Annotated Bib Essay

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Annotated Bibliography: Robocop(1987)
Critical Preface In the final literary analysis paper, my argument will be supported by two separate yet equally important sources: the primary source, Paul Verhoeven’s “Robocop”, and the secondary sources, which will reinforce my argument that “Robocop,” and similar science fiction films of the 1980’s, satirizes and critiques 80’s social, economic, and political culture through powerfully graphic scenes, recurring motifs, and cybersubjectivity. These are those sources.
Works Cited
Arnett, Robert. "Eighties Noir The Dissenting Voice in Reagan’s America." Journal of Popular Film and Television 34.3 (2006): 123-29. Ohio State University Libraries. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.
Arnett is a regular contributor to the “Journal of Popular Film and Television” and is also an associate professor of communication and theatre arts/film studies at Old Dominion University. In this article, Arnett essentially counters many of Forsyth’s socialist arguments, saying that most films of the eighties promoted Reagan’s policies with the exemption of a select few films called eighties noir. He argues that films such as “Die Hard,” “Manhunter,” and “To Live and Die in LA” dissent Reagan’s America due to their narrative styles, character types and implicit messages, unlike most films of that era. This article is important to my argument, as I will essentially be arguing that “Robocop” belongs in the same noir genera as the films described in this article.

Bradley, Dale. "The Return of the Repressed: Cybersubjectivity in ROBOCOP." Invisible Culture 10 (2006): n. pag. Rochester. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.
Bradley researches and analyzes contemporary technoculture and the emergence of cybersociety as an assistant professor in the Department of Film, Communications, and Popular Culture at Brock University. Bradley provides an interesting look at “Robocop” through a Lacan and Freudian perspective, which is interesting considering he is attempting to elaborate on the psychology of a half-robot. Because of this, Bradley is forced to elaborate on this idea of cybersubjectivity. Bradley identifies the pathos of how the audience perceives and relates to Murphy/Robocop, specifically through the death of Murphy and the way the audience first experiences the birth of Robocop. On the whole, the majority of this article will be not useful for my argument. However, Bradley does provide one of the best cybersubjectivity explanations and cleanly relates this to “Robocop.”

Codell, Julie F. "Robocop Murphy's Law, Robocop's Body, and Capitalism's Work." Jump Cut 34 (1989): 12-19. E-Jump Cut. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.
“Jump Cut” is a peer-reviewed journal pioneering in analyzing media in since 1974. In this article, Codell explains the social, political, and economical implications present in some of “Robocop’s” most violent scenes, specifically the death of Murphy and the original Robocop’s malfunction at the board meeting. Codell argues that Verhoeven poses no solutions, but rather brings up the issues with the 80’s vision of a high-tech and corporate utopia, and argues that perhaps Robocop’s malfunctions are what will maintain humanity. This articles detail the implications of the overly violent scenes, which