Tag Archives: Robocop

Robocop is a tale of corruption and dehumanization. The film examines what it means to suck the humanity out of something, replace it with a mix of technology and greed, and witness the grim results when what’s left takes hold. It is an action-packed polemic against prioritizing private profits above the public good, escalation above restraint, and lead and steel above flesh and blood.

But as I discussed on The Serial Fanaticist Podcast, it’s also a paean to the resilience of the human soul, unquenched and undeterred by whatever self-serving, nest-feathering malevolence may have been permeating corporate boardrooms in the 1980s. OCP, an evil company that wants to replace regular cops with robotic enforcers, tries to erase the identity of the man who has become its latest product, so that he‘ll be a better tool and a better soldier. And yet, the man’s connections, to his partner and his family, reawaken and sustain him despite the company’s concerted efforts to stamp both out.

(more…)