Words: 1589 Fjord 1 Harrison Fjord Dr. Carolyn Kelley Analytical Writing and Thinking 10 December, 2014 Noir 2.0: Why Blade Runner Keeps Film Noir Alive When one thinks of a rain-soaked Los Angeles at night, with a detective navigating danger to crack a revolutionary scheme, one would probably think of a film noir classic like Kiss Me Deadly. You’d probably also think that those black-and-white films of dangerous women and deadly crime schemes of 70 years ago have long since died. However, if you throw in a dash of science fiction technology, some high-contrast neon-lit cinematography, and a futuristic LA dystopia, you have Blade Runner, a 1982 neo-noir directed by Ridley Scott. Widely regarded as a “cult classic,” Blade Runner initially performed poorly in the box office weekend, with a gross of $6.15 million, only a fifth of its total budget. Since then, it has gained tremendous popularity, now grossing almost $34 million (“Blade Runner”). This film holds the keys for the directors of today to create films in the noir tradition that are socially and politically cutting, and shows that it is still very possible to produce films with the visual noir stylistics without being restricted to the black and white film of old. As such, I believe that Blade Runner would be an invaluable addition to the Analytical Writing and Thinking course focusing on the progression of film noir due to its uniquely futuristic yet stylistically noir cinematography, its presentation of modern social and political issues that even today face significant controversy, and its unrelenting motif of the “fear of the future” emphasized by technological overreaching and environmental destruction. Commented [KA1]: GRADE: 291/300 97% A+ Well, you have convinced me! When I teach this course again, I am adding Blade Runner. This paper is outstanding. You present a very convincing argument. You use your sources adeptly, organize the paper in a cogent way, and choose specific and appropriate evidence from the primary text. See my comment below for a few areas of improvement. Commented [KA2]: STYLE: best to leave “one” and “you” out of your academic humanities writing. Try to reword sentences to avoid this construction. Commented [KA3]: No comma here: not a FANBOYS situation Commented [KA4]: STYLE: avoid metadiscourse Commented [KA5]: Excellent introduction. You draw in the reader with your opening comments, and you have a clear thesis and itinerary statement. Words: 1589 Fjord 2 Since the classic film noir cinematography is characterized by dark shadows and sharp contrasts in black-and-white format, one might be tempted to say that film noir has died solely because of the invention of color film. However, Blade Runner does much to dispel this view through its use of visually stunning color cinematography that incorporat.

1. Words: 1589 Fjord 1
Harrison Fjord
Dr. Carolyn Kelley
Analytical Writing and Thinking
10 December, 2014
Noir 2.0: Why Blade Runner Keeps Film Noir Alive
When one thinks of a rain-soaked Los Angeles at night, with a
detective navigating
danger to crack a revolutionary scheme, one would probably
think of a film noir classic like Kiss
Me Deadly. You’d probably also think that those black-and-
white films of dangerous women and
deadly crime schemes of 70 years ago have long since died.
However, if you throw in a dash of
science fiction technology, some high-contrast neon-lit
cinematography, and a futuristic LA
dystopia, you have Blade Runner, a 1982 neo-noir directed by
Ridley Scott. Widely regarded as
a “cult classic,” Blade Runner initially performed poorly in the

2. box office weekend, with a gross
of $6.15 million, only a fifth of its total budget. Since then, it
has gained tremendous popularity,
now grossing almost $34 million (“Blade Runner”). This film
holds the keys for the directors of
today to create films in the noir tradition that are socially and
politically cutting, and shows that
it is still very possible to produce films with the visual noir
stylistics without being restricted to
the black and white film of old. As such, I believe that Blade
Runner would be an invaluable
addition to the Analytical Writing and Thinking course focusing
on the progression of film noir
due to its uniquely futuristic yet stylistically noir
cinematography, its presentation of modern
social and political issues that even today face significant
controversy, and its unrelenting motif
of the “fear of the future” emphasized by technological
overreaching and environmental
destruction.
Commented [KA1]: GRADE: 291/300 97% A+
Well, you have convinced me! When I teach this course
again, I am adding Blade Runner.
This paper is outstanding. You present a very convincing
argument. You use your sources adeptly, organize the paper

3. in a cogent way, and choose specific and appropriate
evidence from the primary text. See my comment below for
a few areas of improvement.
Commented [KA2]:
STYLE: best to leave “one” and “you” out of your academic
humanities writing. Try to reword sentences to avoid this
construction.
Commented [KA3]: No comma here: not a FANBOYS
situation
Commented [KA4]: STYLE: avoid metadiscourse
Commented [KA5]: Excellent introduction. You draw in
the reader with your opening comments, and you have a
clear thesis and itinerary statement.
Words: 1589 Fjord 2
Since the classic film noir cinematography is characterized by
dark shadows and sharp
contrasts in black-and-white format, one might be tempted to
say that film noir has died solely
because of the invention of color film. However, Blade Runner
does much to dispel this view
through its use of visually stunning color cinematography that
incorporates a large number of the
visual stylistics of classic film noir. Instead of feeling forced,

4. the visual end result artistically and
effortlessly gives the themes of the film a nonverbal outlet to
reach viewers and convey the same
feelings of hopelessness and insignificance as classic film noir.
Even though the film is in color,
the visual composition is made very reminiscent of classic noir,
due to its muted lighting and, as
pointed out by Doll and Faller, use of claustrophobic shots such
as during Leon’s Voight-Kampff
test (91). The film also incorporates the classic noir large-scale
scenery shots, such as in the final
sequence of the film in the hallways of the Bradbury Building in
LA. Using these
cinematography techniques, the color tends to enhance the feel
of the film by providing even
sharper contrast between light and dark, emphasizing the noir
feel instead of detracting from it.
Because of this, the film should be included in any course that
prompts the question of whether
or not film noir has the ability to continue onward into the
future.
In addition to providing a unique visual style that gives film
noir a pathway to the future,
Blade Runner also incorporates the other noir themes in a

5. modern way. In classic noir films, we
see the prevalence of racist undertones and a division of
opportunity and lifestyle based on
ethnicity. Blade Runner takes a modern spin on ethnicity by
presenting everyone in a negative
light. From Asian black market synthetic animal dealers to
German street thugs, the supposedly
Eden-esque land of Los Angeles has been transformed into a
land of opportunity for none. Since
those of financial capability have already moved off-world in
the film, Los Angeles of 2019 is
left with a shady mix of ethnicity of every type. Even the
language spoken is a mashed-together
Commented [KA6]: Yikes! This year is now only 5 years
away. So glad the future LA is not looking this way (so far, at
least).
Words: 1589 Fjord 3
blend of Chinese, Japanese, Hungarian, Spanish, and a number
of other languages (Hausladen
and Starrs 62). Thus we see a progression from the days of
Double Indemnity poking at one or
two particular groups of people to a modern world where

6. everyone is displayed as inherently of
questionable moral fiber. Even the chief Replicant of the
antagonist team, Roy Batty, is ruthless
and insane despite being portrayed as the archetypal Aryan.
According to Fisher, the most
prominent of these racial concerns present in the film are those
directly dealing with the
Replicants themselves, being hated even more than all the
present ethnicities against each other
(Fisher 193). Developed as aids to humans, they were designed
for everything from military
squad units to “pleasure models” designed for off-world camps.
As an aside, this particular
element is highly relevant to today’s society, as it sharply
identifies and makes tangible the
objectification of women. Overall, the Replicants are described
as physically stronger and at
least equal in terms of mental capacity compared to their
creators. After a massacre of humans
due to a few rogue Replicants, all Replicants were declared
illegal on Earth, under penalty of
death. If this doesn’t rattle the cage of immigration concerns,
not much will. These thematic
elements sharply broadcast the racial issues of today in a

7. fantastic sci-fi manner. Not only do
race and ethnicity play a role in the film corresponding to
modern issues, but the femme fatale
herself also plays into the identity crisis inherent in the film.
Typical of neo-noir, e.g. Evelyn
Mulwray in Chinatown, Rachael exposes the nature of “the
business” of retiring Replicants as a
gross generalization of their character. Deckard’s original view
of the Replicants as obviously
aware of what they are reflects an ignorance present in modern
culture. This ignorance of the
ethnicity, gender, and sexual identity to name a few are classic
examples that still exist very
strongly in today’s society. Blade Runner goes above and
beyond to expose a much deeper
situation than what appears on the surface, namely that many of
the Replicants were “gifted”
Commented [KA7]: FORMAT: if you use the name in the
sentence, you don’t have to use it in the citation as well.
Commented [KA8]: Good! How did you know I was
Commented [KA9]: Wow! Nice connection here!
Commented [KA10]: STYLE: avoid clichés

8. Words: 1589 Fjord 4
with memories to make them more controllable, but as a
consequence, remain unaware of their
true identities.
Blade Runner also takes its place amongst the noir cycle
through its uncanny capability
of invoking Schrader’s noir “fear of the future” (Schrader 11).
Most prominently, the film
addresses the issues of environmental destruction and man’s
overreaching technological
developments (reminiscent of Kiss Me Deadly’s fear of the
bomb, a deadly manmade object).
Even during the daytime in the film, Los Angeles is, at best,
covered with a sewage-colored
smog. Coupled with the opening of the film showing the
outbursts of flame from towers of
processing plants of some kind, there is no doubt that the
environment of 2019 Los Angeles
appears is destroyed. This environmental destruction provides
much more insight into today’s
concerns than films from the classic noir cycle. In the film, the
viewer is left with the impression

9. that the Earth’s resources and beauty have been used up, giving
rise to the need to develop the
“off-world” colonies. One gets a sense that this would not be
the simple end to the story, but
rather that humans would continue spreading and destroying as
long as our disregard for our
environment remained a constant. In this way, Blade Runner
provides a subtle commentary on
human greed at the expense of our own home, in a way that
might stimulate some thought, even
over thirty years after its release. The noir fear of the future is
not only evident in the horrific
portrayal of the environment, but also in the presentation of
man’s overreach. The production of
the Replicant takes this idea and anthropomorphizes it, giving
the viewer a living embodiment of
man’s own dangerous creations. Much like the atomic bomb
motif of classic noir where the
ultimate fear is shown by man’s ability to create the ultimate
weapon, Blade Runner shows this
fear by the creation of the ultimate human. Since the Replicants
were stronger than and at least as
intelligent as their creators, the film presents humans as having
created their own successors. If

10. Commented [KA11]: The sentence right now does not
make sense. I added the verb (in red)
Commented [KA12]: Terrific observation
Commented [KA13]: STYLE: avoid expletives (there
is/there are) and no need to say “no doubt” – show it with
your proof – don’t tell it.
Commented [KA14]: STYLE: avoid using the vague
pronoun “this” by itself – this what?
Commented [KA15]: Again: very impressive
Words: 1589 Fjord 5
humans are now obsolete, then technology itself goes from
being desired to being hated. This is
evidenced by the existence of the so-called Blade Runner units
whose job it is to terminate all
Replicants found on Earth in reaction to the deeds of only a
few. This issue becomes difficult to
categorize, however. Since the Replicants are grouped together
as a single class of people in their
own right, the prejudice against them fits in with modern racial
themes as well as providing a
negative view of out-of-control technological development.

11. Finally, the Replicants also embody
noir’s characteristic feeling of helplessness. Since they are
provided with memories, many of
them are not even aware that they are Replicants. As the film
progresses, Deckard becomes
plagued by the thought that he himself might be one, as shown
by his waking dream of a unicorn
followed by the appearance of an origami unicorn appearing
outside his apartment (a trademark
of fellow cop Gaff). Due to this, the viewer returns to the
previously mentioned identity crisis in
a startling and self-realizing manner, typical of classic noir, but
very applicable to modern issues.
Overall, Blade Runner provides a wonderful modern adaptation
of the film noir cycle of
films that not only strengthens the economic, social, political,
and environmental concerns of the
classic noir series of films, but also adds to it stylistically and
thematically in a way that can
bring it forward into the 21st century to help keep the noir
tradition alive. Because of its
presentation of modern issues that provide a great deal of
controversy to this day, as well as its
refreshing and impressive visual artwork, Blade Runner would

12. most certainly make a valuable
addition to any course focusing on the progression of film noir.
Words: 1589 Fjord 6
Works Cited
Blade Runner. Dir. Ridley Scott. Perf. Harrison Ford, Rutger
Hauer, Sean Young. The Ladd
Company, 1982. DVD.
Doll, Susan, and Greg Faller. "Blade Runner and Genre: Film
Noir And Science
Fiction." Literature Film Quarterly 14.2 (1986): 89-100. Web. 3
Dec. 2014.
Hausladen, Gary J., and Paul F. Starrs. "L.A. Noir." Journal of
Cultural Geography 23.1 (2005):
43-69. Web. 3 Dec. 2014.
Schrader, Paul. “Notes on Film Noir.” Film Comment. 8.1
(1972): 8-13. Web. 3 Dec. 2014.
Fisher, William. "Of Living Machines and Living-Machines:

13. Blade Runner and the Terminal
Genre." New Literary History 20.1 (1988): 187-98. Web. 2
December 2014.
“Blade Runner.” IMDB. n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.
Commented [KA16]: FORMAT: sources need to be in
alphabetical order