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Blade Runner 2049

englishbob

By englishbob
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Made of Ghosts

Made of Ghosts

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I found it really engaging and enjoyable right up until Harrison Ford turns up - from there onwards I got very muddled about which group of characters was doing what and to what end, and I had a lot of questions about the plot, so I came to the end fairly befuddled instead of satisfied. The main point of contention was

 

Spoiler

Stelline - does she know she's a natural-born replicant? Why did she give Gosling the memory? How does she have boy-in-a-bubble disease if she's a replicant? Does the company know who she is? If they do, why is she working a normal job instead of hidden away somewhere?

 

I'm sure all these questions have answers but I couldn't work them out there and then, and it really harmed my experience of the last half-hour or so.

 

Also 

Spoiler

I didn't know if I was supposed to think Gosling and his holo-wife was a genuine loving relationship or a cold robotic creep-fest. I didn't really feel either way about it, it made no real impression on me at all.

 

Having said all that, I do think it's better than the original, which I don't really like at all.

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Djx

Djx

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On 15/10/2017 at 11:06, kerraig UK said:

It's also extremely white considering it's LA 30 years from now and all the signs in the city are dual language. The Japanese cultural appropriation is a bit of a problem considering there are no Japanese people in the world.

 

While watching this film, 2 words popped into my mind upon seeing the character of Joi and the best way I could think of to describe her was -

 

Holographic waifu

Those 2 words totally derailed any hope I had of being able to get pulled into the atmosphere that this film was portraying.

Oh well, Least I managed not to burst out laughing through the runtime of the film.

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JohnC

JohnC

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6 minutes ago, Djx said:

 

While watching this film, 2 words popped into my mind upon seeing the character of Joi and the best way I could think of to describe her was -

  Reveal hidden contents

Holographic waifu

Those 2 words totally derailed any hope I had of being able to get pulled into the atmosphere that this film was portraying.

Oh well, Least I managed not to burst out laughing through the runtime of the film.

Spoiler

hQa13HQ.jpg

Hadn't actually thought of that 'til now.

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Djx

Djx

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35 minutes ago, JohnC said:
  Reveal hidden contents

hQa13HQ.jpg

Hadn't actually thought of that 'til now.

 

Yep. Exactly that. The more I thought about it, the funnier it got.

Especially as it's closer to becoming a reality -

 

https://arstechnica.co.uk/information-technology/2016/12/anime-waifu-holographic-gatebox/

It's the largest piece of Japanese cultural appropriation in the film and it's presented so nonchalantly that it will go unnoticed by most who view this film.

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Sabreman

Sabreman

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I don't think the Japanese have exclusive cultural rights to the idea of an AI companion. Even if they pioneer the particular technology to present it as a holographic image, it's only an evolutionary step forward from the fantasy of robot kitchen helpers from the 1950s, or I dunno... bloody Edward Scissorhands. If Joi were portrayed as some kind of genuine Anime waifu that might be another matter, but she happens to be one of the most fascinating and thought-provoking characters in the film.

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ZOK

ZOK

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Wasn't she there to counterpoint by extension the 'reality' of K (and all replicants) and their claim to existence? The replicants are disposable, and yet they think, feel and love just like humans, and here's something even 'less' than K, and yet she feels and thinks like a human, and they love each other. But she's even more disposable.

 

The entirety of their love is artificial, by their nature. But if it's as real as it can be for them, what does it matter?

 

I thought their relationship made for interesting rumination on the increasing loneliness of modern society and our artificial attempts to make human connections as we become more separate from one another. But who knows.

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Zael

Zael

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I though the Joi romance was a really good piece of the story but I really liked what the end bit did to K.

 

 

The only bit in the film where K is doing his own thing is after he starts believing he's born. Previously he was hunting replicants and then trying to find the missing child. Then he believes he's actually born and does his own thing (Vegas). But then after the reveal when it turns out he's just a replicant he goes back to following orders as he sets off to kill Deckard.

 

Then what I think happens is that moment where he is beckoned over by the giant billboard Joi he recognises what she was all along. And he realises that the difference between him and Her is that even though he's a replicant he's still K and still gets to make his own decisions. (There's a bit where the camera pans to a gun he's holding which presumably he's going to kill Deckard with).

 So instead of following orders and killing Deckard he sacrifices himself to save him to prove to himself that he's still different because he's a replicant not following orders. So when Deckard at the end turns and asks him "Why. Who am I to you?" You know it's not about Deckard, it's about K. 

 

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Spacehost

Spacehost

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19 hours ago, Djx said:

 

Yep. Exactly that. The more I thought about it, the funnier it got.

Especially as it's closer to becoming a reality -

  Reveal hidden contents

https://arstechnica.co.uk/information-technology/2016/12/anime-waifu-holographic-gatebox/

It's the largest piece of Japanese cultural appropriation in the film and it's presented so nonchalantly that it will go unnoticed by most who view this film.

"Cultural appropriation" is a bit much, given that Japan has precisely zero holographic waifus.

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Djx

Djx

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Posted
2 hours ago, Spacehost said:

"Cultural appropriation" is a bit much, given that Japan has precisely zero holographic waifus.

Really? Pretty sure Hatsune Miku is the first one that comes to mind for a lot of people -

https://arstechnica.co.uk/gaming/2016/04/hatsune-miku-review-japanese-hologram-show/

The second one is the Gatebox tech in my post above that you quoted.

Japan seems to have a headstart on this type of tech.

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centurion

centurion

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6 minutes ago, Mr Cochese said:

Is use of holographic technology meant to be cultural appropriation now? I don't even...


The first hologram type thing I know of is the magician's trick, Pepper's Ghost. You use a semi-reflective mirror in a dark room to overlay  halloween style puppets over the stage, in what we might term now 'augmented reality'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper's_ghost

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Down by Law

Down by Law

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Saw this for the second time yesterday (climatic scene spoiler)

 

 

That end sequence on the sea wall could be one of my favourite pieces of cinema ever. The fantastic lighting, the use of the sea, the shuttle and the small part of land for each combat encounter, the clear editing in what must have been an absolute nightmare to shoot, the music that builds and builds and builds until it swelled up the entire theater, the way you really feel K and Luv are giving it their all to get the upper hand on each other during the choking, the part where K bests Luv and she sees him for the final time, shot from her point of view of his clear face just about visible through the waving water. It's a wonderfuly emotive scene in a film filled with them

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