Blade Runner

Blade Runner was an interesting film to watch in that the setting of this dystopia really pushes the idea of what a metropolis will look like in the future in regards to technological advancements. It is set in Los Angeles in 2019 where genetically engineered robots, or "replicants", are visually indistinguishable from humans yet are considered a threat to humans on earth and have therefore been banished to far other-world colonies. The plot centres around the idea of these robots' emotional desire to live amongst humans and the role of "Blade Runners" to hunt them down and "retire" (kill) them. I thought the aesthetics of this film were fantastic as it featured a lot of darkness and shadows contrasted with neon lighting and fires. The city setting is decidedly dirty, yet not decrepit like the settings of the other films I have been watching. Whilst many of the other dystopias deal with the idea that some event has happened in the past and the setting of the film is dystopic because of humankind's response to it, Blade Runner seems to work more with the idea that due to technological advancements this will be the gradual and ultimate course that civilisation will take. It also deals heavily with the aesthetic of an Asian city, such as Tokyo or Beijing, and there is a large population of people seemingly with Asian heritage living within this version of Los Angeles, suggesting the progression Ridley Scott was envisaging of population demographics back in the eighties.

Motifs: Flames, Rain, Fog / Smog, Neutral palette, Sunset, Lights, Monolithic structures