An Analysis on the Humanistic Qualities of Droids
Creativity in the world today seems to become more extravagant and more intricate every single day. It is clearly seen in the context of books and movies, but it also seen in the development and growth of technology. Technology not only shows humanity’s creativity, but has completely engrossed today’s society because most everything in the twentieth and twenty-first century involves robotics. Most people see technology as a service to them, but creators have recently found a new side to it. They have found a way to make technology, something that doesn’t have a brain and heart like a person, human. Technology has become a reflection of the human soul, even though it functions from wires and …show more content…
In fact, the word “robot” was formed in the play R.U.R.- Rossum’s Universal Robots, which premiered in 1921. That story, and many others, set archetypes used with the characters of robots, and many of interpretations of robots stem from the media. (Bartnech 64) Many of the robotic character used throughout the twentieth century include characters like the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz, the Iron Giant, and Wall-E. One of the major archetypes used in modern stories is the portrayal of robots wanting to become human, and the characters stated above all have this characteristic. Even with superhuman power and intelligence, many robots and droids in the popular media desire to become human. Some portrayals of robots, like the one in The Bicentennial Man, desire to become more physically human, but other movies like A.I. portray robots that have a lack of emotion, and their main goal is to gain the ability to love and empathy. (Bartnech 65) This portrayal of droids is extremely different from the one used in the Star Wars trilogy. The droids in this universe are not motivated to be like or over-power their masters, but only to simply serve them. The droids’ characters are actually examples of the “sidekick” archetype. While it is not technically one of Carl Jung’s 12 main archetypes, the “sidekick” is essential to several stories because it brings comfort, comedy, and overall support to the “hero” archetype. (Carl Jung- Archetypes 2) In fact, C3PO and R2D2 were inspired by several comedic duos and side characters from older western and samurai films. However, how did George Lucas create sidekick characters that were not human but had humanistic qualities that made them
Creativity in the world today seems to become more extravagant and more intricate every single day. It is clearly seen in the context of books and movies, but it also seen in the development and growth of technology. Technology not only shows humanity’s creativity, but has completely engrossed today’s society because most everything in the twentieth and twenty-first century involves robotics. Most people see technology as a service to them, but creators have recently found a new side to it. They have found a way to make technology, something that doesn’t have a brain and heart like a person, human. Technology has become a reflection of the human soul, even though it functions from wires and …show more content…
In fact, the word “robot” was formed in the play R.U.R.- Rossum’s Universal Robots, which premiered in 1921. That story, and many others, set archetypes used with the characters of robots, and many of interpretations of robots stem from the media. (Bartnech 64) Many of the robotic character used throughout the twentieth century include characters like the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz, the Iron Giant, and Wall-E. One of the major archetypes used in modern stories is the portrayal of robots wanting to become human, and the characters stated above all have this characteristic. Even with superhuman power and intelligence, many robots and droids in the popular media desire to become human. Some portrayals of robots, like the one in The Bicentennial Man, desire to become more physically human, but other movies like A.I. portray robots that have a lack of emotion, and their main goal is to gain the ability to love and empathy. (Bartnech 65) This portrayal of droids is extremely different from the one used in the Star Wars trilogy. The droids in this universe are not motivated to be like or over-power their masters, but only to simply serve them. The droids’ characters are actually examples of the “sidekick” archetype. While it is not technically one of Carl Jung’s 12 main archetypes, the “sidekick” is essential to several stories because it brings comfort, comedy, and overall support to the “hero” archetype. (Carl Jung- Archetypes 2) In fact, C3PO and R2D2 were inspired by several comedic duos and side characters from older western and samurai films. However, how did George Lucas create sidekick characters that were not human but had humanistic qualities that made them