5 ms·

After reading this, watch Robocop again. Same director, same critique on society. Really adds another layer to it.

enraged_camel 13y ago
My memories are hazy, but Robocop felt very different. It did not criticize the establishment (i.e. the police) very much. In fact, the main character was a cop who got fatally wounded by "the bad guys" and then was resurrected as a badass robot and delivered sweet payback. Most of the satirical elements in Robocop were directed at corporations.
- jontas 13y ago
  Watch it again.. the bad guys are not some random street thugs, it is OCP, a mega corporation that produces the robots and is essentially a government organization (since that world is a "corporatocracy").
  - potatolicious 13y ago
    More specifically, "the bad guys" and OCP were actually in cahoots. The CEO of OCP has the main villain kill a junior OCP executive after the executive humiliates the CEO. There is also a subplot where OCP is deliberately working with street gangs to drive up the crime rate and gather public support for demolishing the entirety of old Detroit and building the corporate-owned "Delta City" in its place. The movie does criticize the establishment, it just stops short of criticizing the actual street cops. Side note: I'm actually looking forward to the remake. I had strong fears that the reboot would be strictly all-action and contain none of the social commentary. While it looks like the movies will lose its satirical elements, the cynicism will remain. I watched another movie by Jose Padilha recently and I'm hopeful.
    - enraged_camel 13y ago
      >>The movie does criticize the establishment, it just stops short of criticizing the actual street cops. That is what I meant. Contrast that to Starship Troopers, where the military (the organization the main characters are a part of) is spared no criticism.
      - fricken4 13y ago
        The central characters in Robocop were treated empathetically, the scathing social satire and black comedy were not central to the main storyline of heroes and villians, so there was still an engaging film even for those viewers lacking the social awareness needed to appreciate irony. In Starship Troopers, every character was disposable, hence the gigantic 'whoosh'. I recommend 'Hollow Man', Verhoeven's last, and largely forgotten Hollywood film, released in 2000. It's even more subversive, and the subversive message is even more subtle. So subtle in fact that I doubt even the film's producers were aware of what was going on. It's either a terrible B-grade hollywood sci-fi thriller, or brilliant black comedy, depending on whether or not you latch on to the subtext.
        Amadou 13y ago
        Another movie in the same vein is "Battleship." It "woooshed" a lot of people, but there are some controvertible clues that it was more than just an "America, fuck yeah!" movie. Most notably the song during the end credits which is Creedence's "Fortunate Son." I'm sure some people won't even be convinced by that fact, but then Reagan used Springsteen's "Born in the USA" during his campaign in 1984, so I guess some people just aren't wired for satire. For me, the best thing about "Battleship" is how the director convinced the US military to donate the use of all that hardware to a movie with such an anti-military message. The DoD doesn't do that sort of thing lightly, they require script approval and have a strict policy that they won't help with a movie that is at all critical. Slipping that right under their noses like that was a real coup.
    - ekianjo 13y ago
      I agree with your analysis of Robocop, but I'm not looking forward to the remake at all. There's no need for a remake. There is nothing that feels old about Robocop. Watch it again and it still stands as a great movie altogether. The remake will just put more nonsensical special effects and you can bet there will tons of crappy acting in it.
    - rodgerd 13y ago
      Vice-President, not CEO, is working with the gangs.
- camus2 13y ago
  yes it did critize the police. In Robocop,police officers are just cannon fodder for fabricated street wars set by big business. In fact corps own the police,the media,the city,politics and gang bangers are hired as "consultants".
- radley 13y ago
  Go watch the "you have 20 seconds to comply" part again.
- maxerickson 13y ago
  The police officers portrayed in the movie are not part of the establishment that exists in the movie. Especially the several officers at the precinct. They are shown fighting the good fight, fighting for the people, in the face of the impossible conditions coming down from above.
psbp 13y ago
Robocop is even more over the top. One of the first scenes in Robocop is a guy being eviscerated with bullets in a board room meeting and one of the businessmen says "That's life in the big city!". It's just dripping with satire.
- jholman 13y ago
  Starship Troopers has the heroes wearing Nazi uniforms, and it has a scene from in-fiction television, "teaching" children that killing terrestrial insects is what they should do to assist with the war on the bugs. I don't remember much of Robocop, but how much more satirical can you get than that?
  - defen 13y ago
    Here is an in-movie ad for a product that exists in the Robocop universe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmSSVt7Mfkk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmSSVt7Mfkk
    - jlgreco 13y ago
      In-movie propoganda reel from Starship Troopers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faFuaYA-daw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faFuaYA-daw Note Neil Patrick Harris sharply dressed in a rather SS-officer-esque uniform. I'd say it's a tossup.
    - PhasmaFelis 13y ago
      That's not much of a satire, given that the Nuclear War card game has been around since 1965. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_War_(card_game) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_War_(card_game)
      - PhasmaFelis 13y ago
        Could one of you folks downvoting me please tell me what you disagree with? I'm really not getting why this was controversial or offensive. Did you think I was badmouthing Robocop, or what?
rodgerd 13y ago
Sadly it ends up feeling more like a roadmap these days.

My memories are hazy, but Robocop felt very different. It did not criticize the establishment (i.e. the police) very much. In fact, the main character was a cop who got fatally wounded by "the bad guys" and then was resurrected as a badass robot and delivered sweet payback. Most of the satirical elements in Robocop were directed at corporations.

jontas 13y ago
Watch it again.. the bad guys are not some random street thugs, it is OCP, a mega corporation that produces the robots and is essentially a government organization (since that world is a "corporatocracy").
- potatolicious 13y ago
  More specifically, "the bad guys" and OCP were actually in cahoots. The CEO of OCP has the main villain kill a junior OCP executive after the executive humiliates the CEO. There is also a subplot where OCP is deliberately working with street gangs to drive up the crime rate and gather public support for demolishing the entirety of old Detroit and building the corporate-owned "Delta City" in its place. The movie does criticize the establishment, it just stops short of criticizing the actual street cops. Side note: I'm actually looking forward to the remake. I had strong fears that the reboot would be strictly all-action and contain none of the social commentary. While it looks like the movies will lose its satirical elements, the cynicism will remain. I watched another movie by Jose Padilha recently and I'm hopeful.
  - enraged_camel 13y ago
    >>The movie does criticize the establishment, it just stops short of criticizing the actual street cops. That is what I meant. Contrast that to Starship Troopers, where the military (the organization the main characters are a part of) is spared no criticism.
    - fricken4 13y ago
      The central characters in Robocop were treated empathetically, the scathing social satire and black comedy were not central to the main storyline of heroes and villians, so there was still an engaging film even for those viewers lacking the social awareness needed to appreciate irony. In Starship Troopers, every character was disposable, hence the gigantic 'whoosh'. I recommend 'Hollow Man', Verhoeven's last, and largely forgotten Hollywood film, released in 2000. It's even more subversive, and the subversive message is even more subtle. So subtle in fact that I doubt even the film's producers were aware of what was going on. It's either a terrible B-grade hollywood sci-fi thriller, or brilliant black comedy, depending on whether or not you latch on to the subtext.
      - Amadou 13y ago
        Another movie in the same vein is "Battleship." It "woooshed" a lot of people, but there are some controvertible clues that it was more than just an "America, fuck yeah!" movie. Most notably the song during the end credits which is Creedence's "Fortunate Son." I'm sure some people won't even be convinced by that fact, but then Reagan used Springsteen's "Born in the USA" during his campaign in 1984, so I guess some people just aren't wired for satire. For me, the best thing about "Battleship" is how the director convinced the US military to donate the use of all that hardware to a movie with such an anti-military message. The DoD doesn't do that sort of thing lightly, they require script approval and have a strict policy that they won't help with a movie that is at all critical. Slipping that right under their noses like that was a real coup.
  - ekianjo 13y ago
    I agree with your analysis of Robocop, but I'm not looking forward to the remake at all. There's no need for a remake. There is nothing that feels old about Robocop. Watch it again and it still stands as a great movie altogether. The remake will just put more nonsensical special effects and you can bet there will tons of crappy acting in it.
  - rodgerd 13y ago
    Vice-President, not CEO, is working with the gangs.
camus2 13y ago
yes it did critize the police. In Robocop,police officers are just cannon fodder for fabricated street wars set by big business. In fact corps own the police,the media,the city,politics and gang bangers are hired as "consultants".
radley 13y ago
Go watch the "you have 20 seconds to comply" part again.
maxerickson 13y ago
The police officers portrayed in the movie are not part of the establishment that exists in the movie. Especially the several officers at the precinct. They are shown fighting the good fight, fighting for the people, in the face of the impossible conditions coming down from above.

psbp 13y ago

Robocop is even more over the top. One of the first scenes in Robocop is a guy being eviscerated with bullets in a board room meeting and one of the businessmen says "That's life in the big city!". It's just dripping with satire.

jholman 13y ago
Starship Troopers has the heroes wearing Nazi uniforms, and it has a scene from in-fiction television, "teaching" children that killing terrestrial insects is what they should do to assist with the war on the bugs. I don't remember much of Robocop, but how much more satirical can you get than that?
- defen 13y ago
  Here is an in-movie ad for a product that exists in the Robocop universe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmSSVt7Mfkk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmSSVt7Mfkk
  - jlgreco 13y ago
    In-movie propoganda reel from Starship Troopers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faFuaYA-daw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faFuaYA-daw Note Neil Patrick Harris sharply dressed in a rather SS-officer-esque uniform. I'd say it's a tossup.
  - PhasmaFelis 13y ago
    That's not much of a satire, given that the Nuclear War card game has been around since 1965. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_War_(card_game) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_War_(card_game)
    - PhasmaFelis 13y ago
      Could one of you folks downvoting me please tell me what you disagree with? I'm really not getting why this was controversial or offensive. Did you think I was badmouthing Robocop, or what?

rodgerd 13y ago

Sadly it ends up feeling more like a roadmap these days.