The ideas and values behind
There is a scene in the movie of Hugo being amazed by seeing a magic trick for the first time in his life and eagerly learning it. He even performs it in front of his still-lifeless automaton. This greatly reflects back to the period of Enlightenment, during which the automatons proliferated. One of the purposes for creating an automaton was to promote the skills of the artisan in watch-making, an example of which is the fact that the Jaquet-Droz’s automatons were created as a public relations tool. But the reason for the mass production of the machine is due to its cohesion with the values of the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was the time for “advancement in anatomy, design of scientific instruments and fondness for magic tricks” (xvi-xvii, Wood), which led to glorification of automatons, as they well-embodied what the Enlightenment was all about.
There is a relationship between the development of scientific instruments and increasing fondness for magic tricks. The more sophisticated the scientific knowledge and instrument becomes, the more can people perform “magic”, as the surpassing of level the complexity behind the concept that facilitates an occurrence beyond that of common knowledge leads the audience to consider it magical. The creation of automatons is the result of people’s passion for both the science and magic tricks: the machine is comprised of carefully coordinated and calculated mechanical parts that, in unison, perform a magic trick of lifeless metal pieces becoming a simulacrum of a human being. It is only natural for people at the time to pay pilgrimages to various kinds of automatons to satisfy their thirst for the love of magic. In turn, this popularity of automatons led to creations of more elaborate automatons. In this sense, it is also critical for Jaquet-Droz to reveal the inside of his automaton, as it was done after each showcase of the Writer. This action symbolizes denigration of the mystical in favor of science and rationality.
Another Enlightenment ideal that cohered with reasons people are fascinated with automatons is the illusion of complete mastery. The academics and artisans of the time aspired for a godlike capacity of achieving perfection in their work, and automatons were a way to try to eradicate one of many defects of humans. The inevitability of death of all living creatures was “fixed” in the hands of men, and as a result, automatons were born. In Edison’s Eve, a book written by Gaby Wood which talks about the source of the uncanny feeling when humans are faced with the alter versions of ourselves, automatons are described to run by time but defies time and “merely marks time without falling prey to it.” (xvii) However, although the “problem” of mortality of humans may be fixed through creating automatons or versions of humans that escapes the consequences of time, we are more reminded of and thus grow anxious of the fact that humans are able to create immortal beings but shall never be one. Thus automatons are representations of humanity’s hope to conquer immortality.
There is a relationship between the development of scientific instruments and increasing fondness for magic tricks. The more sophisticated the scientific knowledge and instrument becomes, the more can people perform “magic”, as the surpassing of level the complexity behind the concept that facilitates an occurrence beyond that of common knowledge leads the audience to consider it magical. The creation of automatons is the result of people’s passion for both the science and magic tricks: the machine is comprised of carefully coordinated and calculated mechanical parts that, in unison, perform a magic trick of lifeless metal pieces becoming a simulacrum of a human being. It is only natural for people at the time to pay pilgrimages to various kinds of automatons to satisfy their thirst for the love of magic. In turn, this popularity of automatons led to creations of more elaborate automatons. In this sense, it is also critical for Jaquet-Droz to reveal the inside of his automaton, as it was done after each showcase of the Writer. This action symbolizes denigration of the mystical in favor of science and rationality.
Another Enlightenment ideal that cohered with reasons people are fascinated with automatons is the illusion of complete mastery. The academics and artisans of the time aspired for a godlike capacity of achieving perfection in their work, and automatons were a way to try to eradicate one of many defects of humans. The inevitability of death of all living creatures was “fixed” in the hands of men, and as a result, automatons were born. In Edison’s Eve, a book written by Gaby Wood which talks about the source of the uncanny feeling when humans are faced with the alter versions of ourselves, automatons are described to run by time but defies time and “merely marks time without falling prey to it.” (xvii) However, although the “problem” of mortality of humans may be fixed through creating automatons or versions of humans that escapes the consequences of time, we are more reminded of and thus grow anxious of the fact that humans are able to create immortal beings but shall never be one. Thus automatons are representations of humanity’s hope to conquer immortality.
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