| Blade Runner and the Asian Aesthetic
†
October 2008
While the mise-en-scène of a
film provides a vehicle for visual appreciation, and putting the
film into context regards genre, chronological placement and suggesting
a given environmental condition, this only provides a limited scope
for understanding for the work. The science fiction film often provides
a complex multitude of possible explanations, and in doing so frequently
presents a conprehensive palette from which to consider numerous
social and politic issues. This is due to the tremendous scope permitted
within the genre. Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982)
is no exception.
The dark future sub-genre of science
fiction molds several levels of artistic asethetic, including racial,
archetectural, fashion and style. Blade Runner provides
a unique oppotunity for study in this regard. In part these collective
elements have contributed to the film’s ongoing cult status.
These complexities, both asethetically
and on the grander social scale are noted by Prince:
The visual design of the film
creates a world of clutter, a ghettoized ally environment in which
transient, jobless, urban poor jostle together in a mix of nationalities
and languages, while, far overhead, video monitors and electronic
billboards carry corporate advertisements and media messages.
High-rise buildings of high-tech opulence coexist with the crumbling
alley environment. (2001: 139)
The Asian asethetic, while very prevalent
in Blade Runner and particularly worthy of investigation,
is not the only cultural reference present. This essay serves to
decern and therefore address both sides of the East / West cultural
divide. With such effort themes and signs are more convincingly
brought to the surface through the acknowleding of the cultural
convergence within Blade Runner and indeed other works
of the genre.
The most overt asethetic in film is
conveyed by the set. In Blade Runner this is dominated
by the cityscape. In refering to the work of Wong Kin Yuen a deeper
understanding of the Hong Kong cityscape and its infulence on Blade
Runner will be brought to bear.
Within this dark urban world of Los
Angeles of 2019 depicted in Scott’s film numerous Asian languages
are spoken, including ‘cityspeak’, which suggests a
multinational world. Communication, being central to human capacity
and progress is the main instigation behind technology, which, in
the contemporary world can be argued has an associative bias towards
Asian society.
Science fiction consistently deals
with the notion of technological change and its resultant impact.
Through this evolution in relation to the cityscape and the larger
world we will examine how Asian culture is portrayed in film. Ratifying
a connection between rapidly evolving technologies and Asian culture
will show how films like Blade Runner present both social concerns
and visual representations of future possibilities.
Style plays a role on several levels
within the film. These functions, closely analysised, will expose
influence beyond a singular Asian presence. In the nature of fashion
it is derived from a number of cultural sources and will be shown
to be historically and filmically significant.
In drawing upon anicent mythology the collision of broad cultural
beliefs will be presented to demonstrate how animals function in
Scott’s film, but also act as a popular convergence in representation
as an purposeful aesthetic and a means for contempation of additional
meaning.
All of the aforementioned issues will
thereafter be drawn together in an examination of the collective
aesthetic to show how they function within Blade Runner, addressing
the impact Asian culture has had upon Blade Runner, but
also in how much Asian cinema has, in kind, been affected by this
cult film. The overwhelming global influence of the film is summed
up simply by Prince:
The noirish, pessimistic mise-en-scène
established by Alien and Blade Runner predominated in science
fiction films for the next fifteen years. Even fantasies like
the Batman series visualize a noir environment. (2001: 140)
While the surface is Asian, such as
the neon signs, the language, the food, the substance of the environment
is frequently European. Gothic architecture features promiantly
and this is further reinforced filmically with reference by Metropolis
(Lang, 1926) Blade Runner depicts a dark, polluted and
gloomy world.
Nevertheless, one only needs to look
at the recent concerns of air pollution during the Olympic games
in Bejing, or Japanese walking the streets of Toyko with paper masks
to make the environmental connection with Asia and the 1982 released
film. Director Ridley Scott has commented that the world in his
mind was that of a “future medieval” based on Hong Kong.
Wong (2000) cites an actual Hong Kong city setting and helps to
reinforce Ridley’s comments by stating:
The incredibly detailed Los Angeles
of 2019 in Blade Runner creates a futuristic noir atmosphere by
heavily borrowing from Asian motifs, albeit vague and general
ones, in its design of city icons and social spaces. With the
artful “retro-fitting” and “layering”
of the Japanese sushi bar, the gigantic media screen of the geisha
girl ad.
Within these bustling environments
there are massive numbers of people of all different races, but,
as the narrative makes clear, the Los Angeles of the future is distinctly
Asian. Communication is key to the citycape function. English is
no longer the most recogniable tongue heard.
The Sushi Master speaks Japanese, while
the Policeman who approaches Deckard initially speaks Korean, in
this dark representation of Los Angeles (Sammon 2007: 112). Chew,
the eye-maker also speaks Chinese [dialectic not noted], while Gaff,
the other bounty hunter in the film uses “Cityspeak”
extensively. Ridley Scott comments on the language being Esperanto
in nature: “an artificial language devised in 1887 as an international
medium of communication, based on roots from the chief European
languages”. Cityspeak is a combination of Asian and European
languages such as German and Hungarian . Sammon also alludes to
Spanish and French being part of the language. (2007: 115) In this
way, Cityspeak characterises and acknowledges the multinational
world in which we live, neither emphasising, or excluding Eastern
or Western cultures.
These elements of society, mise-en-scene
and artistic aesthetic are a compilation of culture therefore, rather
than a simple homage of style from past works. They are formulated
for a specific purpose in this unique dark future setting.
Through the dominance of language and
overt cultural aesthetics presented on the streets of Los Angeles
in 2019 Asia irrefutably takes precedence. The irony is that, up
until a few hundred years ago Asia did dominate the world. Only
with superior trade and commercial systems and implementation of
technology did the balance change dramatically to a Western geopolitically
driven economy as we see it today.
In this way Blade Runner
makes a strong statement of about these systems and how that balance
can quickly change. One only needs to look at the current economic
crisis to expose weaknesses. Language permits technological advancement,
while the application of said technologies facilitates change.
The Tyrell Corporation is central to
the replicant technology in the film, in the production of “artificial
people”. The supreme ruler and designer of the replicant brain
is Tyrell. He is white, of European ethnicity, and speaks English.
Chew, the Chinese eye expert, on the other hand, is somehow subordinate,
though critically required in the process of replicant production.
This is suggestive of a master slave relationship, as indeed the
replicants are slaves to humanity. Blade Runner makes a
bold statement about our not so distant past, and questions how
far we may have come if we simply manufacture new slaves.
Central to science fiction is technological
change, often depicted as harsh and unforgiving. It is also a frequent
user of physical violence to represent this change. It is here that
Western technology dominates the landscape, particularly in military
terms. Asian films; action, science fiction or their sub-genres
in particular, frequently part from traditional hand to hand and
take up technologically geared martial arts.
John Woo’s Hardboiled
(1992) presses home gunfights and firearms more typical of the West,
rather than Asian stereotyped martial arts. The influence of Western
cinema and its opportunities were instrumental in Woo’s move
to Hollywood and his direction of films such as Face/Off
(1997) even if his initial films were not so successful (Prince
2001: 307). Likewise, the Korean film Natural City (Min,
2003) presents dark battle armour, a futuristic SWAT team approach
if you will, sporting huge rifles and military technology more likely
to be perceived as Western in conception, though often Asian enhanced.
Direct links of narrative and style are made to Blade Runner,
including claims Natural City is made in the tradition
of Scott’s film.
It is in a combination of physical
and technical representations in Blade Runner that you
see a telling influence of Western films upon it, from the gangster
film to detective and film noir. There is a distinct style which
flows from the aforementioned into costume design, lighting and
props. This is the crossroads which displays the influences of
Blade Runner upon Asian cinema most readily.
Akira (Katsuhiro, 1988) with
its mix of large handguns of American and European design, and trench
coats, identifies with the gumshoe character of Blade Runner’s
Deckard, which in turn has links to Hollywood classic film noir.
Likewise, Deckard’s pistol is simply constructed to produce
what a high calibre revolver might look like in the future –
the revolver a classic American detective weapon.
Furthermore, Pris and Rachael display
perfect fair skin of the femme fatale, emphasis added to their eyes
through makeup is evident in Japanese anime, favouring and fascinated
with the physical and stylist characteristics of westerners, depicting
large round eyes and European skin tones. Cowboy style six-guns
and Western fashion and military uniforms feature extensively across
Asian cinema genre films of this nature.
Humanness/whiteness remains a
central organizing principle of its narrative. This explains the
cyborgs’ obsession with assimilation and passing. That they
would rather be human is a given. (Nishime 2005: 43)
Yet in Blade Runner there
is an overwhelming narrative suggestion with respect to an assertion
of Asian control to counter contemporary European dominance in the
wider world. This means not only capitalising on existing population
advantage but also seeing the cultural apparatus presenting itself
overtly. This can easily be interpreted as xenophobic reaction from
a predominantly white population in what has been termed the “Asian
invasion”, in this case the setting being future Los Angeles.
But one can only hint greater detail of a back-story to Blade
Runner, and in all likelihood, the street atmosphere depicted
after major global conflict between European bases of power, deeming
population disparity, would be a realistic one. In this way the
film addresses real social issues, of social and cultural balance.
Deeming the strengths of stylisation
and its critical role in the visual aesthetics of Blade Runner
one should not overlook how this combines with the cultural
elements of the film. The mythological motifs present are significant
in this regard.
Of the handing down of myth, legend
and lore through various means of communication, including literature,
the question of various cultural mythologies in Blade Runner
can be examined. There are several animals presented in the film
and these set in place symbology and various interpretations due
to cultural difference.
In identifying Zhora and her snake it is not difficult to make connections
with Christianity and biblical references to the serpent, sin, and
the connection of the quest for knowledge, and therefore power,
as the centrepiece in the downfall of man. Yet of the tales of women
and snakes Blacker atests: “[They] are figures appearing in
the mythology of much of Europe and Asia, but very prominently in
China and Japan.” But also that: “The snake-woman is
seen to refract in a curious manner into extremes of good and evil.”
(Blacker 1978: 113) This helps to reinforce some of the themes of
Blade Runner.
Blacker details the marriage, in many
Japanese folklore tales, of a man or women to a snake (1978: 113-124).
Much has been made of the recurring theme of vision , a key example
being Chew, and Batty’s method in the killing of Tyrell. A
connection can be made with Blacker’s detailing the often
extended tales that a snake-woman would leave the gift of a child
and that “the snake gives one of her eyeballs for the child
as she leaves behind to lick for nourishment.” (1978: 116-117)
In a wider historical and contempoarary
context, the University of Massachusetts points out of snake mythology:
In India, cobras were regarded
as reincarnations of important people called Nagas. Our modern
medical symbol of two snakes wrapped around a staff, or ‘caduceus,’
comes from ancient Greek mythology. According to the Greeks, the
mythical figure Aesculapius discovered medicine by watching as
one snake used herbs to bring another snake back to life.
The replicants desire more life, yet
are manufactured, which can be considered a mechanical reincarnated.
They are produced to ‘cure’ the world’s ills.
Unicorns are central to the story of
Blade Runner and popular suggestion has it that Deckard’s
dream of the mythological creature makes him a replicant. Additionally,
the other blade runner, Gaff’s making of the origami Unicorn
suggest he can read Deckard’s thoughts on the matter. This
conjecture aside the notion of the anicent beast being present strengthen
a number of themes present.
Global tales of the Unicorn start
in China with the Ch’i lin which possessed “great power
and wisdom [and] considered a sign of good fortune.” It is
central to the story of Fu Hsi c. 2900 BC and the first written
Chinese language. Of the Japanese Kirin:
It was known for its ability
to know right from wrong and was often called upon to determine
the guilt or innocence of individuals. If an individual was determined
to be guilty, the Sin-you would fix its eyes upon him and pierce
the guilty person with its horn.
For Blade Runner, there is
an overriding sense of questioning right and wrong, and who and
what is really human. Therefore, a mythical beast able to determine
guilt and provide wisdom is apt.
Various animals and birds, including
doves and owls, collectively forge a convergence of differing cultures
within Blade Runner and perhaps offer the best argument
a multilateral cultural filmic infulence taking place. Again, this
leads to various forms of interpretation.
In China “owls were known as
‘thunder-averters’, and special owl-like ornaments were
fixed to the corner of roofs to protect houses against fire.”
(Tate 2007: 98) This is a protective role against the dangers of
the environment. In the West owls are associated with wisdom. “The
Pima Indians of Arizona [...] believed that owls actually contained
the souls of the departed.” (Tate 2007: 93) This works well
for questioning the notion of human beings having a soul, and replicants,
no matter what is done, they are unable to be truly human.
Batty releases a dove, yet, according
to Tate the bird is not a universal symbol of peace and love. He
cites the Japanese tale of Yorimoto. Doves flew from the tree in
which he was hiding convincing his enemies he could not be within
its trunk. “He later set up shrines to the gods of war, on
which he depicted the birds that had saved him”. They are
deemed: “messengers of war rather than symbols of peace.”
(2007: 39-40) Therefore, the symbology is ambiguious but nevertheless
approriate for the Blade Runner narrative; peace has finally come
in conclusion, yet battles have raged both on the streets and internally.
As the examples presented show, there
is a collective aesthetic present within Blade Runner which
is indicitive of the multi-cultural elements it draws upon across
its production. Sammon states:
Even Asian animators and rock musicians got into the act; [of imitating
Blade Runner] the Rolling Stones’ 1989 “Steel Wheels”
tour featured a Blade Runner-ish stage set, while the apocalyptic
1988 Japanese animated feature Akira was set against the Far East
equivalent of Scott’s 2019 Los Angeles. (2007: 324)
Paycheck (Woo, 2003) is loosely
based off the Philip K. Dick story of the same name, who also wrote
‘Do Andriods Dream of Electric Sheep’, upon which Blade
Runner is inspired. The convergence of cultures is further
shown that Hong Kong director John Woo directed this film.
Drawing on the original source for
Blade Runner points towards literature. In doing so it
is easy to discern a broader impact of the film. In seeing the more
obvious influence of Asian culture upon Blade Runner, and
indeed cyberpunk literature such as that of William Gibson, it is
a mistake to assume that this traffic of the aesthetic and culture
is only one way and indeed is art-form specific, as Bukatman states:
Cyberpunk provided the image
of the future in the 80s. The real advent of the science fiction
subgenre happened with the publication of William Gibson’s
Neuromancer in 1984 […] Gibson made no secret of Blade Runner’s
impact on his work. (1997: 48)
Yet in turn:
Gibson’s acclaimed Neuromancer
(1984) contained some powerful Japanese imagery, and portrayed
the future as tinged with ‘Japaneseness’: […]
key characters […] have obvious Japanese origins. (Goto-Jones
2008: 15)
Through several cited examples, including
the emigration of Asian directors to the U.S., the graphical representations
of anime characters and the depiction of Western technology in Asian
films we see a West to East flow. So while there are countless connections
made with modern Western productions, notably The Matrix
(Wachowskis, 1999) and Equilibrium (Wimmer, 2002) and their
Asian roots, it is critical to acknowledge that the artistic influence
does, and will continue to, go in both directions. Grindstaff clarifies
this inspiration of artistic flow:
Films constantly quote from one
another but fail to properly cite their sources. […] Taken
to its logical conclusion, [this] implies there is no such thing
as a truly original or authentic story, since the conventions
of narrative—and language itself—preexist any individual
text. (2001: 151)
Culture, after centuries of integration
and amalgamation, is no longer a fixed entity but constantly in
transition, a thing of flux, as is art. Through the examination
of the several elements of space, time and production we have seen
how these broad terms work in cohesion to form a particular visual
aesthetic. Through Blade Runner we have seen that these
two primary elements of our lives converge, and the film itself
acts as a reference for the multitude of issues at hand.
By Leon T. Harrison for FILM 233, Victoria
University, Wellington
Bibliography
Blacker, C. (1978) ‘The Snake
Woman in Japanese Myth and Legend’ Animals in Folklore
Porter, J. & Russell, W. (eds.) Cambridge: D.S. Brewer Ltd.
pp.113-125
Bukatman, S. (1997) Blade Runner
London: British Film Institute
Prince, S. (2001) Movies and Meaning:
An Introduction to Film (2nd ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon
Sammon, P. (2007) Future Noir:
The Making of Blade Runner (2nd ed.) London: Gollancz
Tate, P. (2007) Flights of Fancy:
Birds of Myth, Legend and Supersition London: Random House
Books
Journals
Goto-Jones, C. ‘From Science
Fictional Japan to Japanese Science Fiction’ IIAS Newsletter
Spring 2008; 47 pp.14-15
Grindstaff, L. ‘A Pygmalion Tale
Retold: Remaking La Femme Nikita’ Camera Obscura 47, 2001;
16:2 Duke University Press pp.132-175
Nishime, L. ‘The Mulatto Cyborg:
Imagining a Multiracial Future’ Cinema Journal Winter 2005;
44:2 University of Texas Press pp.34-49
Electronic Sources
Owens, K. (2008) All About Unicorns
http://www.allaboutunicorns.com
[Accessed 12 October 2008 ]
Snake Mythology – University
of Massachusetts Amherst
http://www.umass.edu/nrec/snake_pit/pages/myth.html
[Accessed 18 October 2008 ]
Wong, K (2000) On the Edge of Spaces:
Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell and Hong Kong’s Cityscape
http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/index.htm
[Accessed 12 October 2008]
Films
Scott, R. Blade Runner –
The Final Cut (2007) The Blade Runner Partnership
If this essay was of interest, you
may wish to read a somewhat older essay written for an English paper
I did at Otago University, on Philip K. Dick's Do Andriods Dream
of Electric Sheep?, and its comparision to the film Blade
Runner. It is called On
the Matter of Owls.
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