Theme: Androids

An android is a Robot that is built in the likeness of a human being. On this site, a robot is used to refer to any form of independent but non-human machine, whereas an android is a machine that has been designed to mimic a human or at least human form. (The Star Wars series also uses the term ‘droid’ to refer to all robots).

Treatments of android theme include a body of films dealing with sinister android takeover plots. Following the success of The Terminator (1984), the SF/action film has created the trope of the invincible killer android.

There is also quite a body of android identity puzzle films where people are unable to tell the difference between machine and human. More recent treatments deal with the development of Artificial Intelligence or concern self-aware androids searching for their purpose.