The 1987 classic is set in a futuristic, crime-ridden Detroit. The film centres on a Detroit police officer, Alex Murphy, who is transformed into a crime-fighting cyborg known as RoboCop. RoboCop is a creation of the Omni Consumer Product (OCP), the corporation who has OCP wishes to create a utopian “Delta City”, a shining beacon of consumerism they hope to erect from the crime-ridden ruins of Detroit. Officer Alex Murphy, who has been recently relocated to Detroit’s most dangerous area, is brutally killed by drug kingpin Clarence Boddicker and the rest of his gang. Once Murphy is transformed into a cyborg he begins to arrest criminals much faster much to the delight of OCP. However, as the film progresses Murphy becomes increasingly haunted by the memories of his past. In an effort to regain his humanity, he begins hunting down the members of the gang who killed him. In this quest, Murphy observes a rapid decline in the accountability of corporations, the value of human life and the role of the state.…
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, whilst separated by 174 years, feature very similar content which can be seen by comparing the two side by side. Coming from different contexts, they both express their anxieties about technology, which is shown through a man made creature, and they both exhibit a strong valuing of nature. However due to their different contexts, these ideas are represented differently. The medium of production is clearly different, as is the representation of the creature and whether or not they are able to assimilate into society. In both texts the responder is meant to sympathize with the creature but through different ways. Frankenstein, published in 1818, presents a monster unable to assimilate into society due to his grotesque appearance. This is reflective of the gothic element of the time, whilst he also exhibits parts of the Romantic Movement as well as the Age of Enlightenment. In contrast, the 1992 film, Blade Runner, has replicants that are a product of the DNA technology and cloning coming to fruition at the time of the movie’s release. The clear contextual differences effect the final presentation of texts despite the fact they deal with the same universal themes.…
Though composed at different times, the themes portrayed in both Frankenstein and Blade Runner are evidently influenced by their own respective contexts – the early 19th century and late 20th century. These texts put forward an exploration of humanity and morality, the value of nature as well as individualism as these themes and values are perceived in each context.…
Throughout Ridley Scott’s famous movie Blade Runner, the pressing themes of how people’s life experiences influence memories and whether or not you can trust your memories creates a very controversial debate. One of the main protagonists in the movie is a replicant named Rachel. A replicant is an engineered android, which has many human-like characteristics. Tyrell Corporation creates Rachel to be a more advanced replicant, where she believes that she is a human. Rachel does not know that her memories were transferred from her creator’s niece when she was built. Even though Rachel is modified differently than the rest of the replicants, many replicants are able to maintain memories, which directly correlates with their ability to show emotions.…
When exploring the texts Frankenstein and Blade Runner, the most dominant similarity between the texts is the questioning of unchecked scientific progress and the limits of these advancements before human nature is threatened. In Frankenstein Shelley presents us with a protagonist who, from a very early age is curious to the basis of life, “The world was to me a secret which I desired to divine.” Upon…
The 1818 Gothic Novel 'Frankenstein' written by Mary Shelley and the 1982 science fiction film 'Blade Runner' by Ridley Scott both challenge the values of the societies in which they have been set, expressing the composers' critique of the advancement in science and technology, the consequences of irresponsible creation and the hubris of an individual to overcome nature's power. It is through these common themes that the texts have the ability to represent and evoke fear, anxiety and…
1. The Tyrell Corporation, business place of Eldon Tyrell, the divine scientific “genius” behind the creation of the replicants, occupies a space central to Blade Runner’s narrative. From the inception of the film, we see an extreme long shot overlooking the futuristic cityscape of Los Angeles which is defined by massive techno towers and near eternal twilight, interrupted only by constant violent lightning strikes and fiery explosions resulting in stunning plumes of flame. Within this picturesque scenery, the camera visually guides us towards the grandiose Mayan style pyramid structures that are the headquarters of the Tyrell Corporation.…
The movie Blade Runner and the novel Frankenstein have multiple common themes. One of the easiest connections is the use of science and intelligence to act as a God and create a new type of life. In both Blade Runner and Frankenstein, intelligence and science were used to the eventual detriment of the creators.…
Due to differing contexts, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Riddely Scott’s Blade Runner explore overarching themes in diverse ways. Exploration of these themes in light of the context of the texts reveals the underlying warnings present in both Frankenstein and Blade Runner. As a result, comparison of the two texts leads to a greater understanding of these themes, including nature, technological advancements and the notion of humanity.…
Dick’s short story “Second Variety” also presented human-like machines, the claws. These machines were made for a world war and eventually broke free of human control, developing machines that could pass as humans (as our smart phones will do someday). Unlike the replicants, the claws were always intent on killing humans-thus necessitating a means to tell them…
The film that was ultimately made originally had no connections with Asimov, originating as a screenplay written in 1995 by Jeff Vintar, entitled Hardwired.[2] The script was an Agatha Christie-inspired murder mystery that took place entirely at the scene of a crime, with one lone human character, FBI agent Del Spooner, investigating the killing of a reclusive scientist named Dr. Hogenmiller, and interrogating a cast of machine suspects that included Sonny the robot, HECTOR the supercomputer with a perpetual yellow smiley face, the dead Doctor Hogenmiller's hologram, plus several other examples of artificial intelligence. The female lead was named Flynn, and had a mechanical arm that made her technically a cyborg. The original "Hardwired" screenplay was a cerebral thriller that read like a stage play, and representatives of the Asimov estate considered the script "more Asimov than Asimov."…
In her romantically stylized Gothic novel, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley morally critiques scientific possibilities of the period through an effective use of language, characterization and setting. By contrast Ridley Scott’s Bladerunner, set in a near future where scientific development compromises both the nature of humanity, as well as nature itself, is a critique of the values of the post-modern era within which it was created. Both texts challenge the established values and issues of their time, problematizing humans quest to conquer nature through science and the existential question of what it means to be human.…
Mary Shelley’s seminal novel Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s cult classic film Blade Runner express the contextual concerns of the post-industrial and post modern eras respectively. Where Shelley’s novel operates as a Gothic expression of the conflicting paradigms of Romantic idealism and Enlightenment rationalism, Scott’s film functions as a response to a postmodern period predicated upon the dissolution of boundaries, in which logocentric truths are fractured and blurred. Both composers, however, imaginatively portray individuals who challenge…
The Kite Runner is a film of friendship that was directed by Marc Foster based on the novel of the same name by Khaled Hosseini. This movie was released on December 2007 by Paramount Vontage with the duration 128 minutes. The Kite Runner released in Indonesia on February 2008 and was released on DVD on March 25, 2008.…
The film also reveals hopes and fears and enthusiasm for technology. Much of the technology presented in the film (such as "M-machine" and "Heart Machine") is unexplained and bizzare." Machine Human", the female robot, is the ultimate expression of techology in the film. Special effects and designs featured in the film, still impress modern audience.…