Robocop

Work Title: Robocop
Medium: Film
Episode Title:
Year: 1987
Writer(s): Edward Neumeier
"Original" Writer: Yes Writer(s): Michael Miner
"Original" Writer: Yes Own work?: No
Summary:

From imdb.com In the aftermath of economic and moral collapse, the city of Detroit has become a cesspool of crime and anarchy, forcing the underfunded police to fall under the stewardship of corporate juggernaut OCP. In his first day patrolling Old Detroit, Officer Alex Murphy is killed by feared gang leader Clarence Boddicker. OCP scientists are able to use Murphy's remains to build a cybernetic soldier codenamed Robocop. Dubbed the future of law enforcement, Robocop begins a one-man war on crime. When memories of his former life begin to surface, Robocop becomes obsessed with tracking down Boddicker and claiming revenge, even as his handlers try to rein him in. Summary written by Ronos

  • Self-Written?:
  • Source Name: IMDB
  • Source URL:
Era/Year of Portrayal: distant_future
Distinctive characteristics of the world in portrayal:

Dystopic future, where a multi-national corparation runs Detroits police. Crime and poverty are rampant.

Technology

  • Name of portrayed presence-evoking technology: Robocop
  • Description of the technology: Robocop consists of the brain of a dead, honest cop, and a robotic body. He has a body of titanium and kevlar. A gun is built into a holder in his leg and one of his fingers is a computer jack. He has thermal imaging and a feild of vision akin to a TV screen. He can hunt targets with his super vision and record events he witnesses. His brain has been taken from a dead cop, and his memory erased, althouhg slowly it comes back. He must follow 4 imperatives, similiar to Asimov's 3 laws of robots. He looks like a scary robot, with a human mouth.
  • Nature of task or activity: People who interact with Robocop are usually criminals, victims, cops, or sometimes scientists or executive at OCP, the company that created him. Most of the time, people are running from robocop.
  • Performance of the Technology: he works well, but when his memnroy comes back he acts on his own agenda, not doing exactly what he was designed to do.
  • Description of creator(s): A group of sicentists funded by the coperation running Detriot and the police force. The scientists are all white, some female, appear young, probably smart but a ittle inept.
  • Major goal(s) of creator(s): to clean up Old Detriot, ridding it of criminals.
  • Description of users of technology: Most are male criminals, of all ethnicities. The excutives at the corperation are white males. Cops are white and black, male and female. Innocent victims are white and female or white and elderly, sometimes white and nerdy.
  • Type(s) of presence experience in the portrayal: social_presence
  • Description of presence experience: Most people are terrified of Robocop. He is an imposing figure. For Lewis, his old partner, it must be strange, almost like watching someone come back from the dead.
  • User awareness of technology during experience: Yes
  • Valence of experience: most find it unpleasant. he is a killer, tough, lacks human qualities.
  • Specific responses: terror, confusion, deja vu.
Long-term consequences:

Well, since he essentially comes back from the dead but is not human, bittersweet. He remembers who he is, but cannot go back to his old life. He does get revenge on everyone who wronged him though.

Other:

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