Post-modern Cinema

Blade Runner was made in 1982. It starred Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard an ex-policeman from the Blade Runner Unit. According to Maltin (1999)

[Blade Runner is set] in 21st century L.A., a former cop (Ford) is recruited to track down androids who have mutinied in space and made their way down to Earth…[it is] loosely based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do androids dream of electric sheep?…At least two alternative versions have been released since the original, followed in 1993 by the “directors cut”…[in which] Ford’s voice-overs have been dropped, footage has been added, and the ending has changed.

Once re-recruited Deckard must kill (‘retire’) the androids (‘replicants’). Deckard meets Rachel who is part of an experiment producing replicants who were given memory implants and believed that they are human. Deckard falls in love with Rachel and refuses to retire her. Throughout the film the other four replicants are retired. Three are shot (by Deckard and by Rachel) and one dies at the end of his four year life span.

The extra shots that are in the directors cut were dropped for being too arty (Chapman.1999) such as a sequence where Deckard dreams of a unicorn. Throughout the original, Deckard speaks over the film to explain what the pictures show us more subtly. The differences between the two versions are discussed further down. Before that however, it is important to see how Blade Runner is a post-modern film. Without a time scale how can we define it?

According to Hebdige (1988) “it becomes more and more difficult…to specify exactly what it is that post-modernism is supposed to refer to.” Lyotard describes it as a time when “anything goes”, and Portoghesi (1983.) describes his theory,

The post-modern is a rebellion originating in the realisation that in the past sixty years everything has changed in the world of social relationships and production; that industry has undergone radical transformations, and the energy crisis has once more uncovered problems that had been thought to be solved for some time.

With this in mind one can look at the theories of Denzin (1988) who uncovered eight factors that make a film post-modern. The first one is an effacement of boundaries between past and present. Meaning that the viewer can not distinguish the time in which the film is set with any certainty. Although we are told that Blade Runner is set in November 2019, there are many contradictions to this information. There is a lot of evidence of the eighties, for example in the clothes, the haircuts and the usage of punks. The ‘radical’ technology, although impressive in what it can achieve, looks outdated and the makers have used flashing lights to signify advancement.

Continuing from this, post-modern films tend to show signifiers of the past, and portray them as signs of destruction. In Denzin’s own words they “locate terror in the nostalgia for the past.” Blade Runner has many signifiers of the past. Rachel, part of a species to be eliminated, dresses in a 50s manner. The audience are unsure whether she is really the enemy and it is only towards the end of the film that we see that she is definitely not a threat and her change of appearance to look like the other characters reflects this. The soundtrack also does not follow the traditional tense climatic music that is usually used in films to create drama, instead there is high usage in 40s film noir music.

The terror that is found in this film is the future. It nostalgically refers to the past while showing a distopian view of the future. Which is a very important issue in post-modern cinema. Films that portray the future seem determined to warn us of the dangers around the corner. We are constantly being shown futures where machines have as much power as humans (Terminator), where machines have taken over humans (The Matrix), and in this film where machines are humans.

There is also a reference to the present - the films past - which is a quote from Deckard about his ex-chief at the police department. The chief calls replicants “skin-jobs”, Deckard comments “In history books he’s the kind of cop used to call black men niggers.” (This quote is a voice over and therefore not present in the directors cut.) The quote highlights the theory that the replicants are a metaphor for race minorities. This is expanded on further down.

This usage of the such a blunt statement is also quite typical of post-modern cinema. Previously films had avoided race issues, and the only black characters had been the enemy. With films such as Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, race was beginning to be recognised as an issue that could be talked about. In Mean Streets for example, Harvey Keitel in the opening sequence watches a beautiful black girl and states that even though she is black, she is beautiful. Such blatant reference to colour would not have appeared in cinema before this.

The third point that Denzin makes is that post-modern films “push the boundaries of the present farther into the future where the unreal is real and not just a possibility.” As Blade Runner is set in future then the audience is shown first-hand, if you like, what the future will be like. Cars fly through the air, humans can build mechaniods that think for themselves, and indeed they can even plant memories and emotions in these machines. This is a perfect example of the unreal being made possible.

The fourth point by Denzin is that post-modern films present the unpresentable. What was formerly thought of as unsuitable for film now suddenly is an essential part. In Blade Runner there are many graphic scenes, we see two women get shot dead, a male replicant kissing a man and then breaking his neck with his bare hands, and occasional bad language.

The fifth point is that of wild sexuality or violence as a tool to signify freedom and self-expression. There is one love scene in Blade Runner. Rachel runs from Deckard when he kisses her, but he closes the door in front of her and will not let her leave. He kisses her again telling her to say “kiss me” and “I want you”. This is an instance of Deckard trying to make Rachel more human. She is a machine but he believes that if he makes her feel real human emotions then she will become more human. The force he uses to make her kiss him and to show emotion can be equated with rape which is the height of sexual difference.

An example of freedom signified by violence is when the leader of the replicants murders his creator. Until that point he had not used violence where he gained nothing from it and one must conclude from this act that it was personal gain that he got. His life was about to ‘expire’ and he was angry that he had only been given a four year life-span. Killing his creator was an act of revenge. However, the fact that he did not kill Deckard is an important one. Even a replicant can understand the preciousness of life, maybe more so that humans.

The next point is concerning the portrayal of women. According to Denzin there are only ever two categories of women portrayed in post-modern films, the good (middle-class respectable housewife), and the bad (overtly sexual and disrespectful femme fatale.) This is especially apparent in films such as Fatal Attraction. These have also been described as red and white women. In Blade Runner there are only three female characters, and all three are replicants.

The first one, Pris, is a replicant prostitute. She is also the lover of fellow replicant Roy Batty. She is a red woman. She is sexually active, strong, active and makes things happen rather than waits for them. The second replicant, Zhora, is an erotic dancer. She is also a red woman. She susses Deckard out as a blade runner and although she is eventually shot, she assaults Deckard first, forcing him to chase her through the busy streets.

Rachel (white) appears very much the middle-class respectable, well-spoken woman. Although she seems quite in control of herself she is dominated by Deckard and cries quite easily. She is portrayed as vulnerable and needs to be protected. Although not quite as clear as the other two, Rachel is not completely a white woman. When she finally realises that she is infact a replicant, there is a change in a manner and her appearance. As Maniha (1999) says, “When she is convinced she is human she is uninterested in sexuality, but when she realises that her identity is actually artificial she becomes potentially sexual.”

The seventh point is related to nostalgia. Remnants of the past are used to represent the ‘safe’ and the ‘unsafe’. Denzin in his own example uses an example where violence and nature are linked, and this done in Blade Runner. In one scene Rachel talks of a spider who gives birth to many baby spiders who then eat her. This can also be linked in to the utopian versus distopian theories mentioned previously.

The last point that Denzin makes relates to the location of violent margins in the film. Post-modern films tend to place our worst fears into everyday society; murderers arrive with smiles and become our friend before they execute our entire family. In The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, the female killer becomes the baby-sitter to the family she wishes to infiltrate, leaving her with full charge over their six year old daughter.

In Blade Runner the replicants are ‘running loose’ on earth and are deemed extremely dangerous. Only the blade runner unit can save us: the public is helpless. The replicants could be anywhere (they look entirely human), and they could kill anyone.

According to Connor (1989:178) post-modern films quite often consist of more than one genre, and ‘refuse’ to be categorised easily. This is apparent in Blade Runner which is “part dark science fiction and [part] detective film noir.” (McOran-Campbell:1999.) However the film covers vast territory “from film noir to cyberpunk.”

But perhaps the most important post-modern point that is highlighted in this film is its effacement of high and low class boundaries (Connor 1989:178). The film has two levels on which it can be watched. “Purely on the surface, it has a richness which is wonderfully atmospheric…drawing one into a vision of the future which is not only a sprawling, technological metropolis, but an empty, soulless place.” The film is entertaining, and it can be watched as simply that - entertainment.

However there is deeper level to this futuristic narrative. On the surface, it is a traditional story of good and evil, but there is much more to it. Are the replicants really the evil? They are only violent towards a race that created them and now wishes to destroy them. Their motives are purely defence.

To further illustrate the point of boundaries I must talk about the difference between the two versions. In the directors cut the shots that were deemed too arty (Chapman.1999) would have been perfect examples of high culture mixed with low culture. There is a scene where a photograph comes alive for a second, and when a replicant dies a bird is seen flying up into the distance. This incorporation of ‘art’ into popular culture is almost the essence of post-modernism.

The fact that it can be read in a high culture fashion is significant; the film holds many connotations and offers quite a philosophical perspective on the human condition.

The most obvious message behind Blade Runner is that the future is ‘doomed’. Like many films from this era about the future, it is shown as industrial and dark (both visually and metaphorically). As Denzin says “the post-modern eye looks fearfully into the future and it sees technology, uncontrolled sexual violence and corrupt political systems.” From Orwell’s theories of total control in 1984, to more recent future insights such as Twelve Monkeys or Terminator, film makers seem convinced that the future is doomed and that the way that the race and our technology is progressing things can only get worse. Blade Runner is no exception. The raining weather and the almost permanent night setting reflects the dark setting of the future, and perhaps creates the moody atmosphere. Technology has progressed rapidly, but there are still the problems of today with homelessness, disease and poverty. The rich are still as rich as ever.

These future predictions are almost word for word the thoughts of theorists such as Lyotard and Baudrillard (Denzin. 1988) that there is a huge paradox concerning the future. On the one hand life will be better because as technology advances we have more. More surveillance, more control, more leisure time, more directions. But with each new thing we gain there is a ‘darkside’. If we have more surveillance we will have less privacy. If we have more new machinery to do our jobs for us we will have more unemployment. Blade Runner captures this spirit expertly and the audience is left with an apprehensive look towards the future.

Other meanings behind the film include the theory that the replicants are representations of present-day people. One theory says that they are the race minorities that are discriminated against. In the original version the added voice-over actually gave the audience a verbal parallel between the two, with the Deckard’s comment on his chief. This voice-over, I think, makes the film less high culture and less post modern as the subtly is lost, but in the directors cut the voice-over being left out means the metaphor is again covert. The replicants themselves could not be black as they are made to resemble their creator and a change of race would change the story significantly.

However, the way the replicants are treated is surely reminiscent of how the Serbs are ‘ethnically cleansing’ the Ethnic Albanians. The fact that their execution is called ‘retirement’ is a significant one. Is this not another euphemism like ethnic cleansing?

Blade Runner describes the replicants as “manufactured organisms designed to carry out work too boring, dangerous, or distasteful for humans.” (Chapman 1995.) This echoes the experiences of the slave trade, when Africans were brought to America to do the work that the natives did not want to do.

Another theory believes that the replicants are a metaphor for society’s deviants? They are described as being human but without empathy. Haven’t people like Charles Manson and Peter Sutcliffe been described in the same way? As a society we blame ourselves for their creation (through the media, or the loopholes in the ‘system’..etc), and when we no longer know how to cope with them we try to deny all responsibility and we eliminate them (lock them in prison.)

Whatever the intention of the director, the fact that metaphors can be seen in the film gives the text high culture value and gives its audience something to reflect upon, not just two hours of entertainment.

What can we conclude? The film is a prime example of a post-modern film. It contains instances of violence to signify freedom, the future is uncovered and it portrays a time where the unreal is real, and violence is moved into everyday life.

The effect that this post-modern style has is quite vast. The fact that it deals with the human spirit and the direction that it is taking means that it goes beyond its medium. The cinema/video is a popular culture medium and although there is usually a message behind each narrative, post-modernity brought it a step further. Before this most films had entertainment value only. Through this change films are becoming ‘deeper’ and are containing more than entertainment.

The fashion now is to make films that contain messages and teach us something new about ourselves and Blade Runner was one of the first of this kind. Post-modernity is cynical. The directors cut was replaced by a more ‘fairytale’ film that gave the audience a happy ending but the film was a failure. The editors mistook their audiences needs and gave when all they wanted was something that was realistic (no ‘sugar-coated’ endings) and at the same time unrealistic (unicorn sequences and ‘alive’ photographs.) As a post-modern audience we don’t want happy endings we want ‘real’ endings, and as Hebdige (1988:195) said “Post-modernity is modernity without the hope and dreams that made modernity bearable.” The post-modern directors cut was eventually released and the film as given cult status.

The overall effect of films like this is that as a society we join Baudrillard and we join Hebdige. We start to look paradoxically at the future with an eye of excited anticipation and a fearful eye that craves the security of the past. If the theorists cannot warn us through educational means then maybe they will have to settle for using popular culture. As for Blade Runner and whether it fits the definition of a postmodern film I will finish with a quote from Jameson, “Postmodernism is inherently paradoxical and playful. There is a kind of winner loses logic about it, the more one tries to define what is characteristically postmodern the less characteristic it turns out to be. Postmodernism, by definition, resists definition.” (Homer.1999.)