Popaganda Revisited: FEMBOTS

<div dir="ltr"> From<em> Metropolis</em> to <em>Westworld</em>, female robots have always played out complicated power dynamics onscreen. While the term “fembots” conjurs up the image of killer mechanical sex-kittens from<em> Austin Powers</em>, cinematic stories about female robots often deal with much darker and deeper dynamics.</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <div dir="ltr">In this episode, filmmaker and professor <a href= "http://www.mechanicalbridemovie.com/allison-defren-bio.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Allison de Fren</a> walks us through the history of female robots onscreen in movies like <em>The Stepford Wives</em>, <em>Ex Machina</em>, and <em>Her</em> and how their stories revolve around issues of power and control. Then, for you <em>Westworld </em>obsessives, poet and scholar <a href="https://mrheeloy.com/">Margaret Rhee</a> discusses the race and gender dynamics of hit HBO series <a href="http://wgs.uoregon.edu/profile/mrhee/" target= "_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Westworld</em></a>. But, of course, robots are all around us in real life, too. Feminist researcher <a href="https://miriamsweeney.net/" target= "_blank" rel="noopener">Miriam Sweeney </a>delves into the world of virtual assistants that have female voices and bodies, from the modern Siri to the old-school Ms. Dewey. </div>