Summary:
There are many different perspectives between the futuristic world represented in Ridely Scott's, Blade Runner and Aldos Huxley's, Brave New World. Both texts illustrate the effect of human interference with natural processes and
environments in many different ways. Despite the fact of being conditioned humans and replicates still have a natural connection to the natural world as is evidently shown through the use of language features and film techniques in both texts. Therefore, the suppression of human's natural emotions and functions, ultimately result in the creation of emotions, thus shaping and reflecting the relationship and understanding of human's within the natural world. These ideas are shown through a range of Postmodernist, Feminist and Judao-Christian perspectives.
The concept of totalitarianism is indoctrination, into all levels of society, which seek to
reshape society's values and attitudes by suppressing their emotions and natural
functions. Evidently, in Brave New World and Blade Runner, such emotions and
natural functions are to powerful to deny, as such functions are an integral part of our
beings. In Aldous Huxley's, Brave New World the World State reflects a totalitarian
state as all humans are conditioned to believe in one orthodox perspective, thus by
controlling and shaping the people's perspective, their natural emotions are
oppressed and denied. Therefore, opening the doorway for disagreement to such
orthodoxy and creation of natural emotions. The Director states, " We conditioned the
masses to hate the country... to abolish the love of nature." 1 Therefore in such a
totalitarian state, like the World State, were people's emotions are controlled and
conditioned, eventually influence them to disagree with such ideology. This is
evident, as Helmhotz and Bernard refuse to conform with the orthodox views of the
World State because their natural emotions are to powerful to deny, thus such
emotions are 'innate' human qualities, as they can't be completely controlled. For
example, sexual desires have been channelled into Orgy Porgy's, thus to an extent
the state is controlling the natural emotions and sexual desires of people. Other
processes such as, Pregnancy Surrogates have eroded the natural desire to bare
children and fall pregnant, as Mr Foster states, "Fertility is merely a nuisance," 2 thus
proving that technology is beginning to erode our natural methods of fertility. Huxley
presents this idea through the use of proper nouns and Neologisms like,
"Bokanovsky Process" and "Orgy-Porgy." These words reinforce the idea that those
in control have taken over the language and imposed artificial labels on natural
functions in order to create a sense of isolation and confusion in the responder's
mind. Huxley gives over a feminist perspective by illustrating the imbalance of female
influence in the World State. This is evident, as the women's natural functions have
been eroded by technologically advanced fertility processes.
Ridely Scott's, 'film noir'; Blade Runner is a parody, as it revisits the past, mimics it,
and holds it up to ridicule. 3 There are many religious and philosophical parallels and
connotations in the film. The film reflects
both the Judeo-Christian perspective, which views nature and human nature as
essentially 'fallen' and tainted and the Postmodernist perspective, which observes
that the past must be revisited. Postmodernist Fiction author, Umberto Eco states, "
The Postmodern view consists of recognising that the past, since it cannot be
- Huxley, A, Brave New World, Chapter 1, pg. 9
- Postmodernism and Blade Runner Sheets, pg 1
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destroyed as its destruction leads to silence. Therefore, it must be revisited: not
innocently but with irony." 4 Ironically in Blade Runner, Tyrell is depicted as God as
he created all the replicates, thus classifying the state as being totalitarian. The
replicates bond, care, and love for each other, as they can still tap into their natural
emotions, thus illustrating that such emotions were oppressed by Tyrell (God).
Ironically in Blade Runner, Ridely Scott adopts a Judeo-Christian perspective to
settle the conflict evidently seen when Roy and Deckard are fighting on top of the
Bradberry building. The replicant, Roy Batty symbolises the fallen angel Lucifer and
Deckard symbolises the 'Angel of Death'. As Roy saves Deckard's life when he is
hanging off the building symbolises that Roy transcends human baseness and goes
beyond revenge and bloodlust. Therefore, illustrating that replicant's also have
natural emotions, as Roy comes to terms with his own mortality and inevitability of
death, " I've seen things you people wouldn't believe, Attack ships on fire off the
shoulder of Orion... All those moments will be lost, like tears in rain, Time to die." 5 By
the time Roy dies, he has redeemed himself by caressing the dove, thus his soul is
purified and on the way to heaven. As Roy, evidently saved the life of the man who
killed his beloved, Pris. Consequently this reveals, that even though the replicants
emotions are controlled and oppressed by God (Tyrell), they still have natural
tendencies and feelings for one another. Therefore, through the utilisation of both
Judeo-Christian and Postmodernist perspectives, evidently illustrate that despite the
fact of being conditioned and technologically designed, both humans and replicants
still have a natural connection to the natural world.
In both texts, we see that, science and technology have ultimately removed humanity
from the natural world and its rhythms because the natural functions and emotions
have been eroded by science and technology or rendered meaningless and
insignificant to human life. Therefore, although humans are detached from their
natural world, they eventually develop their own emotions because science and
technology have eradicated their 'innate' qualities, which are too powerful to
suppress. Huxley's first chapter of Brave New World vividly conveys a sense of what
happens when sophisticated technology, unhindered by ethical considerations rules
a society. 6 In this dystopian society, human being's natural qualities and desires
have been eroded by the overpowering mechanisms of science and technology used
by the state. Artificial forces have overtaken natural functions and the humans in this
world seem extremely ignorant of their powerless nature and unhappiness. This is
evident in the language used by the author to show that be technology eradicating
our natural emotions, we eventually collaborate our own array of emotions. The use
of adverbs and adjectives shows the reader how the technological environment has
shaped the arrogant and vulnerable behaviour of human beings. The adjective,
"smiled modestly" 7 illustrates the idea that the state employ new technological
techniques, which are aimed at eliminating the understanding and utilization of the
natural emotions, thus overpowering our recognition of our natural emotions. This is
evidently seen through the process of hypnopaeida, which influences people's minds
and understanding. In Brave New World, hypnopaedia is a practice applied to
condition the children by repeating a series of catchy phrases or slogan while the
children are asleep, which sends the message straight into the child's brain. The aim
of this mechanism is to stabilise the moral attitudes and values, by eradicating our
natural emotions and desires. In the novel, hypnopaedia is the satirical expression for
the tendency in which modern society try to manipulate people through the media,
thus conveying a certain message to the reader, which control their natural response.
- Postmodernism and Blade Runner Sheets, pg 1
- Ridley, S, Blade Runner, Scene 14
- Mrs Kellihers notes on Brave New World, Chapter 1
- Huxley, A, Brave New World
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Huxley uses metaphors to depict the connotations of horror and death used in the
novel to try and prevent natural responses. This is clearly seen in the metaphor, "
their hands gloved with a pale, corpse coloured rubber," 8 this emphasises the way in
which every aspect of a human being's life involved the utilization of technology to
suppress our natural emotions. This illustrates the unnaturalness of the world and the
'darkening' of natural emotions and events in our world. Therefore, eventhough
people's values and attitudes are suppressed by science and technology, this will
ultimately result people developing their own collection of natural emotions and
desires aspiring towards personal freedom. Therefore, science and technology can
only control and rule a person to a certain extent, as our desires for nature are
unrestricted and undeniable. As illustrated in the end of the novel, when John the
Savage has been denied his individuality and personal freedom in the World State.
Consequently, compelling him to develop his own natural emotions aspiring towards
a sense of his own personal freedom and individuality. John says, " them all " 9, this
is symbolic of John's desire to have his own personal freedom and experience the
full range of natural emotions, rather than the narrow array prescribed by the World
State. In Brave New World, science and technology have replaces God as a source
of value and meaning in life, in the words of the World Controller "God isn't
compatible with machinery and scientific medicine and universal happiness. " 10
Therefore, the World State uses such mechanisms to evidently programme and
conform the people in the State. This is evident as John rebels as he tries to seek
other methods of achieving happiness and truth. John seeks to purify himself rather
like the early martyrs by punishing his body with purging; this symbolises the moment
when Jesus Christ sacrificed himself for the " sins of the world. "
This reveals a Judeo-Christian perspective, as both Christian's and Jew's believe that
human beings can't be created through science and technology. Therefore, to do
adopt the role of God and suppress human's natural emotions is nobody's
entitlement because we are not God.
In the movie, Blade Runner, replicants are manufactured organisms designed to
carry out work for humans. Eventually, these replicates develop their own emotions,
become rebellious, and desire their own personal freedom. This is paradoxically
evident, as Rachel is a replicant made by Tyrell (God) through technology with a
four-year life span, which ultimately suppress her natural emotions. This shows, how
she has developed her own emotions because she was created by technologically
advanced machinery, thus evidently eradicated and suppressed her natural
emotions. (The four-year life span is suggestive of the accelerated experience of life
under postmodernism.) This evidently contradicts the Judeo-Christian perspective on
creating humans with technology, as Tyrell is God and as Rachel has the connotation
to the Biblical Rachel, the mother of Jacob. This symbolises that Rachel, in the Bible
was infertile for a long time, thus, Tyrell (God) created Rachel also being infertile.
Illustrating the point of, Rachel's natural functions as a female being suppressed,
which resulted the creation of her own emotions and love for Deckard. Rachel begins
to rebel, when she shoots a replicant who is trying to kill Deckard. The camera close
up of Rachel holding the gun illustrates to the viewer the cinematic moment in the
film were Rachel begins to create her own emotions and feeling for Deckard. This
illustrates the fact, that the replicant is one of the only characters in the movie that
continuously acts on the basis of a moral code, one which she has personally
constructed. In a postmodern world lacking universal paradigms, in which there is no
independent knowable reality, no truth, we must construct our own individuality. The
strong feminist viewpoint inherent in the film, is that of the 'hunter and the hunted'.
- Huxley, A, Brave New World, Chapter 1, pg. 1
- Huxley, A, Brave New World, Chapter 18
- Huxley, A, Brave New World, Chapter 16, pg. 192
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What we see is Deckard's natural but ironic predicament of falling for the enemy, i.e.
Rachel. This is perhaps the moment in the film, which illustrates the fallibility of
humanity to the concept of love and the need to be loved. This concept shows that
women are needed in society by men and vice versa. Another example of the
replicants creating their own set of natural emotions is Roy, as he has already come
to appreciate the morality and humanity of human beings in the natural world. He
realises that all he has witnessed, all of his precious life memories and the things,
which no one else has experienced, will ultimately perish with him. Perhaps the
moment when the camera zooms in, as Roy clenches Deckard's hand, evidently
depicts Roy as becoming more human than human, more humane than the human.
Therefore, in the film noir, Blade Runner the replicants emotions are suppressed and
concealed by their technologically advanced design, this eventually results in the
creation of their own natural emotions and desires for personal freedom. This makes
the viewer ponder as to what is real and what is fabricated. You as the view must
decide!
Therefore, through the suppression of human's emotions either achieved through
science and technology or totalitarian dictatorship, every human being has
connections to nature and soon enough that connection will shine. Hence, human
beings emotions and natural functions can't be suppressed all the time as human's
will eventually create their own set of emotions and desires for personal freedom,
thus shaping and reflecting the relationship and understanding of human's within the
natural world. These ideas are evident in the both texts, Blade Runner and Brave
New World. Such ideas are illustrated through a range of Postmodernist, Feminist
and Judao-Christian perspectives.
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