scholarly journals Bordering the Future? The ‘Male Gaze’ in the Blade Runner Films and Originating Novel

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-28
Author(s):  
Kathleen Staudt
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Border Studies ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
Border Crossings ◽  
Male Gaze ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Blade Runner ◽  
The Future ◽  
Sentient Beings ◽  
The U.S

Philip K. Dick (1928-1982), author of numerous science fiction narratives from the 1950s-1980s, some of which Hollywood made into films, grappled with the nature of reality, the meaning of humanness, and border crossing between humans and androids (called ‘replicants’ in the films). The socially constructed female and male protagonists in these narratives have yet to be analyzed with a gender gaze that draws on border studies. This paper analyzes two Blade Runner films, compares them to the Philip K. Dick (PKD) narrative, and applies gender, feminist, and border concepts, particularly border crossings from human to sentient beings and androids. In this paper, I argue that the men who wrote and directed the films established and crossed multiple metaphoric borders, but wore gender blinders that thereby reinforced gendered borders as visualized and viewed in the U.S. and global film markets yet never addressed the profoundly radical border crossing notions from PKD.

Excavating the Future

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn Malley
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Cultural Study ◽  
Homeland Security ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Film And Television ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
The U.S

Well-known in popular culture for tomb-raiding and mummy-wrangling, the archaeologist is also a rich though often unacknowledged figure for constructing ‘strange new worlds’ from ‘strange old worlds’ in science fiction. But more than a well-spring for scenarios, SF’s archaeological imaginary is also a hermeneutic tool for excavating the ideological motivations of digging up the past buried in the future. A cultural study of an array of popular though critically neglected North American SF film and television texts–spanning the gamut of telefilms, pseudo-documentaries, teen serial drama and Hollywood blockbusters–Excavating the Future treats archaeology as a trope for exploring the popular archaeological imagination and the uses to which it is being put by the U.S. state and its adversaries. By treating SF texts as documents of archaeological experience circulating within and between scientific and popular culture communities and media, Excavating the Future develops critical strategies for analyzing SF film and television’s critical and adaptive responses to contemporary geopolitical concerns about the war on terror, homeland security, the invasion and reconstruction of Iraq, and the ongoing fight against ISIS.

Convenções na direção de arte cinematográfica: um olhar sobre a ficção científica

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Muanis ◽  
Mariana Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Feature Film ◽  
Blade Runner ◽  
The Future ◽  
Science Fiction Films ◽  
Spike Jonze ◽  
Stephen Neale

The elements of cinematographic language can be used in many ways to portray a story. It appears that, over the years, many conventions have been established in different areas of cinematographic making. In this article, we aim to highlight the conventions of the science fiction genre, with a focus on the art direction of movies that portray the future. For this, films such as Ex_Machina (Alex Garland, 2014), Equals (Drake Doremus, 2015) and Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, 2017) are analyzed. Also noteworthy, is the feature film Her (Spike Jonze, 2013) as a work that goes against the others, which presents an approach to the future that stands out among so many other movies with scenarios and costumes similar to each other. As a basis for the research, the study of conventions by sociologist Howard Becker is used, in addition to the work by theorists David Bordwell, Rick Altman, Stephen Neale, Marcel Martin, Vincent Lobrutto, among others. Directors and their artistic departments use colors, shapes, materials, textures, and elements that have become conventions in science fiction films and few are those who dare to produce something aesthetically different.

Narratives of Border Crossings

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Studies ◽  
Border Studies ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
Border Crossings ◽  
Cultural Representations ◽  
Cultural Encounters ◽  
Aesthetic Practice ◽  
Border Narratives ◽  
Cultural Negotiations

How can we understand borders in terms of aesthetic practice? As borders are increasingly moving into the centre of cultural negotiations, the essays in this volume focus on anglophone fiction, film and TV series which employ border-crossing narratives and engage in narrative poetics of cultural encounters. Addressing the complex roles of borders in cultural representations, the articles analyse recent reconceptualisations of borders as processes and practices in border narratives. This book will appeal to anyone interested in cultural border studies as well as ethnic studies. With contributions by Pirjo Ahokas, Francesca de Lucia, Aikaterini Delikonstantinidou, Astrid M. Fellner, Dorothea Fischer-Hornung, Bettina Hofmann, Nadine M. Knight, Page Laws, Ludmilla Martanovschi, Janna Odabas, Silvia Schultermandl and Elke Sturm-Trigonakis.

Genre

Blade Runner ◽  
2016 ◽  
pp. 13-26
Author(s):  
Sean Redmond
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Blade Runner ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Aesthetic

This chapter reviews the terms of the themes, iconographies and mode of address of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner that made it fall within the science-fiction genre. It describes Blade Runner as a dystopian, iconic and visually spectacular film that is argued to be an exemplary case study for what constitutes a science-fiction film. It also explains how Blade Runner offers a despairing view of the future, showing high, low and expansive shots of the Gothic, patchwork city as it belches flames, chokes on its own smog, and produces the discernible sense of an omnipresent decay. The chapter discusses Blade Runner's theme on disintegration, in which earth is so over-populated and polluted that people in the film are encouraged to move to off-world colonies. It investigates the 'aesthetic of decay' of Blade Runner that is compounded by the encroachment of technology and techno-science into all areas of social life.

scholarly journals Where We're Going, We'll Need Roads! Building the Bridge to the Future

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-285
Author(s):  
Jessica R. Lesnau
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
International Trade ◽  
North American ◽  
The United States ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
Border Crossings ◽  
Government Ownership ◽  
Detroit River ◽  
The Future ◽  
International Border

In a world where global economies are increasingly interdependent, the United States, and its North American counterparts, Canada and Mexico, are booming sources of international trade. Now, more than ever, global competitiveness necessitates developments in U.S. infrastructure, especially at major border crossings where congestion and poor infrastructure create bottlenecks interfering with the free movement of goods. Questions pertaining to international border crossings circle the debate at the most crucial international border crossing in North America: the Ambassador Bridge, which spans the Detroit River between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario. A legal battle rages over the proposed construction of a new publicly owned bridge that will compete with the eighty-six-year-old privately owned bridge. Many questions surround this topic, including whether the United States may allow the construction of a bridge that competes with a private individual’s livelihood. Is there a compelling case for a government taking in favor of public infrastructure? Should a private individual be able to own a major international border crossing? Additionally, in anticipation of construction of a new bridge, what will be the implications for the community that must give up its property to make way for the construction? This Comment will focus on the conflict over the construction of the New International Trade Crossing (NITC), also known as the “Bridge to the Future,” in competition with the Ambassador Bridge and its relevance to the conversation of border infrastructure. It will further demonstrate some of the pitfalls in the private ownership of an international border crossing—as well as some that inhere in government ownership—arguing for a new infrastructure model that promotes collaboration between the public and private sectors. Ultimately, this Article will argue that, like the NITC, future border infrastructure projects should be developed through the use of public-private partnerships (hereinafter “P3s”) to promote North American trade development.

scholarly journals When the Border Crosses You

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-18
Author(s):  
Noémi Fazakas
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
Border Studies ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Border Crossings ◽  
World War ◽  
Minority Communities ◽  
Special Regard

AbstractThe article discusses the Transylvanian case of border crossings, the historical changes experienced by the communities living on this territory between 1918, the end of World War I, and 1944. The study starts with a short theoretical introduction to border studies and to the concept of border crossing, discussing aspects such as the issue of state and societal borders, power relations and sovereignty, and the negotiation of new identities within new state borders (understood both geographically and ideologically). The article analyses several fragments of texts that were published in one of the most important Hungarian newspapers in Transylvania, focusing on the concept of the border, on language rights, and minority rights as well as on some aspects of the linguistic landscape with special regard to the visibility or erasure of minority communities. The article concludes that the discussed instance of border crossing is particular in its nature as it shows similarities with the typical cases of border crossing; however, the staticity of the community itself and the movement of the border creates new possibilities for discussion.

scholarly journals SHANGHAIED INTO THE FUTURE: THE ASIANIZATION OF THE FUTURE METROPOLIS IN POST-BLADE RUNNER CINEMA

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-144
Author(s):  
Marco CERESA
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Modern Architecture ◽  
Yellow Peril ◽  
Genetic Codes ◽  
Blade Runner ◽  
The Future ◽  
Standard Set ◽  
Science Fiction Films ◽  
Asian Cinema

The cliched 1930–1950 Western cinematic images of Shanghai as a fascinating den of iniquity, and, in contrast, as a beacon of modernity, were merged in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. As a result, a new standard emerged in science fiction films for the representation of future urban conglomerates: the Asianized metropolis. The standard set by this film, of a dark dystopian city, populated by creatures of all races and genetic codes, will be adopted in most of the representations of future cities in non-Asian cinema. This article traces the representation of Shanghai in Western cinema from its earliest days (1932– Shanghai Express) through Blade Runner (1982) to the present (2013– Her). Shanghai, already in the early 1930s, sported extremely daring examples of modern architecture and, at the same time, in non-Asian cinema, was represented as a city of sin and depravity. This dualistic representation became the standard image of the future Asianized city, where its debauchery was often complemented by modernity; therefore, it is all the more seedy. Moreover, it is Asianized, the “Yellow Peril” incarnated in a new, much more subtle, much more dangerous way. As such, it is deserving of destruction, like Sodom and Gomorrah.

THE ROLE OF THAI PEOPLE IN VIETNAM – LAO TRADITIONAL FRIENDSHIP

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pham Van Loi
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
Thai People ◽  
Northwest Region ◽  
Coherent Relationship ◽  
National Borders

Vietnam - Laos has more than 2,000 km of common national borders. The coherent relationship between the two nations and the inhabitants of the two countries has been formed and fostered in history and especially developed over the past 7 decades. The Thai ethnic group in Vietnam has over one million people, residing permanently, concentrated in the Northwest region, the region consists of 8 provinces, of which 4 provinces have the Vietnam-Laos border crossing. This paper focuses on clarifying the practical basis for the Thai people to play a role in the traditional Vietnam-Laos friendship and propose some solutions to promote the role of Thai in maintaining, developing the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Laos, now and in the future.

The Future of Global Great Power Competition after the Coronavirus

2020 ◽  
pp. 79-92
Author(s):  
Burhanettin Duran
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
International System ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
World War ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
The Future ◽  
Policy Agendas ◽  
The U.S

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the domestic and foreign policy agendas of all countries have been turned upside down. The pandemic has brought new problems and competition areas to states and to the international system. While the pandemic politically calls to mind the post-World War II era, it can also be compared with the 2008 crisis due to its economic effects such as unemployment and the disruption of global supply chains. A debate immediately began for a new international system; however, it seems that the current international system will be affected, but will not experience a radical change. That is, a new international order is not expected, while disorder is most likely in the post-pandemic period. In an atmosphere of global instability where debates on the U.S.-led international system have been worn for a while, in the post-pandemic period states will invest in self-sufficiency and redefine their strategic areas, especially in health security. The decline of U.S. leadership, the challenging policies of China, the effects of Chinese policies on the U.S.-China relations and the EU’s deepening crisis are going to be the main discussion topics that will determine the future of the international system.

Facts Between Pictographs and Photographs in Lester Beall's Rural Electrification Posters, 1937-1941

2015 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-38
Author(s):  
Michael J. Golec
Keyword(s):  
Social Reality ◽  
Rural Electrification ◽  
Art And Design ◽  
Photographic Images ◽  
Governmental Agencies ◽  
Works Of Art ◽  
The Future ◽  
The U.S

In analysing Lester Beall's posters for the U.S. government between 1937-1941, Michael Golec demonstrates the twofold character of facts in art and design appearing even when they are applied to guarantee distinct messages. Commissioned by the governmental agencies to develop a series of posters to increase the electrification of rural farms, Beall introduces pictograms in his first series to represent electrification as “facts of the future.” Its simple forms facilitate the travelling of this facts without loss of their integrity. The same holds true for the use of photographic images for the second campaign of 1939. Following the revaluation of photography as a means for the documentation of social reality, as represented by the FSA photographers under the guidance of Roy Stryker, the medium served here as the authentication of facts. Golec holds, that Beall by reducing the complexity of the photographic images, to create a pictorial integrity of his posters, even despite of the use of a seemingly documentary medium, reinforces the ambivalent factual character of the pictures. So, paradoxically by heightening the communicative character of the design and hence stressing the idea of facts as integral realities outside of artworks, Beall's posters reveal the ambiguous character of pictorial facts creating their own specific qualities. Golec concludes, that facts in works of art and design have a twofold character resulting from their belonging to different spaces, which although meant to accomplish and address different facts, inevitably travel, overlap and bleed into each other. Thus oddly these facts refer or represent reality and simultaneously are a thing made (factum) that present and hold their own pictorial reality.

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