Explain Blade Runner as a Post Modern film.
Blade runner was released in 1982 and was directed by Ridley
Scott, there have been different versions of the film released. The original
release of the film featured a voice over creating the film-noir sense to it as
well as the use of the low lighting. For example the scene where Deckard is at
home using the espier machine, whilst having a drink, we see his apartment. It
is presented in an orange haze and low lighting, which is similar to the mise
en scene for a detective noir style film. This creating a dated aspect to the
film although it is set in the future therefore emphasising Baudrillards theory
of boundaries becoming blurred.
Furthermore in this scene where Deckard is using the espier
machine, the blurring is yet again emphasised as the espier is considered to be
the height of technology however the style of it looks dated and old fashioned
this again blurring the boundaries between modern and old, making the film have
a post modern element to it as well as modern.
Additionally the whole of Blade Runner blurs time by taking
different elements from history and mixing them together such as the science
fiction elements of the replicas and the advanced technology where as the
architecture like Tyrell corporation which appears modern yet clearly takes
influence from Egyptian pyramids. This references Fritz Lang's Metropolis
(1927) as Tyrell lives at the top suggesting he is of a high class and has
authority. The city is presented as suffering from decay and disruption due to
the advancement in technologies. This post modern city emphasising the bad
sides to technology.
Also the film takes on the sense of nostalgia with the
mixture of modern elements and the historical aspects such as the Mayan design
of Tyrell's home, this presenting the element of pastiche because the film
takes on the aspect of dead styles and recollection of the past.
More over another element that makes Blade Runner post
modern is it intertextual references to other texts. Such as the class system
in 2019 Los Angeles is reminiscent of the one in Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927)
as takes on the same class system of how the upper classes live higher up,
which in Blade Runner's case would be Tyrell living in the gold styled pyramids
which also feature in Metropolis, as well as the lower classes live on the
ground floor, which in blade runner this is represented by the use of over
populating Los Angeles and having it set in China Town.
Furthermore the film also uses the mixing of genres through
the way that Los Angeles looks like New York yet Hong Kong. The key part where
this is represented is in the scene where Deckard eats noodles. As in this
scene we see Deckard sitting at a noodle bar in what looks like New York city
mixed with China town, as when Deckard orders in English the Chinese man does
to seem to understand him yet serves him up with something else suggesting that
English has been replaced with Chinese as the dominant language. Also the
language has a pastiche element due to the mixing on different languages such
as English, Chinese, German, Spanish and Japanese.
Another example will be the scenes in China town as the
audience see the over crowded streets of Asian people and punks, this again
mixing two different genres. Also in the low angle long shots looking down at
the city the audience are presented with an advertisement board that changes
from a close up shot of an Asian woman's face to the Coca Cola logo. This
emphasising the heavy Asian element to the city yet also identifying with the
audience at the time with the use of the intertextual reference to Coca Cola,
this also suggesting that although 2019 Los Angeles looks completely different
there are still some elements that are the same.
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