In the beginning of Chapter 9 of “Monster Culture,” the
re-imagined Battlestar Galactica introduces “sexy Cyclons” (149). These Cyclons
are recognized by their “seductive power and lethal intent,” (149). Later,
Cyclons are explained to be, “dramatizing the tension between their existence
as machines and their existence as organic life forms” (150). So cyclons are
these sexy female robots, right? Keep this in mind…
Later in the chapter Biles explains that, “the menace lies
in the fact that humans run the risk of failing to master technology, of being
mastered by technology-of becoming 'technologized'” (151). While this should be
of great concern, hasn’t this already happened to the women? In pretty much
every movie we’ve seen and comic we’ve read the female characters act as sex
symbols. In the X-men movies I have a hard time taking Rogue seriously. She is
not the ideal heroine I would admire. Rather than taking charge she tends to
hide in the background and whine and complain most of the time, so is she
really all that important? AND her mutant power is stealing the life force from
people. If this doesn’t scream “machine,” then I don’t know what does. Yes,
humans may run the risk of being taken over by technology, but hasn’t this
already happened to all of the women we’ve seen? Think of a heroine you admire. Maybe she's super kickass (I really hope she is). But, is she treated differently because she's a woman? Is she seen as a sex symbol or as a MACHINE rather than as a human being?
So, pretty much every woman we've come across so far is seen as a machine in the
sense that they are not recognized for their intellectual abilities or for
their mutant powers but rather for having a feminine physic and “seductive
powers.” Whether the woman is in fact a human OR a machine she is seen as a sex
symbol. SO it seems to me that we’ve already fallen to this "master technology." People fear something that is already happening…at least to women. Instead of
being afraid of falling to other technology, how about we first take a look at
the problems within our own human society, of human women being treated as if
they are machines. If we can’t correct that problem, then we’ve pretty much
already lost the battle with technology.
I never really thought of it that way. Of course I am aware that women are viewed as sex symbols and are being mistreated in many ways, but I did not think of women as machines. I like that you make it a point that we are pretty much doomed if can’t even fix our own problems. Our world needs to be united in order to fight whatever comes our way.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to Rogue I can see why women don’t get her, I honestly don’t either in the first two movies. She is weak and incompetent. However, if we think about, Bobby is also weak and holds back just like Rogue, but overall we don’t treat him the same way we treat Rogue. We see Bobby as just a young man who hasn’t reached his true potential, it is okay for him to not take charge or to be weak. After all, he is just a boy. I think I am just tired of women being damsels in distress who need protection every time, so I put a lot of pressure on female characters to be something more than just a sex symbol or a pathetic hostage. The heroine that I thought of immediately was Black Widow, and yes she is badass, strong, intelligent and gets the job done. She doesn’t need any help; she is fine on her own. However, she is still a sex symbol in our culture, especially since Scarlett Johansson plays her. But I still get excited because her fighting scenes are so awesome to me, she is intelligent and she is at the same level as other avengers. I honestly forget that she is a sex symbol, but obviously the rest of society doesn’t.
This post took on a very interesting perspective. I have noticed that the female body is regularly over-sexualized, which leaks into virtually every medium. When this happens, I have seen it as purely disrespectful because there is a person living in that body, and she (or he) is more than a sexual object. However, I do see understand how this can be seen as turning women into machines--after all, machines are built only to "serve a purpose." As for heroines, the ones that come to mind are either fragile or just fit into a stereotypical mold. Where are all of the compelling heroines hiding?
ReplyDeleteAnne, I never thought about "human machines" in this way. I do like your idea of widening the definition of what master technology can actually mean for our society. When reading Monster Culture, I immediately looked into the future rather than focusing on what could be influenced in the present. For all of the female heroes I've seen in movies and read in books, there definitely is inhumane characteristics to them. Like, you've said women are viewed from another perspective.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, just: YAAAAAAAAAAASSSS. This post is fabulous. Nailed it on the head. In everything we have seen, the only way for women to reach the standards of their male companions is to be this insanely beautiful yet smart yet emotionless "machine." The idea that these powerful women are portrayed as machines is such gold. Don't we feel like this in our daily lives? How much do we have to balance to become a respected individual? You gotta have a PhD, 3 kids and a husband, cook dinner, plan PTA meetings, and be the size of a damn toothpick if you want to be considered a "successful woman." So basically you have to become a machine. Makes a whole lot of sense why we feel this way when we look at our female super heroes.
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