I really was very young
when I saw The Creation of the Humanoids.
It had a very lasting effect on me. Until then, I never considered what a thin
line there might be between man and machine. How much of a person’s personality
is nature and how much is nurture? What defines a creature as being biological?
Is being biological a requirement for consciousness? It was all very heady
stuff. It’s a good thing The Creation of
the Humanoids didn’t have dazzling special effects, roaring chase scenes,
or fireball explosions to distract me from those talking heads. My young mind
was doing its best to keep up with the implications of their discussions. The
acting in this film is very stiff. It’s not improved by the cinematography.
Nearly all the scenes are unanimated people talking to each other. But as I
watched The Creation of the Humanoids
again, all these decades later, I was struck by how many of the film’s predictions or concepts have
came true. I’m also amazed at how the dialog, while a bit uninspiring,
continues to touch on relevant social issues, such as surveillance, sexual
freedom, relationships, and what constitutes a partnership. You might find The Creation of the Humanoids a clunky
old sci-fi movie, but I challenge you to compare it to modern science fiction
movies. See if current productions touch on as many social issues, or if they
are just eye candy.
