The Evolution of the Robotic Other in Science Fiction Film and Literature: from the Age of the Human to the Era of the Post-human

Abstract

Science fiction film and literature establishes one of the most effective mediums for providing incisive critical analysis of complex sociopolitical issues. An observation of the robotic Other in Karel Capek's early 20th century play R.U.R.:(Rossum's Universal Robots), Philip K. Dick's acclaimed novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and Ronald D. Moore's re-envisioning of the pop-culture, science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica, provides an illustrative study of how the creators of these varied science fiction works utilize the robotic Other to destabilize the more traditional boundaries of the Other and create a narrative that demands critical examination of the post-human concept. The collection of works analyzed in this paper use the robotic Other to study how humanity confronts the divisive issues that arise in post-human civilizations, and addresses how these issues will by necessity require a symbiotic coexistence between humanity and its technological creation in order to not merely survive but flourish in this new post-human universe