How Audiences Fell in Love With Cyborgs (Literally)

Taking the form of escapism and existential horror before veering into fetish territory, humans have an uneasy relationship with machines. (This might get weird. You’ve been warned.) A recurring and unavoidable theme in all cyborg-themed films, TV programs, and anime is the need or desire to upgrade our inferior or faulty carbon-based limbs with something better. That’s where it starts, but where writers have taken this idea is limited to their most feverish nightmares, demonstrated by the fact that there are three iconic half-man, half-machine characters named “Iron Man” in 20th Century pop culture. Black Sabbath’s song of the same name, funny enough, has nothing to do with Marvel’s favorite billionaire other than appearing on the soundtrack.

​ No genre says more about humanity’s hopes and fears than a good cyborg flick. Maybe don’t look up the fan art though.