Bicentennial Man
The family-friendly film about transition that's full of feels
WARNING: Spoilers!!!
Recently a friend of mine pointed out the overwhelmingly relatable aspects of the film ‘Bicentennial Man’ as it pertains to the struggles that Trans people undertake in order to be seen as equally valued as everyone else. While I wasn’t dismissive about this idea of similarity, I also wasn’t convinced that one could equate the journey of a robot transitioning to live as a man to that of a Transgender person. But then I watched it…
The robot as a metaphor for a Trans person actually seems very apt, because as we transition we receive generalized resistance from not only our family, but also society, which sends a very specific message that being anything outside of what is deemed “normal” is wrong. In that regard, we as humans are persuaded to be something very cookie cutter, and generic; as if (ironically) mass produced on an assembly line.
Nothing outside of what is considered “normal” functioning is accepted; society places itself in the position of what could best be described as “quality control.” Though it would be more aptly described as “quality control through oppression.” As we all know, that oppression leads to more systemic issues such as ideation and self-destructive tendencies. This naturally becomes the cornerstone of mental tumult that those oppressing us weaponize as being inevitable, whilst they have become the very catalyst for that self-destruction.
In the movie we are introduced to a robot, who by some miracle has made it past the roadblocks of quality control, and into the home of a nuclear family from the future. This is easily equitable to a child who is born without any obvious defects beginning their life in a home where no one immediately notices their differences. This robot is subsequently given the name Andrew in its first scene after the family’s youngest daughter — Little Miss — mishears her older sister when she says “it’s an android.”
While in the lives of Trans people, it may take years or decades to manifest behaviors that are inconsistent with the norms of their assigned gender, the film wastes no such time. Before long, Andrew begins to demonstrate behaviors which are inconsistent with his expected robotic programming.
As Andrew integrates into the household, Sir’s eldest child attempts to kill Andrew by asking him to jump out of her bedroom window. When her attempt fails, the owner (Sir) explains that even though “Andrew is a form of property,” property is still important, and from that point on he instructs his children to treat Andrew as if he were a person.
The eldest daughter in this scenario is analogous to family actively attempting to reject their Trans family member, while the role of Sir takes the form of an advocate. However, it cannot be overstated that in situations where a youth desires to transition, a parent will often exert their own will to remain gender compliant; this would leave that youth feeling like a piece of “property” instead of a sentient human being.
Andrew begins to demonstrate empathy, initiative, humor, curiosity, introspection, and creativity. None of these behaviors were intended to be within the realm of his programming. This ultimately leads Sir to consult with the company that made Andrew in order to determine if any other of their robots have exhibited such conduct. The company representative (Dennis Mansky) is dismissive of Andrew’s obvious sentience, and chooses to refer to him as “it” — a common pronoun that is frequently used to dehumanize those in the Transgender community.
Mansky further dehumanizes Andrew by referring to him as a “household appliance,” another attempt to denounce Andrew’s uniqueness and disregard his value as being nothing beyond that of a common toaster. He subsequently offers to buy Andrew in an attempt to prevent this “anomaly” from existing in the world and potentially ruining the financial future of the company he works for.
Sir stands up to Mansky and insists that “there is no price for individuality.” Not only does Sir take the position of advocacy, he also assumes the role of protector because it seems evident that selling Andrew would most certainly end up in his destruction. The company would destroy this unique individual to maintain the status quo; no different than how some families see their Trans member as some “thing” that needs to be managed; perhaps by shame, guilt, or even conversion therapy — all things that can bring a person to self-destruct.
Following the meeting with Mansky, Sir explains to Andrew that he is to cut back on his workload, take time every day to make something creative, and to spend some time each day in instruction with him. He goes on to explain that this is to teach him “all the things that haven’t been programmed into him.”
Sir tells Andrew that he is unique, and that he feels responsible to help him become whatever he’s able to be. Essentially, Sir has chosen to see Andrew as his child, and he is going to do everything in his power to help Andrew become a man, even if neither of them realizes how completely Andrew will transition. This feels like the love of a supportive parent, or that of the mentors I have encountered throughout my own transition. Such mentors are bridges leading to self-discovery, and Sir is choosing to help Andrew across this bridge. All trans individuals — especially children — should be so lucky.
Andrew goes on to learn the clock-making trade which is Sir’s (unseen) profession. He eventually fills the house with so many clocks that a discussion is broached regarding their dispersal. Sir suggests selling the clocks, while Little Miss (now an adult) says that Andrew should receive all the proceeds from such sales.
Sir’s wife has not come to see Andrew as an individual, and through her mild disgust, has proven to be the equivalent of a parental gatekeeper. Sir tells Little Miss that he’ll do what’s right for Andrew, but he then falls short when he tells her, “at the end of the day we’re talking about a machine; you can’t invest your emotions in a machine.” This will eventually come back on Sir later when he realizes he did become emotionally invested in Andrew.
In an effort to help Andrew achieve his own financial independence, Sir takes Andrew to visit the family lawyer. The reason for this visit is to establish the legality of Andrew being permitted to have his own bank account. This is indicative of some of the legal challenges that Trans people often encounter while trying to establish the legitimacy of their identities within the eyes of the law. When asked why Andrew would ever need a bank account, he responds that he wants to “pull his own (weight).” Such as Andrew seeks to become a fully functioning member of society, so too do Trans people. Traversing these legal hurdles allows trans individuals to do this.
It can often be a very orchestrated process when a trans person starts to consider the various steps they must go through in order to receive recognition as their authentic self. For example:
A name change facilitates an ID change. The name and ID change facilitates changes to one’s social security number. A name, ID change, and supporting counseling letters can facilitate the changing of a birth certificate (depending on birth state — surgery may be required); while a corrected birth certificate facilitates gender marker changes on a primary ID, and allows for passports to be issued with the corresponding gender marker.
So this moment in the film is a small nod to the many legal hassles one might need to tackle during transition.
There comes a point where Little Miss goes to Andrew to discuss the marriage proposal given to her from her boyfriend Frank. While she seems to love her boyfriend, she tells Andrew that she has a friend she’s in love with; the implication — of course — is the friend she’s referencing is Andrew, a fact he seems oblivious to. He goes on to tell Little Miss that she should marry the friend and not Frank.
While never directly telling Andrew that he’s the friend she loves, she goes on to say that she cannot marry the friend, but she stops short of giving an explanation why. This seems born out of a societal need to adhere to what is deemed as normal; how can the world accept a marriage between a human and a machine? This, of course, echoes the stigmas that arise when any cisgender person sees a Trans individual as worthy of marriage. Sadly, instead of accepting that stigma and being with those who make them happy, many will not follow through with such a marriage. This is the choice Little Miss makes as she opts to marry Frank instead of Andrew.
Andrew returns with Sir to the company that made him in order to secure a repair for a damaged thumb. During this interaction Andrew expresses that he wishes to have some of the cosmetic upgrades which are available on newer versions of the robot. He states that he would like to have the ability to have his thoughts and feelings be expressible on his face.
The company man (which is still Dennis Mansky) seems quizzical about why a robot would want this; Andrew swiftly retorts by saying he’d like to be able to express the same contempt that Manksy is showing on his face.
Here we have that first surgery being sought and rebuffed as superfluous by what might be best described as a gatekeeper. As many of us know, gatekeepers come in all sorts of varieties, from religious leaders to family members, and yes, even to medical professionals.
That being said, Andrew is prepared to bear the brunt of whatever financial burden comes with this; and this brings us to how many deem the cosmetic needs of the Trans community as something rooted in vanity, and not worthy of being covered by insurance.
In this situation Andrew has ample funds to afford these upgrades, but this is not the case for the vast majority of Trans people who — by the sheer virtue of being Trans — are underemployed and thereby indirectly gatekept from having access to income or insurance which would cover transition related care.
Following his facial upgrades, Andrew attends Little Miss’s wedding while wearing a tuxedo. This is the first time that Andrew is seen in male clothing. Along with the happiness that is now evident on his face, one can see a mirror for how Trans individuals feel when presenting as the people they identify as. I personally still have a very strong memory of the day I first dressed up and finally saw my true self in the mirror; I cried. It’s a powerful moment in any Trans person’s life, but it’s a small step on the path to becoming.
From this moment on, Andrew continues to wear clothing, as his gender presentation will be a context clue to the world that he is indeed a man.
After the wedding, Sir asks Andrew to play back the events of the day. A holographic depiction of Sir dancing with his newly married daughter is projected over their palatial swimming pool, and gives rise to Sir’s reality that his children have all left him. Whether he’s aware of it or not, Andrew is the only child he has left; the one he advised Little Miss not to become emotionally invested in is now his only remaining emotional investment in the household.
More than a decade later, we find Andrew enjoying a day at the beach with Little Miss and her two children. Little Miss’s son Lloyd sneaks up on Andrew while he’s engrossed in a novel and subsequently dumps a shovel of sand in his lap. Little Miss immediately corrects Lloyd and insists he apologize to Andrew. He rebuffs by saying he won’t apologize to “it” while Little Miss corrects Lloyd by referring to Andrew as “him.”
Here we see the classic manner in which many of us trans people have been demeaned. The irony of it being done by a child is not lost on me, since willfully choosing to deny us our personhood is childish in its very nature.
It is during their time at the beach that Andrew engages Little Miss in a discussion about freedom. He acknowledges that while neither her or Sir have commanded Andrew to do anything for years, he is not free because he is still expected to carry out a command should they choose to give him one. He goes on to say”
“Terrible wars have been fought where millions have died for one idea — freedom… It seems that something that means so much to so many people would be worth having.”
As Trans people, we often don’t feel free to be ourselves, and this is directly connected to why we spend so much of our lives hiding who we are. Just as Andrew reaches this impasse about his own ability to truly be free, so too must we, and doing so often means going against the wishes of our family.
Seeking to buy his freedom, Andrew eventually approaches Sir with a check made out for all the money in his bank account. Sir believes Andrew is asking to leave, but Andrew rebuts him saying that nothing would change about their dynamic; he would simply be free. Sir is visibly wounded by this and questions why Andrew would ask for this if nothing would change. Little Miss emerges from behind a door, and Sir accuses her of putting the idea into Andrew’s head. She insists that Andrew makes his own decisions, and that it was actually Sir who put the idea in his head. She says that it’s through Sir’s years of tutelage that Andrew has grown as a person, and is now every bit as complex as they are.
The following morning, Sir returns Andrew’s check to him; tells him he’s free now, and that he must now leave the house. Andrew reiterates that he does not wish to leave, but Sir goes on to say “You wished for freedom; you must accept the consequences.”
This is painfully analogous to the rejections that Trans people often receive from their immediate families upon choosing to assert their own will regarding their own destinies. The family, no longer able to pull the strings on these individuals, often chooses to cut ties entirely. Lamentably throwing out a person whom they can no longer exert control over goes a long way towards demonstrating just how hollow and conditional their love was in the first place.
Andrew accepts the consequence of his freedom and leaves, while Sir stands utterly alone, broken by his own emotional petard. The man who lamented his children leaving of their own accord has now forced his last child to leave rather than accept that the keystone of individuality is one’s ability to make their own decisions about their life.
Sixteen years have passed when Andrew is visited by Little Miss at the home he built next to the ocean. It’s clear that during this time Sir never once reconnected with Andrew; now — on this death bed — he’s sent Little Miss to get Andrew so that he could say goodbye. Upon visiting Sir, he is greeted with silent contempt from both Little Miss’s older sister, who had tried to kill Andrew decades earlier, as well as Little Miss’s son Lloyd, who still refuses to acknowledge Andrew as anything other than an “it.”
While many of us have family that do accept us, there are often fractures within families where pockets of hate and ignorance such as this persist.
Sir goes on to tell Andrew he was wrong, and that Andrew was right to have his freedom. Cinematically speaking, this is the deathbed confession that would bring a lot of closure for many Trans folks — myself included. But in reality, few of us will ever receive this, which makes this scene much more painful to watch.
Aware of his own uniqueness, Andrew sets out on a journey (lasting more than a decade) to find other robots that might share his own unique traits. I suppose this isn’t much different than how those of us seek other Trans individuals and support groups so that we can have a better understanding of ourselves.
Unfortunately for Andrew, his search is mostly fruitless. However, he does eventually find one android named Galatea, who seems to have some unique qualities. But he later finds that her eccentricities are due to modifications by a man (Rupert Burns) whose father created the android unit at the company that manufactured Andrew.
Rupert has gotten to a point where he can approximate the physical appearance of a human for these kinds of androids. Hoping to further his own transition, Andrew offers to fund Rupert’s research. Rupert would be analogous to those in the medical profession who realize that Trans individuals may be hindered if prevented from advancing their transition. These are professionals who want to help these people become the best version of themselves.
After an unestablished period of time, Rupert provides Andrew with a complete external makeover. Sans a few robotic blinks, he’s gotten to the point in transition that most of us would refer to as “passable.” It’s at this point he returns to his family’s home which is now owned by a much older Little Miss.
After getting off on the wrong foot with Little Miss’s granddaughter (Portia), who is the spitting image of the younger Little Miss, he attempts to form a friendship with Portia. He has realized that with his original family having passed on, and Little Miss getting older, he has no one left to call family.
Sadly, after the rejection we often face from family and friends, this situation very closely mirrors the isolated lives that many Trans folks live. Thankfully, Portia opens her heart to Andrew. However, the question remains whether Andrew’s passability is what lies at the heart of this acceptance. If so, this is very indicative of how Trans people are only accepted when they can blend in.
Eventually, Little Miss succumbs to a stroke. This leads Andrew to take issue with those he loves passing away while he’s left to live out his life alone. In an effort to preserve the lives of those he cares about, he goes about designing a myriad of mechanical organs that humans can utilize to extend their lives.
This research has the added benefit of being able to be used in a manner that can, and does, further Andrew’s transition to a human being. This seems to be a fair reflection of the superior work that Trans individuals are capable of doing when they are not saddled by the emotional burdens of living as someone they aren’t. I know many Trans individuals who thrive in their fields because they are treated no different than anyone else. When you remove the stigmas associated with being Transgender, all you’re left with is a person who is no different than anyone else.
There’s a point where Rupert is talking to Andrew about the Central Nervous System that he’s designed, and all the joys and pitfalls that will come from having this. I find that Rupert’s statement about this couldn’t be more reflective of what it’s like when one begins hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
“You have to realize that a nervous system is going to radically enhance the way you feel and perceive the world around you. I’m not just talking about hot and cold, and little tiny pinpricks… Put it this way: As your experience becomes varied, so will the feelings, emotions, sensations stimulated by that experience. And while some of these will be very subtle and wonderful, and nuanced, and shaded, others will be profoundly intense and difficult to tolerate.” — Rupert Burns
While Rupert continues work on the various organs that Andrew has designed, Andrew has been solidifying his friendship with Portia. What seems to be the same affection her grandmother shared with Andrew appears to be manifesting itself between the two. This leads Portia to have a conversation with Andrew about just what he is.
With surgical precision she cuts him with the very words that Sir echoed so long ago; “I can’t invest my emotions in a machine.” This naturally pushes Andrew to continue his transition; as if a better analogue of a human can make his relationship with Portia more palatable to her.
Once again we are reminded that being Trans has varying degrees of acceptance framed around where we are in our respective journeys. While some may never see us as valid, others will assign prerequisites to our validity, such as surgical milestones, which we may not want, or possibly could never even afford. Our validity is not determined by such a metric, it’s determined by ourselves. But regardless of how much we remind ourselves of this, we are always fighting this perception with our loved ones, and society as a whole.
The next steps for Andrew involve having modifications that allow for food and liquid consumption as well as the ability to taste. Rupert also claims that he can make Andrew a “complete man.” This statement is fairly insulting to any Trans man out there; as we all know, the measure of a man has nothing to do with having male genitalia. But it’s clear it’s worked into this film because an audience could not digest a movie about a robot transitioning to be a man unless he could consummate as a “man” would.
When Portia tells Andrew that she’s going to be marrying her boyfriend, Andrew responds with an almost canned form acceptance. Portia tells him that he can’t be so indifferent about life, and that sometimes doing the right thing means doing the wrong thing.
It’s not long before Andrew turns the tables on Portia by telling her the “right” thing she’s planning (getting married), is the wrong thing, and that she needs to take her own advice and do what she thinks is “wrong” and marry him instead. This is the emotional ground that many of us would find our partners in; a place where the opinions of others is moot compared to the happiness that can be found with another; regardless of their gender.
After Andrew and Portia consummate their love, she verbalizes the very thing that’s kept her and her Grandmother from marrying Andrew the whole time. “If we’re together, we’ll never be accepted.” Andrew takes this as another challenge in his transition; legal recognition as a human.
Andrew — like many Trans people — finds himself in front of an authority asking to be recognized for who he is. In this case, that authority is the “World Congress.” And while legal name changes can be a fairly straightforward process, this scene is on par with the fight for being legally recognized as the gender one identifies as; a process which is met with varying degrees of difficulty depending on an individual’s birth state.
Ultimately the World Congress denies Andrew his humanity based upon the fact that his status as a robot means that he is immortal — a trait that no human can possess.
As he retreats from the stand knowing that he has been denied his existence by another gatekeeper, he says “One is glad to be of service,” a statement he hadn’t used since before Sir declared him free. In this moment Andrew realizes that his freedom was an illusion, and he is still a slave to the will of a biased society. Such is the struggle for gender recognition; if we do not meet with a very specific criteria, we are denied the right to live as our authentic selves.
After years of being together, Portia — now in her 70’s — tells Andrew that she doesn’t want to live forever, regardless of how Andrew’s inventions could keep her alive. He acknowledges that he doesn’t want to live without her, and he goes to see Rupert for one last procedure. The key to allowing Andrew to find his mortality apparently lies in a blood transfusion; a process that Rupert called monumentally stupid since it will degrade Andrew’s body over the course of the next three to four decades.
Many years later — in an effort to once again attain recognition as human — a geriatric Andrew addresses the World Congress that had previously refused to declare him human. He tells the congress:
“As a robot I could have lived forever, but I tell you all today, I would rather die a man, than live for all eternity as a machine.”
This speaks to the very reasons why we follow through with our transitions. We would rather live out the remainder of our lives as the people we know we are, rather than run out the clock pretending to be someone we were told we needed to be. The President asks Andrew “why he wants this,” and his response echoes the sentiments felt by millions of Trans people the world over…
“ To be acknowledged for who and what I am; no more, no less. Not for acclaim, not for approval. The simple truth of that recognition. This has been the elemental drive of my existence, and it must be achieved if I am to live or die with dignity.” — Andrew Martin
Andrew lies on his deathbed while awaiting the World Congress to make a determination regarding his humanity, while his wife (in a similar state of health) holds his hand.
As the news of his humanity is declared and his marriage seen as valid Andrew passes on silently. Portia — still connected to her own life support — gives her caregiver (a much more human-looking Galatea) an order to unplug her. As Portia passes, she looks to Andrew and whispers…
“I’ll see you soon.”
As a footnote to this piece I wanted to address the “Rules of Robotics” which were famously coined by Isaac Asimov, and which were presented by Andrew in the beginning of this film.
First Law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
The interesting thing about this law is how logical, perfect, and downright Christ-like it seems. It’s fairly simple; do not try to hurt people, and don’t stand by while others are being hurt. While we live in a society that seems to gravitate toward the idea of utopia achieved by means of collective and parallel thinking (see any religion); those very people who seek to impress their uniformity and will upon others are, in fact, bringing harm to others. They want to have a very robotic homogenized society, and yet to achieve that, they ignore the first law, thus creating a form of enslavement (harm) to their fellow humans.
Second Law: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
As we live in this society that seeks uniformity among its populace, we see a lot of people exerting verbal and physical pressures on others in an attempt to make them conform to parallel programming. Many — having been indoctrinated into religion at a young age — will spend their lives attempting to follow these kinds of orders without any thought about whether they even should. Ultimately, forcing individuals to live as another dictates (again, see religion) causes harm to the individual, and therefore, they may be compelled to ignore such direction in order to preserve human life; in this case, their own life.
Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Following the natural progression from the second law, we see the individual take the position of self-protection. This correlates to the need to transition. While transition is not widely understood by our society, we know that following this course is an act of self preservation. Should we continue to allow emotional and physical hardships to befall us due to the limitations imposed upon us by the larger society that’s forcing its will upon us? Or do we make moves to ensure we will live a life that is more attuned to our natural programming? Doing so brings no harm to anyone else by direct or indirect action, and therefore is compliant with the third law.
These laws have always been sound reasoning for the safety of the human race. But while a Trans person is expected to act and live like all other humans — analogous to those who operate within what is deemed “normal” parameters — those same people who are expected to act within those normal parameters diverge from such sound reasoning prescribed within these laws to allow themselves to willfully and intentionally inflict harm upon Transgender (and other LGBTQ+) individuals.
The laws equate to loving your neighbor as you love yourself; a very Christian perspective. Yet the Trans person being viewed as divergent from programming seemingly allows “normal” people to diverge from their own (religious) programming such that they allow themselves to bring harm to those who are not operating in accordance with the programming they seek to impose upon them. I suppose this raises the more important question: why have any form of established parameters when such parameters are ignored when it becomes convenient to do so?
I suppose the point of this footnote is to illustrate that even within an extremely logical structure of rules there will always be aberration. The best solution is to acknowledge that rules are pointless, and ultimately, they lead to the very harm they were intended to curtail.
Kira Wertz (she/her) is a Transgender woman who openly identifies as pansexual. She is a top writer in LGBTQ for Medium, former editor of The Transition Transmission, and Professional Truck Driver currently working with autonomous trucks. Kira is a strong advocate for Transgender rights, especially the rights of Transgender youth. She is a public speaker, a panelist, and can often be found helping her local Transgender community. You can connect with Kira on Threads, Facebook, or Instagram.
