Transformers and Philosophy

by Shook, John, Swan, Liz

  Early on in the film, a battle breaks out between the Autobots and the Decepticons, and the Decepticons clearly have the advantage. The defenses of the Autobots’ base on Earth had been compromised and the Decepticons, following the lead of Megatron, were very close to wiping out all the Autobots. At this time, Optimus Prime showed up and engaged Megatron in a historic final battle between these two titans. In the end, Optimus Prime defeated Megatron, but not without receiving fatal wounds himself. In a scene long to be remembered by those who adored the leader for his good and wise leadership, Optimus Prime passed the “Matrix of Leadership” on to the next leader of the Autobots, and died.

  Let’s examine the actions of Optimus Prime throughout this sequence of the movie, keeping in mind what it really means to be a hero. We already know that Optimus stood for justice, peace, fairness, honesty and just about anything we can think of that falls in the category of “goodness.” Optimus knew that the Decepticons had no regard for these principles, and he also knew that if the Decepticons succeeded in ruling the universe, a time of tyranny, oppression, and exploitation would be at hand. This had been the motivation for fighting the Decepticons all along. This fight is no longer merely about the protection of the Autobots and the rest of the Transformers throughout the universe, but also for all other life forms, such as the human race, as well. This consideration for the well being and survival of others on the part of the Autobots and Optimus Prime as their leader, entitles Optimus to the status of “hero” to any individual or species that he would protect.

  When Optimus Prime enters the battle that had been raging from the beginning of the movie, he knew there was a chance that he may not survive his fight with Megatron. This is indicated by his line just before entering the fight: “Megatron must be stopped, no matter the cost” and his famous line just before his one-on-one combat with Megatron commences: “One shall stand, one shall fall.” Given the seriousness of what was at stake for the well-being of so many other life forms, Optimus clearly saw beyond the value of his own life, and he did what needed to be done in order to stop the Decepticons. This self-sacrifice is a classic example of heroic behavior throughout the ages.

  On his death bed, Optimus hands over the Matrix of Leadership (a powerful and mysterious object containing all the wisdom of the leaders that have come before him) to the Autobot character Ultra Magnus. When Optimus hands him the Matrix, Ultra Magnus declares that he is not worthy of receiving it. Optimus immediate responds by proclaiming that he was not worthy either. This candid acknowledgment of his own limitations illustrates Optimus Prime’s humble nature. Optimus also predicts that the Matrix will one day be used to “light our darkest hour.” This reflects the passionate dedication Optimus has to his fellow transformers, even as he is nearing his own end.

  Optimus Prime’s dying words while handing the Matrix on to Ultra Magnus were “Until that day, when all are one.” Based on the actions and words of Optimus Prime throughout the storyline of the Transformers saga, I interpret Optimus Prime to be referring to the day when all sentient beings can set aside their differences and join each other in the spirit of good will, justice, and peace. Until that day, all Transformers must continue to try, using all the power available, including the wisdom and power of the Autobot Matrix, to defeat those who would govern with tyranny and violent oppression. This is the heroic spirit at its core. It is the beauty of this vision that places Optimus Prime in the mythological history of the good.

  EPISODE SIX

  _________________

  War and Peace

  14

  Megatron, Fascist Philosopher

  JOHN R. SHOOK

  No one could mistake Megatron for a philosopher. But it would be an equally big mistake to overlook his intellect. And his principles. Yes, Megatron lives and acts according to principles. Except when he doesn’t, of course, like when he bursts into a violent rage.

  Still, there may be a method to his madness. His personality, his character, is twisted and dark. But if we shine a little light into Megatron’s soul, what could we find? I think that we’d find a philosophy engraved into his circuits. Megatron exemplifies a philosophical outlook on life. His behavior, all of it, is consistent with a decisive stance towards the whole universe. His leadership role with the Decepticons gives Megatron plenty of opportunity to express, and inflict, his philosophy.

  Sure, Megatron seems like pure evil on first (and second, and third) acquaintance. But we might just discover that Megatron has been badly misunderstood. Let’s try to have some sympathy for this devil. He does command respect, after all. You don’t rise up the ranks to become one of the most impressive and feared villains of all time by just being really evil. It’s way more complicated than that!

  Megatron’s Evil Behavior

  Megatron’s behavior is notoriously evil. It goes way beyond bad manners. The rudeness, the sarcasm, the temper tantrums, the screaming. Lots of screaming. No, Megatron does not play nice with others. His conduct has bigger faults than mere rudeness, though. Let’s catalogue some examples. Its always about what Megatron wants. Never caring about what others need, too. Always having to be in charge. Ordering other Transformers around like they have no feelings. Trying to start fights. Abandoning comrades at any convenient moment.

  Megatron’s bad attitude is not only rude and inconsiderate, but it tends towards downright nastiness. There’s no getting around the nastiness. Megatron can be terribly nasty. To anyone. At any time. And just because he feels like it. Once he decides upon a brutal plan of terror, he is completely ruthless and unforgiving.

  But it’s really all about the way Megatron goes about killing.

  Now, let’s slow down here. We can’t pass judgment on Megatron just for killing. Lots of ordinary soldiers and even heroes sometimes kill, after all. Try to understand Megatron by starting with who he truly is. His essence is not hard to describe. Megatron is first and foremost a soldier. A trained fighting and killing machine. Literally. And he has the mind and soul of a soldier. If the basic mentality of a pure soldier could be hardwired into a robot, Megatron would perfectly exemplify this military mind-set. But he’s way more than just a soldier.

  How can this be put delicately? Yes, Megatron kills. Okay, he kills a lot. Extravagant killing. It’s safe to say that Megatron really enjoys murder and mayhem. All his victims, piled up together, would make a heap big enough to fill a lunar crater or two. Megatron has had his enemies, millions of years’ worth. Lost in that pile would be some of his friends, too. Well, probably not “friends,” exactly. Hard to recall if Megatron ever had any friends. Maybe way back when he started out as just one of many Transformers, before the wars began. By the time we see him as Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, he only has comrades, not friends.

  Well, maybe not comrades, exactly, either. Calling guys like Starscream and Frenzy his “comrades” doesn’t quite fit. You have a serious bond with a comrade, a caring relationship that goes beyond just happening to working together. Decepticons are definitely not comrades in arms. Megatron doesn’t even really work with his, um, colleagues. He tells them what to do all the time, that’s for sure. And we can’t forget that he frequently tells them to kill.

  Megatron is happy to let other Decepticons do the killing. He is forever hatching new plots and schemes and strategies for fighting, using them as his tools. Sure, Megatron will take pleasure in a kill himself when the opportunity strikes. But he really is focused on one particular killing opportunity. Maybe we needn’t mention who. Megatron’s arch-nemesis, that goody-goody robot, has become an obsession. Megatron won’t let anybody else kill that guy. A battle with Optimus Prime (did you guess?) is enough to make Megatron’s day. What would a hero be without an anti-hero? Megatron is so fixated on Optimus that he even believes that the entire universe would be his, if it weren’t for Optimus. Only Optimus has ever earned Megatron’s respect. Sometimes they even talk to each other in almost brotherly terms. The kind of brothers who are pretty sick of each ot
her, and just want to kill each other and be done with it.

  If you happen to take Optimus Prime’s side, it is easy for you to hate Megatron. Optimus is so kind and good and righteous and heroic, blah, blah, blah. Whatever. To anyone filled with admiration for Optimus, Megatron would seem pretty one-dimensional. He’s just evil. Pretty predictably evil, in fact. You just know that Megatron’s up to something evil. It’s always the same. Megatron plots evil; Optimus Prime and the Autobots have to put a stop to it. After a while, Megatron’s character looks so thinly drawn, that you’d take him to be just a cartoon figure. But look again!

  Megatron’s Evil Character

  Selfishness. Egotism. Megalomania. Words fail after a while. Megatron’s pretty into himself, you know? If Megatron can think about things other than his own personal goals, it’s hard to tell. There’s more to this character than just a big ego, though. Megatron has an ego so big that there’s no room for anything else.

  Megalomania. Psychologists had to make up a new word for the sort of ego that a guy like Megatron has. Selfish people put themselves first, to be sure. But there are lots of selfish people in the world who are happy enough doing their own thing. Megatron’s not like that. We can’t imagine Megatron simply going off by himself to do whatever he wants to do. A megalomaniac is a special kind of maniac. An ordinary maniac is single-mindedly focused on himself and whatever he’s doing at that time, to the exclusion of everyone and everything around him. By placing “megalo” before “maniac,” you can invent a new label for a mega-sized maniac. This sort of supersized maniac inflates his ego, his own self, beyond his own person to encompass everything around himself.

  William James, the founder of psychology in the United States, explained how we think of our selves in terms of what we possess. In his greatest work, The Principles of Psychology, James explained that one’s conception of one’s self is way more than just one’s own mind or consciousness. That’s a narrow philosophical view that has little to do with the way ordinary people have always thought of themselves. A psychologist has to deal with real people, and their real selves. You can tell how people think of themselves, James explains, by their concern for things. People feel concern for, and ownership of, their minds and bodies, but it doesn’t stop there. What about our clothes, the furniture of our intimate lives, and our treasured homes? When these things are damaged or violated or stolen, we feel personally violated. It’s all about control, ultimately. Our most precious possessions are a part of us. What we possess, what we control, what we need to live our lives—these things are a part of us, part of our person. That’s the only way to fully explain why we feel so personally violated or harmed when anything happens to these external things. By extension, our loved ones, our families, are also a part of ourselves. It’s very hard to understand human psychology without properly recognizing this wider self that extends beyond the inner self.

  Healthy psychological attitudes rest on our feelings of safety, security, and control over all the dearest things around us that we care about so deeply. Unhealthy psychological states emerge when a person either has too little security and control, or seeks excessive security and control, over this wider self. People who care little for anyone around them, or care so much that they try to obsessively control them, will have serious psychological problems. Now, imagine someone whose personality combines two quite unhealthy characteristics: this person thinks that their self encompasses everything, and this person is so insecure that he has become obsessed with controlling everything. There’s your megalomaniac. As the Oxford English Dictionary puts it, a megalomaniac suffers from “the delusion that one has great power or importance” and has an “obsession with the exercise of power.”

  Before we hastily diagnose Megatron as a megalomaniac, let’s try to consider the evidence carefully. Megatron’s own words must be heard. What sorts of things do we typically hear our of that big metal mouth? We certainly hear some bragging.

  We are indestructible! Power to the Decepticons forever!

  Megatron not only brags about his power, but he is also proud of his wits.

  Power flows to the one who knows how. Desire alone is not enough.

  Megatron certainly likes power. The more power for him, the better. He just can’t feel inferior or indebted to anyone else.

  I belong to nobody!

  Megatron is quite sure about the proper use of power. Power is for domination.

  Decepticons do not cower behind gun batteries! Our destiny is to go where we please on this wretched world—to conquer!

  Megatron is proud of himself. He even gladly admits his megalomania.

  OPTIMUS PRIME: You destroy everything you touch, Megatron!

  MEGATRON: That’s because everything I touch is food for my hunger. My hunger for power!

  Yes, I think that we can safely conclude that Megatron is a paradigm example of a megalomaniac. We are dealing with a seriously deranged character. But there are greater depths to Megatron than just his psychotic delusions of grandeur.

  Megatron’s Evil Leadership

  Megalomaniacs may like to feel in command and in control all of the time. Yet few of them actually rise to any level of authority, and very few could actually be any good at authority. Perhaps fortunately for Megatron, few other Decepticons are anywhere near as maniacal as he is. They sure take a beating from him every once in a while. Megatron maintains his authority over the other Decepticons mostly by beating back every challenge to his command. The Decepticons evidently regard the right to command as rightfully belonging to the strongest and wiliest of them all. That’s been Megatron.

  Megatron never suffers from any shortage of strategies. He tries all sorts of deceptive tricks, surprise attacks, and forthright confrontations to achieve his evils aims. An evil genius, Megatron is not. But at least Megatron stays focused, and you’ve got to give him credit for stubborness. The prime object is, of course, control of the home planet of Cybertron itself. After that, the universe! But Megatron finds it so frustrating that the present stage for this cosmic drama is ridiculously limited to an irrelevant planet, the planet Earth. All the same, with his impressive intellect, Megatron knows exactly what the master plan must be:

  My plan is to conquer this mud-ball of a planet, and suck it dry of energy!

  Smarts and strength. Admirable, but is it enough? Admittedly, Megatron’s a leader only in the most basic of senses. Many things that we might expect from a good leader are things that Megatron could never do. It’s just not in his nature. For example, a real leader would be concerned for the good of whole team. No, that’s not Megatron. He’d gladly sacrifice any of his followers for his own sake. As another example, a good leader would take responsibility for his contribution to any failure, as well as any success. No again, that’s not Megatron. Megatron won’t ever take any blame for failure. How many millions of years of failure to defeat the Autobots? And never once was it Megatron to blame? Here’s yet another quotation straight from his mouth:

  We’ve failed before through no fault of mine! But this time, I shall not be denied. This device will enable me to strike at the Autobots through Optimus Prime’s only weakness: his over-developed sense of honor.

  A good leader would understand what’s he’s up against. Megatron knows Optimus Prime through and through. He at least can credit Optimus Prime for his strengths. Megatron is usually gracious enough to state the obvious: they are a fair match. They possess roughly equal technological powers and constitutions. After all, it’s still a tie after so many battles. But there’s one things that makes them very different. Megatron picks out Optimus Prime’s honor. That’s the Autobot leader’s reputation, of course. That shining coat of virtue he wears all the time. But that makes Optimus Prime predictable, and weak. Quite unlike Megatron—there’s no ethical principle slowing him down.

  STARSCREAM: You wouldn’t want to cheat, would you, Megatron?

  MEGATRON: I will win by any means, at any cost! Even if it means terminating you,
Starscream!

  No, no ethical principles at all, in any reasonable sense of “ethics.” Not even anything resembling military ethics. Both the Autobots and the Decepticons are analogous to military organizations, of course. Any military organization will operate by minimal rules of authority and obedience. A military ethics goes beyond the command structure to encourage the virtues of honor, loyalty, courage, cohesion, and other virtues essential to any successful military organization. Megatron is barely capable of registering when Autobots display these virtues. He will have none of that for himself. Under Megatron’s leadership, it’s probably an insult to the military to ascribe that label to the Decepticons.

  Megatron is all about victory, absolute and utter victory. For Megatron, victory is the complete annihilation of anything that stands in his way. Nothing makes him giddy with glee like a battle going his way.

  Their defenses are down, let the slaughter begin!

  There can be no mercy. Megatron despises the weak, enslaves the useful, and destroys the rest. If you were to ask him whether it really is necessary to kill everything, he’d laugh in your face and say something like,