30MOD: Session 017 – Sanitized

In this session we talk up Robocop. Join Us.

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You can reach Chuck on Twitter @Romba and Curtis @86Cujo. Feel free to tweet us away, but be sure to use the hashtag #diabolical30 for all tweets about the show. Who knows, maybe your tweet could be featured on an upcoming show!

Rom: Spaceknight

ROM Spaceknight was a toy released by Parker Brothers back in 1979. Now if you’re thinking to yourself, “Parker Brothers released an action figure?” You wouldn’t be alone… Parker Brothers thought the same thing. They went to Marvel and licensed the character for a comic book in an effort to help boost sales and popularity of ROM since the action figure market was untested waters for the board game company. What followed was a series of comic stories that gave life to ROM and created a whole, wonderful universe around him. The comic book actually became rather popular but didn’t help Parker Brothers as much as they had hoped… ROM action figure sales were rather disappointing that initial year and the toy was ultimately discontinued. The comic book, however, remained popular and stayed in print until 1986. The character of ROM is often cited as being a design influence for the look of the original Robocop in the 1987 film.

Marvel’s Rom Spaceknight #1

Useful Links:
ROM Spaceknight Wiki
A brief history of ROM

Robocop: The Jesus Allegory

Paul Verhoeven has gone on record numerous times stating that the Robocop story is his Jesus film. That might sound a bit far fetched upon first hearing it but we encourage you to re-watch the original film specifically looking for metaphors and visuals tied in to the Christ story… you might just be surprised. If you’re still unconvinced, take a look at our links below for further reading!

Robocop walks on water?

Useful Links:
Robocop Wiki Paul Verhoeven Wiki
Robocop the Christ Allegory

Robocop: 1987 vs. 2014

The world we were given in the original Robocop film was certainly a dystopian land filled with corporate greed, violence and harsh living. These visuals are, in part, what help the film achieve it’s level of social commentary and, most likely, have helped keep the film a cult classic since it’s initial release. The 2014 Robocop remake presented us with a much more sterile, clean environment where the only thing sinister was perhaps what was going on in the boardroom. For our tastes, the remake, while it still tried to tie in some social commentary, felt much too sterile and was maybe a bit too upfront about it’s commentary on drone warfare and corporate greed. Paul Verhoeven gave us visual to chew on, to think on, and ultimately to decide what we would take from it. The 2014 remake just through it right in our face, told us what to think and did so in an very clean, sanitized fashion.

Detroit Police on Strike (Robocop 1987)

Useful Links:
Robocop 2014 Wiki
Robocop 1987 vs. 2014 Entertainment Weekly

Diabolical Artists

Music Provided By:
Daemon Hatfield: http://daemonhatfield.com/ // On Twitter – DaemZero
Rameses B: http://ramesesb.bandcamp.com/ // On Twitter – RamesesB
Re-Think: http://re-think.bandcamp.com/ // On Twitter – reth1nking

Artwork Provided By: Adrian Dadich – Check out his amazing ART here

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