Blade Runner and Brave New World

Although Brave New World and Blade Runner were composed in different contexts and are of different textual form, there are many similarities between the two texts in terms of common issues, techniques and characters.

Both Brave New World and 2019 Los Angeles are bleak, oppressive worlds with little to no natural surroundings. The clinical cities of Brave New World with buildings of at least "thirty-four storeys" are paralleled by the unnatural, darkened and ghastly appearance of Los Angeles. The few natural images described in both Brave New World and Blade Runner are often corrupted or perverted, to provide a negative, detached image of the nature. The air of Huxley's civilisation "was drowsy with the murmur of bees and helicopters", while the false memories implanted in the replicant Rachael's mind described the beauty of the birth of baby spiders being suddenly corrupted as the hatchlings ate their mother.

Simple, passionate descriptions describing John's emotions as he "threw the book on the floorand began to cry" contrast the civilized world and allow the responder to understand the emotion of humanity, rather than the complex chemical reactions of the city. This is similar to Roy's graceful description of natural beauty and "things you people wouldnt believe" before he dies in Blade Runner. Erratic natural descriptions traveling "through forests, into the violet depth of canyons, over crag and peak" illustrate the wildness and uninhibited character of the natural world in Brave New World. Though there is no open wilderness in Los Angeles, the erratic imagery of the thunderstorm during the emotive chase of Roy symbolizes the explosive nature of humanity and human emotion.

Learning and experiencing life is considered a "labour of discovery" in Brave New World, though it is an essential component of natural life and maturity. This experience is completely denied to the replicants, as they are programmed with the necessary knowledge to survive their short life spans, denying them the natural inquisitive temperament of the human mind. The students touring the Hatcheries in Huxley's world absorb all information presented to them "like chickens drinking", without processing or questioning the words of the Director. In Blade Runner, the citizens and replicants live under constant oppression and fear, ordered incessantly to comply with the rules, removing their natural freedom, as in Brave New World.

Suppression of natural instinct is apparent in both Brave New World and Blade Runner, by equivalent organizations. World Controllers in Brave New World suppress the human instinct in order to promote social stability through the use of drugs and social conditioning. Tyrell Corporations omits human instinct from their design of the Nexus 6 replicant for easier control of the slaves and to encourage high levels of effort. However, as evident in both texts, humanity cannot be completely suppressed. Linda continues to survive, despite her conditioning, in the Savage Reservation using only her instinct, while the replicants elude capture by using their survival instinct and developing emotion.

The emotional upheaval and rebellion of Helmholtz in Brave New World is paralleled by the development of emotional response of the replicants. As the replicants begin to overcome their programming, they rebel against the society that created them, testing the boundaries of Tyrell's control of humanity. Helmholtz starts to rebel against his own society, defying his social conditioning to live a natural and satisfying life.

"Synthetic music" produced in Brave New World eradicates the individuality and expression of the citizens of the society, constricting their natural instinct. Similarly, the metallic and synthetic tonality of the Blade Runner soundtrack removes passion and emotion from the world, creating an unnatural, disturbing image removed from nature. Due to the lack of emotion, citizens from civilizations can discard each other without emotion or grief. While death is considered a major industry and an inconvenience in Huxley's society, Scott's society is oblivious to violence, not reacting at the "retirement" of a replicant in the centre of a hectic street.

The concept of "home" has been omitted from both cultures, immediately showing a removal from the responder and form the natural impulse to become sentimentally attached to a particular area. While the concept of home is repulsive and obscene in Brave New World, the citizens of Los Angeles are encouraged to leave the Earth, displacing them from their natural home and transplanting them into a foreign colony.

Life spans are an important concept in both texts. While natural lives, such as Johns are lengthy and fulfilling, the lives of the caste society and of the replicants are severely shortened, detaching them further from nature. The citizens of Brave New World live unimpaired until "sixty, and then, crack! the end" whereas the replicants are programmed to shut down after a four year period. There is no individuality in either society, the citizens considered a collective body with no importance or influence. This is stated in Brave New World, but it is illustrated in Blade Runner by the use of camera angles looking down at the citizens.

Consumerism and consumption form the basis of both societies and are essential in promoting stability. Throughout Brave New World, consumption is encouraged and enforced through social conditioning. The abundance of advertisements in Blade Runner influence the citizens through media sensationalism. This eliminates the necessity for the natural world in the society, as it is believed it does not promote happiness as it is not consumable in a material sense, detaching the societies further from the natural world.

In both texts, the Earth is divided into completely controlled sections, each ruled by a commanding regime. Aptly named "World Controllers" such as Mustapha Mond in Europe, dominate Brave New World, whereas Tyrell dominates Los Angeles in Blade Runner. Multiculturalism is also abundant in each world, removing the prejudicial barriers of previous societies and enhancing the natural relationship between humans despite media propaganda and social views present in the responder's context.

There are many similarities between Brave New World and Blade Runner, despite the differences in textual media, changes in compositional context and basic plotlines.

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