HAL 9000
Stanley Kubrick's famous film was about a spaceship that travelled to Jupiter. This spaceship was controlled by HAL, which stands for Heuristically programmed Algorithmic Computer. Actually, HAL wasn't really a robot - but he did sound robotic and had human-like qualities:
- capable of speech and language recognition through lip-reading
- he played chess
- a glowing, watchful red eye
- a pleasant, soft voice much like a television announcer
Eventually, HAL becomes a bit nasty and the astronauts have to turn him off. As his mind short-circuits and starts turning off, he beings to sing the children's song "Daisy".
"There, there, Godzilla."
MechaGodzilla: because good old-fashioned Godzilla just wasn't good enough
For the 20th anniversary of Godzilla, MechaGozilla was created. He was, essentially, a gigantic dinosaur-shaped Terminator. He was created by ape-like aliens and first had fake rubbery Godzilla skin until it was burned off at an oil refinery during a battle with the ACTUAL Godzilla. Once this fake skin burned off, it revealed the true MechaGodzilla, with a shiny space titanium form, red laser eyes, fire breath, a whiplash tail and the ability to create an electronic force by rapidly spinning its head.
MechaGodzilla's first appearance was in the 1974 film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.
The
Stepford Wives: apparently I can be
perfect!
A bit of a departure from the usual robots you see in science
fiction films, these female robots came from a 1972 novel. They
were designed to be loving, obedient and subserviant to their
husbands. These were android/robotic replicas which were ideal
versions of the suburban housewife created by their husbands. In
the 1975 film, the robot wives take over. In the 2004 film,
though, the wives are not robots but cyborgs - human which were
put under the control of microchips. The Stepford Wives become
normal once more after realizing this.
R2D2
and C-3PO
R2D2 is an Astromech droid, a type of
robot mechanic. He kinda looks like a vacuum, but if any
consolation, a very endearing vacuum. He's pretty short, but we
all know that size doesn't matter. He has all sorts of tools up
his robotic sleeves. His most important quality is his bravery.
He is only 1 of 4 characters to be in all the Star Wars
series, along with his companion C-3PO (the gold dude).
C-3P0 is "fluent in six million forms of communication". While
R2D2 is a, C-3P0 is a Protocol droid.
This means his main function is to assist with etiquette,
customs, and translation so that different cultures in the
Star Wars galaxy can run smoothly together.
C-3P0 was created by a young Anakin Skywalker from discarded
scrap metal. He's talkative, chatty and fussy. He takes on the
silhouette of a human man. He's a big worrywart and often fretful
and anxious, although he maintains a cheery attitude. R2-D2, on
the other hand, has motorized roller-skates and is barrel-shaped.
He is always calm even when danger is present. His tools included
a scanner for sensing danger, a welder and a buzz saw.
The
Terminator
Played by The Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, The
Terminator is a cyborg whose main role is robotic assassin and
soldier. His goal is to exterminate human resistance. He can
crash through walls, survive various forms of weaponry assault
and survive explosions to some extent. But don't be fooled by The
Terminator's human-like exterior - underneath his "skin" is a
robot skeleton!
Images: Markybon, Outrapolitica, Filmsite, Club des monstres, gryllus
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