The future has always been interpreted in vastly different ways, as it should. Everyone's idea of the future should be different, this is what lets everyone's ideas combine to create the future that we will one day inhabit. From Blade Runner to Back to the Future 2, the future can take radically different forms depending on one person's vision. The reading suggested that the future that Blade Runner took place in is something that we should strive for but I have to disagree, saying that the future from the new movie Her is the one we should be striving for.
In Blade Runner, future LA is a mix between Hong Kong, present day LA, and present day NYC. The mixture of all races, classes, and social statures is very prominent and is shown in the opening street scene. The reading brings up a good quote on how this is like present day LA with the "artificially controlled political chaos." Although I feel that most city planning is centered around this idea, it is mostly shown in Blade Runner how Harrison Ford is pushed and squeezes into a small booth to eat a dinner off the street. The city in Blade Runner feels like NYC because it is built upward. The opening show shows the vastness of the city, much like present day LA, but instead of it being fairly flat, the buildings are much much taller, spitting fire into the sky. The Asian influence is very present also with the all of the billboards and Asian residents.
The reading commends this future for it's mixing of cultures and shopping mall streets, but I don't necessarily think this is a comfortable life. I for one would not want to live there. Maybe it was all the rain, but the city looked very dark, depressed, and polluted by all the factories. I think a much more comfortable, and more realistic future, is the one presented in the new movie Her.
Her takes place in near future LA and draws influence from both present day LA and Shanghai. Future LA is not presented in a high tech way with floating cars, gadgets that solve everything, and a radically different city design. Her just simply shows a realistic future with just some minor differences. The city is more spread out. Unlike Blade Runner, there are an abundance of parks and flat areas that the main characters go to. that doesn't mean that there aren't any huge buildings. Many buildings from Shanghai were added into the city's skyline. The air looked clean also and everything had a slick look but not in a super futuristic way, it still felt comfortable.
I think that with the future, we also bring about new technology and new ideas to fix the problems were are faced with. The future may look bleak now, with problems that seem like there is no solution to but I have hope for the future and my hope is that we will all realize what has to be done. I don't think anyone would pick to live in Blade Runner LA over Her LA and I think that it is this that will save the future.
Blade Runner made choices about the future to further the story and I do not doubt the instances of these at all. A Blade Runner future could happen, there is no doubting that. But idealizing it like the reading does, picking out the small good that comes out of a future that is mostly destructive is counterintuitive to wishing for a future that includes the best of both movies. I have hope for the near future, I just hope it isn't filled with weird androids that look a little like David Bowie... hmm or do I.
Rob, I totally agree with you on not wanting to live in the L.A of BladeRunner, it's a rather depressing place! However the future of Her despite it being from all appearances far more hospitable is still weirdly creepy in that world of tomorrow run by urban outfitters and the apple store way. But the architecture and the technology seem to portray an ergonomic relationship between humans and nature, one that is sorely absent in Blade Runner. Her is a reflection of how digital technology can evolve our biological lives through quantum computing whereas Blade Runner is a world in which analog technology never advanced that far and humanity crumbled under the weight of an over industrialized world.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how the city in the movie also reminded you of New York City, because I thought the same thing. I have visited New York several times, but have never visited L.A., so when I saw the appearance of the streets in the film, New York is the first thing that came to mind. The streets are constantly crowded, there are vendors at every corner, and the buildings are incredibly tall. I agree with you that the city in the movie is portrayed as very grungy and crowded, certainly not somewhere I would ever want to live. However, I do think the grunginess reflects the tone of the movie, which was a good idea on the producer's part. The reading did somewhat seem to glorify the future in Blade Runner. I also do not agree that the type of future demonstrated in the film is something we should strive for. Actually, thinking about what the future will entail actually makes me feel uneasy! With all of the new technological advances emerging, I worry about what is yet to come. Your post also inspired me to watch Her, because I have not yet seen this film! When I watch it now, I will definitely be looking for the differences between the two movies.
ReplyDeleteThe reading doesn't say that Blade Runner represents the city of the future in any positive way, Rob. It _critiques_ that response, which was mostly the fascination of a few young urban planners. The larger point is the difference between nostalgic, cinematic constructions of urban space based on various levels and layers of film history, and the actualities of city life.
ReplyDelete