As presented to the world at large, mechanical or artificial personages - robots by today's definition - reflect the culture and concerns of the eras in which they were conceived.
Tik-Tok of Oz, created by L. Frank Baum, (Ozma of Oz, 1907) reflects the Victorian era and the closing stages of the Industrial Revolution. He is an all-clockwork creation, but his outward appearance reflects that of a man of the 1890s. Tik-Tok also appears in a 1913 musical play (The Tik-Tok Man of Oz) based loosely on the Oz stories and in the 1985 movie Return to Oz. The limitations of wind-up energy storage are dealt with realistically, as Tik-Tok frequently seems to run down at critical moments in the story. The illustration depicts Dorothy discovering Tik-Tok in a run-down condition. The hen on Tik-Tok's head is Billina, who plays a critical role later in the story.
R.U.R., the play by Karel Capek that introduced the word "robot" to the lexicon in 1920, sometimes portrayed the robot as a shining creature in stainless steel, (invented in 1913 and receiving considerable exposure at the time) although Capek's robots were created by a biochemical process and had a decidedly human aspect. Today's science fiction writers would call them androids. Capek, a Czech playwright, derived "robot" from the Czech robota, which means "work".
Maria, the robot in Fritz Lang's 1926 movie Metropolis shows art deco influences. Maria's appearance is echoed in the design of C3P0 of Star Wars fame. Both R.U.R. and Metropolis illustrate concerns with out-of-control technology and build on the myth of the Frankenstein monster.
After World War II, the world appeared a dangerous place, with life subject to sudden alteration by remote and poorly understood influences. Gort, the robot of the movie The Day the Earth Stood Still, reflects alien power, unknown and potentially menacing, in its gray and forbidding appearance. The menace of the "mechanism behind the mask" may have influenced the design of Darth Vader's well known costume.
By the mid 1950s, "high-tech" emerged as a cultural influence. Robby the Robot, featured in the 1956 sci-fi movie Forbidden Planet, employed much visual gadgetry and was probably the most expensive movie prop of its era. The appearance of the rotating radar antennas and radio direction finder loop antennas that emerged from WW II probably influenced his design. Robby also had a personality in his own right, a major step towards acknowledging artificial intelligence as a future ingredient of culture. And he inspired generations of robot toys.
Concern with the down-side of technology in the 1970s was the result of the disillusionment of the Viet Nam war era and Cold War stress. Westworld's Gunslinger robot, a killer mechanism of outwardly human appearance, illustrates reservations concerning the creation and influence of artificial intelligence.
Hal, the intelligent computer/spaceship of 2001, A Space Odyssey also offered a cautionary tale of technology gone wrong. Although punished for his crimes against humanity in the film, Hal was subsequently socially rehabilitated in a sequel, perhaps reflecting a then-current interest in improving programs for criminal rehabilitation.
The robots of the Star Wars series show both positive and negative uses of technology in the various characters that appear. R2D2 and C3PO are positive role models for future generations of robots. They have real personalities and very human-like character traits. (The design of R2D2 may have been influenced by the General Robotics RBX5.)
Data, the android who appears in Star Trek, The Next Generation (1987-1994) portrays a fully evolved artificial intelligence functioning as a socially accepted comrade in a future culturally tolerant society, reflecting the increasing acceptance of cultural diversity in the pre 9/11 era.
There have been many other portrayals of robots and their role in society of the past, present and future. What do the robots you know tell you about human concerns and desires?
