• Author / Uploaded
• EunCho

• Categories
• Inmortalidad

Citation preview

Angeline M. Bornilla

BSA II-C

02/03/14

Bicentennial Man A Reaction and Review about the Feature Film Bicentennial Man Imperfection is perfection. It makes every person on Earth different from each other. It’s what makes humans unique and one of a kind. Aside from these faults that we have, medically speaking, homeostasis aided by the body systems makes a man a man. Watching the sci-fi film Bicentennial Man, a robot named Andrew tried to become man by attaining the biological features of a human organism. The idea for a robot to become a man seems so absurd. Well, it is possible in terms of physical appearance manifested by androids not necessarily in the inside as well. But as I watch through the movie, it made me believe for a while that there is a possibility. Having beyond human intelligence, Andrew was able to read tons of medical books and was able to come up of a design for all the human organs with the same structure and function. The human body manages a multitude of highly complex interactions to maintain balance or return systems to functioning within a normal range. Andrew was one talented robot to be able to make something similar. Well, it is after all fiction. I found it so fascinating when a human fell in love for him. There really are people in this world that fall in love with nonhuman things or beings. I have read that some people even get married to dolls and even goats. Because of the upgrades, Andrew was able to be an android. He was of course human in form far from his first appearance as a metal machine. Andrew was a versatile lover so maybe it’s not that hard for Portia to fall for him. Even if their love for each other was not recognized by the people around them, it was not a hindrance for their love to blossom. If I were a judge that was to decide the approval of his acceptance as a human, I think I wouldn’t have yet approve of him during the first time he appeared in court. His argument was that some people were mechanical in part while he was a machine yet he was also human in part. Even if he was nearly biological in terms of structure and function, he was practically immortal. Death is an inescapable fact of life for humans. Many people fear it but it can lift the curse of immortality. Andrew may be more "human" than your average robot, but he can’t deny the fact that he will live indefinitely while all humans must die. I really felt Andrew’s pain when one by one, he saw the people he cared for die. It was hurtful to see people treat Andrew as a machine though he really was but I think even if he was a robot, he deserved respect. Robot slavery was depicted in the film. Though it was the very reason for Andrew and other robots’ existence, I don’t find it right to depend every human work to machines. Because of Andrew’s medical breakthroughs, people in the movie were able to prolong their life but Portia chose not to. Andrew realized that he can’t live a life without her. So he made a decision by introducing blood to his system which will cause his brain to gradually decay and allow him to age. I found it so heart wrenching when during his second appearance in court, he was not yet still accepted to be part of the human race. He was already so old in appearance and they already know that he is no longer immortal. During that time, I would have already approved of his petition if I were part of the court. Too bad, Andrew was not able to witness the acknowledgement of his humanity because he died a few moments before the announcement. I think that Portia was right in the movie to say that Andrew didn’t need to hear the acknowledgement because he didn’t need anyone’s approval for his humanity. Andrew knows deep within him that he is human in “heart.” Even if that was just the moment that their marriage was legally validated, they were still able to have a happy life as a couple though Andrew didn’t have the capacity to reproduce. Andrew had so much time to live and he was able to make every second of it worthwhile. He died happy beside the woman he loved and with the belief that he is also human. On their deathbed, Portia said “See you soon” to Andrew. Well, I really hope that they can still see each other. Even if Andrew had the “heart” it doesn’t necessarily mean that he had a soul. Still, not all people believe that humans have souls and there is this place called heaven. I firmly believe that we do have souls and I know that Andrew might have one as well in the context of the movie itself. Hopefully, the two become reunited in heaven and there truly they can say that both of them will live forever and share an eternal love.