Talk:RoboCop

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Contents

[edit] Move Below The Menu

Would somebody please explain why the Robocop schematic picture was removed? I thought it added to the article, but it was suddenly taken out. If there aren't any answers in the next couple days, I'm going to insert it again. Viewer 00:38, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

More changes made, giving greater details to Robocop's origins. Is the entire plot of the movie going to be revealed? I don't have a problem with that, but I was just wondering how thorough people should be.

--2140, 31 Jan., 2005.

I made a few changes to the article. While it was never explictly stated what organic parts were used, I'm pretty sure it was more than his face and brain.

Also, the helmet didn't have any actual components built into it. The features were built directly into Robocop. The helmet was actually intended for protection of his face and the remainder of his head.

JesseG 03:59, 9 Jun 2004 (UTC)
That's not quite true. I seem to recall an episode of the first Robocop live-action television series, and some guy was framing Robocop by using another, similar gun, and another helmet. Both were prototypes for Murphy's equipment, if memory serves.
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that the helmet had moderate sensing capabilities; at the least some sort of infrared or something to let the guy see in the dark, or in extremely low light.
-- Last Thylacine 17:19, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

But the first live action series is considered non-canon as it disregards the second film.

-- Majestic-Moose 23:54, 19 December 2006 (UTC)


[edit] POV check

The "plot analysis" section is liberally scattered with uncited opinions like The Frankenstein parallel here is something the filmmakers could have made a big deal of, but it is handled surprisingly well. The tone is also informal and not particularly encyclopedic. Joyous 01:30, Jan 3, 2005 (UTC)

The subject here is not Hamlet, it's RoboCop. C'mon! let's cut these folks a little slack about "uncited" opinions, Joy. A potential Frankenstein parallel in RoboCop is so mainstream, to note it at all is almost cliché. Why not just substitute your preferred version of the Frankenstein parallel? Any simple mention of the parallel will do. One's own POV is always NPOV, I've noticed. --Wetman 01:40, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)
When I worked on the article for Robocop 2, I noted the Frankenstein parallel, but also the general theme of a non-human becoming human, which can even be found in Pinnochio, among other places. One of the recent examples I missed was the character of the Doctor in Star Trek Voyager. --SteveHFish 20:50, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)
I will say this, the Plot Analysis section is a decently written essay regarding RoboCop. However, perhaps it should be hosted in a different place and linked to this article, as it does basically rehash the synopsis. It seems like a glorified book report. For the time being, we should remove this section. --Txredcoat 17:29, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Clean Up Needed

I'm adding a Clean Up notice, as I think the article would be a lot better if it focused on the original film instead of trying to sum up the character as well as all three films. Furthermore, the bulk of the article makes a lot of awkward tense changes (past to present and back again). --Feitclub 23:21, Mar 13, 2005 (UTC)

Also, it currently says "a cartoon series", and then goes on to say four TV series. Two of the four are cartoon series and one is a miniseries. What's a better way of putting that? Should the indication of cartoon just be removed? Hackwrench 00:31, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Proof of anime "inspirations"?

I'm suspicious of this entry in the trivia section:

The premise of RoboCop was inspired by the classic 1963 manga/anime series, 8 Man, and the RoboCop design was based on the title superhero of the Japanese tokusatsu series, Uchuu Keiji Gavan (Space Sheriff Gavan), the first of Toei's Metal Hero Series.

Sounds like fan speculation. I've checked on them, and unless someone can find actual documentation from the writers/designers for this, it should just be chalked up to coincidence and removed from the article. --Marcg106 04:35, 25 September 2005 (UTC)

I agree. I've watched the DVD commentary of the movie and this stuff isn't mentioned at all. Searching the internet comes up with fan sites for these show making claims of this link but with no substantive proof, other than the cooincidental plots.
As such, I deleted this version of the comment only for it to show up again. This time it claims that Verhoven(sp?) talked to some magazine about it being the inspiration for the Robocop story. That's clearly bogus; he didn't even write the story; he just directed it. Unless, someone comes up with some hard evidence here. I'm removing this entry. --Mitaphane talk 16:26, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
It's also noted on imdb, although that's no primary source. I'm not sure why a director (as opposed to a writer) couldn't talk about the inspiration. He'd surely be aware of it. —Pengo talk · contribs 22:56, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
If you watch the DVD commentary to this movie (which I hope to add citations to in the near future), Verhoeven does talk about his inspirations. However, they're not related to the plot (i.e. rookie cop killed by drug peddling thugs gets rebuilt into a cyborg) at all; they are related to portrayal of the future detroit, the characters, and Robocop's cinematography. As far as I can tell, the only link between Metal Heros and Robocop is both have a "killed rookie officer turned into cyborg". That is a plot created by the writters of the story, not Verhoeven.
Yeah, IMDB isn't going to help us here. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the trivia come from IMDB users' submissions? Mitaphane talk 01:14, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
Yes, IMDB is basically user-generated, although, unlike Wiki, they have editors who review user submissions before they appear on the website.
Atlant 13:39, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
<Since I am not good at English, right translation or a right opinion may not be expressed. However, I do my best. Please you be tolerant if you please:-)>
This story is very famous in Japan, and is indicated by Wikipedia of Japanese too. The feature of a story is this that it is supposed that it is the most leading;
  • A source is the old movie mag put on the market in Japan.
  • When Paul Verhoeven visited Japan with Starship Troopers, he received coverage of Japanese movie mag.
  • The journalist asked about the relation of huge insect and animation of Japan as one of many questions.
  • Paul Verhoeven answers they have no relation.
  • Instead Paul Verhoeven revealed that RoboCop was heavily inspired by the success of Japanese live-action Metal Hero TV shows Uchuu Keiji Gavan (宇宙刑事ギャバン?) and 8 Man (エイトマン?) Kikaida (TV series) (人造人間キカイダー?). (correction of mistake--125.30.37.3 05:07, 18 August 2006 (UTC))
Since I am only a reader and a translator, it is regrettable that this story cannot fully be guaranteed again:-( However, it is the feature that sauce is a magazine at a happy thing unlike the false rumor of the Internet. I think that it will ask for offer of information by Wikipedia of Japan so that I or other editors can show sauce and more concrete information. --125.30.37.3 04:04, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
This is good. At least we know that this is not just fan speculation. It should be in the article if it's true, but I've never heard it from an authoritative source. Do you know the name of the magazine? The date it was published? Name of the interviewer? Does the Wikipedia JP have any source information? Any of these things would help much with the validity of the article. I would appreciate any information you can give. Mitaphane talk 19:19, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
I happened to notice this older conversation and figured I'd toss in my two cents in the event it is pursued. I have no idea if the inspiration itself is true or not, but Space Sheriff Gavan wasn't about a resurrected police officer. Basically the gist of the story is that he is an intergalactic lawman who arrives on Earth to protect it from danger. I would think that any inspiration, if there actually is any, is purely in costume design. There's little to no resemblance in character, story or personality. As for the aesthetic inspiration, I certainly could see it but I could also see it as coincidence. Theredcomet2000 16:51, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Robocop's gripping strengh?

From the current entry: "His hands were capable of exerting 420 foot pounds (570 N·m) of energy, which would be enough to crush every bone in a human hand." Aside from the fact I think this goes far beyond the level of detail that is necessary for a Wikipedia entry, it seems to be incorrect. In the film, it is said that Robocop can only exert 400 foot pounds of energy with his hands. However, 420 might be a more precise number. Also, a foot pound isn't energy. The units aren't correct then. MMX

[edit] Fair use

There are 4 images in the article, 3 of them "fair use". I propose we delete at least 2 of the "fair use" pics, they don't provide much value here, and just make the Wikipedia less free. Taw 04:38, 21 January 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Paroling v. Bailing Out

I changed the phrase from Jones paroling Boddiker to Jones bailing him out. Boddiker wasn't in prision and, therefore, did not need to be parole. So you have to assume that he posted bail for him.

[edit] Candidates being placed/Some poor schmuck volunteering

I understood that Murphy's move to the precinct (and other staff changes made by OCP) were deliberate changes by Bob Morton to get his 'project' going. E.g. "We've restructured the police department and placed prime candidates according to risk factor". This particularly cynical and unpleasant idea seems worth mentioning in the article.

I agree, although never explicitly stated, it did seem as though Murphy was transfered to be placed in danger in order to be killed and used as the subject of the experiment. This is very subtle however and subjective, it could possibly been a "coincidence". I didn't notice this myself until after viewing the film many times. Davidac18643 05:54, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Robocop!

Robocop, who is he?

[edit] A Deeply Moving Film

robocop is a great movie that is chock full of touching moments and has undertones of inhuman romance. Not really, it's just a great movie.

[edit] Plot section is too long

Reading through the Plot section I found that it is far too long. It would almost be quicker to just watch the movie than read this synopsis! I think a lot of irrelevant details can be excised. Overall, we need to consider what a reader coming to this article would actually want to know about the movie.

Also, it is WP policy to write Plot summaries in 'permenant literary present tense'. Ashmoo 02:26, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

Seconded! Anyone wanna take this up. Maybe some kindly fan that knows the basic movie by heart and can slash and burn this plot summary? --Newt ΨΦ 01:10, 9 July 2006 (UTC)
Thirded!! I'm going to upload a new synopsis in a moment. Hopefully it won't be reverted. Mine is about as long but more concise and less dramatic. Tommyt 16:29, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Robocop Remake

Does anyone know anything about the Robocop remake/sequel? There's some news on Robocoparchive.com but none on Wikipedia. Someone should post something about it.

[edit] Jesus theme

If I'm not mistaken Paul Verhoeven in the commentary track, stated that there is a Christ metaphor in the movie (i.e. RoboCop is a resurrected savior), and even went so far as to say that a scene near the end where RoboCop is walking through water is made to be seen as RoboCop walking on water. Anyone else know of this? I figure if it's the director's theme it should be included. --Newt ΨΦ 15:04, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

It's his theme, yes. I think it oughtta be mentioned in the Themes section, as he states explicitly that he wanted to show a "modern Jesus." Near the end, during the battle between Murphy and Bodiker, Bodiker stands in the water up to his shins or so, whilst Murphy's feet barely sink in. That was an intetional walking-on-water shot.
Jesus in an era of (rather enhanced) Reaganomics, those were amongs the, if not the, main themes that Verhoeven was going for.
All of this I'm saying based on the commentary track I'm listening to as I type this. :)
-- Last Thylacine 15:45, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

I don't think Jesus carried a Cobra assault cannon. :|

-G

[edit] Miranda Rights

There seems to be a problem with the continuity of Robocop's use of Miranda rights in the plot section it says his programing disregards them but then it also says he reads Boddicker his Miranda rights while throwing him through window. I suggest removing the the line "(his programming seems to disregard Miranda rights)"

I concur. Robocop follows the miranda mandates. Moreover, since i interacts mostly with people who are in the midst of breaking the law, usually while the perps are armed, miranda doesnt really apply. This isnt law and order he isnt serving search warents or stoping jay walkers.

[edit] Character Robocop

Why doesn't the character Robocop have it's own page? Same goes for the Robocop 2 character. ED-209 has one.

Please sign your comments. First off, the ED-209 article is very poorly written, and could probably be merged with this article. Secondly, this article is a bit confused, as it's supposed to be about the film, and stays pretty much on task, but then switches to a "Capabilities" section on RoboCop's fictional capabilities and accessories. A separate article could possibly be made, but it would need to focus on the actors that have played RoboCop, possible differences (cited) between RoboCop's depictions in film, a little more about RoboCop's depictions in other media such as video games and comic books, and more about the costume. Really, I don't think it needs to be made just yet, but those are some ideas of what would be contained in the article. Remember, these are not "pages" but rather "articles" and thus should be encyclopedic. --Newt ΨΦ 21:42, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Elimination of Trivia & Cult Ref

After talking with Newt ΨΦ, we've come to the conclusion that the both the Trivia & Cultural References sections should be eliminated and replaced with sections like "Cultural Influences", "Production", & "Themes". We are using the Blade Runner article as template of what Robocop should look like; Blade Runner is a sci-fi movie and it is a featured article.

While some of the information in the cult ref & trivia lists is relevant information about Robocop's production, themes, and its influences on pop cultural, most of it is pretty inconsqeuntial information(mc chris mentioning Robocop in a song does not tell a reader why RoboCop is an important movie); Both sections have become flypaper for any random bit of semi-related RoboCop info. With the removal of these sections, hopefully we will get Robocop closer to Good Article status. --Mitaphane talk 00:19, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

I removed some stuff from the Themes section. Here it is:

Illegal drugs, cocaine in particular, also take center stage; Clarence and his gang are cocaine entrepreneurs seeking to expand their empire, and Bob Morton cavorts with two prostitutes while snorting a large amount of the stimulant.
The movie is also a condemnation of Reagan's America, such as "free trade" movements and privatization of social services that allows a corporation like OCP to take over the police force. Also criticized is Reagan's Star Wars program, which causes the deaths of two ex-presidents in a firing malfunction. The media is also mocked for its perkiness and support of the corporate party line.

The first is a plot element, not a theme. The second is perhaps not felicitously stated; while the movie can certainly be seen as a satire of where Reagan's America might lead, uh, Reagan did not actually privatize the police force. Not to mention that "free trade" never even comes into the movie.

Actually, for that matter, why isn't the word "satire" in this article somewhere? The movie is pretty over-the-top, and I mean that in a good way. The media stuff mentioned above as well as the corporate ladder type things are handled that way, I'd think. SnowFire 03:29, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Ah, I don't like editing entries myself, but somebody might want to work on this: "Nancy Allen as Officer Ann Lewis. Cast as Murphy's and later RoboCop's partner, Allen was instructed to cut her hair in order to remove any kind of sexual tension between her and RoboCop.[citation needed]" The Criterion DVD commentary somewhat contradicts this. It's mentioned that in Officer Lewis' introductory scene (whupping on the prisoner attempting to escape), they'd intended for her long hair to cascade out from under her helmet when she took it off, then realized that, for the rest of the movie, they'd have to deal with it, and it would be obviously impractical for a cop. Gooshy 17:18, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

On the commentary for the trilogy (mine doesn't say "Criterion" anywhere on it that I can see; here is what I have), Edward Neumeier--one of the writers--admitted that in the orignal script, he'd written that long hair cascaded down when she took off her helmet for that introductory scene. It was mentioned that that was too cliché, to which he agreed, so it was cut for that reason.
-- Last Thylacine 16:06, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

OK, that would be _two_ sources that debunk the 'sexual tension' idea, then. Gooshy 17:22, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

I think it was Verhoeven who decided that Lewis character should have short hair to remove sexual tensions. It is logical since eliminating sexual segregation has been a recurrent topic in Verhoeven futuristic film's RoboCop and Starship Troopers.80.26.84.138 22:28, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Production details

The trivia section has been completely reworked under the new "Production details" header. Cultural references is up for grabs by someone else. --Steerpike 21:23, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

I've done some editing on Cultural References myself now, but I still think it could use some trimming (or references). Additionally, the cast has been moved to the casting section of the "Production Details". I've simply kept the actors' names and their respective roles. Details concering their characters are provided in the plot section. The soundtrack section that was originally part of "Sequels and Spin-offs" has also been moved to "Production Details". Themes has been moved below "Production Details", although this section still needs extensive referencing. Screenshots were resized to 250 pixels in width. --Steerpike 13:10, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cultural References deleted

I allowed this section to stick last time around but now I think it's better to do away with it completely. As previously said, it's no more than a veiled "trivia" magnet. It's nearly impossible to stop this from growing out of control. If RoboCop has had a notable impact one or more aspects of popular culture, or the development of certain media as a whole, than it is worth mentioning, but simply citing references and quotes across television shows and video games is non-notable in my opinion. --Steerpike 12:34, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

I disagree, seeing numerous examples of appearences in popular culture reveals how well known and how much of an impact something is. I also find the information useful because seeing references to something I like sometimes motivates me to look up those other things. I'm sure I am not alone. --Stilanas 12:33, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Ok but what do you make of stuff like this:

  • In another Simpsons episode, "Kill the Alligator and Run", a cyborg very obviously based on RoboCop called "The Cyborganizer" appears on a TV show being watched by Homer.
  • An episode of Saved By The Bell Screech wears a RoboCop-type costume and calls himself "RoboScreech".
  • A the Red Dwarf Series III episode of "Polymorph" the main character, Lister, is changed into a superhuman to ward off a shape shifting alien. This transformation turns him into a "Half Human/Half Robocop" like hero.
  • In Malibu's Most Wanted, when B-rad's friends gather their weapons at one of their houses, Kal Penn's character, Hadji, calls Monster "What are you supposed to be, Robo-Bitch?"
  • The Game Deus Ex features the "Delta-2 Peacebringer" robot that is very similar to the design of ED-209.
  • The expansion to the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft has robotic enemies called Arcane Patrollers in the Blood Elf starting area. When attacking, they often say one of Robocop's Prime Directives.

I could just delete the really trivial stuff but like I said, trivia sections (which is what this has become) are like flypaper. This will soon grow back out of proportion, and it bothers me that few people revert that stuff. It just sticks around until it takes almost half of the space of the article. --Steerpike 13:13, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Agreed. It is suffice to say that Robocop had a significant impact on popular culture and has created many people to parody it. Add a few good examples and that is all that needs to be said about this topic within RoboCop. This article is about the movie, not every single reference made to it. Moreover, this topic, without any references, borders on WP:OR; without any references(which "...in popular culture" sections always lack) that say explicitly this is a reference to RoboCop, it is essentially a list of things that editors themselves have deemed a reference to RoboCop because the similarity of names, characters, or whatever. —Mitaphane ?|! 03:31, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
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