Ridley Scott's Blade Runner
In 1982 Ridley Scott’s movie “Blade Runner” was quietly released and received mixed reviews7. As time passed the movie’s fan base expanded and today, many consider it to be one of the greatest science fiction movies of all time. Numerous people consider it Harrison Ford’s greatest acting role, which, considering the competition consisting of Han Solo and Indiana Jones, is no small feat. Originally, critics missed or were confused by the philosophical questions the movie posed but as more people saw it, the movie’s brilliance was gradually realized. The questions Blade Runner posed about the future of computer intelligence were far ahead of their time. A major issue of the movie is that, if AI ever became human-like, would it be accepted as a work of genius or feared as a threat to humanity’s uniqueness.
Blade Runner is set in dark and depressing 2019 Los Angeles. America has evolved into a decaying, totalitarian police state. An interesting thing to note about the setting is the high degree of multi-culturalism visible6. There are as many Arabs and Japanese as Caucasians. The Japanese seem to be the dominant economic class, an allusion to the rapid expansion of Japanese industry and culture into western California in the 80’s. Along with decay and dilution of cultural identities, another constant in the movie’s background is the promise of ‘off-world’ colonies (colonies on new planets). Giant zeppelins float around the cityscape, advertising “A new life, a chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity an adventure”5. The general idea of the setting is that the Japanese rule a decaying LA thus forcing people to flee in rapid numbers.
The main character is a retired ‘blade ...
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...tish Film Institute, 1997.
2. Bignell, Jonathon(editor) Writing and Cinema (article: Stephen Lacey -- Preserving Machines : Recentering the Decentered subject in Blade Runner and Johnny Mnemonic). New York City: Pearson Press, 1999
3. Kerman, Judith B. Retrofitting Blade runner: issues in Ridley Scott's Blade runner and Philip K. Dick's Do androids dream of electric sheep? Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, c1991.
4. Sammon, Paul M. Future noir: the making of Blade runner. New York City: HarperPrism, 1996.
5. Fancher, Hampton K et al. Blade Runner: Screenplay. Hollywood, California: Script City, 1990
6. http://scribble.com/uwi/br/off-world.html
7. http://www.tyrell-corporation.pp.se/
8. Hofstadter, Douglas R. Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid. New York, New York: Basic Books, 1979.
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.
What role will computers play in the future? What happens when artificial intelligence gets to the point of actually allowing machines to give birth to original thoughts, or suppose artificial intelligence became identical or superior to human intelligence? While attempting to answer these thought-provoking questions deeper questions arise that are more pertinent in our lives such as what defines being human, or as Morpheous says, “What is…real?” The Matrix as well as the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Phillip K. Dick, attempt to answer these questions through different matrices. These matrices are implemented into stories to provoke thought and ask the question, what if?
Some feel that by not paying college athletes that college institutions are thereby exploiting their athletes free of charge, which is unfair. However, this article feels that college athletes are paid very favorably by the large amount of money they receive for schooling through scholarships. Also, since college athletes don’t pay to play or go to school they are receiving a free college degree whether or not they decide to stay in school for four years or not. With the training that they receive from professional trainers and nutritionists for a professional controlled diet they save possibly thousands within the 4 years they attend school and perform in collegiate athletics.
The payment of NCAA student-athletes will deteriorate the value of an education to the athletes. The value of an education for a young man or woman cannot be measured. It is our gate way to success as...
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.
Woods, Al. “College Athletes Should Be Paid.” Sports and Athletes: An Anthology. Ed. Christine Watkins. Greenhaven Press, 2009. 87-94. Print.
How McCabe and Mrs Miller and Blade Runner Subvert Their Genres and Defy Audience Expectations
Salvador, Damon. “Why College Athletes Should Not Be Paid?” 20 April 2013.Web. 18 May 2014.
With the shift from industrial to postindustrial capitalism, our culture has become increasingly concerned with the problem of how to represent subjects in a technologized world. Traditionally, dominant conceptions of the subject have relied on Western metaphysics; naturalized monolithic categories arranged in hierarchic binary oppositions: male/female, human/machine, subject/object, etc. In this system, the discourse of science maintains an isomorphic and mutually reinforcing relationship with the discourse of heterosexuality, since each posits an active, masculine subject and a passive, feminine object. However, the sciences of contemporary capitalism are marked by technologies of reproduction and simulation which transform the world into a web of interconnected, overlapping information codes, asking us to reconsider our “natural” binary distinctions. While these questions have sparked a lively debate concerning technology and the representation of “naturally” gendered bodies, there has been less discussion about the specific ways in which the term “reproduction” links the discourses of science and gender. Reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization, test tube conception, and genetic manipulation challenge our concepts of human reproduction, transforming bodies from unified organic units to strategic and manipulable systems. Furthermore, these new ways of thinking about human bodies undermine the biological justification for traditional heterosexual gender identities: if all reproduction is redefined as technological, then normative or “natural” gender roles must be reconsidered as well.
Johnson, Dennis A., and John Acquaviva. "Point/counterpoint: Paying College Athletes." The Sport Journal 15.1 (2012). Questia School. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
"Paying College Athletes." Issues & Controversies. Facts on File News Services, 21 June 2010. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
..."The Plot Holes and Paradoxes of the Back To The Future Trilogy." Den of Geek. Den of Geek, 24 Oct. 2010. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
In this futuristic film, Harrison Ford is a Bladerunner, a man who by using an eye scanning machine and asking questions can determine if a person is really human or is rather genetically created. In the meantime, three of these non-humans find out they only have a four year lifespan and try to find a way, through foul means more than fair, to extend their lives. This culminates in a rather disturbing fight between the leader of these non-humans and Harrison Ford’s character.
Directors use various techniques to create a compelling and memorable motion picture film for the audience. In 1982`s Blade Runner, Ridley Scott portrays various themes of mortality, memory and identity through various film techniques such as editing, cinematography, and mise-en-scène.
Blade Runner is exemplified as a dystopia that predicts a future city that sustains corporate capitalism’s worst features, such as urban decay, extreme gaps between wealth and poverty, and authoritative police work. The film depicts an urban city that, due to capitalism, coalesced into a polluted, overpopulated city controlled by monopolies.