I found Gumdrop altogether different from Robbie; where Robbie had some depth and integrity I found Gumdrop shallow and flighty. Perhaps it was her character, her role as an actress that made me think that? Maybe it was her voice that was so human that it was difficult to reconcile with being a robot when Robbie sounded as I expected a robot to sound? Nevertheless there were several aspects of the film that I found interesting;
Gumdrop was scared of losing control. However, she also says that she likes things that disturb her both of which are very human traits and which add some extra dimension to her as a character. Her mannerisms and the way she used language which was appropriate to the context was also very natural.
To me Gumdrop and Robbie represent different aspects of being human; they each have characteristics that suggest that they are ‘humanised”. Gumdrop represents a lighter side of life; she is a robot that has been assimilated into the world of humans and is part of it as opposed to Robbie who seems to be on the edge, not quite part of the gang, so to speak. Maybe Gumdrop’s time is much further into the future when technology has developed to a greater extent.
However, I am curious about her appearance – she is almost a parody of what we expect a robot to look like – a stylised quasi cartoon robot. I would have thought that in the future, if we can create robots that are totally accepted into our society as Gumdrop appears to be, we would have the ability to make them look much more human. Having said that, I think I would find that quite disturbing which leads on to a whole new train of thought…..
