Dōmo Arigatō

Up to this point in the movies I have viewed, humans have created humanistic robots for a multitude of purposes including slaves, child replacements, and trash men. Yet have we seen a robot that not only claims to be a robot, but also acts more like a robot than a human while looking uniquely human. However, in the film Star Trek: Insurrection, Data acts as the first human-looking robot with extremely robotic characteristics. Although this may seem an obvious sight, it is an even odder sight to view a film with robotic robots. Having a film revolve around a humanistic robot makes the story easier to follow and more likeable to an audience. Why then would a film choose to use a non-humanistic robot, and what makes the robot non-human in character?

Data provides facts to the other Enterprise members and the Ba’ku people, but what is it that makes him non-human but rather robotic? Physically, he has yellowish skin and eyes, which make he look different from the other humans within his troop. Also, when listening to his voice, you can definitely hear a different tune that does not sound like a human voice; it almost sounds metallic in quality. However, one specific scene stands out that ultimately points out how different Data is from others. After Data has been restored to his original settings, the Ba’ku and Enterprise members go exploring to figure out what happened to make him go rogue in the first place (rogue robots being a trope in many of the sci-fi films I have seen so far). While exploring, Data notices emissions coming from a lake and walks into the lake see what is going self, submerging himself along the way. While underwater, a Ba’ku child asks if he is able to breathe while submerged. Picard looks at the child, partly smirking, and remarks that Data doesn’t breathe. A few moments later the child asks “Won’t he rust?” Picard merely laughs and shakes his head saying “No” while the child looks completely confused. Ultimately, this shows how much different Data is from a normal human being both physically and in his mannerisms.

In all of the films I have written about thus far that involve a humanistic robot, the robot was the main character or focus of the film. However, in Star Trek: Insurrection, the humanistic robot is not the main character. Rather, he is in a troop of characters who represent a main group. Although Data does play an important and pivotal role in the film, this film definitely could not progress with one main character at its forefront. So, having a nonhuman robot was not as much of a big deal in this film because the audience could connect with all of the other characters that were human. Data was able to act as a traditional robot, providing innumerable facts and data (ha) about the environment.

Oddly enough, having Data act as a robot rather than a human made him less of an interesting character to me. I felt as if I connected better to characters in other films when robots acted as humans—not having this familiarity with Data made me feel disconnected from him. Ultimately though, this particular aspect was best for the film so as to develop other characters while also progressing the story line.

Sam Lowry and the Laws of Infernal Dynamics

If Murphy’s Law was in the dictionary, its association word would be Sam Lowry. Sam Lowry lives one shit hole of a life in the film Brazil. Unlike a film where you feel bad for a character, watching Sam’s life play out just makes you cringe and want to look away. He not only has horrible luck, but he also is completely screwed up in the head. Together, these make his character unlikeable and the movie as a whole difficult to watch. He is easily preoccupied with his dreams and never takes a clear moment to focus on his life in the real world. However much of a “comedy” this film claims to be, I find it far from such. I rarely found myself even chuckling at his misfortune. Often, I was just cringing hoping to finish the film because it made me feel so incredibly uncomfortable. It was only the desire to understand how this movie could possibly end that kept me watching.

To open his part in the film, Lowry is called by his boss (who by the way is a completely pansy who cannot seem to do anything for himself for fear of the repercussions) after he is late for work. His alarm didn’t go off, of course, and the electricity in his house is on the fritz. And since the film is set in a futuristic tone, everything in his house not only uses electricity but also controls itself. For example, his alarm finally going off triggers the water faucet to turn on, the toaster to toast, and the coffee pot to make a cup. However, in accordance with the electricity being on the fritz, the coffee is unfortunately poured on the toast. Thus, when Lowry goes to eat his breakfast, it is a soggy mess. Again, this event does not even begin to describe the level of uncomfort of an audience member watching his pitiful performance as a human. Yet, this introduction does decently set you up for watching his life play out exactly how you would picture at this point.

Being the lazy scrooge that he is, Mr. Kurtzmann sends Sam out to do the dirty work of the ministry. He has Sam go and take a check to Mrs. Buttle as a refund for the overcharging of her husband. Although she is quiet as a mouse at first, Mrs. Buttle loses it on Sam, as any normal woman who just lost her husband would. To go along with his “bad news bears” likelihood, the Buttle’s son sees his mom losing control and comes in and kicks the snot out of Sam. Obviously the mistake wasn’t his fault, but he of course must deal with the repercussions of this madness, which includes setting his car on fire and taking his wheels.

I have yet to mention Sam’s desperation to escape reality. This guy can’t get a break in the real world what with everyone pinning their shit on him and tearing his life apart. So to get away from the drama of his life, Sam flees to his dream world, complete with the capability of flying and a dream woman. Needless to say, really REALLY weird dreams. And, although I consider them extremely difficult to comprehend, it works for him, which might be all that matters.

I really thought this movie had a crazy, fast-moving story and a lacking character development, which is what probably made it a more believable comedy. Whereas in a drama, I would want to feel bad for the character that gets the shit end of the stick, in this film, I just wanted to get away and not watch Sam’s life get derailed with no chance of altering his own future (mind you, my comments above barely scratch the surface of his misfortune). Unfortunately, he lived by the infamous “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong” saying. However, he does get some relief in a somewhat comedic tone through his freaky dreams. As miserable as I felt watching this film and observing his character fail, watching him fly around with his Fabio-like hair and impressive swooning skills made it just a tad more enjoyable to watch.

The Robot Quicker-Picker-Upper, Wall-e

Pixar’s film Wall-e really made me question what the boundaries of humanity are…again. With other films I have watched to this point (AI, Blade Runner, etc.), I have been pushed to the limits of what specifically defines a human being. Previously, I have defined humans as sympathetic, humane, and loving. The protagonist in this film, Wall-e, further pushes these limits, acting completely human, but existing as a robot. I believe that this was done with a purpose as to attract an audience and compel them to think outside the box, at least for those who would normally think of robots as purely machinery. Ultimately, this film completely reverses the roles of humans and robots by giving robots completely human qualities.

Undoubtedly the most prominent and quite arguably the most important and adorable character in the film is Wall-e. As the character with the most face time, the filmmakers were extremely smart with how they portrayed his role within the first 40 or so minutes of the film. He had to be likeable and he had to have something quirky about him, otherwise the film would be a complete bust. To make him likeable, the filmmakers made him into what I believe was human.

I understand it is probably difficult to imagine a robot as a human, but if you haven’t seen the film, it is impossible to imagine this little guy any other way. One of the most prominent humanistic qualities about Wall-e is his love of song. Although he may only know two, his incessant playing and humming will make sure no viewer ever forgets the melody to “Hello Dolly,” in a good way! Now, I’ve never heard a machine hum a musical tune (granted, vibrations of washers and dryers make humming sounds, but not in show tune form). I know of many humans, however, that do the like. Another humanistic quality of Wall-e is best represented by his emotions. From the movie he watches, he observes a young man and woman falling in love, clasping their fingers together, and desires to one day feel the same. After meeting Eve and immediately falling in love with her powerful, womanly presence, he yearns to hold her hand and fall in love as the young human couple had. Honestly, how much more human can you get? Humans are the only known species to show affection for one another without the pure need for procreation. However, this robot just wants to hold the hand of another robot. It could be loneliness or love, either way it is adorable and an entirely human characteristic. A final example of Wall-e’s human qualities are in his features. Although he doesn’t have a human face or body or speech, he does have facial movements in his eyes, he shrugs, he points, he grasps, he sighs, he has basic speech…although not an exhaustive list, just more examples of characteristics that Wall-e shares with typical human counterparts.

It is for these reasons that I feel extremely compelled to call Wall-e a human. He may not look human in a physical manner, but his emotions, characteristics, and certain features make him seem much more human than the humans portrayed in this film. Anyone watching this film immediately falls in love with him because of these qualities, practically assuming that to be likeable, you have to be a human (or really stinking adorable).

A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action Please

            After watching the film Metropolis, I feel absolutely blessed to be able to live in a world where movies have spoken words. When I “watch” movies, I really don’t even have to be watching to know what is going on. I can infer by the tones of the characters’ voices and the background noises what is going on in the film and what it is trying to convey. Therefore, films are convenient for today’s generations because there is no need to actually watch the film in order to understand what is going on…this is the joy of the “talkies”. In silent films, however, lazy viewers are not so lucky. There are no voices, tones, or expressions, just background music that often does match the feel of the scene. In such cases, viewers are not only forced to watch the movie in its entirety (no multitasking allowed), but also must put in the extra effort to identify the moods and tones of the characters and plot without knowing what they are saying to one another, but rather by observing their body language within each scene.

Although far from an incentive to view the film, it is interesting to note how the characters gesture and overreact in order to convey their emotions. Again, not being able to speak may have been a detriment to both the audience and the character. Take Freder for example. In the scene where he had to show that he was disgusted and horrified by the death of the workers in the machine room, his facial expressions are overtly forced and teetering on obnoxious. He juts his body from side to side and then writhers in pain. Granted, as ridiculous as he looks, it is necessary that he convey his actions in this way. If he were to act this scene as a more common actor would, there wouldn’t be as much expression in his performance. There would most likely be a lot of screaming or yelling, but probably a minimized amount of syncopated body movements, as was seen by Freder in Metropolis.

Another interesting use of body language, although slightly unbelievable, was that of the workers in the factory. No matter what they were doing, the workers were always moving rhythmically throughout their scenes. When they entered the underground city to go to work, they walk in sequence with one another, same foot moving forward, same distance travelled, same hunched body shape. Again, this is how the viewer knows that they dread their jobs and are much like minions, slaves to the man. Another reference to the workers and their movements is seen through their work on the machines (what I termed earlier as unbelievable knowing that machines probably don’t work like that). A poetic piece, I think it is used to show the workers synchronized in a dance of sorts, going through the motions of their work. It is an eye-catching scene undoubtedly, making a slave-like comparison, but again you are forced to watch the body language of the film rather than just hear it. Not necessarily a bad thing, but ultimately, these observations led me to believe that I really REALLY like my movies to have conversation.