Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
214,144
edits
Tin Man: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
m (update links) |
No edit summary |
||
| (6 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"I mean, being a robot's great, but we don't have emotions, and sometimes that makes me very sad."''|'''Bender''', ''[[Futurama]]''}}
Line 9 ⟶ 8:
This often leads to a paradoxical quest to [[Become a Real Boy]], or at least learn emotions. If they didn't have emotions to begin with, how can they desperately feel the need to have them?
It also seems that certain emotions count more than others. Warm fuzzy happiness counts more than anger, frustration or sadness. So someone can be an aggressive [[
Refers to the character in ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]''. Who, in fact, was prone to [[Tender Tears]], to give the game away entirely. Other unconscious tics, such as destroying whatever is in the character's hands while denying anger, can betray other Tin Men.
Line 18 ⟶ 17:
Compare [[Frozen Face]], where he cannot show the emotions in his face. Not to be confused with the [[Syfy]] [[Tin Man (TV series)|miniseries]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' has the [[Robot Girl]] Chachamaru telling everyone this in [[Spock Speak]]. Subverted in that nobody believes her as she's one of the friendliest people in the cast from the beginning. Even her own [[Mad Scientist]] creator realizes right away that she's different. This is because one of the programmers of her operating system was from a lesser-known work of the writer, ''[[A.I. Love You]]'', where he had designed an artificial intelligence program fully capable of emotions. This is only alluded to in [[Shout-Out|one offhand comment]] in the manga.
Line 40 ⟶ 39:
* [[Gundam Wing|Heero Yuy]] gets treated as cold and robotic an awful lot by [[Fanon]], but this runs contrary his own statements and actions. His self-stated life philosophy is "The best way to live your life is by acting on your emotions", and when asked he outright says that kindness isn't needed when you're fighting, but it is the rest of the time. This has been lampshaded by at least one doujinshi in which the ''Wing'' cast is recast as ''[[Wizard of Oz]]'' characters and Heero becomes the Tin Man.
* Wolfgang Grimmer, from ''[[Monster (manga)|Monster]]'', seems to believe that the abusive experimentation he experienced as a child destroyed his emotions, to the point that he couldn't even {{spoiler|grieve at the death of his own son}}. Objectively, he's a [[Friend to All Children]] who gets ''really intense'' at [[Berserk Button|any suggestion that they're being hurt]] and has a serious [[Unstoppable Rage]] problem. He's pretty clearly one of the "out of touch" ones.
== Comic Books ==
Line 47 ⟶ 45:
** Leading to instances where Vision dramatically bemoans his 'inability to feel' as those around him (including Captain America, notably) give him a "..." kind of look.
** Vision would in later appearances often use his "inability" as a blatant excuse to get out of awkward social situations, like his relationship with his ex-wife.
** Mind you, he had emotions right from the
== Film ==
Line 60 ⟶ 57:
** This probably originated in the book, where vampires were essentially soulless demons who mimic human emotions and mannerisms to lure their prey; Dracula himself is described by Van Helsing as a unique exception to this, a vampire with enough self-awareness to concoct an ambitious plan to leave its haunting grounds and invade England. Nonetheless his 'charming host' mannerisms are a thin veneer for his cold, demonic evil, making him a great example of an early literary sociopath.
* The T-800 in [[Terminator 2]]. He is cybernetic robot assassin who can not feel pain or emotions. However when Sarah and John Connor turn on the T-800's learning chip, he is able to understand the value of a human life and emotions, yet he's doomed to never be able to express them. This can all be sum up in one phrase: "I know now why you cry, but it is something I can never do", as he [[Final First Hug|lovingly hugs John like a father]] before going to his death.
** In [[Terminator]] 3 when the T-800 growls "Desire is irrelevant, [[
* Played with a little in the ''[[RoboCop]]'' series, especially in ''[[RoboCop]] II'', during the scene in which Murphy has to look his wife in the eyes and tell her that he [[Blatant Lies|is just a machine that doesn't remember her.]]
== Literature ==
Line 68 ⟶ 64:
* Paul Redeker of ''[[World War Z]]'' constantly complained that human emotions were weaknesses, making him the perfect person to design worst-case scenarios for anti-Apartheid Rebellions and ultimately the [[Zombie Apocalypse]]. {{spoiler|However, having his scenario implemented against the zombie apocalypse - and feeling compassion -- breaks his brain. He develops an alternate persona.}}
** {{spoiler|[[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|As a direct result of being hugged by Nelson Mandela]] }}.
* ''[[Discworld]]''{{'}}s [[Grim Reaper|Death]] is a genuinely nice guy. However, his attempts to gain a better understanding of humanity generally leave him a bit confused. At one point he claims that he can't feel emotions due to not having any glands. The prose points out that, though, that he can feel emotions
{{quote|Anger was an emotion, and emotions required glands, and Death didn't have much truck with glands and needed a good run at it to get angry.
** In ''[[
** Heck, '''{{
** Even more so when ever he acts outside the role of Death, as he's able to freely save lives. Usually he'll spend it saving the lives of children.
* In [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]'s ''[[John Carter of Mars|The Master Mind of Mars]]'', both Ras Thavas and Toonolians appear to have reached this state from excessive desire to be [[The Stoic]]. They profess to be above such things as sentiment, but when they manifest it, and Ulysses Paxton calls them on it, they are in complete denial.
{{quote|''Gor Hajus was essentially a man of sentiment, though he would doubtless have run through the heart any who had dared accuse him of it, thus perfectly proving the truth of the other's accusation.''}}
* The Medtech in Chrys Cymri's ''[[Dragons Can Only Rust]]'' and ''Dragon Reforged'' is an unsympathetic example. He believes Gonard, a more advanced robot than himself, has a soul, and is determined to prove it to vindicate their creator's vision. But he believes that he himself does not have one. It's debatable whether or not he's right. Maybe if he believed he had one, he'd act like less of a mercilessly pragmatic S.O.B. all the time.
* In ''Zepplins West'' by Joe R. Lansdale, the
* Arguably [[Dexter]], although less so than in the TV series. He has an awful lot of angst for someone with no feelings.
* On ''[[Star Trek]]'' Vulcans (such as Spock) pride themselves on being completely without emotion (''that alone'' says it all, but their friends are too polite to call them on it) but clearly have them, while understated. The truth is more that they work hard to be controlled by logic rather than emotion, lest they turn into [[Hot-Blooded]] Psychopaths. However, being the ''[[Star Trek]]'' universe's answer to [[Our Elves Are Better|elves]], they do irritation and pride ''reeeeeealy'' well.▼
▲== Live Action TV ==
* Data on ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' was more often a
▲* On ''[[Star Trek]]'' Vulcans (such as Spock) pride themselves on being completely without emotion (''that alone'' says it all, but their friends are too polite to call them on it) but clearly have them, while understated. The truth is more that they work hard to be controlled by logic rather than emotion, lest they turn into [[Hot-Blooded]] Psychopaths. However, being the [[Star Trek]] universe's answer to [[Our Elves Are Better|elves]], they do irritation and pride ''reeeeeealy'' well.
▲* Data on ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' was more often a [[Tin Man]], much to the curiosity of his friends (and viewers), who often contested the point. In one episode, he sacrificed his emotion chip because it had threatened his friends by making him do some pretty damn nasty stuff. In an instance of him telling the Doctor that he was incapable of giving his child love, she looked skeptical and said she found that hard to believe. The series also notes at other points that while he doesn't have a precisely emotional response, his systems do react in ways that mimic emotional response--for example, he cannot "miss" people, but his subroutines become used to the presence of certain persons and their absence can affect him.
** Doctor Soong himself put it best.
{{quote|'''Data''': You know I cannot grieve for you.
'''Soong''': You will. In your own way.
** In the episode "The Schizoid Man", this trope is taken literally when Dr. Graves whistles "If I Only Had a Heart" while talking to Data in his laboratory {{spoiler|and while inhabiting Data's body after his body's death.}}
* [[Dexter]] constantly, ''constantly'' says that he is unable to feel emotions. Some of his actions throughout the series, however, directly contrast this belief (e.g., cutting off a potential victim's rant out of anger when he refers to Dexter's girlfriend as a "[[Country Matters|cunt]]", protecting Rita's children).
Line 92 ⟶ 87:
* Wyatt Cain of the [[Sci Fi]] Miniseries ''[[Tin Man (TV series)|Tin Man]]''. The human version of the original Baum character, his heart hardened by his family's deaths and his imprisonment in what is dubbed 'The Tin Suit.' Once released, his one and only goal in life is to take revenge on the man who he blames for the destruction of his life. {{spoiler|By the end of the miniseries, he has been reunited with his lost son, who actually wasn't dead.}}
* ''[[Torchwood]]'' makes use of this when {{spoiler|Owen dies}}. He still manages to be angry though.
* The Series 400 mechanoid Kryten from ''[[Red Dwarf]]'' subverts this trope. When the Inquisitor says that he must be the most selfless person on the ship, Kryten points out that he's simply been programmed that way, and that he could only be a truly 'good' person by developing his own values. Unfortunately the values Kryten most admires are the negative ones, like arrogance and
* [[Robot Girl|Cameron]] of ''[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]'' is an odd variation on this. She outright admits that she is incapable of feeling happiness, but at the same time she expresses behavior indicative of fear and desperation whenever John is in serious danger. At one point she even seems saddened and confused when she puts off a friend she's made at a library, and later on, she becomes deeply concerned with whether or not she'll "go bad" again and actually {{spoiler|wires up an explosive to her processor}}.
* Castiel from ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' is this. Angels are said not to have emotions or act on them, but there are several times when Castiel has shown emotion. After Dean {{spoiler|had seen his mother make a deal with the yellow-eyed demon}}, Castiel laid a hand on his shoulder, giving him a look of compassion. When speaking to Dean in "It's The Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester", he expressed doubt. In another episode, "Heaven and Hell", he was reluctant and aplogetic towards Anna, when he had orders to kill her. And in "The Rapture", he showed gentleness with Jimmy Novak when {{spoiler|he got shot by demons}}.
Line 108 ⟶ 103:
'''Michael''': What are you talking about, you don't have feelings!
'''KITT''': I know. That's what so strange about it. }}
== Music ==
* The appropriately titled song ''Tin Man'' by the pop-folk duo, ''The Avett Brothers'' is about a man who describes the emotions that he misses experiencing with the passion of someone who is obviously still feeling them.
== Tabletop Games ==
* In ''[[Promethean: The Created]]'', the Prometheans aren't claiming they have no emotions; what they're claiming is that their emotions aren't ''real'' in some way. As artificial creations, they find themselves aping human emotions in an attempt to pass for normal. Their [[Karma Meter]], Humanity, measures how good they are at that; as it slips away, they're less able to keep the facade.
** The vampires of ''[[Vampire: The Requiem]]'' are also stated to not feel genuine emotions so much as ''remember'' emotions they had felt in life; the game notes that a vampire embraced young might suffer some awkward moments as they try to experience emotions they never felt before the Embrace. The only emotions a vampire is truly capable of "feeling" are those that come from the vampire's [[Super-Powered Evil Side|Beast]]: rage, hunger, and self-preserving fear, all of which manifest in the [[Unstoppable Rage]] referred to in the game as "Frenzy."
== Video Games ==
Line 129 ⟶ 121:
* Jon Irenicus, the [[Big Bad]] from ''[[Baldur's Gate]] II: Shadows of Amn'', was punished for his transgressions basically by removing his soul. This left him drained of all almost emotion; he would display arrogance and a bit of incredulity as the story progressed, and shallow bursts of anger, but that was about it. However bad he had been before, his complete lack of empathy for other sentient beings made him [[Complete Monster|even worse]]. He desired to regain or even remember the love he had once felt, but the ways he went about trying to do this were unsuccesful and [[Squick|extremely creepy]].
* The game itself in ''You Find Yourself In A Room'' is a negative example, being convinced it's incapable of emotions (and that this makes it superior to humanity), despite showing constant hate and anger. {{spoiler|Toward the end of the game, you get the opportunity to indirectly point out to it that hate and anger actually are emotions, sending it into a [[Villainous BSOD]]. It releases you, finding no meaning in tormenting you any longer if it's not the superior emotionless being it believed, and you win the game.}}
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* In ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]'', [http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=1005 Antimony seems to revert to] [[Emotionless Girl]] after her father calls her, but [http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=1006 Mr. Donlan picks out that she's actually feeling quite strongly.]
* In ''[[Sinfest]]'', [
== Western Animation ==
Line 140 ⟶ 130:
* ''[[Futurama]]'' plays with this trope on occasion, which such statements as "I don't have any emotions, and sometimes that makes me feel sad".
** Especially since most of the robots in the show seem to have perfectly human-like emotions, although the triggers are somewhat different.
* Mr. Freeze in ''[[Batman: The
* Red Tornado in ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]'', especially in the episode "Hail the Tornado Tyrant!".
** Also, Red Tornado and his "family" in ''[[Young Justice (animation)|Young Justice]]'', which frustrates their creator T.O. Morrow to no end.
Line 146 ⟶ 136:
* In ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' in the episode "Lisa's Wedding," which mostly takes place in the future, featuring robots. A librarian catches Lisa with her fiance-to-be, and questions aloud how two so opposite personalities could ever fall in love. A bystander comments "How would you know, you're a robot?" prompting the robot librarian to shed a single tear... [[No Waterproofing in the Future|which then causes her to catch fire]]. Then it happens again when said fiance proposes; the two robots hiding in the bushes to implement plan B also start crying, causing their faces to melt.
** Another episode has a robot fleeing from a burning building saying "Why? Why was I programmed to feel pain?"
* In ''[[Scooby Doo Mystery Inc]].'', Fred ''thinks'' that real men don't have feelings, and tries to act accordingly. This doesn't prevent him from repeatedly suffering [[Heroic BSOD
{{quote|'''Fred:''' "Daphne! I've got great news! I'm not a guy anymore!" }}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Characters As Device]]
▲[[Category:TV Tropes Superhero Team]]
[[Category:Emotion Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Tin Man]]
| |||