I guess I've always seen the Blade Runner films as noir more than science fiction dystopia. People with a surface understanding of the noir genre always focus on the detectives in smokey offices, the mysterious dames walking in who are nothing but trouble.
But at their core, It's never actually about the murder or the missing person or the Maltese Falcon or whatever. From The Big Sleep to Chinatown to Blade Runner 2049 to Son City to True Detective season 1, a true noir is really about the protagonist exposing a corruption at the heart of the system. The corruption is usually so vast, so entrenched, so wide reaching, there's no victory in the traditional sense. At best the hero can achieve a Phyrric victory. Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.
So while the other movies you rattled off, like Robocop, are propelled by their science fiction dystopias, I'd argue the Blade Runners are more timeless noir in their dysfunction. Strip away the replicants and the off-world mining, and it's a pretty simple story about societal decay and institutional corruption that could happen in any era.
I guess I've always seen the Blade Runner films as noir more than science fiction dystopia. People with a surface understanding of the noir genre always focus on the detectives in smokey offices, the mysterious dames walking in who are nothing but trouble.
But at their core, It's never actually about the murder or the missing person or the Maltese Falcon or whatever. From The Big Sleep to Chinatown to Blade Runner 2049 to Son City to True Detective season 1, a true noir is really about the protagonist exposing a corruption at the heart of the system. The corruption is usually so vast, so entrenched, so wide reaching, there's no victory in the traditional sense. At best the hero can achieve a Phyrric victory. Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.
So while the other movies you rattled off, like Robocop, are propelled by their science fiction dystopias, I'd argue the Blade Runners are more timeless noir in their dysfunction. Strip away the replicants and the off-world mining, and it's a pretty simple story about societal decay and institutional corruption that could happen in any era.
I agree and in the epsiode I say it’s western + noir in the future. But yeah noir is both aesthetic and thematic.
I may have missed it, but what show was it that you talked about blade runner with the host?
It was Last Things' film festival, a collection of 30 podcasts for sale on gumroad. It's pretty good! The Blade Runner 2049 one is pretty great.
https://lastthings.gumroad.com/l/lps23
That looks pretty cool, thanks for pointing that out!
Thanks guys, and def listen to the ep on 2024, that one goes with this one