Preview

Frankenstein and Bladerunner

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1885 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Frankenstein and Bladerunner
Blade Runner: What It Means to be Human?
Our times are dominated by transforming technologies. Advances such as artificial intelligence, mechanical implants, biotechnology, voice-activated programming, virtual reality, robotics and computer graphics—all once thought to be mere science fiction—are now a reality. These have not only blurred the distinction between human and machine, they have also opened the door to cloning and genetic manipulation.
This was the overriding message of director Ridley Scott's ground breaking film Blade Runner. However, when Blade Runner opened in 1982, it was routinely panned and attacked. And even though it opened in over 1,200 theatres, it was a certified box office flop. Three key, yet profound, questions contribute to the core of Blade Runner: Who am I? Why am I here? What does it mean to be human? Fortunately, the film's discovery on cable TV, videocassette and in revival houses revealed not only a cult film par excellence but an emotionally challenging, thematically complex work whose ideas and subtexts are just as startling as its now-famous production designs. Moreover, according to a recent poll conducted by the British newspaper The Guardian, Blade Runner was chosen as the best science fiction film ever by sixty of the world's top scientists. With this latest honor, perhaps the film will finally gain the audience it deserves and the truths it has to teach us can be revealed.
Set in Los Angeles in the year 2019, Blade Runner shows a world where the sun no longer shines. Instead, a constant rainy drizzle adds to the dark character of this futuristic landscape. The opening shot's aerial perspective suggests a modern Los Angeles, but the audience soon discovers a very different city—the endless archipelago of suburbs have been replaced by a dark and ominous landscape lit only by occasional flare-ups of burning gas at oil refineries. An energy shortage has crippled life in the future. The earth is decayed, and millions of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Blade Runner Consumerism

    • 1527 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Blade Runner illustrates the hunger of mankind to defy the boundaries of humane principle and concepts of the natural environment. The film ironically depicts the genetically engineered replicants with more humanity and emotions than biological humans themselves. Blade Runner filmed in 1982 at a time of consumerism, flux of migration and global de-stabilisation, discontent and mutiny was a prime problem in society. Scott further ellaborates this idea of a sociocultural world, whereby lack of responsibility has resulted in the economic rationalism and consumerism phenomena. It is a monstrous, malformed world filled with fires and acid rain, constructed with dehumanised, sterile buildings. Habitants of the streets appear to lack…

    • 1527 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The setting and environment in Blade runner offers no solace for its inhabitants. Crawling words, set upon a black background, broken only occasionally by an isolated sound provides the prologue with the ability to instil a sense of danger or necessary alertness in the viewer. The opening close-up shot of the human eye reveals fire and destruction occurring in the distance, symbolic of the human race watching the destruction of their plant, yet they do nothing to save what they can. As the eye is given no identity it has the capacity to become our own. We are exposed to a temporal space, one in which the futuristic world seems so unfamiliar, yet we recognise and familiarise ourselves with the signs and symbols expressed throughout the film, signifying the intrusive nature of advertising.…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    How frank represents the context of 1818 are both warnings to the evil of technology…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Texts provide us with a gateway to the values and ideals of a given time, as it is difficult, if not impossible, for any author to compose in isolation of their cultural, political and historical contexts. They shape the ideas, themes and relationships explored within a text and enable us to better understand the concerns and values of the author. In particular, texts often focus on individuals that contest the traditional concerns and values of their time, and implement an original, innovative approach to an otherwise out-dated manner of thinking. Both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), a gothic cautionary tale, and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1992), a futuristic science fiction film, creatively use the enduring themes of the nature of humanity and the dangers of the challenging the natural order to portray individuals who contest the conventional values of their time.…

    • 1464 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The two texts ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Blade Runner’ both embody themes of science, creation and nature that are reflected in the author’s life and what was happening in the world around them.…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Both Mary Shelley’s Romantic Gothic novel Frankenstein (1818) and Ridley Scott’s postmodern science fiction film Blade Runner (1992) explore the implications of egotistic humans overreaching the natural order: humans who “dare” to “sport” “with life”. Despite Frankenstein springing from a context of Romantic passion an Enlightenment rationalisation and Blade Runner from economic rationalism and increasing consumerism both texts explore the dehumanizing and environmentally degrading consequences of scientific or commercial hubris in recklessly creating “life”, thus overriding the natural order.…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The desire for social progression has always shrouded society. Both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982) were produced during eras of technological exploration. Through depicting technology breeching moral boundaries through context, characterisation and intertextuality, both Scott and Shelley highlight the dangers of progression with the absence of ethical emotion – a timeless social issues which binds these two texts.…

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Through a comparative study of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner it is possible to gain an understanding of the notion of what constitutes humanity. Despite bearing different contexts, the texts embody parallel values that reveal the fundamentals of human nature. Shelley uses elements of Gothic literature and Romanticism to highlight the value of moderation through Victor Frankenstein’s pursuit of knowledge and the resulting ramifications. Similarly, Scott’s film, set in 2019, reflects concerns of the late 20th Century and the consequences of emerging technological advancements and globalisation. In addition, Scott demonstrates Post Modern views of the nature of our existence in a world of rampant corporatism. Ultimately, both texts are shaped with the values of their respective contexts but each explore the dangers associated with the usurpation of God by man, emphasising the inexorable nature of humanity.…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    ‘A deeper understanding of disruption and identity emerges from considering the parallels between Frankenstein and Blade Runner.’ Compare how these texts explore disruption and identity. (2009 HSC)…

    • 1067 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mary Shelley’s nineteenth century epistolary novel, Frankenstein (1818), and Ridley Scott’s late twentieth century post-modern film, Blade Runner (1992), bear striking similarities when studied as texts in time, as they both aim to warn humanity about attempting to usurp of the role of God in creating life. However, their respective contexts mean that the way in which they present notions about humanity differs. Shelley and Scott have extrapolated their various concerns born from their respective contexts regarding the confusion and anxiety that results when mankind pursues their knowledge without regard for their responsibilities. Shelley presents us with humanity’s flaws, which are evident in the way they have neglected what they have created. Scott portrays a futuristic world that has become horrifically debased and inhumane, as mankind has failed to maintain the natural order after overstepping scientific and technological boundaries. Both composers conceptually focus on the parental duties of creators toward their creation and the consequences of abandoning them. Through their different styles and techniques relative to their respective audience, each composer is extremely successful in presenting the changing values and attitudes respective of their eras.…

    • 1116 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Both ‘Frankenstein’ By Mary Shelley (1818) and ‘Blade Runner’ composed by Ridley Scott (1992) express the concerns of the dire consequences that come as a result of the need for control. These texts were heavily influenced by the rapid growth of technology although reflecting different eras. They highlight the dangers of excessive ambition and the threats to the natural world from different perspectives.…

    • 1063 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Blade Runner Film Analysis

    • 2437 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Cinema is a set of landscapes accompanied by a story. However, landscapes tell a story of their own. They tell more than just the story, but the underlying thoughts behind the film. This can be seen in Blade Runner by Ridley Scott, THX 1138 by George Lucas, and Children of Men by Alfonso Cuaron, as the landscapes help develop the complexity of the story. The directors of these films use setting and landscape to express and contribute to the development of the main argument of each film.…

    • 2437 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ridley Scott couldn’t have timed a terrifying outer space movie with an unstoppable Alien any better. In a time when our society was experiencing a declining economy, political mayhem and a gender role revolution, Ridley addressed his audience in a brilliant manner. Alien stands as a groundbreaking movie that not only tested movie genres but also tugged on the number one heartstring, which was a seemingly dark and gloomy future of mankind. Incorporating a throbbing temp track, psychosexual imagery implications and threatening sound effects, Alien (1979) attacks and fuels the 70s decade fire of comprehending the fears of the unknown and uncertain rapid spread of technology, sexual disease and feminism.…

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Shelley’s Romantic novel Frankenstein (1818) compares and reflects values of humanity and the consequences of our Promethean ambition against the futuristic, industrialized world of Blade Runner (1992) by Ridley Scott. The notions of unbridled scientific advancement and technological progress resonate with our desire to elevate humanity’s state of being, mirrored amongst the destructive ambition to overtake and disrupt nature and its processes. The disastrous implications of overreaching the boundary between progressive and destructive power and knowledge are heeded through the ultimate and inevitable loss of self and identity, transforming humanity into a form of monstrosity.…

    • 1445 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The central theme of Bladerunner is the relationship between humanity and nature. More specifically it has a purpose in showing how science can negatively influence this fragile relationship. Set in Los Angeles of 2019 we see the decadence of western society into an inhumane harsh impersonal, technology-dominated realm. The inhabitants who fight for their daily survival are in desperate want for nature, contact with which is denied to them by the unrestricted scientific progress and the consequent exploitation of the natural world conducted for the sole purpose of profit. Humanity is also losing touch with it's own nature. The compassion, the empathy, the love and the emotion are all rare or absent. This ailing relationship between humanity and nature is conveyed through the means of scene setting, dialogue, plot, camera techniques and other film features. All these elements of cinematography synthesise to create an effective portrayal of the unifying theme.…

    • 1982 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays