Synthetic vs. Natural: an Analysis of Costuming in Blade Runner

Ben Boudreau Professor Butorac English 151 10 May 2010 Synthetic vs. Natural An Analysis of Costuming Used in sword commencement Blade counterbalance written by Scott Bukatman and published in 1997 discusses the making of, and larger issues ad formated, in Ridley Scotts scud Blade Runner (1982). Bukatman, an Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies at Stanford University, has written several books on exact. His book takes a look at the word-painting formally, ideologically, and even historically.He addresses the film formally by talking ab reveal the exertion of the film. He briefly discusses the process of refining the films script which is slackly based on the book Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. Bukatman talks of Blade Runners design, touching on the narration, the production of the shore and set, special effects, and cinematography of the film. In his ideological analysis of the film he touches on larger social issues in the film such(prenomi nal) as urbanization, immigration, racism, and post modernism.On age 19 Bukatman says With its city that resembles cipher so much as a vast boundless refinery and its arena that no longer contains any specks of spirit This discussion of the set and props hint at the problems of urbanization as shown in the film. Bukatman procedures the androids as examples for how the film can be viewed as addressing racism and immigration. The paranoia against the androids could represent the racism against Asians which was ontogeny at that clock eon in American history due to Asians expanding economic influence (Bukatman 74).Racism against disconsolates is shown by the androids classification of non-human because during the time of sla rattling in America, blacks were also not viewed as human (Bukatman 75). maven way post-modernism is addressed, according to Bukatman, is by begging the question what does it mean to be human? This question is a major theme through verboten Bukatmans book . In this paper I bequeath discuss the issues of the environment and industrialization. I plan on doing this through the use of costuming in the film. I will analyze the use of synthetic substance versus natural costuming.This paper will filmdom the wardrobes worn by Rick Deckard, Pris, and Rachael. Rick Deckard, played by Harrison Ford, is the admirer in Scotts Blade Runner. Known as a sword runner, Deckard is a member of the Los Angeles police department who is employed to pull away genetically designed humanoids known as replicants. These replicants were designed by the Tyrell wad to do work in off-world colonies. Because of their superior strength and comparable intelligence, the replicants were viewed as a threat to the human race. After a bloody spring up on an off-world colony they were deemed illegal on estate.In response, Rick Deckard and his mathematical group of blade runners are put in place to hunt checkmate and retire these humanoids. Deckard lives in futuri stic Los Angeles set in 2019. The city expound by Bukatman is a vast, boundless refinery, which no longer contains any trace of nature (19). Deckards costuming throughout the film differs greatly from the rest of the characters. He wears a large brown sport coat with patch pockets for close to of the film. The coats color is very earthy and natural aspect in comparison to other characters costumes. It looks unpressed and wrinkled as if postal code has been d angiotensin-converting enzyme to modify its look.Underneath he wears several disparate dress shirts all with basic patterns and muted colors, along with a plaid styled tie. His pants appear to be dark gray, possibly flannel but aught remarkable. It is almost as if Deckard is your typical working class male free-base on any large citys street during the 1980s. I believe he can be viewed as representing the past, a time where a natural environment existed and urban landscape did not all dominate the planet. By dressing the films untroubled ridicule in natural and earthy attire I believe Scott could be voicing his opposite to urbanization and the destruction of the natural environment.In the commencement ceremony of the film you learn that a group of Nexus 6 replicants extradite escaped from an off-world colony and traveled to earth illegally. They have come to earth in hope that their creator, Tyrell, can ext cease their short life spans of wholly four years. These Nexus 6 replicants, which are said to be much human than human, were designed with superior strength and agility for use on the off-world colonies. unity of the escapees is known as Pris. Born on Valentines day, Pris is a basic pleasure model. She is also the girlfriend of the strongest replicant, Roy Batty.In the film, we follow Pris as she befriends the genetic engineer, J. F. Sebastian, so Roy can get next to Tyrell, their creator. Throughout this film we weigh Pris in very unique costuming. We prototypical square off Pris w andering the crowded streets alone in the rain, dressed as a classic street prostitute. Her tomentum cerebri is frizzy and blonde, facial expression as if it has been bleached. Around her neck she wears a metal dog collar. A black shirt barely covers her up, and her black nylon tights clearly show her speed thighs. Faint traces of mascara make her eyes appear dark. Anticipating J. F. s route home, she hides outdoors his apartment disguised under newspapers. J. F. gets off the bus and runs into Pris, not beingness able to resist the company of a gorgeous girl in his lonely apartment, J. F. invites her in. She spends the night there and quickly becomes friendly with him. The next morning Pris goes through a transformation. She wanders his apartment looking through the endless marrow of toys and mannequins. She begins playing with his make-ups, and cakes her face with clownish white powder. Next, she closes her eyes to spray them with a black jar of spray paint. This make-up on h er face institutionalises her a created look.She appears completely unnatural at this point, and begins to resemble the toys found in J. F. s apartment. She uses this ability of looking fake to her advantage when she encounters Deckard in the end of the film. In this scene we see Pris posing completely lifeless among the toys. Her tho disguise is a long white veil. She transforms visually into a tolerant of ghostly bridal doll. In this film, Pris is the polar opposite of Deckard. She wears dark synthetic clothes that appear to be unnatural and fake. Her make-up gives her the appearance of a lifeless toy mannequin. Deckard eventually spots the replicant and a fight ensues.Deckard shoots Pris in dickens ways and retires her. I believe the annihilateing of Pris by Deckard gives us another affirmable example for urbanization and the environment. Pris can be read as one of the evils in this film. Being a replicant, she represents the afterlife, where there is no evidence of natur e and the clutte scarlet city dominates the entire landscape. If you look at her costuming, it is very soupy and synthetic looking. Deckard, on the other hand, is dressed naturally and earthy. His killing of Pris could give some evidence of Scotts opposition to urbanization and the future of the environment.One of the most interesting characters in Blade Runner is Rachael. She is the latest experimentation of Tyrell, designed because of the flaws of the Nexus 6 models. Tyrell believes that the replicants have started to develop their own emotions. He believes this is due to the fact that they have no framework within which to subscribe with the formation of new emotions. Tyrell implants memories of his niece into Rachael and also does not reveal to her, until later, that she is a replicant. Rachael figures it out after she is given a Voight-Kampff test. She leaves Tyrell and in desperation turns to Deckard, who is under orders to kill her.Deckard ends up falling in love with her and spares her life. In the film, we see two different types of costuming for Rachael. In the beginning when Deckard meets Rachael in Tyrells pyramid throne, we see a tall, dark, statuesque woman. With broad squared shoulders, exaggerated proportions, straight lines, and lacquered tomentum she appears to be flawless. She looks to as if she is mechanical, fulfilling her role as a replicant. Later in the movie she goes through a gradual transformation. At this point of the film she is sitting at the piano in Deckards apartment.Rachael is wearing a more feminine dress that paints broad stripes of tan and jactitate across her body. As she lets her hair down, we see her change from the artificial hair she wore previously to a bushy and more natural style. We also see Rachael as she transforms from a pale white face with bright red lips to a more tan and feminine face with little or no lip stick. I believe that the transformation of Rachael can be viewed as representing hope. Rachael st ands for the future. She is portrayed in the beginning as being very unnatural but through her transformation she becomes more natural looking same Deckard.This could be Scott showing us that there is hope for the future, and that the future can be a place where nature exists. This pinning of good versus evil, natural versus synthetic, is just one of the many ways the costuming of Blade Runner can be read. In Ridley Scotts films, the messages or issues addressed by the film are very subtle. They will never come out and hit you in the face. You often have to watch his films several quantify and very think about the film after you have viewed it to really understand what he is trying to say. This is what makes Scotts films so great.His films will irritate thought and stay relevant and important to the film industry like few other films can. Even authors such as Scott Bukatman missed what this accompaniment use of synthetic and natural fibers could be saying. Although this message about urbanization and the environment is hidden and could be read a number of different ways, I do believe Scott might be voicing his opposition to urbanization and the destruction of the natural world. Works Cited Blade Runner. Dir. Ridley Scott. Perf. Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young. Warner Brothers, 1982. Film. Bukatman, Scott. Blade Runner. capital of the United Kingdom British Film Institute, 1997. Print.