Just for reference, I will be calling Blade Runner 'Runner' and Trouble and Her Friends 'Trouble'. Now let's see what kind of 'trouble' we can 'run' into.

ENVIRONMENT

     I always begin reading these science fiction stories a little apprehensively- I don’t know what to expect. Am I going to need to anticipate an entirely different society? Which if that were the case then I have to abandon all of my preconceived notions about the world I know, along with other societies we have studied and wait to see what crazy element they will throw at me first. However with Trouble, I was pleasantly surprised at the parallel culture in which this story is set. It seemed much more plausible than Runner; people are still watching TV, going to bars (although they had a mechanical bar- cool) taking the subway and bus etc. Compared with Runner, LA was completely transformed with hover cars, futuristic buildings and sunless days (or was it just night the entire time?). Runner embodied the classic dystopic view of earth usually associated with cyberpunk. It was also partially set in space, in the ‘off colonies’.

     The future that the movie depicted really bothered me, though it was flattering at the same time. Creative directors wouldn't have created that type of setting unless the they truly thought it was possible. Our generations see upcoming technologies and architecture as being more ‘Apple sleek’ rather than dystopic grunge shown in Runner.

TIME

     Runner, which was created in 1982, is set in 2019. The whole of the film spans I would say no more than a week or two. As brought up by ttBag11, the movie was very dated by the lack of cell phones in the movie. As we all know now, even our current society is very cell phone driven, and to have a future shown without them only hurts the movie’s credibility (but you know what ttBag11, you were right. How were they supposed to know how vital they would become to people?). As a class we discussed the fact that the signage also dated the movie. Do kids today even know what an Ataris is? Have they even heard of Pan-Am? I know that I barely have.

     The excerpt we read from Trouble is set in one afternoon and evening. The concept of time between the virtual and the real in Trouble was very interesting. To think in twenty minutes time a user could circumnavigate the entire virtual world, and a couple of times at that, is pretty incredible. The part in which time held my interest in Runner was in relation to the life span of the replicants. It's pretty Matrix- having these memories implanted into your mind thinking you had history and family, and then finding out your most private thoughts, experiences, your life was simply created for you? Unbelievable- but not. As silly as it is, did anyone just for a moment think- could I be?

CHARACTER

     All of the characters, in both stories, fit in perfectly in the parameters of cyberpunk- they were all on the fringe. The first noticeable difference between Blade Runner and Trouble is that the protagonists in the story are different genders. I found it very interesting that Harrison Ford was supposed to be a member of a type of police squad while Trouble was on the opposite side of the spectrum. In addition to Cerise being a female protagonist, she was a lesbian. Trouble, also a female, was her partner and together they associated with similar people on the fringe.  The tension in her story arose from her illegal activities in cyberspace.

 In the case of Runner, the class raised a few questions. Who would be considered the protagonist and the antagonist? The viewers’ sympathies shift between the humans and the replicants. Another question was whether or not Roy or Deckhart could be considered multidimensional? Can a replicant be multidimensional? Or are they programmed to be that way? Also, is Deckhart himself, a proclaimed human, a replicant?

     Many of the characters were highly sexualized, especially the replicants, but in pretty much all cases, the women were- human or not. Pris herself was designed as a ‘pleasure bot’, which was in line with her serving Roy and looking like a hooker. The class also decided that all of the characters were somehow connected to the main male characters.

     One thing that I can't shake about Ford's character was just how downright mean he was to Rachel, when he told her that her memories were merely those of her boss's niece. I suppose that he was just dealing with these 'replicants' how he was used to. I mean, they aren't really human are they? This ties in nicely with one aspect of this class we have been studying: Posthuman.  

     I have to say that the relationship between Deckard and Rachael really disturbed me. It made me wonder if this is okay in this futuristic culture- do many people sleep with non-humans? I mean essentially Rachael just a blow up doll? Okay, so I guess that’s accepted in our culture today- to a certain extent-but at least they don’t walk, talk, eat, breathe, feel, think they are a human, and CRY. Rachel's personality was extremely vacant, and her ridiculous costuming only added to the fact that she was not fully human.

     Also, as with The Matrix, I enjoyed the secrecy behind the virtual persona in Trouble, and interesting (and smart) how these crackers would meet in the actual. I believe in everything that I have read regarding hacker culture, other than Trouble and whether it was fiction or non-fiction, the users made a strong point to never associate in the actual. Even Cerise said that meeting was a very uncommon practice, and I felt that it was both genius and idiotic. The consequences of somehow being found out are disastrous, but smart because who would even dare taking that risk?

THEMATIC CONCERN(S)

     Elements of Runner and Trouble were right on track with the genre of science fiction. They are both centered around dystopian societies in the future fueled by the impact of technology on the human race. The Woj did a great job talking about  cyberpunk which also really encompasses much of the aspects in Runner and Trouble. I know I was speaking of Posthuman before in Character but I feel as though I can just as efficiently talk about it here. Okay, so the elements of posthuman in Trouble were mind blowing!  Elaborate connecting of your brain into your computer, after spending lots of money to have it installed ILLEGALY, and then being able to "physically" travel through virtual connections? That really hit me. The absolute potential we have as a society. I have no doubt in my mind that it could become a reality. And then in Runner with the creation of replicants? When we were first watching Runner, and they were speaking of these creations that would do the 'dirty' work and not allow humans to get hurt- I'm not going to lie. I thought that was a great idea. But to give them false memories and emotions and everything else that parallels with being an actual human only to have your days numbered and yourself disposable? It's pretty atrocious. And Woj (sorry I was reading yours but you brought up a great point-) 'What really is human?' I can't help but think back to The Matrix when Morpheus SLJ was saying, responding to what exactly real was- something along the lines of electric signals that the brain responds to. If that is just what it boils down to, was I really that far off the mark when I questioned (just for a second!) whether or not it was possible that I was a replicant?