The list of evil corporations depicted in fiction — sci-fi especially — is long. In the Alien films, it’s the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. Resident Evil has the Umbrella Corporation, and the Terminator series has Cyberdyne Systems. But the RoboCop series, starring Peter Weller, features one of the most interesting ways to present an evil corporation. OCP, which stands for Omni Consumer Products, actually has its own arc across the first three RoboCop films. It’s depicted in different ways across the trilogy, progressively getting more corrupt and evil along the way. It’s a different way of depicting how a corporation is presented that should be looked at with greater scrutiny.
In the RoboCop universe, the city of Detroit has entered into an agreement with OCP to help privatize the police force due to a rise in crime that the police are unable to handle on their own. Because of this partnership, OCP is able to experiment on a deceased police officer, thus creating RoboCop. As the trilogy goes on, OCP tries to gradually ensnare the city of Detroit until the city has no choice but to privatize entirely. Of course, RoboCop stands in the way of this, but it’s difficult for him given that OCP created him. So he has to delicately sever his connection to the company in order to stand up for good.
From the very beginning, OCP gives off a sense of shadiness and corruption, but it is also measured and reserved. For instance, all the troubles in the first movie can be laid directly at the feet of one executive. In fact, OCP can even be seen as good guys considering that they created RoboCop to help the city. However, things change in the second film. As the company tries harder to replicate RoboCop’s success, they are willing to compromise their morals in the name of potential profits. It’s clear the company as a whole is at fault, but they are again able to sacrifice a scapegoat for their failures. By the third film, OCP is completely into villainy and evicts people from their homes to rebuild the city for profit. By the final film, OCP has completed their arc from a helpful if profit-minded corporation to an entity of pure evil. Perhaps, this was always their ultimate goal and their heinousness was hidden behind the scenes. But the company’s growth over time is an interesting way to position an organization against the hero.
RoboCop is now streaming on MGM+.
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