Is Blade Runner Post Modern or Not?

Is Blade Runner Post Modern or not?

Blade runner is a film that has caused controversy between many critics in the media as the film has brought up the idea of post-modernism through the characters, Mis en scene and general storyline. It was directed by Ridley Scott in 1982 and till this day will he claim that it is probably the best film he has ever created. Film itself is set in future Los Angeles and begins by showing a 2019 sign to really set the futuristic scene.

One way pastiche is used within the film is through the supporting characters, there is one significant scene which is just before the character Zhora’s death when Deckard enters her room to ask about a snake. Deckard goes through all of her belongings and tells her he is part of some sort of human rights act, this is quite ironic as he has stormed into her dressing room and is practically perving on her in the shower. Even though he has entered without her permission she comes across as sexual and inviting even though she doesn’t want him to be there. Coming out of the shower, she makes no attempt at modesty and tosses a towel at Deckard, inviting him to dry her while she dresses in a bikini outfit. It is immediately after this sexually suggestive invitation that Zhora launches into her sudden and unexpected attack on Deckard. After the whole chase and conflict , there is a sudden, quick cut to a shot of Zhora's body lying face down on the ground, this shot is absolutely lifeless and could resemble a mannequin. This is significant as this relates to the eastern womens role as they were degraded as a human and essentially used to please the men. This suggests that the pastiche is post-modern but the use of the social hierarchy contradicts this.

Ridley Scott tries to show the audience what it would be like living in a modern world and questions the quality of lifestyle if the world carries on as it is. There is a clear class difference which can be seen in J.F Sebastians home. There are a high number of floors in which he has control over entering and his apartment is one of many and clearly can only be owned by the rich. It’s almost as if the rich and the poor are completely separate and is impossible for the poor to climb up the ladder. The poor are seen to be working in over-crowded and polluted environments, the loud and confined market places look nearly the same as modern markets which shows how the lower class have not been able to experience the new technology and the new things that have been created.

The film sprouts a lot of questions about things being created which links into the human qualities and the hyper-reality world that we live in. Is it possible for humans to be created to perfection? This is one of many of the questions that post-modernists would ask and the film highlights the ongoing problem with this idealistic Hollywood world that is presented in the media. The replicants are a representation of how the media creates such “perfect” people and these replicants are the new creation. They are young, fast, good looking and are stronger than any human, they hold all human qualities but are even better which is what the media portray some people to be. This brings up the question of who is a replicant

in the film? As a replicant is so good at being human, could it disguise itself in this postmodern world?

Blade Runner poses this question to “Is Deckard a Replicant?” and also brings up the theme of Identity crisis. While Harrison Ford said that he didn’t think that Deckard was a replicants and that him and the director agreed at the end of the film that Deckard was human. However according to interviews with Ridley Scott; Deckard is a replicant. Deckard is a replicants as in conversation with the Gaff near the end of the film the Gaff compliments Deckard and says  “You've done a man's job, sir. I guess you're through, huh?” This compares him to a human and seperates him from being a man. You  fails to show emotions throughout the film, like when he kills the replicants as well as during the rape scene with Rachel, however towards the end he develops emotions for her. It is suggested that a fault with the replicants allow them to develop emotions, they are not created with emotions.

Time plays a big part in the film and highlights on the importance of it throughout. The lifespan of the replicants is four years exactly and is done so to prevent them from learning too much in such a short amount of time. The advancement in technology and the thirst for knowledge is portrayed to be negative here as Ridley highlights that humans are trying to take on God’s role and this can only result in bad things.

There are also many key modernistic aspects of the film which is clear within the mis en scene and the people in the lower class market. Los angeles seems to be a poverty struck area and is filled with Chinese stalls and Oriental people which brings up the idea of such a multicultural society. This is also stereotypical of the future as the Chinese are known to be the fastest growing country in the world both in technology and the population, it seems that they have dispursed to America as well as many other races.

Run Lola Run First Viewing

Post modern all the way

Ed Sheeran - A team

The colouring of the video A team straight away gives off the essence of class and trendiness, this is in contrast to the actual character in the video as she is in the low end of society. The lyrics also suggest that she is of an upper class as it says "They say shes in the class A team" this lyric has a dual meaning as she is a pretty woman and the city that is shown in is upper class, but she is a prostitute that takes A class drugs which relates to the phrase 'A team.'

Prostitution is the main theme highlighted within the video and the handheld camera recording the girl makes it seem as if the viewer is there which helps the audience understand what their life is like. The still camera watching the girl sell "Big Issue" on the street is shot in fast motion and is metaphorical for the world passing her by as she is still stuck on the street. The fact that the girl is selling "Big Issue" is very important for the audience as people always see these homeless on the street and essentially gives the reader an insight to the life behind the homeless.
There is a shot of her at Angel train station which is ironic as she is a beautiful girl but does sinful things to survive, at the same time she is looking at flowers on the street which are unnatainable. This explains how she is desperate to 'blossom' and be in the light, but her financial status doesnt allow her to do so as she has to resort to prostitution.
From a feminist point of view this video would create a bad image of men as it shows how mens sexual desire drives them to treat women as sexual objects. The artist on the other hand is the positive character and essentially puts him in a positive light as he sits down and comforts the woman. These shots of him talking to the girl and caring about her presents him as a positive person and wuold be seen as a good role model for young men.
Marxist theorists would be able to see this negative lifestyle and relate it to the girls economic state. I personally agree with the response a marxist would have which would be that no matter what somebodies financial status is, they should never have to result to self harm or in any sense or form put themselves at the hand of others.

Plan B Music Video Generic Analysis

http://youtu.be/ByvQ8ExmXq0

The music video Plan B – Mama is a narrative explaining the relationship that the artist’s mother is having with a man and she is being treated badly. When the husband is in the scenes the lighting is dark and the scene appears to be in greyscale portraying his character as negative.

The song involves a guitar and a drum which would really give off the impression that the song is of an Indie Genre. As the artist starts to rap and the drums turn into a Skippy beat we can quickly identify the hip hop genre and this is parallel to the song as the clothes that the artist wears are typical youth clothing. The beginning of the video suggests that men are more powerful than women, the actual position of the characters explain this as she is cooking and the man is in a vest on the table. The relaxed nature of the man with his back turned can denote how there is no equality in the relationship and explains the negative relationship. Other critics could denote hints of racism within the lyrics as he sings “Its so black and white” which is ironic as the couple are contrasting races which could suggest that these kind of multicultural relationships don’t work due to contrasting views. The quick cuts are metaphorical as they separate the scenes (couple) and emphasise the severity of the situation. These cuts go from the couple, then to the artist (child) and then back to the couple. This has been edited in a way that emphasises how the child is in-between the relationship and is slowly being pushed out as the man treats her badly.

Goodwin's Theory

Goodwin -"Dancing In The Distraction Factory"-Music video demonstrates genre characteristics
-There are relationships between lyrics and visuals
-Relationships between music and visuals
-Demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artists and may develop motifs which recur through their work
-Frequently reference to notion of looking in particular at the treatment of the female body (reference to voyeurism, the idea of pleasure of looking)
-There is often an intertextual reference post modernist perspective (relying on cultural knowledge)

Generic Elements of the Product

The way that the artists are seen is extremely important in a music video. The song can show how the artists are in person and explain the meaning behind the song.
Rap songs for example would usually go with the stereotypical nature of hip hop and would use materialistic items such as lots of money and nice cars and be shown in a wide shot ect to emhpasise the amount of items that they posess.

Definitions

Genre is essentially the way in which a text is put together (constructed). This can be important, for example, when distinguishing between a horror movie and a thriller, which can deal with similar subjectmatter, and look the same — lots of action set at night — but belong to separate genres (a horror film takes the audience into a supernatural place, where a thriller sticks to reality).
A media text is said to belong to a genre, as it adopts the codes and conventions of other texts in that genre, and lives up to the same expectations. Texts from different mediums may belong to the same genre (e.g. a tv programme like Dr Who and a comicbook like The Incredible Hulk can both be categorised as Science Fiction.)
By definition, all media texts are re-presentations of reality. This means that they are intentionally composed, lit, written, framed, cropped, captioned, branded, targeted and censored by their producers, and that they are entirely artificial versions of the reality we perceive around us. When studying the media it is vital to remember this - every media form, from a home video to a glossy magazine, is a representation of someone's concept of existence, codified into a series of signs and symbols which can be read by an audience. However, it is important to note that without the media, our perception of reality would be very limited, and that we, as an audience, need these artificial texts to mediate our view of the world, in other words we need the media to make sense of reality. Therefore representation is a fluid, two-way process: producers position a text somewhere in relation to reality and audiences assess a text on its relationship to reality.
A text is classified in a genre through the identification of key elements which occur in that text and in others of the same genre. These elements may be referred to as paradigms.
Audiences will expect a certain happening within the text by seeing what genre it is. If somebody wants to expect being scared and being thrilled they are not likely to buy a love story.

Development Of the Medium

Music videos have progressed so much since their kickstart but they were not the type of music video you would automatically think of. In the 1930's the term "Music Video" wasnt used yet and their was cartoons made by walt disney with text at the bottom which was essentially Kareoke. This 'Kareoke' was called 'Screen Songs' and was nowhere near as entertaining as the music videos that we have now. Thanks to technology we have been able to do so many things with video's and new levels can be reached, also ways in which artists can prommote their product have reached new levels as sites such as Youtube and Myspace can spread the video's viral.

Conventions Of the Product

A music video essentially an insight into the lyrics and portrays the artist in a certain way which puts them in a positive light. The majority of Music Video's contain a narrative or storyline which is paralel to the song and exposes the meaning behind the lyrics. The way in which the video is shot also resembles how the artists are shown, for example the camera angles could be POV style ect and can all resemble different things.

The Streets Analysis

The music video “The Streets – Blinded by the Lights” starts off with a very common man from the east end getting ready for a party. The text shown to the camera is the establishing shot which shows that he is meant to meet this girl in the corner. ‘The corner’ straight away emphasises the rebellious nature of the two and sets the scene. The slow beats of the music are in time with slow cut aways which helps emphasise certain points within the scene and increase the intensity of the drugs that he has taken. The POV angle shows the slow deterioration of his stability and this abstract view is parallel to the abstract nature of the situation he is in. The drugs are seen to take him away from reality and it is perceived as a good thing.
There can be a negative responce from feminists as women are perceived to be the antagonist which is paralel to the stereotype of the 1800's view on women as they are seen to be problematic. This form of short term pleasure is apparent in the narrative as women and drugs are seen to be pleasurable but lead to negative things.

Diary

I have been so excited to choose my music video.
I have written down loads of plans for it but I just need to get the right location and I will be done!
I have learnt alot about the norms of music videos and what are succesful styles.
I have learnt about how music video's all have a concept behind them and can relate to real life situations ect.

AS Production

Skill Development

Throughout the process I developed new skills from creating my magazine, the program photoshop was dominated by my mouse as I played around with cool effects and tried to see what worked and what didnt. At the start I had no knowledge at all of what I was doing and I was even considering using paint for a while. I chose to just get on with the nitty gritty work and practice designing logo's and editing pictures which eventually got a bit better.


Digital Technology

The technology that I used in AS was so helpful as even on post production could I use cool gadgets to completely remake my pictures. I used a Canon 500D to take photos of my model and this was a big asset for me as it was such high quality and was handheld. I was able to take hundreds of photos of my model at whatever angle I wanted and at the same time see the picture on the screen at the back. This enabled me to see if the lighting was ok or to see what angle my next picture should be at. I will be using these cameras to record aswell as they have extra features on them.

Creativity

Creativity is an important aspect in designing my front cover as I had to come up with new and cool ideas that would entertain the reader and essentially attract them straight away so that they would buy my magazine. I used certain effects to represent the music artists in my magazine and I had to think be open minded for critisism so that I could come up with new ideas.

Research and Planning

Throughout the creation of my magazine I had to collect information from certain peers, teachers and others so that I could have an overall opinion on what looks good and what doesnt. The research I had to do was for the pricing of my magazine, I looked at similar magazines such as Vibe and XXL so that I could see what kind of price I should price at due to the similar audience that I am targeting.
I planned my front cover, contents and double page spread by drawing numerous amounts of sketches by hand and seeing what kind of layout and colours worked. This planning helped me significantly as not only did I have knowledge of what I was creating before I actually turned on the computer, but I could research and find out from others if the designs looked good instead of me wasting time on my design and it turning out bad.

Relation to Real texts

My magazine was based around young people in urban London who have been through the struggle but have made it big. The relation is clearly there and the colours and pictures represent young urban culture.

My past experiences

I have never really got hands on experience in photoshop but I have always been surrounded by people who design for a living. I am used to filming or being infront of a camera so taking the pictures and designing the magazine was new to me but I really enjoyed it. I practiced designing silly designs and logo's with my friend before I started the production so I only had a day or two experience before hand.

Research and Planning

These are key concepts within this industry as without any preparation it is impossible to know if anyone would like the video your creating and lots of factors would be messed up.
Planning is an important factor in general as I practically live by the phrase "Fail to prepare, Prepare to Fail." This will be relevant to my music video as I will have to find out good locations and look at lots of music videos to see 'what works.' Once I find my location I will have to plan out what time and date I can film and find out if the place I will be at will be busy or quiet. If I get these wrong I could be interrupted alot by passers by and it could effect the video.
Most likely I will do a storyboard of my video before I actually create it because I find that if I see things visually before then I can picture it a lot better and it should go to plan.

My production experiences

In AS level I created my own music magazine in the genre of urban hip hop as I can relate alot to that category and I enjoy my culture a lot. The music magazine consisted of me researching various artists and magazines and I had to put this into a magazine and do a creative design.
Other than school work I tend to make videos with my friend for fun, we do small comedy sketches and also do short freestyles as I am a beatboxer. I tend to be acting or recording and he is usually editing as he prefers this. I really enjoy finding new ideas to expand on and I like to do what people think isnt possible.

Relation to Real texts

The content of the music video can relate to certain world problems or a past event that is to be recreated, this can spark controversy within the media and therefore spreads the video around.
If for example someone was to create a music video where two towers were to get knocked down people could relate to the 9/11 twin towers being knocked down and would instantly have an emotional connection with the audience as it is a very emotional subject.
Mainstream artists tend to do this alot for example a rap artist called "Immortal Technique." He states problems in American society and exploits this in his music videos and lyrics. The lyrics that he writes reflects on the visuals and this is very controversial as he is saying what people are too scared to say.

Post Production

Post production is effectively the final step in the making of a film or television programme - a process of refinement and transition of raw materials into a finished product before distribution and release to the public. It involves me editing the video and adding effects to it. For example if I filmed someone in front of a green screen I could edit him so that the background changed to a purple colour or a seaside giving the impression that he is somewhere else.
Digital technology (mentioned previously in my blog) has dramatically altered the post production sector, with new editing and effects capabilities emerging all the time. Digital technology and computer-based editing systems allow for clearer pictures and smoother editing techniques, constantly improving picture quality.

Creativity

Creativity is interpreted in many different ways.
I believe that creativity is the way in which you yourself create something that gives a new experience for yourself and others. It is the growing of a new idea and in a sense sparks a theory or prospect of entertainment. This aspect is essential in my music video as I am trying to sell the song and entertain my audience, if I am not creative and I simply just get the music video done it will not suprise my audience and in this era people want new ideas. The music video is my interpretation of the song and through the video I will show this, it will give an insight into how i see the song and is a universal view as others may see it differently but could relate.
To expand my ideas I have been writing down all of my ideas and planning them out instead of forgetting them.

Digital Technology

The digital technology that I will be using will be cameras and other digital equipment which will be supplied by the media department and my camera at home. The quality of the camera's are the same so there will be no difference if I was to use different cameras for a scene. Thanks to the progression in digital technology can we now see what the clip looks like instantly after we recorded where as in the 1980's the camera crew would have to record the scene and judge whether to keep the recording or not. There is also a new experience for the viewer as the visual quality of cameras have improved and now you can purchase a good quality camera much cheaper. This is similar with the sound of the recording as in every aspect of digital technology has improved significantly. I will be using a handheld camera and this will give the effect that the viewer has an insight to the video and will be as if they are experiencing it first hand. Having a hand held camera is another development in technology as cameras used to be big and bulky and this would make me unable to record as having a big camera would be expensive and hard to move around.

Skill development

Skill development is essential in any path of life that you choose, if you have the ability to develop a skill quickly then that saves time and effort in your work and can benefit you in many ways. Last year I managed to develop skills in Photoshop CS3 quite quickly which helped me manage my time better with my work as I knew more of what I was doing. With my music video if I can learn to handle the camera well and handle the technology well it will make things a lot easier for me. Developing a skill does not just come easily though, it takes lots of time and practice as "Practice makes perfect." I will practice on editing softwares and try out different camera angles so that I know I have the right shot and this will get better as I keep on doing it. An example of skill development in general would be a sportsman, hard physical work is put into their training and as they keep on practicing they will get better and better for the final competition (product.)

Post Modernism

"A general and wide-ranging term which is applied to literature, art, philosophy, architecture, fiction, and cultural and literary criticism, among others. Postmodernism is largely a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific, or objective, efforts to explain reality. In essence, it stems from a recognition that reality is not simply mirrored in human understanding of it, but rather, is constructed as the mind tries to understand its own particular and personal reality. For this reason, postmodernism is highly skeptical of explanations which claim to be valid for all groups, cultures, traditions, or races, and instead focuses on the relative truths of each person. In the postmodern understanding, interpretation is everything; reality only comes into being through our interpretations of what the world means to us individually. Postmodernism relies on concrete experience over abstract principles, knowing always that the outcome of one's own experience will necessarily be fallible and relative, rather than certain and universal." - http://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/gengloss/postm-body.html

Best definition that I could find, I couldnt put it into one sentence.

Media Homework first draft with Faisal - Will be video'd

How to teach Genre

Genre is part of the Key Concept of Language, and can be applied to all kinds of media text. Putting media texts such as film, television programmes, print media, or music into categories is useful as a way of establishing some kind of control over information. Each genre follows its own kinds of conventions - language, characteristic signs and sign systems. However, genres are fluid and not fixed and under constant renegotiation between media industry and audience through the combination of the familiar and the unexpected.

Narative

Media texts use world events, news and imagination to put together good stories in the form of film, drama, etc. They may also be continuous or serial narratives, such as television news broadcasts or soap operas… like east enders u zimme.

Representation

Representation refers to the construction in any medium (especially the mass media) of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures.
This is in relation to the key markers of identity - Class, Age, Gender and Ethnicity (the 'cage' of identity) - How do men look at images of women, women at men, men at men and women at women?

Media Audience

When media texts produce their entertainment they always have a core audience and a secondary audience in mind. With that they research into the likes and intrests of that core audience and market where appropriate for the audience, for example if the film is a horror for over 18’s they will not advertise on cbbc or childerens programs.

Media theory and Language

Understanding Media Theory describes the ways in which our means of communication determine what and who we are, how we behave, what we do and do not think about, how our feelings develop and are limited, and who we can and cannot reach.

Uses and Gratifications Theory is a popular approach to understanding mass communication. The theory places more focus on the consumer, or audience, instead of the actual message itself by asking “what people do with media” rather than “what media does to people” (Katz, 1959) . It assumes that members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives. The theory also holds that audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet their needs. The approach suggests that people use the media to fulfill specific gratifications. This theory would then imply that the media compete against other information sources for viewers' gratification.