RoboCop Statue Rises In Detroit (theguardian.com) 36
alternative_right quotes a report from the Guardian: The statue looms and glints at more than 11 feet tall and weighing 3,500 pounds, looking out at the city with, how to put it ... a characteristically stern expression? Despite its daunting appearance and history as a crimefighter of last resort, the giant new bronze figure of the movie character RoboCop is being seen as a symbol of hope, drawing fans and eliciting selfie mania since it began standing guard over Detroit on Wednesday afternoon. It has been 15 years in the making. Even in a snowstorm in the dark, people were driving by to see it, said Jim Toscano, co-owner of the Free Age film production company, where the statue now stands firmly bolted down near the sidewalk. RoboCop hit theaters in 1987, portraying a near-future Detroit as crime-ridden and poorly protected by a beleaguered and outgunned police force, until actor Peter Weller appeared as a nearly invincible cyborg, apparently created by a nefarious corporation bent on privatizing policing. A grassroots campaign to build a RoboCop statue in Detroit began in 2010, eventually raising over $67,000 on Kickstarter and resulting in a completed sculpture in 2017. However, hosting setbacks caused it to get stuck, "stored away from public view," reports the Guardian. The project finally found a home after business owner Mike Toscano agreed to display it in their new open-air product market, calling it "too unique and too cool not to do."
Nooooo! (Score:4, Funny)
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I'd say don't give him any ideas, but republicans have already suggested it, and after demolishing the east wing, all bets are off. He's just meglomanical enough to try.
Re:Nooooo! (Score:5, Informative)
Why? You think they'll send unmarked cars to remove this one too [wikipedia.org]?
Ugly (Score:4, Interesting)
Why'd they make it out of bronze? It looks way uglier than Robocop.
Re:Ugly (Score:5, Informative)
As for using bronze, it's easier to cast than steel and it's naturally resistant to corrosion. It might start looking a bit green if you leave it outside for a century or two.
Should include a 6000 SUX (Score:5, Funny)
I'll buy that for a dollar!
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It's a statue reminding Detroit of the fabulous dystopia it could have been, rather than ghost town dystopia it became.
Death Robot (Score:5, Funny)
ahhh yes, the statue of the guy that represents "even if you die, we'll find a way to still make you come to work on monday"
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It's such a great movie, and predicted so much. Short news updates that trivialize important events, decades before Tik Tok, for example.
The costume is probably the best practical robot garb in cinema history. Believable, incredibly cool, moves really well (credit to Peter Weller there too)... It's perfection, and makes a great statue.
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Fun fact, Weller trained with world-class mimes to do a very fluid, fast, bird-like robotic physical language for RoboCop.
Then he put on the suit for the first time, and couldn't move.
So they carved huge chunks of the suit out, and he could barely move.
So he had to work to come up with a new physical language that was more heavy, slow, deliberate, and tank-like.
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It really works too. Robocop feels heavy and tank like
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Many people don't realize that Verhoeven is a brilliant director and his movies are all about social commentary. RoboCop is one, as is Starship Troopers. They're social commentary dressed up as other films.
RoboCop is about corporate takeover of government, the militarization of police and juxtaposed with what life is like - the SUX 6000 representing the crass consumerism.
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I buy that for an dollar! (Score:2)
I buy that for an dollar!
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Good fun. (Score:2)
You might call it a tad goofy to turn a somewhat b-movie "hero" into a high quality bronze statue and place it in public display, but this was entirely a private initiative and it's standing in a commercial property and the owners where in on the fun. That's how stuff like this (and weird woke projects) should be done.
I get the joke - RoboCop was also a commentary on the derelict state of Detroit - and would pay the statue a visit.
Weird for a city to put up (Score:2)
I enjoyed the heck out of at least the first Robocop movie when I was a kid and still think it's a pretty fun dumb action/sci fi movie. That being said I think it's a little weird putting a statue up of a cop who frequently went around executing people without any form of due process even if it is a fictional character.
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Oops, the city didn't put it up. Never the less, it's a weird character to put a statue up for.
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I enjoyed the heck out of at least the first Robocop movie when I was a kid and still think it's a pretty fun dumb action/sci fi movie. That being said I think it's a little weird putting a statue up of a cop who frequently went around executing people without any form of due process even if it is a fictional character.
If Megacity existed, I guarantee you they'd have at least one of the judges in statue form looming over it.
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You should take Robo's advice and "Stay out of trouble!"
AP version of the story (Score:4, Insightful)
Because The Guardian is trash.
Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! (Score:2)
Who's next? (Score:3)
More Art Like This! (Score:2)
One of my favorite movies. Also, I really like Paul Verhoeven (the director) movies.
This should be treated as art that does what the movie does. Robocop is a cautionary tale about corporate greed and overreach in pursuit of wealth and power while the government abdicates one of its central roles, protecting it's citizens. Omni Consumer Products (OCP) makes a "robocop" with "prime directives" that doesn't question it's orders. Murphy's humanity (the human parts of Robocop) overcomes the cold, unthniking,
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Bixby Snyder (Score:2)
I'd buy THAT for a dollar!