Blade Runner (Movie Review Sample)

Running Head: Science Fiction – Blade Runner Science Fiction- Blade Runner Name Institution Course Name and Details Instructor’s name Date Science Fiction-Blade Runner The theme of Post Modernism Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner is undoubtably one of the best known postmodernist film. The film which was produced in 1982, is about a future dystopia in which human cyborg that are referred to as "replicants" have been created by human beings and are perceived to be very dangerous such that they are haunted down when they escape. The film is playing around with culture, time and genre by mixing all of them to create a futuristic atmosphere (Peary, 1984). The fusion of science fiction and noir is an example of ideas used by Scott to express postmodernism in the film. Rather than judging the movie according to a pre-existing definition of post modernism it is important to look at how the movie has used the images of postmodern to reinforce certain themes. In order to effectively study how post modernism has been embraced in this film we can categories the postmodern characteristic as concern for language as a means of communication, a concern with the relationship of love verses duty and an analysis of an individual’s relationship to the society that he or she belongs to. The film does not take place in a space station or a space ship, but in city which is Los Angeles, in 2019, a step away from the development of a society that is contemporary. The line between late capitalism and post modernism is highlighted in the film representation of a postindustrial decay (Peary, 1984). The future as expressed in the film, does not realize an idealized aseptic technological order, however it resembles the present state of the city and of the order of capitalism (Brooker, 2002). Post modernism in the film has also been reflected as to how individual’s in the film related to each other in the society that they belong to. For instant, there is much disagreement among both film makers and fans as to exactly why Roy saves Deckard life at the end of the movie. According to Ridley Scott, "it was an endorsement in a way that this character is more human than human in that he was able to demonstrate human quality at time when the roles in the film were reversed and Deckard could have been happy to kill him. But instead Roy takes the human direction. Also, in a way, because Roy requires a kind of a death watch, in which he vividly knows that his time of dying is closing up. So in a sense he is passing the information that what their creators are doing is wrong and the thing that they have to do is to either stop making them or to deal with them as humans. " (Will, 2005) Another idea that Scott has implemented in the film to express the theme of post modernism is the use of Tannhauser Gate for space travel. Given the fact that, in this movie, earth has off world colonies, fans and other film makers have suggested that the Tannhauster gate could be a star gate or similar thing. He gives the idea that the star gate would provide faster travel between stars system than light (Rapold, 2007). The theme of Feminism Another issue that permeates Blade Runner is the theme of Feminism- the role of women in the movie. This is explode through the treatment and defining of lead female roles. In this film they all happen to be replicants and are sexualized by the men that surround them (Hills, 2003). Scott state that the idea of artificializing all women in the movie creates an impression that women in this movie are being objectified due to the fact that they are being manufactured to look like models (Peary, 1984). For instant, Pris is depicted as a basic pleasure model while Zhora becomes the erotic dancer who performs with a snake. Rachael is supposed to be a copy of Tyrell’s niece. Her character in the film can be viewed as being objectified. Whe...