9 days to go... Linguistics with pancakes

On the surface this scene is fun and light. We all love the quirky hilarious lines like, "Still Lumpy" or "Crisp yet moist potatoes". But, let us not forget the many themes at play in the film. Communication is such an all encompassing issue in our lives and in our world. The ability to convey our feelings and our individual knowledge is essential. Here we have Johnny 5, the most intelligent robot in history, attempting to make breakfast and failing. He fails because he is unable to comprehend the steps of the recipe that are not written, as in taking the potatoes out of the box and not spilling all the pancake batter. But, he succeeds in a far more important way. He displays true compassion, by making an effort to do something helpful for Stephanie. In this modern age we often forget that compassion and empathy are forms of communication far more powerful than cellular phones and the world wide web.