In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the main character Victor’s creation turns into his own worst nightmare. In Alex Proyas’ movie I, Robot, Will Smith works to uncover a similar situation. In this futuristic society, set in the year 2035, Dr. Alfred Lanning creates robots to do everyday human tasks, to work almost as slaves. It becomes apparent however, after the mysterious “suicide” of the creator of the robots, that the robots may not be the perfect helpers that they were designed to be. The main character Will Smith suspects that the Doctor’s robot helper is in fact his murderer. Therefore, similar to the novel Frankenstein, the Doctor’s creation has become, his own worst nightmare. The way in which the film is shot specifically aids in its message, also showing how, as creation stories, I, Robot, and Frankenstein are both very alike. In addition to the film technique, there are two specific scenes in particular in the movie, which greatly echo the themes of Frankenstein.
The first indication of specific filmmaking strategy is first the differences in the human characters and the robot characters. The robots in the movie are clearly animated as opposed to the humans. The fact that the robots are the only animated piece of the movie, greatly aids the story reinforcing how different they are intended to be from the humans and also emphasizing the fact that they are created and unnatural beings. As the film develops, however, it becomes clear that despite their initial and intended automaton nature, they are in fact capable of emotional facial expressions, these actions even progressing into acts of full-blown rage. It is through the filmmaker’s illustrations of the robots in comparison to the humans, that the relationship between this film and Mary Shelley’s novel becomes apparent.
One scene in particular where the way in which the robots are portrayed plays a huge role, involves Will Smith’s interrogation of the robot that he believes killed the doctor. It becomes clear in this scene, the change in facial expression and emotion of the robot as he is questioned about the death of his master and creator. Throughout the questioning, it becomes clear that the robot is becoming more and more perturbed and angry. Finally the robot slams his fist in a fit of rage, something that the robots were thought to be incapable of. It becomes clear here that the robots have achieved a level of understanding of the world and their own emotions that allows them to react in a way similar to enraged humans. In the context of the situation, with a possible murder having occurred at the hands of one of the robots, that their seemingly newfound sense of emotion may be dangerous. The robots seem to have become aware of their emotions and their relationship to the humans, just like Victor’s creature, after he left Victor’s apartment and ventured out into the real world. It could be said that just as Victor’s creation realized what a monster he was in comparison to humans, the robots also seem to begin to realize how unfair their situation is and act out because of it.
Another scene, which echoes the themes of Frankenstein, involves the robots attack on Will Smith as he is driving in his car. This apparent attack shows, like the interrogation scene, what type of emotion the robots are capable of. It also shows their apparent rebellion as they come to realize through their acquisition of emotion that they are not being treated fairly. They may even view their understanding of emotion similar enough to humans to realize that they are potential equals. This attack on Smith reiterates the creature’s attacks on Victor’s family and friends. As Victor’s creature became aware of his own horrid creation as he acquires intelligence and emotion, he acts out against Victor, the person who had created him with such physical limitations. In both the film and the movie, the created creatures find themselves unhappy with their situation and decide that rebellion is necessary. In both cases, the robots and Victor’s creature, in becoming able to think for themselves, have become and extreme danger to human society.
It is clear as one watches the movie I, Robot, that there are certain themes which are very similar to the main themes seen in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In addition to certain similarities, which can be seen though the plot of the film and the plot of the book, the way in which the film is shot, specifically the animation involved, further enforces its likeness to Frankenstein. Therefore, undoubtedly, it can be observed though the comparison of these two mediums of entertainment that certain film specific strategy and other plot aspects greatly aid in the comparison and understanding of both the film and the book.
Proyas, Alex, dir. I, Robot. Twentieth Century Fox. 2004. Film.
