#ids 301

The Iron Giant is described and made to look/resemble a robot. The characters, more specifically the adults and army, in this movie see the being as a giant alien robot whose purpose is to just cause harm. Maybe before the Giant’s injury, that was potentially its goal. From watching the movie you can see that this Giant has a lot of personality and character. Developing its own feelings due to spending time with a human child. The Giant is always curious and learns new things just like a child. He learns to have fun and to be careful with the other life around him. So if The Iron Giant isn’t really considered a robot by definition, then what can it be categorized as? Not cybernetic due to its lack of organic material. Perhaps a bit monstrous for disturbing boundaries, but again that could be due to its child-like curiosity. Or maybe, it’s more human-like than it is robotic. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I’ve recently noticed that one of my favorite musical “Be More Chill” actually contains some cybernetics. Specifically the concept of Kubernetes and Gubernetes. 

The musical revolves around Jeremy Heere, a high school student who is often called a “loser.” Sick of being unpopular he decides to take a pill that contains a super computer known as a SQUIP. 

This relationship between Jeremy and the SQUIP is actually a cybernetic system. The components pf this system include the SQUIP and Jeremy. The function of the SQUIP is to tell Jeremy what to do in order to “be more chill.” Jeremy simply has to obey and execute the SQUIP’s instructions. The overall goal of this system is to make Jeremy popular.

It quickly becomes apparent that this system follows Gubernetes. At first, when Jeremy takes the SQUIP he tries to show autonomy in the situation, not initally following its instructions. However, Jeremy is swiftly told that “you can’t just listen. You have to obey.” Jeremy then willingly does whatever the SQUIP says, even “SQUIPing” the entire school in order to make Jeremy popular. Jeremy doe eventually end up resisting and gets rid of the governing super computer.

DOR-15, or Doris, is the villain to the 2007 Disney animated film Meet the Robinsons. Doris was created to be a prosthetic machine to help humans with small daily tasks. Just as Jean Baudrillard would define this as a robot. Something created and designed for a specific task. But if it’s also an accessory like clothing, Doris can also be defined as a cybernetic system.

While this is what Doris is on the outside, “she” began to realize how much of a tool/slave she really was. Thus began thinking for herself and attempts to control humans with her own power. This could lead her to become more a monster as well. Adding on to her own definition. Breaking boundaries by stealing a time machine, disrupting the future and transgressing in times she shouldn’t be in. Becoming out of place across time itself. Imagine finding crumbs of dirt in your own timeline. Could be pretty unfortunate depending on what caused the dirt to get there. For such a small accessory, who knew it can become so chaotic and uncanny in many ways.

In the Internet there is a wiki forum known as SCP Foundation. A treasure trove of all sorts of uncanny entities created by numerous people. There are thousands of SCPs but I want to analyze one of the more monstrous kind for today, SCP-939.

SCP-939 is a pack-based predator that is about 2.2m in height when upright, weighs 250 kg, and adorns razor sharp claws and faintly luminescent fang-like teeth. It has no eyes or eye sockets, as well as no brain casing. It’s skin is permeable to moisture and translucent red. The description of this SCP is already uncanny enough. The method of hunting and luring prey is another.

It can’t be explained but somehow 939 can imitate human speech as well as other species. How it gains any kind of speech (more specifically human) is by imitating the last thing it’s prey said, or their last sound. It then uses this “power” to lure more prey. People often hear another person’s voice and go to investigate before it’s already too late.

Now defining SCP-939 as a monstrous is fairly obvious if we use the theories of Aristotle. I can’t go too deep into Mary Douglas’ theories as it doesn’t break too many boundaries. It hunts just like any animal but isn’t really known for going into human populations. Unless you count it being locked up in the SCP Foundation. As for Aristotle, we can use 939’s ability to “steal” someone’s or thing’s identity. The voice is how we can communicate to others, how we show emotion or, in this case, get someone’s attention.

When you’re out adventuring with your friends...in the wild...at night. Be sure to keep track of them and stay close. Because if you lose sight of them and hear their voice, it might be something else waiting...for you.

The world of Futurama sets place 1000 years in the future. There’s many races and many advancements in technology. A majority of advancements would be the robots that are seen everywhere, practically blending in with society. One robot that defines most other robots in the show would be Bender. Bender was created and designed for bending steel rods (and other metals). That was is so and so “programming”, but in the show you see he works in a space delivery company. Although he’s a robot, he’s very laid back and care free. Disrespecting others and drinking alcohol (is able to get drunk as well). For a machine with a set program, I’ve never seen a robot with so much personality and will like a human. Obviously it’s just a cartoon show, but it’s very interesting to see how they have thousands of robots who are similar to Bender. They all have their own lives and even families. For those who’ve watched the show a lot, or a decent amount, would most likely see Bender as just another human...until you’re reminded he’s a machine. Meaning he’ll break apart or extend his limbs.

Within the popular anime series that I had made a post about before “One Punch Man”, I made a brief mention of a “monsters association” within the show that existed to stop the heroes of the show. This posed an interesting question that was asked by @Profmonster, if following Mary Douglas’s notions that “monsters are beings out of place in a system of order”: are monsters that create their own system of order (such as the “monsters association”) still considered monstrous? My initial reaction is to say that yes most would still be considered as monstrous for the repeated transgressions of other’s systems of order. These monsters may see themselves as non-monstrous within their own system of order, but if they continue to transgress other’s systems of orders, I would certainly still consider them monstrous. This is a very interesting question though and I’m curious to hear other’s thoughts and opinions.

Cyborgs are an example of a figure that tends to give people anxieties. The anxiety of cyborgs arises from the question of autonomy and control. In a cybernetic system, we wonder if we are even in control of ourselves. We wonder if the goals the system is trying to achieve are our own, or the goal of  some other component. As a result we feel a sense of anxiety with the concept of cyborgs and cybernetics in general. 

The concept of the cyborg and it’s associated anxieties appears in a multitude of media and texts. One such example is the Nintendo 64 game Star Fox 64. The main characters in this game can be considered autonomous cyborgs. However, Unbenounced to the main characters of the game, they are actually experiencing the same exact anxiety that arises as a result of cybernetics. 

In this game we control a team of space pilots who fly plane-like machines called “Arwings.”  Already, we see an example of a cybernetic system. The components being, the pilot, and the arwing. The function of the pilot is to control the arwing, and the function of the arwing is to simply fly. With these functions, this system can achieve the simple goal of getting from point A to point B. Making their operation of the arwing a cybernetic system.

These pilots also have mechanical parts surgically implanted into them. For example, their legs are actually robotic, extending the notion that the pilots are in fact cyborgs. The components being, their bodies and their robotic legs. The function of the body is to use their eyes as feedback mechanisms to sense the surrounding area and using the brain to communicate to the robotic legs to perform their function of motor skills. The goal being presented here, similar to the previously stated goal, is to go from point A to point B.