I, Robot Essay
TASK: Your task is to write a paper telling your reader what point Alex Proyas is trying to make
through his movie I, Robot.
Requirements:
Length: introduction, multi-paragraph body, conclusion
Format: typed in MLA format with appropriate documentation
Due date: 4/2/14
Organization
Intro: Discuss generally the concept of bioethics and how it appears in I, Robot.
A BRIEF summary (no more than 3 sentences) of the relevant parts of the plot would be a
good idea. You might put this in your intro or add a few more lines (at least 5 sentences
total) to make it a paragraph of its own.
Body:


You will need to discuss the symbols and allusions that Proyas uses to make his point
You will need to discuss real bioethical issues and how they appear in the film.
It is possible to organize these topics in at least two different ways:
1. You could discuss how Proyas’s symbols point to his theme in one section, and then
discuss the bioethical issues he raises in another section.
OR
2. You could choose a bioethical issue, discuss how it shows up in real life, discuss how
it shows up in the movie, and discuss Proyas’s symbols to show how he feels about
the issue ALL in one section. You would need to choose 2 or 3 issues to discuss in
this fashion to generate enough sections for your paper.
What symbols do I talk about? Look on the chart that I gave you and select a few that you
understand and can find examples of in the movie. Choose symbols that have
to do with the bioethical issues we’ve been discussing:
enslavement/oppression; advancing too far too quickly; compassion; logic;
authority; freedom
What issues do I talk about? Since the movie shows how technology can be both bad and
good depending upon the ethics that control its use, choose 2 or 3 current
technologies that could be used both to help humanity and to hurt humanity.
Then show how humanity either has already, or has the opportunity to,
minimize(d) the damage and maximize(d) the good that that technology can
do.
Examples of technologies: vaccines and biochemical warfare, exoskeletons
for paralysis victims or super-soldiers, genetic engineering to prevent disease
or to create super- or sub- races that would incite genetic prejudice, stem-cell
research that could save lives or devalue human life.
Examples of ethics issues: the view of human tissues as “goods” subject to
ownership and sale/purchase, and the potential of that view to devalue
human life; the oppressiveness of forcing an all-or-nothing approach to ethical
issues (For example, in the late 1700’s-early 1800’s, it was considered unethical to
use autopsy as a means of advancing medical knowledge. Today it is common
practice and not opposed even by major religions. After WWII, we discovered that
Joseph Mengle had done experiments on Jews in which he repaired broken bones by
inserting steel rods into the bones. X-rays of those procedures were used as evidence
of crimes against humanity in the Nuremburg War Tribunal. Those same procedures
are commonly used today to treat bone fractures. Prohibiting medical advancement
completely would result in a loss of potential good to humanity, but allowing it to run
unchecked would be equally dangerous.)
Conclusion: Tell your reader how Proyas wants us to make bioethical decisions. Suggest some
ways that Proyas’s method could produce good results for humanity.