Can Technology Move too Fast?

With great advancements in technology also may come a form of social paranoia. Many films in the 1980’s have depicted a fear of evil cyborgs taking over the world and destroying humanity. The idea of humans being replaced by a superior being was a fear that was felt by many in our society. One such film that demonstrated this fear was the film Robocop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987, USA,) where a man was reconstructed into a cyborg. Another film that would be a good example of fear of technology would be the film Terminator (James Cameron, 1984, USA) when a cyborg from the future is sent back to the past in the attempt to kill ‘Sarah Conner’ who is the mother of the leader of the human resistance against the machines. In this essay I will compare these two films how the humans in these films were able to interact with these cyborgs, how the role of technology is intertwined with our (humans) everyday lives, and how these films help us in the understanding the true of meaning of being ‘human.’

The armor is a representation of the technophobia people had about advancements in technology. Robocop showed how technology could get out of control especially after the so called law enforcement droid (ED-209) went haywire, killing a junior executive during a presentation. Not only did this show the shear destruction one of these cyborgs could be capable of but it also showed that these cyborgs could take over the world. The cyborg in the Terminator also had the armor but had shown human characteristics showed how indestructible he was to various violent impacts from being shot at, burned, and even at the end of the film being blown up. The character that fit the ‘human’ characteristic was ‘Kyle Reese’ who actually ended up being John Conner’s father.





In some ways the armor can also represent the inner strength of a human being. The relentless willpower of ‘Kyle Reese’ in protecting Sarah showed that he was willing to give his life to not only save her, but ultimately save the human race from extermination. The feeling of empathy for Sarah demonstrated in the film gave him the human characteristic (1). This extra attribute Kyle displayed was one an attribute that the cyborg was not programmed to have, which is desire. The cyborg may be able to win by shear power but by the end of the film the quick thinking and action by the ‘human’ ultimately lead to their success.

The Terminator showed the audience the major technological advancements that were predicted to happen in the future. The film also portrayed what a world would look like after nuclear warfare. This fear is similar to “the repressed of atomic paranoia in 1950’s America is radiation contamination” (3) except this was presented during an era where the cold war was coming to a close. With the introduction of new advancements happening at a rapid pace there was the fear in which Wolfgang Schivelbusch called a ‘panoramic perception’ which was a popular belief during the machine age (2). Many science fiction films worked to alleviate these fears by the “replacement of horse-drawn coach by speeding train transformed travelers into spectators” (2) which was an attempt to get the audience used to seeing these advancements so it wouldn’t be such a shock to them later on.
Robocop was a product designed because of the idea that “human body wasn’t designed for the stresses and shocks of a mechanical world,” (1) against which the body had to be armored in order to withstand the impacts of bullets as well as the stresses of everyday life. The armor in this film showed that the human body is fragile and cannot withstand physical or violent impacts which this cyborg could. The idea behind Robocop was that he was ‘perfect’ and ‘indestructible’ because of his high tech body armor. This film among others in the 1980’s fueled the fear of alienation and the fear that cyborgs would ultimately take over the world leaving it ‘lifeless’ and ‘dull’ planet.

Robocop warns us of the possible problems technology could have but also shows how this cyborg ‘Murphy’ goes against the societal definition of a cyborg. One such definition that stands out is from one Baukatman’s articles when he states that “humans simply have feelings while non-humans simply do not” (1) which means that ‘Murphy’ in reality it should have no feelings at all because he was not human. Just by looking at him he was reconstructed into an indestructible machine. But Murphy was different than most cyborgs in that he overcame the alienation of his body advanced technology and was able to regain his memory. As the film progressed he began to regain his identity and was able to seek revenge on those who ended his human life.



The traditional assumption of how cold and lifeless cyborgs can be was shown quite distinctively in the Terminator when he kills everyone in his path. He is relentlessness and will power do anything to reach his objective, which is to kill Sarah Conner, the mother of John Conner. This cyborg displays this action even when he was blown apart and continued to chase Sarah until he was crushed by a compactor at the end of the film, this is what makes the Terminator different because Robocop regains his human characteristics, whereas in the Terminator flim another character fills the role of the human. This character ‘Kyle Reese’ is transported back to the past to protect Sarah Conner. He had all the characteristics and instead of metal he had flesh which could be damaged much more easily. The audience was able to identify with Conner because he showed empathy, emotions, and you could visually see he could get injured.



These memories proved that this particular cyborg could fit the description of the ‘human’ because this cyborg had dreams and memories something the ‘typical’ cyborg did not have. The cyborg in Terminator was not anything like the cyborg in Robocop because it had no thoughts or feelings, just action. This film gives the audience a better understanding of the ‘human’ because we truly see what the differences are between the human and non-human. When ‘Murphy’ had these visions he was able to sympathize with humanity because he remembered his past life this was nonexistent in the Terminator.



These films also show us that we should not be too dependent on technology to take care of us because if technology fails we won’t know how to react to it until it is too late. These films show that computers and other advanced technology are nice because allows to “interface with the global, yet invisible, realm of data circulation-a new being to occupy the emerging cyberspaces” (2) which it makes our daily lives easier but it also can lead to our demise. The computers in Terminator mysteriously got a mind of their own and decided to end the human race. Since humans were completed reliant on these technologies when these technologies turned against them there was nothing that could be done to protect ourselves from an enemy that was suppose to be helping us.

The Terminator showed us what could potentially happen when we as ‘humans’ become too reliant on technology. A good example of this is when Sara Conner found out she was being stalked by ‘The Terminator’ when she received a call from the police department about the random killings of all the women whose names had been ‘Sarah Conner’. After she found out about this she was freaking out and called her roommate to come pick her up. When she left a message the cyborg was already present at her apartment. However, ‘The Terminator’ himself was already at the apartment. After hearing the voice message the killer cyborg left the apartment and proceeded to go to night club where she was hiding. This shows as convenient as an answering machine is to our everyday lives it actually could have lead to her murder.



Whether we like it our not technology is in our everyday lives and it makes life more convenient then it used to be in the past. We use mass transportation to get from place to place in a short period of time. Instead of sending a letter through the mail we send an email. These films show us that technology can indeed be good but it can also be the ‘thorn’ in our side. Not only could we be in trouble if technology fails that we are dependent on but we also could be in trouble if the technology is used against us by someone else.












Film:
Robocop, dir, Paul Verhoeven, per. Peter Weller, Ronny Cox, and Kurtwood Smith,
1987, DVD, 1987
Terminator, dir, James Cameron, per. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and Michael Biehn, 1984, DVD, 1984.
Citations:
(1) Bukatman, Scott. “Replicants and Alien Life.” Blade Runner. BFI Modern Classics Series. Ed. Rob White. London: British Film Institute, 1997. 64-91. (CR 53-66)
(2) Bukatman, Scott. “Zooming Out: The End of Offscreen Space.” The New American Cinema. Ed. Jon Lewis. Durham and London: Duke University Press. 248- 272. (CR 233-245)
(3) Hendershot, Cyndy. “The Invaded Body: Paranoia and Radiation Anxiety in Invaders from Mars, It Came from Outer Space, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” Extrapolation: A Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy. 39.1 (Spring 1998) 26-39. (CR 37-43)

Can Technology Move to Fast?

With the great advancements in technology also may bring a form of paranoia to those in our society. Many films in the 1980’s have showed this fear of evil cyborgs taking over the world and destroying humanity. The idea of humans being replaced by a superior being was a fear that was felt by many in our society. One such film that demonstrated this fear was the film Robocop(Paul Verhoeven, 1987, USA) where a man was reconstructed into a cyborg. Robocop’s armor is the special effect I will focus on in this essay and I will be attempting to come up with the conclusion of how the ‘human’ interacts with this technology and how it changes our understanding of the human.

The armor is representation of the technophobia people had about advancements in technology. This film showed how technology could get out of control especially after the so called law enforcement droid (ED-209) went haywire killing a junior executive during a presentation. Not only did this show the shear destruction one of these cyborgs could be capable of but it also showed that these cyborgs could take over the world. Many science fiction films show the audience the major technological advancements that are predicted to happen in the future. With these new advancements happening at a rapid pace there was the fear in which Wolfgang Schivelbusch called a ‘panoramic perception’ which was a popular belief during the machine age (2). Many science fiction films worked to alleviate these fears by the “replacement of horse-drawn coach by speeding train transformed travelers into spectators” (2) which was an attempt to get the audience used to seeing these advancements so it wouldn’t be such a shock to them later on.



Robocop was designed because of the idea that “human body wasn’t designed for the stresses and shocks of a mechanical world” (1) in which the body had to be armored in order to withstand the impacts bullets as well as the stresses of everyday life. The armor in this film showed that the human body is fragile and cannot withstand physical or violent impacts but this cyborg could. The idea behind Robocop was that he was ‘perfect’ and ‘indestructible’ because of his high tech body armor. This film among others like in the 1980’s fueled the fear of alienation and the fear that cyborgs would ultimately take over the world leaving it ‘lifeless’ and ‘dull’ planet.

Robocop warns us of the possible problems technology could have but also shows how this cyborg ‘Murphy’ goes against the societal definition of a cyborg. One such definition that stands out is from one Baukatman’s articles when he states that “humans simply have feelings while non-humans simply do not” (1) which means that ‘Murphy’ in reality it should have no feelings at all because he was not human. Just by looking at him he was reconstructed into a indestructible machine. But Murphy was different than most cyborgs in that he overcame the alienation of his body advanced technology and was able to regain his memory. As the film progressed he began to regain his identity and was able to seek revenge on those who ended his life.



These memories proved that this particular cyborg could fit the description of the ‘human’ because this cyborg had dreams and memories something the ‘typical’ cyborg did not have. This film gives the audience a better understanding of the ‘human’ because we truly see what the differences are between the human and non-human. When ‘Murphy’ had these visions he was able to sympathize with humanity because he remembers his past life. This film also shows us that we should not be too dependent on technology to take care of us because if technology fails we won’t know how to react to it until it is too late.

Film:
Robocop, dir, Paul Verhoeven, per. Peter Weller, Ronny Cox, and Kurtwood Smith,
1987, DVD, 1987

Citations:
(1) Bukatman, Scott. “Replicants and Alien Life.” Blade Runner. BFI Modern Classics Series. Ed. Rob White. London: British Film Institute, 1997. 64-91. (CR 53-66)
(2) Bukatman, Scott. “Zooming Out: The End of Offscreen Space.” The New American Cinema. Ed. Jon Lewis. Durham and London: Duke University Press. 248- 272. (CR 233-245)

Aliens and Cyborgs are Finally Regarded as Good Rather Than Evil

There has always been the issue of race in our society and the idea of using the alien or non-human ‘other’ to represent a particular race is not that far fetched. Past science fiction films showed aliens in the 1950’s as a serious threat to those in our society whereas films today show that the “aliens are represented as our friends, playmates, brothers, and lovers” (1) which shows the change in American culture from the fear of difference to the idea that being different is not so bad. The films Robocop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987, USA) and ET (Steven Spielberg, 1982, USA) were made during the 1980’s which was a period of time when we began to see a change in representation of the alien itself. In this essay I will use the films Robocop and ET to show how they are both related as far as the overall perception of the alien/non-human to the human, the presentation of ethnic/racial identity, and how these films eventually resolve these cultural issues.

When talking about the perception of aliens of today ET is a perfect example of how our societal viewpoints have changed in regard to our perception of the alien. In the film ET, Elliott fits the basic (human) characteristic not only physically but emotionally whereas the alien ‘ET’ presumably to fits the alien/non-human physical characteristic because he is indeed an alien from another planet. However, ‘ET’ shows human characteristics in that he expresses “feelings and emotions” (2) which go against the belief that alien/non-human beings are not able to express basic human emotions.



The film Robocop also is an example of how a non-human figure can have the ability to have human characteristics. This reconstructed body of the former Detroit police officer, formally known as Murphy is a cyborg created to fight the escalating crime problem that is destroying the city. This cyborg was created to prevent the death of those on the police force, this idea of using metal which could deflect bullets seemed like a very good idea because the human body is not designed to take such punishment. However, Murphy is not your typical cyborg, because his memory returned as the film progressed which ultimately allowed him to bring the people who were involved in his murder to justice. The idea of Murphy having dreams and a memory contradicts the assumption held that “humans simply have feelings while non-humans simply do not” (3) shows that Murphy is in fact not a replicant because he shows human characteristics. While Murphy shows human characteristics there is also the fear that comes out of this situation because a powerful cyborg like this could get out of control and create more problems than solutions, however in this case Murphy proved that the non-human could in fact be the good guy changing the postmodern viewpoint of cyborgs which labeled were as bad because they were nonhuman.



This idea of using the alien in these films is a good way of showing the racial and cultural issues that are occurring within our society. These films were created in the attempt to change the perception of the alien/non-human during this period of time. These films were focused on racial and ethnic identity. The film ET shows that “the alien Other is valued for being un-marked as alien or other, for being different just like us, only no more so than an/other alienated and spaced out being” (1) which shows that the cultural opinion of being different is not bad, it is what makes each human unique from another. The main characters acceptance of the alien signifies how this film tries to show that Elliott looked past ET’s physical appearance and treated ‘ET’ just like he was human which was showing the audience just because someone’s physical appearance is different doesn’t mean they should be treated any in a negative way.

The film Robocop addresses the issue of race in a way that shows the audience the initial fear and curiosity people had with the new hero that was in the city of Detroit. The fear was that this cyborg and would take over the city and could possibly take over the entire world which “can be read as playing out the fears of white Americans concerning the civil rights movement and the violent, racial confrontations of the period” (4) when comparing the civil rights movement of the African Americans to this new movement of the cyborg being part or possibly replacing the police force would be an example of such a movement. The cyborg could be a representation of the African American of the 1960’s whereas the police officers a representation of the ‘White Americans’ of that period of time. This idea of Robocop being a different race fits because he does not physically look like the typical human being. However, he shared some human characteristics which allowed him to relate to the human. By ‘Robocop’ fighting crime it showed that he was just like any other police officer. The film proved that cyborg was indeed on the same team as the rest of the police officers showing that he was no different than any of the other police officers.

Both films tended to rally behind the main characters to insure their success. In the film ET, a good example of this was when Elliott and his siblings kept ‘ET’ a secret from their mother as well as the government. Both siblings were kind of weary of this little alien but eventually grew to accept him. When Elliott and ‘ET’ were in the portable scientific lab that was set up at his mom’s house Elliott helped ‘ET’ escape the scientists and the police officers. The reasoning behind this is he wanted to help ‘ET’ return home.



In Robocop, the rally involved Murphy’s former partner officer Anne Lewis who recognized him by the little move he made with his gun during target practice. With her speaking with him paved the way for Murphy to have flash backs of his previous life which lead him to getting the corruption and crime out of the city and giving the police officers their jobs back.



In closing these two films had a lot of meaning when focusing on the issue of alien/non-human to that of the human being itself. ET and Murphy both showed that the alien and non-human can have human characteristics even though they are technically not human physically. This idea of looking a being in a physical way can be attributed to how we look at race. These films used issue of race in our society and showed that the characters in these films can look past differences and help each other out.


References:
Films:
Robocop, dir, Paul Verhoeven, per. Peter Weller, Ronny Cox, and Kurtwood Smith,
1987, DVD, 1987.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, dir, Steven Spielberg, per. Henry Thomas, Robert
MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace, and Peter Coyote, 1982, DVD,
2002.
Textbook/Articles:
Cornea, Christine. “Science Fiction Cinema, Between Fantasy and Reality.” Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey. 2007
“Embracing the Alien, Erasing Alienation.” Screening Space:
The American Science Fiction Film. 2nd ed. New Brunswick: Rutgers
University Press, 1997. 292-297. (124-127)
Citations:
(1) Sobchack, Vivian. “Embracing the Alien, Erasing Alienation.” Screening Space:
The American Science Fiction Film. 2nd ed. New Brunswick: Rutgers
University Press, 1997. 292-297. (124-127)
(2) Bruno, Giuliana. “Ramble City: Postmodernism and Blade Runner.” Alien Zone: Cultural Theory and Contemporary Science Fiction Cinema. Ed. Annette Kuhn London and New York: Verso Press, 1990. 183-195. (CR 67-73)
(3) Bukatman, Scott. “Replicants and Alien Life.” Blade Runner. BFI Modern Classics Series. Ed. Rob White. London: British Film Institute, 1997. 64-91. (CR 53-66)
(4) Cornea, Christine. “Science Fiction Cinema, Between Fantasy and Reality.” Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey. 2007

Societies Fear of Advanced Technology

In the mid to late 1980’s was a period of time when our society was experiencing great advances in technology which brought a great amount excitement and fear. The excitement was based on the fact that these new advances would make life easier on people. With these new technologies there was the dream of even more advances like teleporting and the use of robots. With that excitement there was also the fear of these new technologies. This fear of technologies is referred to as ‘Technophobia’ which is “a metaphor for everything that threatened natural social arrangements” (1) that has proven true about the fear of great technological advances.With this popularity and fear during this period of time led Hollywood into making many hit films that involved the technological simulation and reproduction of the human body. This was evident in the film Robocop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987, USA) which involved the resurrection of a human into a robot. Another film like this which was made during this time period was the Terminator (James Cameron, 1984, USA) and which shows that the “genre in the films refer to each other” (2) by Robots sharing had basic human characteristics but at the same time lacking human emotions.

In the film Robocop there was an original robot created that was indestructible. This indestructible robot could serve, protect, work 24 hours a day, and help prevent the deaths of police officers. However, this robot had a flaw, one of which accelerated the fear of robots. One character from the film Kinney was asked to demonstrate by pointing his weapon at the robot. When Kinney pointed the gun at ED-209 the robot sprung to life and ordered that the weapon be dropped on the floor. He did as the robot instructed but ED-209 failed to acknowledge this and ended up fatally shooting Kinney. This showed the impact a robot could have over the humans.

By witnessing this outrageous flaw of ED-209 Bob Morton shared his idea of a Robot enforcing the law. His invention resurrected a recently murdered police officer (Murphy). This robot was programmed serve public, protect the innocent, and uphold the law. This robot was called, Robocop he was a cyborg who became quite popular throughout the city, even more so after the media got a glimpse of him after he saved a few people that were held hostage by the former Mayor of Detroit. This showed the excitement towards robots and how a robot police officer could save many lives.

This success came with a serious price because the popularity of Robocop infuriated Dick Jones to the point that he actually he had Bob Morton killed by the gang leader Clarence Boddicker who was a known felon who was big into the drug trade and was involved in the killing of many cops including Murphy. With the connection between Dick Jones and Clarence Boddicker showed the corruption and greed that was occurring within the corporation. It also showed that the power that was being used in a forceful manner so that Dick Jones could get what he wanted regardless of how much it effected the well being of others.

As time passed, the cyborg (Murphy) began to have dreams about his past life on earth. These flash backs went against society’s assumptions that all robots lacked human emotions and memory. With these flashbacks of his wife and son, it also brought back memories of those who brutally murdered him. With these flashbacks becoming clearer it led Murphy to go after the people who killed him. He went out on a mission to ensure that the people who killed him were brought to justice. Most of this was done when Murphy broke up a drug dealing negotiation between Clarence Boddicker and the leader of a drug operation.

This film portrays the positive and negative impacts of the robot. The ED- 209 robot was created for defense only. It was big and had very poor mobility. It did have a lot of firepower but had many flaws. Having control of this robot showed that anyone who controlled it had a lot of power and influence. The cyborg robot (Murphy) had more human characteristics but it was not lifeless. This cyborg had the ability to dream and could recognize those who were in his life. This film also demonstrates how power can control corporations but in the end their illegal actions will be acknowledged and those who are found guilty will be brought to justice.

References:

Robocop, dir. Paul Verhoeven, per. Peter Weller, Ronny Cox, and Kurtwood Smith, 1987, DVD, 1987.

Michael Ryan and Douglas Kellner “Technophobia” Film 301 & 319 Course Text

Citations:

(1) Michael Ryan and Douglas Kellner “Technophobia” Film 301 & 319 Course Text Pg. 58-65.

(2) Kuhn, “Ideologies” Film 301 & 319 Course Text Pg. 53-57.