20^th-Century Frankensteins                                                        

            A trip to the movies always begins with a series of coming attractions, some that look interesting, some . . . not so much.  On both sides of the spectrum are various science fiction movies that suggest possibilities for virtual identity in a future world.  These movies bring up many thought-provoking ideas intended to be discussed over dinner that night.  One such idea is man’s power to create something more powerful than him.   In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein creates a monster that turns against him and others.  When this book was written, almost two hundred years ago, this was a new idea, that man’s creation can have the power to overcome him.  However, today, in a world filled with possibilities for artificial intelligence, it is an idea that is often debated.  Some say that this is possible; others argue that man’s creation must obey the limits he has unconsciously set on it.  Three modern films depict the possibility of man’s ability to create something more powerful than himself: A.I. Artificial Intelligence, The Lawnmower Man, and The Matrix.

            When humans go about creating something, such as artificial intelligence, they have in mind how the finished product will act and what it will be called to do.  In the world of A.I., robots were originally designed to be “an economic link in the chain mail society,” as the narrator explains in the opening scene.  However, by the time the movie takes place, robots have taken on numerous other roles that the original creators of robots never would have predicted.  Robots have been built that can do regular chores like cooking and cleaning, but there are also robots built to serve as prostitutes.  The newest type of robot is built to look like and act like a child, including mimicking the love a child holds for his parents.  The original creators of artificial intelligence could never have dreamed that their robots would become humanoid creatures called “mechas,” let alone creatures that depict an intense emotion such as love.

            The scientists in The Lawnmower Man also had their expectations surpassed by their own creation.  The technology that developed Jobe’s intelligence had originally been designed for combat training.  Dr. Angelo adapted it to stimulate Jobe’s brain and help him develop average intellectual capabilities.  However, all the scientists are amazed when Jobe is able to learn at an impossibly high rate.  His skills continue to develop until he is able to move objects with his mind and other superpower-like abilities that no one could have predicted.

            In The Matrix, the original purpose for the robots is never explicitly stated.  However, it seems only logical that the robots were built for a reason similar to the robots in A.I: to improve the lives of humans.  Most of the technology developed in the real world ends up serving this purpose, so it makes sense that this would apply to the world of The Matrix.  The robots were certainly not designed to do the task they accomplished: taking over the world and enslaving humans.  If the programmers had even the slightest inkling that this could happen, they would have exercised more caution and perhaps placed limits on the robots’ capabilities.

            When the robots take control in The Matrix, they are further surpassing their creators’ expectations by turning against them.  Now that they have been perfected, they “bite the hand that feeds them,” as the old saying goes.  Just as Frankenstein’s monster sought bloodshed from his creator and others, man’s creation can turn against him once it no longer needs him.  The robots in The Matrix use the humans to get what they really need: energy.  They are only violent when their system is threatened, as when they have reason to believe that Neo may learn the truth about the Matrix.

            On the other hand, Jobe turns violent even without provocation.  Here is a case of man’s creation turning against him for what seems like no good reason.  Then again, these were different circumstances.  Because Jobe was given a serum to promote aggression, these violent tendencies are to be expected.  However, because of his advanced abilities, this aggression takes on new forms: for example, liquefying people into a puddle of goop.  The ordinary humans who created him do not hold a chance against their own creation.  How horrifying this must be for them: to have created the monster that will bring about their own demise.

            In A.I., there are no instances of mechas turning against their creators.  This is proof that the screenwriters hold hope for man’s ability to create non-violent beings.  Instead of the mechas turning against the humans, humans have turned against the mechas.  Despite this, mechas have retained an attitude of respect for humans.  Indeed, several thousand years later, when humans have completely died out, the new robots revere David because he had contact with humans.  This fits with the positive image of robots the movie portrays.  As Roger Ebert says in his review of A.I., the movie “toys with David’s nature…but then buys into his lovability instead of balancing on the divide between man and machine” (¶ 9).

            Once man has created a being, what is his responsibility to that creature and to society?  In A.I., the scientists who create David are baffled by this question.  It is posed when the idea of a robot that can love first comes up: must man love him back?  The scientists carefully monitor David’s progress and his journeys.  They seem to feel that, having created him, they are responsible for him and his effect on society.  By that logic, when the robots in The Matrix take control, who is to blame?  Is it the robots themselves, or the humans who created these robots?  In his review of The Matrix, Roger Ebert argues, “there are no flesh-and-blood creatures behind the illusion — only a computer program that can think, and learn” (¶ 5).  It is true that the creators are no longer in control, but they are still to blame for the robots’ actions.  This is the dangerous side of creating something that can become more powerful than its creator: the creator will still face accusations for the creature’s behavior.

            All these movies are a tribute to man’s power to create something that can surprise him and go in directions he never intended, even to the point of turning against man and overpowering him.  In A.I., Professor Hobby, the scientist who helped create David, compares what they are doing to what God did when he created Adam.   Although this may be a pompous way of looking at it, it certainly gives one a wonderful feeling to have created something that never existed before.  Perhaps that is why these movies exist: to give their audiences a chance to fulfill their dreams of creating something bigger and better than they ever imagined.

Ebert, Roger. (1999, March 31). The Matrix [Electronic version]. Chicago Sun-Times,

Ebert, Roger. (2001, June 29). A.I. Artificial Intelligence [Electronic version]. Chicago Sun-Times.

Everett, Gimel (Producer), and Leonard, Brett (Director). The Lawnmower Man [Motion picture].  United States: New Line Cinema.

Spielberg, Steven (Director). (2001). A.I. Artificial Intelligence [Motion picture].  United States: Warner Bros.

Wachowski, Andy (Director), and Washowski, Larry (Director). (1999). The Matrix [Motion picture].  United States: Warner Bros.