Blade Runner Context

Post-modernism Neo-noir references Hybridisation Cyberpunk ethic (before the term was invented) Bricolage Style matches content Hyperreality Ambiguity Depiction of late capitalism

Auteur characteristics Director’s cut – establishes director’s vision as ideal Consistency of style across Scott’s other films Undermining of mainstream sci-fi genre expectations

Hollywood mainstream Imposition by the studio of the initial ‘happy ending’ and voiceover to explain the narrative Initial box office failure Casting of a mainstream star

Environmental concerns Pollution Overpopulation Loss of traditional communities

Political concerns Excessive corporate power Police represented as corrupt? Fear for loss of national identity through globalisation (Are these themes also present in Scott’s Alien?)

Gender representations Masculinity as construct? Femininity as construct? Challenge to patriarchy? Male violence Challenging notions of heroism?

Literary influences Philip K Dick Frankenstein Paradise Lost Greek drama Cinematic references: Metropolis (1927)

With reference to specific examples, how does Blade Runner reflect the context of its production?