Postmodernism and Film Postmodernism is largely a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific, or objective, efforts to explain reality.

It stems from a recognition that reality is not simply mirrored in human understanding of it, but rather, is constructed as the mind tries to understand its own particular and personal reality. There are many different interpretations of postmodernity; I believe it is a reaction against social norm. Postmodern films for example will parody pop culture and also break down the cultural divide between high and low art and often upend typical portrayals of gender, race, class, genre, and time with the goal of creating something different from traditional narrative expression. Blade Runner (Scott , 1982) is an exemplary postmodern text in the sense that it both represents the conditions of post modernity and employs elements of the postmodern condition to texture its narrative. In its form, content and ideological centre Blade Runner explores and utilities the strategies of quotation, recycling, pastiche, hyper reality and identity crisis. These are just a several postmodern features that exemplify Blade Runner as postmodern. In Blade Runner there is an overarching and insipid postmodern identity crisis that seems to touch everything and everyone in the film. Los Angeles 2019 is in a state of perpetual crisis. Composed of patchwork of styles and fads it has no geographical centre, no 'original' past to refer to, no secure history to be bound to and no concrete present to allow communities to foster. As an audience who are watching the film in the present about the future, we do not know the socio economic circumstances that have made the Los Angeles we know, into a dark and mysterious place. Moreover, the ambiguity over Deckards background surrounds him the whole film, meaning he can fully develop into the protagonist the audience want him to be. He cannot truly express his identity in the fullest as he works for someone else and only does their bidding, almost as if he has no free will. The audience can never fully connect with Deckard, leading some to believe he is in fact a replicant himself. In the film, all anyone (good) really wants in the film is a place, a history, a biography to call their own as they have none of that in a capitalist society. Another reason why Blade Runner is interoperated as postmodern is due to pastiche. Pastiche is a cinematic device wherein the creator of the film pays homage to another filmmaker's style and use of cinematography, including camera angles, lighting, and mise en scne. For example, in Blade Runner, Scott alludes to the private eye genre of Raymond Chandler and the characteristics of film noir. The scene with Deckard and Jessica reflect this as the director has used low-key black-andwhite visual style coupled with chiaroscuro lighting, giving the effect of a detective film. The case in question could be perceived as Deckard attempting to uncover his truth as he struggles with personal identity. Moreover, the film combines film noir with Science Fiction by uses of dark lighting, despite the presence of bright lights and neon signs (as is stereotypical of sci-fi films based in futuristic environments), the majority of the film is covered in shadows that helps to create a pessimistic atmosphere, which is a convention of film noir titles. Film noir films are very well known for having protagonists who questions the moral implications of his own actions, and Blade Runner fulfils this with the character of Deckard, who questions whether or not he should be killing the replicants hes employed to retire, leading the audience to once again question Deckards identity. Blade Runner is a parody. It revisits the past, mimics it and holds it up to ridicule. There are definitive religious and philosophical parallels and these are Miltons Paradise Lost and humanity itself. It goes

as far as to question God, mock Him and finally kill Him. In this case, Tyrell is the character playing God. Due to postmodernism atheist foundations, God is eventually killed by his own people, portraying Blade Runner as a postmodern text. Ridley Scotts vision of Los Angles is evident in Blade Runner. During the 1980s, Japan was buying land in America, particularly LA, therefore, Scott perceives the future to be dominated by the ever growing population of Asia. This is ironic, as we know as an audience watching the film from the present that it is in fact America that are buying land overseas and are the global superpower that Scott thought Japan would be. Scott uses Pan Am in his vision of the future, once again, to a present day audience is ironic as this company has since gone bankrupt and its staff made redundant. This leads me to believe that Blade Runner happened in the future but one is an amalgam of numerous pasts.