Podcast Transcript
Hello everyone, and welcome to Shortwave Sci-Fi. If you’re just joining me, I cover different topics and franchises in science fiction and break down their deeper meanings. Today, I’m going to be talking about mechs, robots, and other large machines that are typically used as a powerful fighting force. Although I’ve already done an episode on the Transformers franchise, I’m trying to make this one more distinct. I also talked about Warhammer recently, and that’s a partial inspiration for this episode. However, I’ve always taken an interest in big robots like “Pacific Rim” and “Mobile Suit Gundam”- by that, I thought they looked cool when I was younger. I didn’t actually consume the media until recently, but I always had a slight curiosity about it.
The first time I remember being fascinated by robots was, of course, “Star Wars,” although that doesn’t necessarily fit this episode, since it is specifically about giant to gargantuan robots and mechs that serve different purposes. Around the same time, I was introduced to Transformers. I always enjoyed that, but didn’t get as invested in it as I am now. I watched the Hugh Jackman movie “Real Steel” probably when I was a little too young, but I paid no mind to the plot. I just liked it when the robots were fighting. I always thought all of it looked cool, but I haven’t actually looked into them more until now.
A few months ago, I watched “Pacific Rim” for the first time with my family. I found the writing to be mediocre, but some of the plot points were really interesting. I was especially intrigued by the idea of having two people pilot the mech, and they have to be very closely connected in ways of thinking for it to work well. On top of that, the computer-generated imaging (CGI) and visual effects of the movie are absolutely stunning. Seeing the huge mechs fight kaijus in the ocean is cool enough, but when they start crashing into the city, it’s just wild. I’ll have to rewatch it soon, because I kind of forgot what happened. Unfortunately, the sequel is regarded to be horrible, so I’ll probably skip that one. I really like the theme of personal connections helping to coordinate this huge machine.
“Mobile Suit Gundam” is an anime series from 1979. At this time, I haven’t actually seen the original series, but I’ve built a few of the model kits, called Gunpla– a mashup of the words Gundam and Plamo, which is a mashup of plastic and model. Even without much knowledge of the original series, I started watching a more recent Gundam series called “The Witch From Mercury.” I’ve only seen the prologue and some of episode 1, so I’m not the right person to describe the story, but it’s been amazing so far. Gundam is known for having dark themes like political assassinations, child soldiers and ethics of technology. All I can say on the topic is that the model kits are a lot of fun to put together. I think it can connect to the real world by being a monumentally large hobby and also covering topics that are sensitive yet important to the real world. Portraying complicated issues in a fantasy or science fiction setting can help us better understand the reality of what’s happening in our world.
Thank you all for listening to the first episode of season two! I haven’t made much change, but I’m still enjoying making this kind of content. I’ll see you all next time!
