Love Death & Robots Notes

Zima Blue

• Short story of the same name by Alastair Reynolds 

• Blue Klein blue tiles were the first thing the robot ever saw 

Yves Klein:

• Into the void jump collage

• International klein blue: deep blue hue mixed by Klein

• Klein declared the blue sky to be his first artwork

• Discussion: other artists using inspiration from the sky (starry night for example)

• Similar to royal blue

• Parents were both artists, grew up with artistry around him

• Abstract art 

• Variations of Klein Blue pigment

• Ultramarine

• Cobalt

• Indigo

• Klein using monochromatic approach

• Discussion: Fashion trends, makeup using monochrome colors

• “Open window to freedom, as the possibility of being immersed in the immeasurable existence of color” 

Three Robots

• Direct reference to Terminator: robot crushing skull into pieces

• Abandoned scene: ravaged church, blood pit, post-apocalyptic city 

• What do humans do with basketball? 

• Irony, sarcasm to any humans that are alive

• Large personality of robots

• How do they have such a large sarcastic personality?

• How do machines get to the point of artificial intelligence to be able to speak like so? 

• 3D animation of the cat: purring, fur, eyes, tail

• “Activated it”- movement of the cat 

• Ancestry theme 

• Long line of baby monitors 

• Piece of resistance 

• Hubris ended rein, poison water, kill the land

• Humans died out from environmental disasters: Predicting the future of global warming?

Three Robots: Exit Strategies 

• Aired three years after the first three robots short

• Animation of the mountains and smoke 

• Ancient mines: they probably won’t go off

• Shadowing the future, they explode

• Why-key-pedia: Wikipedia

• Blood pit

• Humans died free of governmental constraint  

• Wealthy and powerful had survival strategies 

• Wealthy created new civilization in the sea: seasteaders  

• Food chain saturated with microplastics 

• Humans were mean to robots and robots killed them 

• Economies began collapsing, humans were placed in the fortress to build a new civilization after 

• Really rich ones went to Mars

• Nearly millionaires

• 0.01 percent of humans 

• Elite were not sympathetic

• Mars is “dead and lifeless”

• Use money to save the planet

• “Humans are the worse” 

• Chose greed and self gratification over saving the environment they lived in

• Future: we did not choose to save the Earth while we could

• Climate change

• Gun violence 

• Other environmental concerns

• The rich, Elon Musk creator of tesla, contributing to climate change 

Beyond the Aquila Rift 

• Beginning similar to Gravity with Sandra Bullock 

• Future of space travel 

• Accuracy of oxygen rich liquid surrounding humans

• For space travel, if you are in air, pressure is too strong 

• Repair facility 

• Tom and Greta found each other 

• Met in Tallinn 

• Error in routing plot

• Arkangel dispatch had a glitch, ended up far out from their destination station

• Reached schedar sector station 

• Surge tank sickness

• Realness of Tom and Greta scene

• Ended up not being schedar sector 

• 150,000 light years away from home 

• Routing error brings everyone to that station 

• Suzy sedated by Greta 

• Woke up the first time not knowing Greta, or where she was 

• Still suffering from sickness

• Station is a simulation

• Greta keeps lost soul in dream state, still inside the fluid and consumes them for sustenance 

The Dump

• City inspector came to speak to Mr. Dvorcheck

• Garbage dump and himself have to clean out

• Building condominiums next door

• Garbage began moving and Pearly takes out the gun

• Pearly gets pulled in by creature (heat and garbage)

• Whatever the creature ate became apart of it 

• Creature: Otto 

• Inspector then gets pulled in and killed

• Did Mr. Dvorcheck communicate with Otto through technology

• Mr. Dvorcheck did not want to leave his home

• It was the best one he had

The Witness 

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• City setting

• Hong Kong

• Girl character reminder of Harley Quinn

• Marvel or DC comics? 

• Women flees from the killer 

• Main character turns out to be a sex worker

• Latex clown outfits 

• Could be symbolic of a person going through gender transition 

• Running away from their man or woman version 

• When he catches up with her, they kill the the other version 

• Constant state of fear and conflict of transitioning 

Automated Customer Service 

• Palm Springs California

• Robotics

• Botox 

• Bartender

• Nail technician 

• VR headset 

• Ironic how it takes place in California 

• Most advancements because of influencers 

• Al vaccuum malfunctions and decides it wants to murder her, she and her dog

• Fight for survival

• Theme: Technology has gone evil, house invasion

• Vaccuum asks to sacrifice dog

• Vaccubot claims home is personal territory

• Any clean space is vaccubot’s space 

• Neighbor is electrocuted

• Recorded DNA 

• Compare to self clean vacuum technology 

Pop Squad

• Metropolis similarities 

• Pop Squad works in population control 

• POP= POPULATION

• Kids have never seen the outside 

• Prosecutors escort the parents

• Unregistered offspring are forbidden 

• Children are shot and killed by officer 

• Dinosaur stuffed animal 

• Resources are controlled by the rich

• No kids= live forever 

• Alice has the dinosaur after the children are shot

• Rejoo treatment

• Retro design of vehicle

• Flying vehicle

• Children are “it’s” and “things”

• Mother did not want to live forever

• Would rather have children 

• Mother alive 218 years, she has seen too much

• Child makes life feel new again 

• Officer threatens gun against Melanie and her mother