Heartbeeps

Work Title: Heartbeeps
Medium: Film
Episode Title:
Year: 1981
Writer(s): John Hill
"Original" Writer: Yes Own work?: No

Summary:

from imdb.com Val and Aqua are two household servant robots who start feeling emotions for each other. After falling in love, they decide to escape from their servitude and attempt to start a family of their own. Summary written by Jean-Marc Rocher {rocher@fiberbit.net}


Era/Year of Portrayal: distant_future

Distinctive characteristics of the world in portrayal:

robots are commpplace servents and police.


Technology

  • Name of portrayed presence-evoking technology: Aqua, Val
  • Description of the technology: Aqua and Val are robots. They resemble humans in size, shape, speech and mode of walking, but their faces are clearly not human, rather made of plastic and metal. Their skin is a gold color. They interact with humans as humans do, although they are programmed to be subservient. They can practice and learn more about thier programmed functions, such as how to converse. They can walk far distancse and run on energy packs. They can also create and modify other robots. They are also programmed to never break the law.
  • Nature of task or activity: The robots are servents in homes - they serve and clean as a butler or maid. Some are also designed to enteratain by telling jokes, or conversing in a manner that makes the human fell smart.
  • Performance of the Technology: Works well, although the robots develop a sense of independence and run from their human keepers. Actually, then they never perform as they ought to, and are ultimately scrapped.
  • Description of creator(s): unknown.
  • Major goal(s) of creator(s): to serve and entertain people.
  • Description of users of technology: Anyone who can afford a robot own one. The robots interct with male and female white people at a party, and 2 white men search for the run away robots.
  • Type(s) of presence experience in the portrayal: social_presence
  • Description of presence experience: Pleasant. The robots are well mannered and behaved. They are trained to serve humans.
  • User awareness of technology during experience: yes.
  • Valence of experience: they typically enjoy it. however, the police robot does crash a party looking for the robots. literally, he crashes through a window.
  • Specific responses: Eventually, two humans develop social relatioships with the robot family, a parasocial relationship.
Long-term consequences:

Happy ending. Because the robots cannot perform properly, they are sent to the junk yard. There, the humans presumably turn them back on, and the 2 robots in love create a family, living? happily ever after.

Other:

robots as people. people who can love and be familial.

Coder name: Amanda Scheiner
Coder email: amandags@temple.edu
Coder affiliation: Temple University