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Symbolism In Blade Runner

Decent Essays

When Blade Runner was released in 1982, it was greeted with a lukewarm reception by general movie-goers and critics alike. Director Ridley Scott's film -- a futuristic tale about a group of renegade "replicants" (android slave labor banned on Earth, used in the colonization of space) and the police officer (Rick Deckard, played by Harrison Ford) hired to kill them - was criticized for being too gloomy and too dense. However, since its dismal box office run, Blade Runner has emerged as one of the most thematically and stylistically influential science fiction films in recent history.
There are two key literary devices of the film that play a key role in relaying themes. The first is setting--the time, place, and context of the story. In some literature, the setting is rich and complex, a culture of its own, a set of rules alien to the reader that the characters in the story live by. The second is symbolism, when a writer uses a tangible object to represent a higher, more complex notion or idea. In Blade Runner, Scott uses key traits of the setting and symbols as a means to propose the moral dilemmas that will one day face humanity due to its fascination with technology.
The setting of the film is possibly the most important device in terms of theme. Blade Runner takes place in Los Angeles during the year 2017. In the opening shot, Scott immediately exposes us to the side-effects of a full century of industrialization: Factories fill the cityscape, pouring a never-ending stream of smoke into the sky. What was once sunny Southern California is now covered by a constant layer of pollution that blurs night and day. Wrecked and abandoned skyscrapers trash the city. Acid rain pours continuously. The overall sensation of the opening scene has a sobering effect on the viewer. After decades of technological advances for the betterment of society, what remains is a trashed, almost uninhabitable planet that has been virtually abandoned. In essence, Scott warns us that technology has damaging effect on both the environment and culture.
The dreary setting of the film possibly me most powerful device Scott uses in order to relay his warning, but an equally important message is symbolically demonstrated by the powerful Tyrell

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