Tag Archives: summons

Handwave switches

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Much of the control of Morbius’’ highly technological house is given to wave-over switches. These devices sit on the tops of tables, and illuminate briefly when they detect a hand moving above them. Each is keyed to a different job.

Alta must “beam” Robbie several times before he arrives.

One of these devices summons Robbie. After waving her hand several times over it, Alta expresses her frustration when Robbie finally arrives. ““Where have you been?”” she asks, ““I’’ve beamed and beamed.”” It hints at the need for some feedback from Robbie that he has heard the summons and is coming.

With a wave of his hand Morbius activates the security shutters around his house.

Another hand wave device closes or opens the protective metal shutters that seal Morbius’’ house.

To see the outdoors better, Morbius waves off the indoor lights.

Another one allows him to turn off interior lights, which he uses in the film to see what is approaching so noisily.

One interesting fact of these interfaces is that they lack any affordance for their cause and effect. How is a new user meant to know to wave? How would she know what would happen as a result? Though this is generally inadvisable, we can imagine that Morbius only ever planned for he and Alta to use it.

Tools of the aristocracy

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Joh is the civil and capital leader of Metropolis, and his large office reflects it in the amount of technology it has. To the left of the door is Josaphat’’s work interface (see Middle Class Oppression for more detail). To the right are two other pieces of technology: a large video screen hangs high, and a video phone rests on the wall below.

Joh Frederson paces in his office.

His desk also features some impressive technology. He has a bell jar ticker machine for receiving information. A large output panel on the right side of his desk allows people to request his attention. It features a huge array of thin bulbs labeled with particular codes. In one scene, Joh hears a sound and lifts his head to see a blinking light next to one of the labels. In response he touches a button on a control panel on the left of his desk to close the curtains, and then another to open the door to his office and receive Josephat.

Joh notices that Josephat wishes to speak to him.

Joh closes the curtains from his desk.

Later he uses another button on this same panel to summon his agent, called the Thin Man.

Joh closes the curtains from his desk.

These interfaces are particular to Joh, conveniences only available to one in a position of wealth and power.