Love, Death & Robots -- When Color Creates Character

     As I was reviewing the many shorts of Love, Death & Robots on Netflix, I have to say that I felt the most emotional when I watched Season 1's "Zima Blue". The animation was spectacular throughout the episode--as is the animation for every other episode I have seen so far--and the artistic and focus of the short was very intriguing. Not only that, but the characterization of Zima himself was very compelling, and the way his story was told so completely felt saddening and heartwarming simultaneously. Thus, I figured this episode would be a great subject for analysis.

    For starters, I want to talk about how the episode represents the process of evolution. Zima started as a simple pool-cleaning robot. After his original creator passed away, he was passed on to several different owners, and every owner would each give him gradual upgrades, making him more sentient; more alive. From my perspective, it almost feels like an infant slowly growing up into an adult. At some point, he became sentient enough to question what his purpose was. In this case, he is stuck in what some would consider as a "mid-life crisis". To try solve this, he has several cybernetic enhancements implemented into his body, allowing him to search across the vast regions of Earth and the Moon, seeking inspiration. However, Zima eventually realized was happiest when he was just cleaning his builder's swimming pool. Zima practically grows into an adult through this process, and, near the end of the episode, his mind is made up on what he believes his purpose is.

    On the subject of Zima's growth, another thing I found so interesting about this episode was the use of abstract art in Zima's paintings. In each of Zima's artworks that are shown to us viewers, there was a bright blue circle in the center of all of Zima's artworks after his realization of his purpose. The circle slowly expands in each of his paintings, until it finally consumes the entire canvas. After that, the canvas covered in blue is expanded, and it grows to the point where you could see it from space. This form of abstract art can be seen as the symbol of Zima's own growth, as he saw that cleaning the blue tiles that were embedded into the wall around his creator's pool made him happy. Using this abstract art, he presented his intense passion to the world.

    To summarize, this episode has really left an influence on me through the presentation of Zima's character and his abstract art. The gorgeous flow of the animation, the motivation Zima has, and his performance art at the end of the episode awoke sincere emotion in me.