Boilerplate (robot)

Boilerplate

Boilerplate and Teddy Roosevelt
Publication information
First appearance Boilerplate website, July 2000
Created by Paul Guinan
In-story information
Species Robot
Partnerships Professor Archibald Campion

Boilerplate is a fictional robot which would have existed in the Victorian era and early 20th century. It was created in 2000 by Portland, Oregon USA artist Paul Guinan.[1] Originally intended for comics, the character became known via a faux-historical website created by Guinan, and has since appeared in other media.

Development

Boilerplate was originally featured on a website created by Paul Guinan in 2000. The Boilerplate site details the history of a remarkable robot built in the late 19th century, and features photoshopped "archival images" in which Boilerplate (actually a 12-inch articulated model) is seen interacting with historical figures, such as Teddy Roosevelt and Pancho Villa.[2] Becoming aware that some visitors to the site were taken in by its contents, making it an unintentional hoax, Guinan resolved to see how authentic he could make the character seem, working to ensure the descriptions of non-fictional events were accurate. He explained his motivation in a 2002 interview:

"Certainly I felt happy about having achieved my goal," he said. "I put this thing across as trying to be real, and people bought into it. So, that's a success! But, as an amateur historian, I feel a responsibility to get the story right. So I felt bad about some of these people being hoaxed. It was a mixed bag."

Guinan and Bennett at WonderCon 2010
"But," he revealed, "I thought, if I was getting this reaction and I wasn't really trying, then what would happen if I really tried?"[3]

Guinan estimated that roughly a third of the site's visitors treated its faux history as real. Comedian Chris Elliott, while realising that Boilerplate was fictional, thought that the spoof dated back to the 19th century and included the character in one of his books (see below).[4]

Guinan later expanded his website into The History of Robots in the Victorian Era, which features other "turn-of-the-century robots, both real and imagined".

Fictional character history

Boilerplate is built by Professor Archibald Campion in the 1880s and unveiled at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.[5] The robot's notable adventures include an expedition to the Antarctic, during which it saves the lives of the team members by singlehandedly moving ice floes, clearing a path for the ship to sail out.[6]

Designed for the self-proclaimed purpose of "preventing the deaths of men in the conflicts of nations," Boilerplate charges into combat during the Spanish–American War and the Boxer Rebellion. Campion and his robot also circle the planet with the U.S. Navy, make silent movies, and hobnob with the likes of Mark Twain and Nikola Tesla.[7]

Boilerplate is also active in the First World War, but disappears during the relief of Major Whittlesey's Lost Battalion, possibly having been captured by the Germans for study. Supporters of this theory point out that German military technology advances tremendously in the twenty years between the two world wars, encompassing guided rockets, experimental jets, and sophisticated tanks.[8] Post World War II, Boilerplate is sighted on a number of occasions, often in Chicago.[8]

In other media

References

  1. 1 2 MacDonald, Heidi (November 1, 2005). "The Inadvertent Plagiarist: Chris Elliott Meets Boilerplate". Publishers Weekly (Reed Business Information). Retrieved 2009-01-21. Archived April 13, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ Regan, Jim (January 16, 2004). "The History of Robots in the Victorian Era". csmonitor.com (The Christian Science Monitor). Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  3. ↑ Dooley, John (November 7, 2002). "The Factual Fiction of Paul Guinan's Hysterical Hoax". Portland Mercury (Index Newspapers). Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  4. 1 2 3 Wyatt, Edward (November 1, 2005). "The Strange Case of the Spoofer Captured by a Spoof". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  5. ↑ Guinan, Paul. "Boilerplate: History of a Victorian Era Robot". Big Red Hair. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  6. ↑ Guinan, Paul. "Boilerplate in Antarctica". Big Red Hair. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  7. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/dp/0810989506
  8. 1 2 Guinan, Paul. "The Disappearance of Boilerplate". Big Red Hair. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  9. ↑ Barton, Randall (Jan 22, 2009). "Victorian robot is a history emcee". The Portland Tribune (Pamplin Media Group). Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  10. ↑ "Chris Ware, Warren Ellis Garner Most Nominations for 2006 Eisners". Comic-Con International. 2006. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  11. ↑ "Band adopts Boilerplate as mascot for North American tour". Periscope Studio. October 4, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  12. ↑ Kit, Borys and Fernandez, Jay A. (July 29, 2010). "J.J. Abrams producing period robot movie 'Boilerplate' (exclusive)". Heat Vision (The Hollywood Reporter). Archived from the original on July 30, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2010.

External links

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