Bend Her
Encyclopedia
"Bend Her" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of the animated television series Futurama
.
with the crew to see Hermes
compete in limbo
(which he narrowly loses), Bender feels he should compete as well. However, feeling emasculated by the large Olympic bending robots, he decides to pose as a fembot in order to compete. Competing as "Coilette" from the Grand Duchy of Robonia (a country he is assumed to have made up), he easily beats the female competitors with his adept, bulkier build as compared to the fembots' slender limitations. He wins five gold medals without being discovered, until he is called in for gender testing. Desperate, Bender has Professor Farnsworth give him a sex change
, turning him into an authentic fembot.
"Coilette" is invited to go on a late night talk show and starts to display fembot tendencies, setting a bad example for women. Also appearing on the show is robot actor Calculon, who falls for Coilette instantly. The two go on several dates, which Coilette claims she is doing for the fame and money. Calculon proposes to Coilette, who accepts — her motive being to subsequently divorce Calculon to get half his belongings. On an outing, however, Coilette's emotions go wild as she sees that Calculon really loves her. Professor Farnsworth then reveals that Coilette is slipping closer and closer to being a fembot forever due to her new female hormone
s. At the wedding, Coilette, Leela, Zoidberg and Fry
stage an elaborate scene that fakes Coilette's death. Though heartbroken, Calculon vows to star alone in a film "dedicated to her memory". Bender returns to his male persona, and claims to have not been changed at all by the experience. Secretly, however, he seems to miss Calculon.
This episode was considered somewhat easier to animate than others because there were fewer spaceship scenes.
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
.
Plot summary
While attending the Earth 3004 Olympic GamesOlympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
with the crew to see Hermes
Hermes Conrad
Hermes Conrad is a fictional character in the Futurama animated series. He is voiced by Phil LaMarr.- Appearance and personality :Born in 2959, Hermes is a grade 36 bureaucrat from Jamaica. He manages the Planet Express delivery business with responsibilities that include paying bills, giving out...
compete in limbo
Limbo (dance)
Limbo is a popular form of dance that originated on the island of Trinidad. The dancer moves to a Caribbean rhythm, then leans backward and dances under a horizontal pole without touching it. Upon touching it or falling backwards, the dancer is "out"...
(which he narrowly loses), Bender feels he should compete as well. However, feeling emasculated by the large Olympic bending robots, he decides to pose as a fembot in order to compete. Competing as "Coilette" from the Grand Duchy of Robonia (a country he is assumed to have made up), he easily beats the female competitors with his adept, bulkier build as compared to the fembots' slender limitations. He wins five gold medals without being discovered, until he is called in for gender testing. Desperate, Bender has Professor Farnsworth give him a sex change
Sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery is a term for the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble...
, turning him into an authentic fembot.
"Coilette" is invited to go on a late night talk show and starts to display fembot tendencies, setting a bad example for women. Also appearing on the show is robot actor Calculon, who falls for Coilette instantly. The two go on several dates, which Coilette claims she is doing for the fame and money. Calculon proposes to Coilette, who accepts — her motive being to subsequently divorce Calculon to get half his belongings. On an outing, however, Coilette's emotions go wild as she sees that Calculon really loves her. Professor Farnsworth then reveals that Coilette is slipping closer and closer to being a fembot forever due to her new female hormone
Hormone
A hormone is a chemical released by a cell or a gland in one part of the body that sends out messages that affect cells in other parts of the organism. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism. In essence, it is a chemical messenger that transports a signal from one...
s. At the wedding, Coilette, Leela, Zoidberg and Fry
Philip J. Fry
Philip J. Fry, known simply as Fry, is a fictional character, the main protagonist of the animated science fiction sitcom Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a version of his own voice as he sounded when he was 25.-Character overview:...
stage an elaborate scene that fakes Coilette's death. Though heartbroken, Calculon vows to star alone in a film "dedicated to her memory". Bender returns to his male persona, and claims to have not been changed at all by the experience. Secretly, however, he seems to miss Calculon.
Production notes
The scene of opening of the Olympics was changed following the September 11 attacks, and were changed after the original animation.This episode was considered somewhat easier to animate than others because there were fewer spaceship scenes.
Cultural references
- The title is a reference to Ben-HurBen-Hur (1959 film)Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
. It is also a reference to Bender's name and the act of "gender bending". In the DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
commentary producer David X. CohenDavid X. CohenDavid Samuel Cohen , primarily known as David X. Cohen, is an American television writer. He has written for The Simpsons and he is the head writer and executive producer of Futurama.-Early life:...
claims the episode title is a "triple joke". - Coilette is a reference to the Truffaut film Antoine and ColetteAntoine and ColetteAntoine and Colette is the second film — a short — in François Truffaut's series about Antoine Doinel, the character he follows from boyhood to adulthood through five films...
, which is also about a one-sided love story.
External links
- Bend Her at The Infosphere.