in: Architecture in Cinema, Nevnihal Erdoğan,Hikmet Temel Akarsu, Editor, Bentham Books, Singapore, pp.359-370, 2024
In this study, the relationship between the fictional
world created in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner movie and the reality of 2019, in
which the movie takes place, and how consistent the predictions for the future
are, are evaluated. This narrative, in which cinematography, architecture and
world of thought are intertwined, is one of the pioneering and cult examples of
cyber-punk, techno-noir, future-noir genre cinema. In the text, in which the
intellectual infrastructure, architectural and theoretical references of the
dystopian universe created in the movie are examined, the city of Los Angeles
in 2019, which the movie reflects, is compared with the cosmopolitan city
structure of today’s real world. While trying to analyze the intellectual
references made in the subtexts of the film, the relations between the leading
thinkers of postmodern philosophy and alternative names of architectural theory
and this cult work are examined. Architecture has a place far beyond just
creating a visual background in the Blade Runner universe. The periodical and
spatial features of the buildings are integrated with the role characters, and
architecture turns into a tool that conveys the nature of the character to the spectator.
In this sense, real buildings in the city of Los Angeles are included in the
film as well as imaginary designs. Both fictional and real places are extremely
effective in reinforcing the characters in the movie. The intricate
relationship between places and people is also examined in the text. One of the
important concepts that the film leads the audience to question is
"othering". This comparison, conveyed through the human-replicant,
prompts the spectator to question similar dualities and the boundaries /border
setters between them. In addition, the non-stop surveillance/control mechanisms
that have penetrated to the deepest cells of the city, both its historical
references and its reflections in today's socio-political environment, are
discussed.