Pbmom's Blog

Actor Anthony Lemke (Dark Matter’s Three), forwarded me a terrific podcast about gendered robots and stereotypes.  The participants point out that female androids tend to be sexualized entities while their male counterparts are usually powerful forces.

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-april-24-2015-1.3047057/ex-machina-s-portrayal-of-gendered-robot-perpetuates-stereotypes-1.3047064

It’s an interesting listen and it made me think of our ship’s android, played by the awesome Zoie Palmer, who is clearly atypical from the normal: a female android who isn’t sexualized but a force to be reckoned with.  On the surface, she is your standard logic-based robot but, as the first season progresses, viewers will come to realize there’s much, much more to our android.  In describing her the other day, I said she was much closer to Hitchhiker’s Guide’sMarvin and Red Dwarf’s Kryten than TNG’s Data.  Zoie has done a great job fashioning an incredibly endearing character.  Every time she pops up on screen, Akemi gleefully shouts “Zoie!”.  The…