Blade+Runner

Aim- Noah Gabrielsen Blade Runner is a 1982 film directed by Ridley Scott (IMDB). The film was largely based on Philip Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and maintains many of the same plot elements and themes. In particular, the use of androids as the main plot catalyst allow the film to bring about philosophical questions. “This film pulls no punches in asking the most troubling questions about artificial intelligence and cloning” (Philosophical Films). Following the standard set in Dick’s book, androids and artificial intelligence bring about dilemmas regarding the ethics of such concepts and what it means to be human. All in all, Ridley’s film mirrors Dick’s book in most ways, bringing the same story and ideas to the big screen. Through this, a wider audience was reached, forcing society to consider the questions spawned.

Works Cited “Blade Runner.” IMDB. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. “Blade Runner (1982).” Philosophical Films. University of Tennessee Martin. Web. 6 Nov. 2013.

Audience

Historical - Alex Peters Relating to the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the term blade runner comes from a film that was based on the book. The movie Blade Runner came out in "1982" (Cowie) and is "a haunting look at reality, memory and morality set against the dystopian future of Los Angeles, 2019" ("Blade Runner"). Even though this movie is what made the term "blade runner" popular, it is not the origin of the word. When Ridley Scott made this movie he ordered "Rudolph Wurlitzer and Hampton Fancher…to get the title" (Stevens) of the new movie to him. What they brought back was the name "Blade Runner", which came from the "book by William S. Burroughs called Blade Runner: A Movie" (Stevens), but that is not the origin either. Burrough "took the name for his work from the science-fiction novel by Alan E. Nourse" (Stevens). Although all of these novels and movies are called the "Blade Runner", none of them have the exact format. In the 1974 The Bladerunner, the term bladerunner is someone who "runs errands and carries supplies" (Stevens) for the underground doctors who are hiding from the restrictions put on medical treatments. However, in the 1982 Blade Runner, the term blade runner represented a "bounty hunter who chased down androids who have a pre-set 'death date'" (Boucher). Ultimately, the term blade runner comes from a novel dated back to 1974 and has become a very popular term from the movie Blade Runner made in 1982.

Works Cited Boucher, Geoff. “ Ridley Scott: ‘Blade Runner’ has ‘echoed through pop culture in a very special way’.” Los Angeles Times. 6 Jun. 2010. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. Cowie, Jonathan. "Blade Runner vs. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep." Concatenation. Web. 08 Nov. 2013. "Film Synopsis." BLADE RUNNER 30th Anniversary. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. Stevens, Michael. "The Blade Runner and The Shootist." RealityStudio RSS. 17 Feb. 2010. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.

Cultural- Noah Gabrielsen Blade Runner set a benchmark for science fiction films with its unique style and setting. The most noticeable example of this is the futuristic cityscape of Los Angeles that Ridley Scott was able to portray. “ L.A. today perhaps isn’t quite the blow-torch skyline and acid-rain megalopolis of “Blade Runner,” but the film certainly created standard images and codified themes for several generations of science fiction films” (Boucher). The gritty and dystopian world that the film takes place in was new to the sci-fi genre, and gave inspiration to countless following movies. Additionally, the film was incredibly well received, becoming a critical and financial success. One major factor in this success was the wide audience and themes in which the film delves. “First, the advent of the home-video era brought the movie to a wider audience, one that was increasingly attuned to the film’s cyberpunk visions and its technological concepts” (Boucher). Ultimately, Blade Runner gave viewers a new expectation in terms of futuristic films. Some of the concepts and complexity of Philip Dick’s novel were made more accessible, providing a larger platform to reach people. Also, the film provided breathtaking visuals such as CGI, which influenced the direction of cinema as a whole.

Works cited Boucher, Geoff. “ Ridley Scott: ‘Blade Runner’ has ‘echoed through pop culture in a very special way’.” Los Angeles Times. 6 Jun. 2010. Web. 6 Nov. 2013.