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Robot Stories

May 14, 2024

Robot Stories is a 2003 American independent anthology science fiction comedy-drama film written and directed by Greg Pak. The film consists of four stories in which human characters struggle to connect in a world of robot babies and android office workers.

Robot Stories
Promotional poster
Directed byGreg Pak
Written byGreg Pak
Produced byKarin Chien
Kim Ima
StarringTamlyn Tomita
James Saito
Wai Ching Ho
Greg Pak
Sab Shimono
CinematographyPeter Olsen
Edited byStephanie Sterner
Music byRick Knutsen
Distributed byPak Film
Release date
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$131,451[1]

Plot edit

The film is divided up to four short stories:

My Robot Baby edit

A young Marcia hides in the closet from her parents' fighting due to a mistake she has made. Marcia apologizes when her mother finds her in the closet; her mother tells Marcia to never fall in love, get married, and have children. Twenty-five years later, Marcia is married to Ray and they are looking towards adopting a child. After going to an adoption clinic, they apply for an adoption trial where they take care of a robotic baby before they can adopt a human child. Marcia begins to struggle when she is alone to take care of the robot baby, as she becomes flustered with what to do when the baby cries. Marcia brings the robot baby to her father, a handyman, and sees if he can tamper with the electronics of the robot. However, Marcia’s father worries that the doctors of the adoption clinic will detect the alteration of the robot. Nonetheless, Marcia persists on getting the baby reprogrammed and leaves the baby to her father while Marcia goes to work. As Marcia comes home to the robot baby now automated, she attempts to talk to the baby. However, the robot baby goes berserk and attacks Marcia. Marcia finds the robot baby in the closet, then remembers her young self hiding in the closet as her own mother was angry. Marcia then cries and is able to hug her robot baby, finding closure to her past.

The Robot Fixer edit

Bernice witnesses her son, Wilson, in a severe accident that left him in a coma. Upset, she heads to Wilson's apartment and cleans up the place with her daughter, Grace. Bernice finds Wilson's old toy robot collection and attempts to find the missing parts through yard sales and hobby shops. Throughout the search, Bernice remembers flashbacks of how little she really knows of Wilson, as the young Wilson would play with his robot toys and not hear Bernice's callings. As Bernice learns that Wilson will inevitably die, Bernice scrambles to find the last robot, specifically, a missing wing from the only "girl" robot her son's collection. (In a flashback, Bernice remembers carelessly vacuuming up the now missing wing). She finds the complete female robot shop at a local hobby shop, only to find it is not for sale, as it is very rare. In an act of desperation, she steals the wing, attaches it to Wilson's toy, and pretends to fly it through the air, perhaps as a way to accept that her son is now truly gone, and is making his way toward heaven. To apologize for the theft, she sends all of Wilson's toys to the shop/collector, but keeps the angel like female robot as a way to stay connected to her son, even though she now finally accepts his death.

Machine Love edit

An office worker android, Archie, arrives at a workplace to do computer work. As he attempts to make acquaintance with people in the office workplace, he is rejected and shunned because he is a robot. Bob, the technician in charge of Archie, forgets to turn off Archie one night, letting him wander about the empty office complex after he finishes his work. He spots another office worker android across the street and stares at her all night. This becomes a reoccurring event for Archie, as Bob keeps forgetting to turn off Archie. As morning arrives, the workers are angry that Archie is not doing his work as he is low on power. Bob is then forced to turn Archie off, but Archie signals to Bob that he wants to meet the other office worker android across the street. As the two robots meet, they talk to each other and interact in a sexual manner.

Clay edit

John, an old sculptor, is told that he has only one year left to live. The doctors have recommended him to merge his consciousness into the digital world so he can live forever. He goes home and talks about his life expectancy to his wife (who has died in the past and is now a virtual hologram). The following day, John's son asks him to merge his consciousness in order for John to assist him, but John refuses as he wants to keep using his physical senses to make sculptures. John visits his wife in virtual space to ask her where she is, to which she responds multiple locations. John, unable to accept life after death through virtual reality, dies.

Cast edit

Production edit

Principal photography began on September 10, 2001, one day prior to the 9/11 attacks.

Themes edit

Authenticity as Ideology edit

The characters in Robot Stories all have ideological developments, which they accept in some form. In Robot Baby, Marsha forgives herself from the past by accepting the robot baby as a child that she can care for. Her revelation that she is becoming what she feared from her past was the climax of her change, leading to her discovery of her true identity. In The Robot Fixer, Bernice notes how she never had a strong connection with her son due to their contrasting ideologies. It led her to rediscover who her son really is and to bring the relationship closer as her son nears death. Machine Love provides Archie a way to connect with others when others would not connect with him due to his “race” as a robot. By finding another robot working at a different corporation, Archie would finally be able to communicate without rejection. Clay allows John to decide the meaning of life in a world where consciousness can be permanently stored. As a sculptor, John is unable to cope with the fact that life without a physical body was not authentic life as the emotions of his wife have slowly become artificial to him while physical activities can no longer be a challenge. Hence, he finds that eternal consciousness is not worth living for.

Reception edit

The film received largely positive reviews and has a score of 74% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 43 reviews with an average rating of 6.6 out of 10, the consensus being that "Although its 4 stories vary in quality, Robot Stories is still worth a look for Twilight Zone fans".[2]

Wesley Morris from The Boston Globe in his review said "In Robot Stories, technology hasn't colonized human life, it's finding ways to make living (and loving) better".[3]

The San Francisco Chronicle in their glowing review said that "This is a science fiction film, but like all excellent movies in the genre, the focus never strays from the human heart."[4]

The TV Guide review awarded it with three and a half out of four, and wrote that the film is "ostensibly about artificial life forms, each of these four short, expertly crafted stories offers a poignant perspective on what it means to be human".[5]

The Christian Science Monitor's review of Robot Stories said that it was "Four stories with automatons as important characters...The last is the most touching, but all are skillfully made."[6]

Robot Stories received much praise for the direction by Greg Pak. Variety magazine said "Pak understands the short form well, mercifully avoiding blatant O'Henry twists while pulling off neat reversals of expertly set-up genre expectations",[7] and Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times wrote of Pak's directing saying that "The most startling aspect of Robot Stories is not the mix that the director built from spare parts left on the curb but the evolving dramatic acumen of its maker; he's a talent with a future."[8]

References edit

  1. ^ "Robot Stories". BoxOfficeMojo. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  2. ^ "Robot Stories". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  3. ^ Morris, Wesley. "'Robot Stories' lives and breathes". Boston Globe. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  4. ^ Hartlaub, Peter (16 April 2004). "Robot Stories". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  5. ^ Fox, Ken. "'Robot Stories' NR, 2004". TV Guide. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  6. ^ Sterrit, David. "NEW RELEASES". Christian Science Monitor. Christian Science. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  7. ^ Scheib, Ronnie (November 2002). "Robot Stories". Variety. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  8. ^ Mitchell, Elvis (13 February 2004). "Soulful Androids Who Endure Those Cold Humans". New York Times. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

External links edit

May 14, 2024
robot, stories, 2003, american, independent, anthology, science, fiction, comedy, drama, film, written, directed, greg, film, consists, four, stories, which, human, characters, struggle, connect, world, robot, babies, android, office, workers, promotional, pos. Robot Stories is a 2003 American independent anthology science fiction comedy drama film written and directed by Greg Pak The film consists of four stories in which human characters struggle to connect in a world of robot babies and android office workers Robot StoriesPromotional posterDirected byGreg PakWritten byGreg PakProduced byKarin ChienKim ImaStarringTamlyn TomitaJames SaitoWai Ching HoGreg PakSab ShimonoCinematographyPeter OlsenEdited byStephanie SternerMusic byRick KnutsenDistributed byPak FilmRelease dateJanuary 20 2003 2003 01 20 Slamdance Running time85 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBox office 131 451 1 Contents 1 Plot 1 1 My Robot Baby 1 2 The Robot Fixer 1 3 Machine Love 1 4 Clay 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Themes 4 1 Authenticity as Ideology 5 Reception 6 References 7 External linksPlot editThe film is divided up to four short stories My Robot Baby edit A young Marcia hides in the closet from her parents fighting due to a mistake she has made Marcia apologizes when her mother finds her in the closet her mother tells Marcia to never fall in love get married and have children Twenty five years later Marcia is married to Ray and they are looking towards adopting a child After going to an adoption clinic they apply for an adoption trial where they take care of a robotic baby before they can adopt a human child Marcia begins to struggle when she is alone to take care of the robot baby as she becomes flustered with what to do when the baby cries Marcia brings the robot baby to her father a handyman and sees if he can tamper with the electronics of the robot However Marcia s father worries that the doctors of the adoption clinic will detect the alteration of the robot Nonetheless Marcia persists on getting the baby reprogrammed and leaves the baby to her father while Marcia goes to work As Marcia comes home to the robot baby now automated she attempts to talk to the baby However the robot baby goes berserk and attacks Marcia Marcia finds the robot baby in the closet then remembers her young self hiding in the closet as her own mother was angry Marcia then cries and is able to hug her robot baby finding closure to her past The Robot Fixer edit Bernice witnesses her son Wilson in a severe accident that left him in a coma Upset she heads to Wilson s apartment and cleans up the place with her daughter Grace Bernice finds Wilson s old toy robot collection and attempts to find the missing parts through yard sales and hobby shops Throughout the search Bernice remembers flashbacks of how little she really knows of Wilson as the young Wilson would play with his robot toys and not hear Bernice s callings As Bernice learns that Wilson will inevitably die Bernice scrambles to find the last robot specifically a missing wing from the only girl robot her son s collection In a flashback Bernice remembers carelessly vacuuming up the now missing wing She finds the complete female robot shop at a local hobby shop only to find it is not for sale as it is very rare In an act of desperation she steals the wing attaches it to Wilson s toy and pretends to fly it through the air perhaps as a way to accept that her son is now truly gone and is making his way toward heaven To apologize for the theft she sends all of Wilson s toys to the shop collector but keeps the angel like female robot as a way to stay connected to her son even though she now finally accepts his death Machine Love edit An office worker android Archie arrives at a workplace to do computer work As he attempts to make acquaintance with people in the office workplace he is rejected and shunned because he is a robot Bob the technician in charge of Archie forgets to turn off Archie one night letting him wander about the empty office complex after he finishes his work He spots another office worker android across the street and stares at her all night This becomes a reoccurring event for Archie as Bob keeps forgetting to turn off Archie As morning arrives the workers are angry that Archie is not doing his work as he is low on power Bob is then forced to turn Archie off but Archie signals to Bob that he wants to meet the other office worker android across the street As the two robots meet they talk to each other and interact in a sexual manner Clay edit John an old sculptor is told that he has only one year left to live The doctors have recommended him to merge his consciousness into the digital world so he can live forever He goes home and talks about his life expectancy to his wife who has died in the past and is now a virtual hologram The following day John s son asks him to merge his consciousness in order for John to assist him but John refuses as he wants to keep using his physical senses to make sculptures John visits his wife in virtual space to ask her where she is to which she responds multiple locations John unable to accept life after death through virtual reality dies Cast editTamlyn Tomita as Marcia Gina Quintos as young Marcia James Saito as Ray Groper Wai Ching Ho as Bernice Greg Pak as Archie Julienne Hanzelka Kim as Lydia Sab Shimono as John Eisa Davis as Helen Ron Domingo as Tommy Cindy Cheung as Grace Louis Ozawa Changchien as Wilson Angel Desai as Amanda Bill Coelius as Bob Vin Knight as Doug Karen Tsen Lee as Mrs Ito Glenn Kubota as Mr Ito John Cariani as SalesmanProduction editPrincipal photography began on September 10 2001 one day prior to the 9 11 attacks Themes editAuthenticity as Ideology edit The characters in Robot Stories all have ideological developments which they accept in some form In Robot Baby Marsha forgives herself from the past by accepting the robot baby as a child that she can care for Her revelation that she is becoming what she feared from her past was the climax of her change leading to her discovery of her true identity In The Robot Fixer Bernice notes how she never had a strong connection with her son due to their contrasting ideologies It led her to rediscover who her son really is and to bring the relationship closer as her son nears death Machine Love provides Archie a way to connect with others when others would not connect with him due to his race as a robot By finding another robot working at a different corporation Archie would finally be able to communicate without rejection Clay allows John to decide the meaning of life in a world where consciousness can be permanently stored As a sculptor John is unable to cope with the fact that life without a physical body was not authentic life as the emotions of his wife have slowly become artificial to him while physical activities can no longer be a challenge Hence he finds that eternal consciousness is not worth living for Reception editThe film received largely positive reviews and has a score of 74 on Rotten Tomatoes based on 43 reviews with an average rating of 6 6 out of 10 the consensus being that Although its 4 stories vary in quality Robot Stories is still worth a look for Twilight Zone fans 2 Wesley Morris from The Boston Globe in his review said In Robot Stories technology hasn t colonized human life it s finding ways to make living and loving better 3 The San Francisco Chronicle in their glowing review said that This is a science fiction film but like all excellent movies in the genre the focus never strays from the human heart 4 The TV Guide review awarded it with three and a half out of four and wrote that the film is ostensibly about artificial life forms each of these four short expertly crafted stories offers a poignant perspective on what it means to be human 5 The Christian Science Monitor s review of Robot Stories said that it was Four stories with automatons as important characters The last is the most touching but all are skillfully made 6 Robot Stories received much praise for the direction by Greg Pak Variety magazine said Pak understands the short form well mercifully avoiding blatant O Henry twists while pulling off neat reversals of expertly set up genre expectations 7 and Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times wrote of Pak s directing saying that The most startling aspect of Robot Stories is not the mix that the director built from spare parts left on the curb but the evolving dramatic acumen of its maker he s a talent with a future 8 References edit Robot Stories BoxOfficeMojo Retrieved March 21 2014 Robot Stories Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved March 21 2014 Morris Wesley Robot Stories lives and breathes Boston Globe Retrieved 24 March 2014 Hartlaub Peter 16 April 2004 Robot Stories San Francisco Chronicle Retrieved 24 March 2014 Fox Ken Robot Stories NR 2004 TV Guide Retrieved 24 March 2014 Sterrit David NEW RELEASES Christian Science Monitor Christian Science Retrieved 24 March 2014 Scheib Ronnie November 2002 Robot Stories Variety Retrieved 24 March 2014 Mitchell Elvis 13 February 2004 Soulful Androids Who Endure Those Cold Humans New York Times Retrieved 24 March 2014 External links editOfficial website Robot Stories at IMDb nbsp Robot Stories at AllMovie Robot Stories at Box Office Mojo Robot Stories at Rotten Tomatoes Robot Stories at Metacritic nbsp Greg Pak s Pakbuzz com Greg Pak Interview with Asian Media Watchdog Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Robot Stories amp oldid 1213248421, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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