Over the years, Hollywood expanded the roles of cybernetic beings. The Terminator, Cyborg, Alien (one of the crew members), the doctor on Star Trek Voyager (not actually a robot, but a sentient hologram), and the list goes on.
Cybernetics, cyberspace and virtual reality are quickly replacing traditional roles in modern society. Roomba vacuums the floors, exercise is done with the Wii and more couples than ever are meeting through online dating services.
But some people don't move past the cyber stage. With cyber dating and cyber sex, why make the effort of a face to face meeting when the real thing could end up as a real disappointment.
The 1980s film Cherry 2000 portrayed androids that were made to order "wives."
Apparently he didn't read the warning label: Avoid getting wet due to risk of electrocution.
The concept of sexbots was creepy to me twenty plus years ago. It still is today but what was sci-fi fantasy then has become a 21st century reality.
A few weeks ago, I heard a surprising advertisement on the radio-- TrueCompanion.com offers sex robots for individuals too busy for traditional dating and the robotic companion is programmed to customer specifications. Of course the perfect mate comes with a hefty price tag, but hey, how much is too much if you get the perfect mate?
Is that what men and women are looking for in a relationships today? Perfection? Someone who agrees with everything you say or do? Has exactly the same likes and dislikes? A mirror image of your own personality?
What happened to "iron sharpens iron"? Some conflict in a relationship is healthy and stimulating. I believe humans need challenges in order to be happy. Without some obstacles, we stagnate.
What traits and characteristics do you look for in a mate? Are sexbots fads or the future of relationships? And, given the opportunity would you pick a robot over the real thing?
6 comments:
Oh, boy. This is huge, but not going away. Quirky people are out there. Robot lovers are no different than the blow up dolls, just a little more advanced. Technology is just expanding the distance between our feelings and the outside world. No one talks anymore. When I took texting away from my 16-year-old, his shocked comment was, "How am I going to talk with my friends?" I said, "You talk with them on the phone or in person." You'd think I had grown two heads or something.
What I look for in a mate goes way deeper. Deeper than any computer could every hope to duplicate.
Wow. I admit to having a thing for Yul Brynner...loved West World as a kid because it was super creepy, but I don't want an automated version of him standing in the closet. This is the stuff bad movies are made of...but there you go, huh? People's boundaries stretch in directions I fail to think of sometimes.
Great post, Kristal! Never knew, but not surprised. #wana711
good lord ... you brought up Cherry2000 ... Melanie Griffith's finest role no doubt :)
they probably are haha. It's borderline impossible to form a lasting relationship, b/c of the expectation of "perfection"
Great post, icky concept! Too Stepford Wives for me. This one will stay with me. #wana711
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