They are not exactly robots by the current definition of the term; these creatures are closer to the modern idea of cyborgs, androids or even clones, as they may be mistaken for humans and can think for themselves. They seem happy to work for humans at first but a robot rebellion leads to the extinction of the human race. Hellman (Hallemeier) . Works Project Administration (WPA). Helena, the daughter of the president of a major industrial power, arrives at the island factory of Rossum's Universal Robots. She meets Domin, the General Manager of R. U. R., who tells her the history of the company: In 1. Rossum came to the island to study marine biology, and in 1. Rossum attempted to make a dog and a man, but failed. His nephew came to see him, and the two argued non- stop, largely because Old Rossum only wanted to create animals to prove that not only was God not necessary but that there was no God at all, and Young Rossum only wanted to make himself rich. Eventually, Young Rossum locked his uncle in a laboratory to play with his monsters and mutants, while Young Rossum built factories and cranked out Robots by the thousands. By the time the play takes place (in the 1. Robots are cheap and available all over the world. They have become absolutely necessary because they allow products to be made at a fifth the previous cost. Helena meets Fabry, Dr. Gall, Alquist, Busman, and Hallemeier, and reveals she is a representative of the League of Humanity, a human rights organization that wishes to . The managers of the factory find this a ridiculous proposition, since they see Robots as appliances.
Born in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic, Czech playwright and novelist Karel Capek (1890-1938) introduced the concept of a robot in his play RUR, Rossum's. The finalists for the 1939 Retro Hugo Awards were announced on Saturday 19 April. Helena requests that the Robots be paid so that they can buy things they like, but the Robots do not like anything. Helena is eventually convinced that the League Of Humanity is a waste of money, but continues to argue on the fact that robots should still have a . Later, Domin confesses that he loves Helena and forces her into an engagement. Ten years later, Helena and her nurse Nana are talking about current events. Helena and Domin reminisce about the day they met and summarize the last ten years of world history, which has been shaped by the new worldwide Robot- based economy. Gall's new Robot experiment, Radius, and Dr Gall describes his experimental Robotess, Robot Helena. Both are more advanced, fully featured versions. In secret, Helena burns the formula required to create Robots. The revolt of the Robots reaches Rossum's island as the act ends. Act III. Reminiscent of the Tower of Babel, the characters discuss whether creating national Robots who were unable to communicate beyond their language group would have been a good idea. As Robot forces lay siege to the factory, Helena reveals she has burned the formula necessary to make new robots. The characters lament the end of humanity and defend their actions, despite the fact that their imminent deaths are a direct result of those actions. Busman is killed attempting to negotiate a peace with the Robots, who then storm the factory and kill all the humans except for Alquist, whom the Robots spare because they recognize that . He has been working to recreate the formula that Helena destroyed. Because he is not a scientist, he has not made any progress. He has begged the robot government to search for surviving humans, and they have done so. Officials from the robot government approach Alquist and first order and then beg him to complete the formula, even if it means he will have to kill and dissect other Robots to do so. Alquist yields, agreeing to kill and dissect, which completes the circle of violence begun in Act Two. Alquist is disgusted by it. Robots Primus and Helena develop human feelings and fall in love. Playing a hunch, Alquist threatens to dissect Primus and then Helena; each begs him to take him- or herself and spare the other. Alquist realizes that they are the new Adam and Eve, and gives charge of the world to them. WPA Federal Theatre Project poster for the production by the Marionette Theatre, New York, 1. The Robots described in . They are not mechanical devices, but rather artificial biological organisms that may be mistaken for humans. A short time earlier her best friend Gillian Baxter had disappeared whilst out in the woods with. R.U.R (BBC 1938, Harvey Braban. A comic scene at the beginning of the play shows Helena arguing with her future husband, Harry Domin, because she cannot believe his secretary is a robotess: DOMIN: Sulla, let Miss Glory have a look at you. HELENA: (stands and offers her hand) Pleased to meet you. It must be very hard for you out here, cut off from the rest of the world. SULLA: I do not know the rest of the world Miss Glory. Please sit down. HELENA: (sits) Where are you from? SULLA: From here, the factory. HELENA: Oh, you were born here. SULLA: Yes I was made here. HELENA: (startled) What? DOMIN: (laughing) Sulla isn't a person, Miss Glory, she's a robot. HELENA: Oh, please forgive me .. In a limited sense, they resemble more modern conceptions of man- made life forms, such as the Replicants in Blade Runner, and the humanoid Cylons in the re- imagined Battlestar Galactica, but in . There are descriptions of kneading- troughs for robot skin, great vats for liver and brains, and a factory for producing bones. Nerve fibers, arteries, and intestines are spun on factory bobbins, while the Robots themselves are assembled like automobiles. In an article in Lidov. It was translated from Czech into English by Paul Selver and adapted for the English stage by Nigel Playfair in 1. Selver's translation abridged the play and eliminated a character, a robot named . It contributed the word 'robot' not only to English but, through English, to all the languages in which science fiction is now written. In this version Radius was played by Patrick Troughton who was later the second actor to play The Doctor in Doctor Who, None of these three productions survive in the BBC's archives. BBC Radio 3 dramatised the play again in 1. The Hollywood Theater of the Ear dramatized an unabridged audio version of R. U. R. It utilized actual robots on stage interacting with the human actors. Ether, music by Rob Susman, and lyrics by Clark Render was an official selection of the 2. New York Musical Theatre Festival season. On 2. 9 April 2. 01. Czech R. U. R. Paul Selver and Nigel Playfair's 1. The play was directed by Filip Worm and the full realization was led by Roman Chas. HARDAC created mechanical replicants to replace existing humans, with the ultimate goal of replacing all humans. One of the robots is seen driving a car with . Rossum who turned humans into robots. The History of Science Fiction. New York, NY: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN. Toward the Radical Center: A . Asimov's Science Fiction. Retrieved 2. 3 July 2. Retrieved 2. 4 July 2. Retrieved 2. 4 July 2. Retrieved 2. 4 July 2. London, Gollancz, 2. ISBN 0. 57. 50. 99. Cody, Evert Sprinchorn (eds.) The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama, Volume One. Columbia University Press, 2. Capek, Karel (2. 00. Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction. London, Routledge, 2. ISBN 9. 78. 04. 15. Archived from the original on 2. July 2. 01. 3. Retrieved 2. July 2. 01. 3. Retrieved 2. July 2. 01. 3. Catbird Press, 2. ISBN 0. 94. 57. 74. Abrash, Merritt (1. Restored and Reconsidered. Retrieved 2. 6 July 2. Spencer Tracy: A Biography. Chicago Daily Tribune. Toward the Radical Center: A Karel . Highland Park, NJ: Catbird Press. Clute, John (1. 99. Science Fiction: The Illustrated Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis, 2. ISBN 0. 20. 30. 15. Telotte, J. The essential science fiction television reader. University Press of Kentucky. Retrieved 2. 9 July 2. Retrieved 2. 9 July 2. Retrieved 6 August 2. Retrieved 1. 3 June 2.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
January 2017
Categories |