An Ecofeminist Perspective of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner
The science fiction film, Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, first released in 1982 and loosely based on Philip K. Dick's novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,1 has continued to fascinate film viewers, theorists and critics for more than fifteen years. Writings include Judith B. Kerman's Retrofitting Blade Runner, a collection of academic essays;2 Paul M. Sammon's book on the making of the various versions of the film;3 and an extensive network of publications are available via the World-Wide Web.4 A student colleague has just seen the film for the eighteenth time.
The "Director's Cut", released in 1992, is a more satisfying version of the film than earlier releases, mainly because narration is excluded, more mythological ambiguity is introduced (with the inclusion of a scene of a unicorn running through a forest), and the finalé of an escape into nature is removed. In the context of Blade Runner's dystopia such an ending is incredible; for science fiction to succeed there needs to be plausibility within speculation.
Since the Director's Cut, Blade Runner seems to have had a phoenix-like resurgence. Just as the simulated humans, or replicants, become more than the sum of their parts as they develop "humanity", so the film has become more than the sum of its parts as interaction - among critics and fans as well as scriptwriters, actors and film crew - contributes to ways of seeing. Scott describes depth in film as like a seven hundred-layer cake.5 Ideas presented in these layers can expand and deepen in the viewer's mind. The viewer's eye becomes as important for the ongoing life of the film as the eyes on which the camera focuses in Blade Runner.6
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...uiry into the Origins of Cultural Change, Blackwell, Cambridge MA, 1989, p.312.
15 The White Goddess: a historical grammar of poetic myth, Farrer, Straus & Giroux, New York,1984, p. 255.
16 Carson, op. cit., p.21.
17 Carson, op. cit., p.22.
18 Steve Carper, "Subverting the Disaffected City", Kerman, Retrofitting Blade-Runner op. cit., p.193.
19 Sammon. op. cit., p.6.
20 Guardian Weekly, July 20, 1997, p.24.
21 The New Internationalist, op. cit., p.17.
22 "The Soul of Science", Resurgence, September/October, 1997. No.184, p.9.
23 The Mercury, Hobart, Tasmania, Sept. 1. 1997. Co author Stephen Steigrad, Department of Reproductive Medicine at Sydney's Royal Hospital for Women, found that 276 families through four fertility units did not plan to tell their children that they were the product of artificial insemination with sperm from donors.
Regardless of their financial successes, both novels and their respective film adaptations are held in high esteem by many. They both utilize unique visual techniques to immerse their audience in the worlds of Philip K. Dick, but differ on their strictness of plot and characterization. In the end, however, the departures from the original source material of Blade Runner are executed so well that they come across on par with the literal A Scanner Darkly. Both movies play tribute to genius of Philip K. Dick’s writing by being complete, well-rounded works.
The plot of the movie “Blade Runner” becomes unrevealed till the end of the movie. Many assumptions about the plot and the final of the movie appear in the spectator’s mind, but not one of these assumptions lasts long. Numerous deceptions in the plot grip the interest of the audience and contribute for the continuing interest to the movie eighteen years after its creation. The main character in the movie is Deckard- the Blade Runner. He is called for a special mission after his retirement, to “air up” four replicants who have shown flaws and have killed people. There are many arguments and deceptions in the plot that reveal the possibility Deckard to be a replicant. Roy is the other leading character of the movie. He appears to be the leader of the replicants- the strongest and the smartest. Roy kills his creator Tyrell. The effect of his actions fulfils the expectation of the spectator for a ruthless machine.
Adaptation is an essential part of the motion picture industry, with a majority of films based on literature and other forms of source material coming out of Hollywood every day. One of the most controversial examples of adaptation, at the time, was the great Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 dystopian drama A Clockwork Orange, based on the novel by Anthony Burgess. In a futuristic society ruled by gangs, corruption, and “ultra-violence,” psychotic teen Alex (wonderfully portrayed by Malcolm McDowell) volunteers for a government-regulated experimental treatment to rid himself of his wrongdoings after committing an act of murder. Through the film, we follow this tragic anti-hero’s journey to discover the central theme of fate - whether the government controls human order, or if there is a freedom of choice. Although the film was originally blasted by critics for its excessive use of violence and sexuality, it has since become recognized as one of the most psychologically captivating pieces in cinema, earning its place among AFI’s “100 Years...100 Movies” list. Clockwork Orange’s fascinating mise-en-scène (staging, lighting, costuming), cinematography, music selection, use of voice-over-narration, and narrative structure brilliantly establish the novel’s realistic satire of the dystopian future, making the film one of Kubrick’s most successful adaptations.
The addition of a child into a family’s home is a happy occasion. Unfortunately, some families are unable to have a child due to unforeseen problems, and they must pursue other means than natural pregnancy. Some couples adopt and other couples follow a different path; they utilize in vitro fertilization or surrogate motherhood. The process is complicated, unreliable, but ultimately can give the parents the gift of a child they otherwise could not have had. At the same time, as the process becomes more and more advanced and scientists are able to predict the outcome of the technique, the choice of what child is born is placed in the hands of the parents. Instead of waiting to see if the child had the mother’s eyes, the father’s hair or Grandma’s heart problem, the parents and doctors can select the best eggs and the best sperm to create the perfect child. Many see the rise of in vitro fertilization as the second coming of the Eugenics movement of the 19th and early 20th century. A process that is able to bring joy to so many parents is also seen as deciding who is able to reproduce and what child is worthy of birthing.
The first time I watched Blade Runner (1982) I only viewed it as a poorly filmed, weird 80’s movie. However, with my new understanding of postmodernity I’ve come to view Ridley Scott’s movie, along with its sequel Blade Runner 2049, as some of the most fascinating movies I have ever seen. Upon watching both I have been captivated with thoughts on how to fix the problem that both movies show. The problem being that the internet has altered the nature of information and how it is processed by society. Elton Tyrell in Blade Runner touches on this by saying the Nexus-6 replicants are “more human than human.” Tyrell is conveying that these human-like robots has been able to overcome revolutionary change of information in society. This quotation
Yet, as I watched, I noticed that much of the imagery being thrown at me seemed more boring than vital, due to the sexuality it portrayed. One rapper after another indulged in his own personal hormonal fantasy, with slithering women flaunting acres of flesh into the camera. These women were not alive. They had become so objectified as to be sexualized robots.
This study works to examine the use of sexual objectification of women in music videos today. The primary purpose was to examine the differences between genres, specifically hip-hop and country. I tested the following; Women are more likely to be sexualized in hip-hop music videos than in country music videos.
Black women have to face the effects of being over-sexualized through media. As a result of African American women being over-sexualized and used for only their appearances, they feel obligated to focus on their appearance and sexuality. This is because they are shown through media that "their bodies are public domain, belonging less to themselves and more to others" (Gordon 245). Rap videos, in particular, sexualize African American females frequently. A study was conducted to determine if there was a link between exposure to these types of videos and unsafe sex, drug and alcohol use, and violent behavior in African American adolescent females. According to the results, adolescents who had more exposure to these types of videos, were more likely to have hit a teacher, have been arrested, multiple sexual partners, used drugs, consumed alcohol, and/or have acquired a new sexually transmitted disease (Wingwood, DiClemente, Bernhardt, Harrington, Davies, Robillard, Hook 437).
Reproduction is the ability of a species to perpetuate and in the human species it is looked upon as a right in today's society. Males and females alike feel pressure that in order to be fully male or fully female they must procreate (Conrad, 1997). While this is not true of all men and women, for many married couples the ability to have children is important. It is only recently that infertile couples have been provided with options that would allow them to conceive a child. These options include the various forms of reproductive technology that have been developed over the past 20-25 years. While these technological advances have brought joy and hope to many infertile couples, the advances have also brought along a myriad of moral and ethical dilemmas as well. It is necessary for everyone to become educated about reproductive technology in order to be better equipped to deal with the moral and ethical issues that this new technology brings to today's world.
The gaming industry is a leading company when it comes to entertainment, especially among young children and teens. Technology has become an enormous necessity in everyday life and many, whether young or old, always seem to have some form of it on their person at all times. It may be something as simple as car keys with an electronic lock system or even more common, the cell phone, but majority of the devices we have today have become, in a sense to some, basic necessities, objects that they cannot go a single day without. So why does everyone question why children are so glued to technology; parents provide it, encourage it, but when is it “too much?”. Then it comes down to television and video games. The vast majority of the youth of today are increasingly sucked in...
...be, as the Tyrell Corporation advertises, “more human than human.” Ridley Scott uses eye imagery to juxtapose the tremendous emotion of the replicants with the soullessness of the future’s humans. By doing so, Scott demonstrates that our emotions and yearning for life are the characteristics that fundamentally make us human, and that in his vision of our dystopian future, we will lose these distinctly human characteristics. We are ultimately losing the emotion and will to live that makes us human, consequently making us the mechanistic, soulless creatures of Scott’s dystopia. Blade Runner’s eye motif helps us understand the loss of humanness that our society is heading towards. In addition, the motif represents Ridley Scott’s call to action for us to hold onto our fundamental human characteristics in order to prevent the emergence of the film’s dystopian future.
A common trend in the entertainment industry today is the objectification of women in society. Sexualizing women are seen in media such as; movies, advertisement, television show and music video, where their main focus is providing the audience with an image of women as sexual objects rather than a human. This is detrimental to society since the media is producing social stereotypes for both genders, which can further result in corrupted social habits. Objectification in media are more focused on females than male, these false images of women leave individuals with the wrong idea of the opposite sex. As media continuously use sexual contents regarding women, the audience starts underestimating women. Specifically movies, it allows media to shape the culture’s idea of romance, sex and what seems
The science fiction genre has changed drastically over the past hundred years. From simple beginnings with painted backgrounds, the genre has adapted to special effects by the updating technology. Even films that share the similarity of genre can differ vastly from each other. An example of this would be the science fiction films Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931) and Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982). While these two films share the same genre they do not share much else. The time period between the two films creates a gap between the overall look and storyline. The plot in Blade Runner would not have been popular or well received in the era that Frankenstein was released. Instead, Frankenstein brought something new to the science fiction genre.
The most trending music genre gets a lot of listeners because of its the discrimination. As the songs and advertisements gain followers, it starts to become realized by the citizens. Pop culture artists sing about drugs, alcohol and women. The portrayal of women by these composers is dreadful because it degrades the significance and importance of their existence. Pop culture has always been a home for gender domination and discrimination. It is becoming increasingly “pornified.” As Valenti quotes, “After all, while billboards and magazines ads may feature a ripped guy from time to time, it’s mostly women who make up what sexy is supposed to be. And it’s not just sexy-it’s straight-up sex” (Valenti, 44). The pornography has been a part of the culture and has been accepted by younger women. Feminists have argued that this has increased the inculcation of “raunch culture” in the lives of younger women who fall into it as they feel it empowers them. However, it is a kind of faux empowerment. This illustrates that the media is promoting and utilizing pop culture to change the social norms in an attempt to instruct women on their role in the society. In essence, pop culture with its propaganda desires to change women’s view on nudity until it can become inherent in American culture, and thus eliminating opposition to benefit pop culture in the long run. Valenti persuades her readers by saying, “ the ‘show’ is everywhere. In magazines like Maxim and Playboy. And in the insanity of Girls Gone Wild, with teens putting on fake lesbian make-out sessions so guys will think they’re hot.” Levy also mentions a character, influenced by raunch culture and a reader of Playboy magazines, named Erin who is piqued her curiosity and provided her with inspiration because of this culture. Erin says, “There’s countless times in my life where I know I’ve turned people on just by showing off (by putting on a
Any fan of Batman knows that “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight” are two of the best Batman films made in the seventy-eight years that Batman has been around. The plots really make you look deep in yourself and show the true and more real sides of the characters of the Batman world. Each movie shows the evolution of Batman and shows only a few of the many crazy and intense adventures of this mysterious hero. These two movies are the first two in the dark knight trilogy, created by the amazing Christopher Nolan. These movies were heavily praised for their astounding realism to the real world, and its pros and cons. But they were also extremely liked for their possibility for