The Looks of Hollywood at Technology

Hollywood in the 1980s displayed an unrivalled understanding of the advancement of technology, nuclear power and military power. age. The films Terminator-1 (1984) as well as Blade Runner (1982) vividly depict the distinct perception of technology from the film makers. The importance of these films is in their vision of the future. Not just in the striking depiction of the potential look of a post-modern urban landscape and the suggestion of how our perceptions of our environment will be altered through technology in the near future. Science-fiction, the genre that is most focused on our connection with technology, and also the latest in terms of appreciation, relied on tradition of utopian visions of our world. Hollywood depicts technology as being military and destroys power while paying little attention to the positive and positive aspects of technological advancements.

Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott is a significant portion of its total time to action sequences (especially fight scenes between Deckard and various androids) in comparison to the novel by Dick. The film focuses on technological advancement and the progress made by the human race in the military space. Although they are artificial beings with shorter lifespans The androids in the film are devoted to their existence and live their the world with a particular determination (Tasker 29). In the end, Deckard's fights with androids can be long and gruelling within the story, while in the fiction, androids do not have the desire to live and are often destroyed after being found. Furthermore the deaths of certain androids is depicted with a vivid and occasionally horrific detail in the film and again draw attention to their existence as living beings through graphic depictions. Naturally, such action scenes are the norm of a variety of films Blade Runner indirectly alludes. In fact, the final scene of the action in the film which is a prolonged duel to death between Deckard with the Android leader Roy Batty, descends at the end to the cliche of a sentimental film. In the final scene, as Batty passes away, he stops Deckard by preventing him from falling from a roof and then releases a white dove in the air after he dies. Deckard's voice over (which conveys the entire story in a very campy, hard-boiled style that is reminiscent the style of "Dragnet") will then explain that in the final moments Batty might had "loved his life much more deeply than he had ever before"(Lichtenfeld 41). The tendency to be sentimental persists in the closing in the movie, and is altered drastically from the novel. After having resigned the rebel androids, Deckard chooses to spend the rest of his entire life with android Rachael whom he adores and who (it is a pleasant surprise to discover) has been the one android to be created without a pre-determined end date that limits her lifespan to just one or two years (Lichtenfeld 43).

The Terminator 1, directed by James Cameron, depicts military strength of the civilization as well as its devastating consequences. The Terminator a lethal Cyborg comes back from a postnuclear-holocaust future to attempt to change the past in order to influence the future. The irony is that this mechanical creature is not interested in preventing nuclear Armageddon and simply wants to murder a woman to stop the birth of a single man who will be an unstable threat to the postholocaust society. In 1984, the very first in a trilogy Back to the Future films proposed the same solution to future issues, but more peacefully as The Terminator. The film's director offers the most sophisticated interpretation of this time-travel concept (Mulhall 1980). The decade, through its nostalgia and in its sequel obsession, expressed a yearning for the simple times that was the old fashioned way of life. Of all these films, time-travel are the one that focuses on the role of ecology, and the effects of the savageries of the ecological past on the uncertain future. The opening sequences of the future depict an post-nuclear-era environment of totalitarian oppression along with troglodytic as well as graphic violence. After the time-travel concept is realized and the film depicts the innocence of the eighties and disbelief when confronted with the threat of nuclear war. The unstoppable ferocity of terminator Cyborg is a symbol for the constant threat of nuclear catastrophe on the uninitiated world. There's an irony woven within the Cyborg villain who declares that it's our technology that is threatening us, and eventually destroy the viewers (Lichtenfeld 1976). It's no coincidence that their union is sealed (when she is given the wristband with a location tracker that he insistently says 'it doesn't mean you're married or anything') just before educating her about the complexities of Marine weapon technology" (Mulhall 72).

In both films the technology is used to destroy people and the world. The films tackled the issue of American performance anxiety after more than 10 years of what was now viewed as failures both at home and abroad and humiliation. What they shared was the determination to revive American self-confidence by reinventing the image of the white male strong hero. The films portray movement, freedom fighters fighting against the totalitarian imperialists, with modern weapons and technology (Tasker Tasker). The hefty technology creates the dull ambience of the film which depicts industrial landscapes in ruins and slums that are decaying in urban areas as well as dark and crumbling, and dreary buildings. Everyone is at risk of abrupt and unplanned arrest from the heavily armed policemen responsible for ensuring their citizens safe, and they may be detained because of mistakes in administration (Mulhall 85). The fact that this is an illusion of hope over the gloomy reality of our society is evident by the regular images in the films of roads lined with solid walls of billboards with propagandistic messages that block out the degraded landscape to. There's an apparently large underground and bombings are so commonplace that the majority of people ignore the threat. In one instance such as this the bomb demolishes an establishment, however the majority people who patronize the establishment continue enjoying their meals of fake food, completely unaware of the destruction surrounding the place. The most important thing is that the officials of this regime of apocalypse are unable to win the minds and hearts of their citizens even despite all their attempts at doing this (Tasker 1984).

Blade Runner and Terminator 1 illustrate that Hollywood considers technology to be a destructing power that is aimed at killing civilians. Additionally, the films indicate that the fantasies of the movie are more than just entertainment. While his fantasies may be at least partly influenced by the propaganda of the regime However, in the same way, they give him a distinct perspective that allows the protagonist eventually to gain an independent view of the reality of his surroundings. The inner and the outer worlds aren't completely separate. The majority of the film is an ensuing fusion of both perspectives, leading to the blurring of boundaries in ontological terms which makes it difficult at some moments for viewers to discern the two concepts of "dream" as well as "reality" (Tasker 85). This futuristic world is typical of dystopias that are based on corporate power: technological advancements provide material comforts for everyone, yet the individual citizen is increasingly dependent on technology to the point that they lose their humanity. Culture is reduced to a mix of routine electronic pro-corporate propaganda as well as violence-inducing mass-media spectacles. the rule of law brings effectiveness to society, however at the cost of of individual liberty. The conflict between the policies of corporations and personal desires is the primary motivation in the film (Lichtenfeld 1988). The films don't reveal the connection with the present world film and our current capitalism, but they do reveal the historical predecessor of the society of corporations that is to come. Particularly, the focus on competition that is so important to our class system has disappeared virtually entirely in the new world of global Monopolies (Tasker 1987). Therefore, although it might be perfectly normal for companies to seek to suppress fantasies of individual heroics however, this notion ignores the fact that the bourgeoisie that is the basis for the creation of these giant corporations rests heavily on the popular faith (illusory and not) that there is a possibility of personal achievement. "The primary reason for the demise of the next I technologyis what she interprets as the manifestation of a masculinity that is essentially fatal" (Mulhall 1988).

In short, Hollywood creates unrealistic description of technology as weapons for military use as well as tools that are part of the nuclear age. The film's portrayal of futuristic corporate world can appear to be somewhat cliché. Particularly, the films contain a variety of repetitive warnings about excessive dependence on technology. However, the portrayal that technology has to offer is clearly absurd that the satirical point could be compromised. Although the film makes the case that innovation and efficient management has created peace and prosperity for everyone in the future but it does not show any awareness in the significant nature of technical issues it tackles.