Research 2014
The future nior cult classic film “Blade Runner” -The Directors Cut can be interpreted through a variety of critical lenses including the Ecofeminest lens and the Marxist lens. In order to perceptively develop my own critical understanding of the film I decided to investigate the following hypothesis: “Blade Runner-DC is a film that conveys how a capitalist society negatively influences the relations of humans and nature.” To aid me in my investigation of my hypothesis I selected two critical texts, the first one – “The Flesh Curtain: The Future of Industrial Oppression in Blade Runner”- written by Paige Eggebrecht, takes a Marxist perspective on the film. The Marxist critical perspective focuses on the ways in which a text represents the allocation of power to different classes in society and the inequalities that result from this unjust distribution of power. A Marxist critic therefore sees these social, cultural, political and economic disparities as the products of the hierarchical society, shaped and dominated by capitalism. My second critical text – “An Ecofeminest Perspective” –written by Mary Jenkins, takes an Ecofeminest perspective on the film. Nature is personified as “Female” and the Patriarchy has relegated women and nature as subordinate to men. As women have been devalued in the film, consequently nature has also. The film reveals a futuristic society ravaged with pollution where the greed for economic capitalism is rife, overriding morality and the essential regard for the value of nature. Ridley heeds a crucial warning to us about the society we doomed to create in the future if we fail to correct and learn from our mistakes. Through both critical lenses, Marxist and Ecofeminest, it is prominently clear that a capitalist society negatively influences the relations of humans and nature as conveyed in BR-DC, thus proving my hypothesis.
The Critical text “Flesh Curtain: The Future of Industrial Oppression in Blade Runner”, written by Paige Eggebrecht explores a Marxist analysis of BR-DC. The futuristic society in the film BR-DC reveals how corruption infiltrates when the distribution of power is shared unequally among societal parties. The Tyrell corporation is prominently conveyed as a clear Bourgeoisie,- “an omniscient overseer from a forbidding metal pyramid.”, while the socially downcast, replicants and under privileged workers represent the Proletariat. Aside from the Tyrell Corporation there seems to be no other governing bodies or corporations. This conveys to us that this society is so driven by capitalism that the ruling class is actually co-operative as opposed to political. Paige reveals the complete dominance of the Tyrell Corporation in regards to power with both economic manipulation but also manipulation of society’s outcast and impoverished. “Tyrell is in clear control of both society’s economic capital as well as something far more important: human capital. Tyrell controls the designing manufacturing and allocating of every Replicant representing a level of control so complete that by the end of the movie we have no idea how many replicants are living concealed in their own ignorance.” The Tyrell Corporation has control over the life and death of all his creations, but also his people. This is however ironic as Tyrell himself is killed by a Replicant,-(Roy), conveying the tremendous level of corruption within this capitalist society.
The upper class social structure of this hierarchical society certainly appears more appealing than the lower class. The opening shot of Blade Runner portrays a dark forbidding world where industry and mechanization thrive in a landscaped deprived of nature and belted in belching flames. “From this initial view, all we see is an industrialized landscape dominated by the panoptic gaze of the Tyrell Corporation Pyramids.” Paige reiterates the ‘God’ like presence of Tyrell and his building. Pyramids were typically built by the ancient Egyptians to