The "fembot" (aka female robot or artificial intelligence,) is usually beautiful and completely programmable, and functions as an idealized, eroticized iteration of femininity – a woman without opinions, preferences, or sexual agency. She frequently appears in scifi and horror movies as a way of exploring the dark side of male desire, and the backlash against feminism – but also as a cautionary tale about the implications of an increasingly technological existence. So why is the fembot such a mainstay in film and TV – and what does the future hold for her? Let’s take a deeper look.


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CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:18 'Fembots' are a surprisingly old concept
02:17 The Stepford Wives & fembots from a new perspective
03:30 Her & the fear of female agency
05:48 Why horror loves (& fears) fembots
08:04 The Other Black Girl & Westworld
09:23 M3GAN & the dark side of kidfocused tech
10:02 The Good Place's Janet & imagining a better future



The Take was created by Debra Minoff & Susannah McCullough
This video was written by Ellie Slee, narrated/produced by Jessica Babineaux, and edited by John Tod

Films & shows featured in this video:
The Stepford Wives (1975 & 2004)
Her
Blade Runner
Blade Runner 2049
Ex Machina
Westworld
M3GAN
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Mars Attacks
The Bride of Frankenstein
The Other Black Girl
The Good Place
The Bionic Woman
My Living Doll
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Metropolis
Pygmalion
The Wolfman
I Vampiri
Vampyr
Mad Men