Discuss the characteristics and conventions of the Science Fiction genre in Blade Runner.

The film that changed the look of cinematic sci-fi forever, Blade Runner has transcended its initial box-office failure to become one of the cult films of the Eighties. Ridley Scotts vision of a dystopian future, where humanity comes a poor second to commerce, seems more prophetic with each passing year. Retired Super-cop Blade Runner, Deckard (played by Harrison Ford), is specialized in identifying and retiring androids. He is persuaded back into service when a group of Replicants illegally returns to Earth, but he soon finds himself as desperate, vulnerable and uncertain as the Replicants themselves. Many elements are intertwined to create the conventional sci-fi genre such as adventure, fantasy and occasionally horror, but fundamentally, in science fiction, science, fictional or otherwise, always functions as a motivation for the nature of the fictional world, its inhabitants, and the events that happen within it, whether or not science itself is a topic or a theme. (Cook & Bernink 1999, p.191) Blade Runner follows this basic rule, but eventually creates its own super genre, as it is also a mixture of the police/detective thriller and film noir genres. This unsurprisingly establishes a film that doesnt follow the familiar norm. It is interesting to note what Ridley Scott said with regards to what drew him to the project: I kept thinking it wasnt really science fiction at all. In a funny kind of way, it was a rather contemporary movie. Visually speaking, a film such as 2001: a Space Odyssey, brings into existence a universe of awe and wonder, exhibits the beauty & elegance of space and demonstrates the clean lines & efficiency of technology. Sobchack states that the visual connection between science fiction films lies in the consistent and repetitious use not of specific images, but of types of images which function in the same way from film to film to create an imaginatively realized world which is always removed from the world we know or know of. The visual surface of all SF film [sic] presents us with a confrontation between a mixture of those images to which we respond as alien and those we know to be familiar. (Sobchack 1988, p.87)

Thus The major visual impulse of all SF films is to pictorialize the unfamiliar, the nonexistent, the strange and totally alien and to do so with verisimilitude which is, at times, documentary in flavour and style (Sobchak 1988, p.88) With this in mind, Stanley Kubricks film is not only a showcase of his artistic and technical genius, but may also be seen as a rather conventional way of viewing science fiction (I say this in a purely visual sense; as regards to the subject of essence and metaphysical exploration, the perception of Kubricks film is extraordinarily inspired). What makes Blade Runner stand out so distinctly is its refusal to follow the traditional sci-fi film. From the outset, you are propelled into a world of atrophy, where the city is plagued by pollution & smog, giving a sense of darkness and decay. The audience is met by a huge LCD billboard advertisement, the hustle and bustle of overcrowded markets, and the circus-like popularity of the seedy nightclub, giving the indication of a future where society and its ideals are being rotted away by capitalism. The fashion of the 1940s is prominent within the film, with Deckard even wearing the symbolic trench coat, popular among the detectives of that era. Apart from the Tyrell building (and only in a certain degree), the architecture illustrated in Blade Runner is of a very low-key and traditional nature; looking more Victorian in style, opposed to the contemporary/minimalist style common in many other science fiction films. Technology is still prominent, but used in such a way that that it doesnt represent itself as being particularly glamorous which is a contradiction to that used by 2001: a Space Odyssey. The use of dark, showy effects and the feeling of despair are reminiscent of the film noir style. The paranoid view of the dangers of artificial intelligence developing to a degree that it might escalate to an apocalyptic scale, is significant in Blade Runner; along side films such as the Terminator and the Matrix trilogy. These films all share the same despairing vision of the future, with regards to technology and artificial intelligence. One of the most significant aspects that separate Blade Runner from the conventional science fiction film is its use of the film noir and detective/suspense thriller genres. The use of elements such as enigma and investigation are significant in the narrative structure, as is the idea that we are no longer told about a crime anterior to the moment of the narrative; the narrative coincides with the action. Thus, Instead of curiosity, the effect here is one of suspenseits characteristics dovetail with the action-adventure tradition (Cook & Bernink 1999, p.173)

Also, taking from Sobchacks ideas on the connection between science fiction films, Blade Runner goes against this normality in the sense that the concepts used are too similar to our own. This becomes nostalgic in the form of the 1940s detective movie and coupled with the dystopian world that is fast becoming a reality, makes Blade Runner more familiar in our current times, than it is alien. Even when compared with the film Chinatown, similarities in visual and narrative style can be perceived. What is fascinating is Blade Runners manipulation of the classical film noir genre Classical noirsabound with cases of amnesia in which the hero does not know who he is or what he did during his blackout. Yet amnesia is here a deficiency measured by the standard of integration into the field of intersubjectivity, of symbolic community: a successful recollection means that, by way of organizing his life-experience into a consistent narrative, the hero exorcises the dark demons of the past. But what in the universe of Blade Runnerrecollection designates something incomparably more radical: the total loss of the heros symbolic identity. He is forced to assume that he is not what he thought himself to be, but somebody something else. (Zizek 1993, p.11-12) This play on film noir conventions of amnesia is taken to a greater depth, as there is the underlying question of whether Deckard is himself a Replicant. He does not or cannot suspect that he himself may be functioning on artificial memories, unable to remember or discover his true identity. Thus, Deckard who cannot finally be sure of himself interrogates the film for signs of authentic subjectivity. (Cook & Bernink 1999, p.346) Similarities may also be drawn between Fritz Langs Metropolis and Blade Runner with regards to the bleak political visions of both films. Metropolis was influenced by Marxist ideology and the political revolution spreading across a number of countries at that time, especially Russia, where the conditions for workers were diabolical, resulting with the workers revolting. Blade Runner, on the other hand, seems to be motivated by the current human issues of difference sexuality, ethnicity and gender. When Kris recites Rene Decartes famous quote I think, therefore I am, it raises the question, where do we differentiate between a human and a thinking thing, no matter what that thing may be. Difference in ethnicity, intelligence (artificial or otherwise), even species, with regards to animals and wildlife how and to what quality do you measure the value of these various entities? Another important issue that Blade Runner cunningly poses to the audience is that of gender. The use of the full range of stereo-types depicted in the film is evident Pris the sex object, Zhora

the strong & independent woman and Rachel, the vulnerable, docile, prim & proper lady. This can be seen as how men generally view women. What is interesting is the relationship between the male lead, Deckard, and the female characters. There is a certain amount of anxiety and dilemma involved in his relationship with both Pris and Zhora, perhaps unsurprisingly, because they are depicted as androids, with the gift of super-human strength, dangerous and intent on survival - no matter the cost. This coincides with the sense of paranoia and a stress on suspicion, distrust and deceit in the depiction of relations between male and female protagonists (Cook & Bernink, 1999) This is evident in the relationship between Rachel and Deckard, due to her being a Replicant, which ultimately parallels the use of the femme fatale, common in the film noir genre. Both Metropolis and Blade Runner can be viewed as products of theyre time. Though it must be acknowledged that they focus on different political and moral questions, they both share a certain pessimism of the future, though perhaps, this is a reflection of the political and moral dilemma of the period they were made in. To be fair, Blade Runner should be categorized in the science fiction genre. But ultimately, it establishes itself as much, much more; revising and incorporating within itself the traditional film noir and detective/thriller genre, which is constantly felt throughout the film. But perhaps more importantly, the intelligent way it raises certain moral questions, with regards to the Replicants search for their souls and consequently, their humanity and at the same time questioning our own morals and beliefs all of which marks Blade Runner (even after repeated viewing) as a timeless masterpiece.

References
Cook, Pam and Bernink, Mieke (1999) The Cinema Book. London: BFI Publishing Sobchack, Vivian (1988) Screening Space: The American Science Fiction Film. New York: Ungar Zizek, Slvoj (1993) Tarrying with the Negative. NC: Duke University Press