Blade Runner 2049 and The Case Against Women?
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| Contained memory-maker Dr. Ana Stelline (Carla Juri) meets K. (Ryan Gosling) in Blade Runner 2049 (2017) |
Note: This is a continuation/expansion on a Tumblr post I commented on, May 29, 2018:
Blade Runner 2049 and women?
I’ve seen a whole lot of discussion about Blade Runner with the general idea that the movie portrays women in an objectifying way intentionally, as a commentary on sexism. And I think that might have some weight IF the female characters were…I dunno….written better?
I think people want to compare Blade Runner 2049 to Fury Road or The Handmaid’s Tale, stories steeped in sexism ABOUT sexism. Stories that “mistreat” the female characters for the purpose of commenting on institutionalized misogyny. But like, those stories the female characters had arcs and fully explored personalities and motivations.
Blade Runner 2049….doesn’t?
The female character we see the most of, and I think the character where any gender commentary falls apart is Joi. And yeah, like “house wife for purchase” isn’t a great place to start with. Still, we see her seem to be sentient, another form of artificial life like the replicants. She is brave and embraces K’s humanity. I liked her.
And the question of how sentient she is is a compelling, the parallel with the question of replicant humanity is thought provoking, and her character is interesting, but the revelation that she’s brave, and supportive, and loving only because of her programming, because that’s what K wants her to be; that massive, naked glowing hologram of her laughing and flirting with K after she “died,” revealing as nothing but a shallow doll, only mimicking humanity, says what?
What are we supposed to gain from Joi’s story, other than how K’s belief in her and K losing her impacts him emotionally? When K’s humanity, even as a replicant, is reinforced over and over and over again, while hers is utterly erased, says….what?
And the whole movie is kind of like this. Stelline is locked up, totally isolated from the world. Why? Luv’s killer android babe trope is fun action, but does it build to a theme? Joshi, and Freysa, and Marinette all have potential, but their stories are too under-developed and disparate to build up to a coherent purpose. None of them seem to have a solid character arc to speak of.
So what is the purpose? Why the giant floating naked women holograms and the giant, beautiful naked women statues? Why the constant barrage of sexualized female images, but lack of actual female characters with stories?
I think Blade Runner 2049 has a lot to say about humanity and memories and power.
But does it have anything to say about gender? Or are the giant naked ladies just there for show?
Interesting how other people claim the film is not about gender and sexism. Procreation and fertility are clearly major themes in the film (along with identity, memory, loneliness, technology, urbanity etc. which the film nails) so, if anything, the women’s roles are essential to this point.
Except all the female characters are treated rather poorly and underwritten in basically every aspect of the film; ending up either killed, maimed, caged, hypersexualised or as enablers to the male narratives. Thus, paradoxically, the film ‘falls victim’ to the very flaw it may have wanted to criticize (aka the misrepresentation and undermining of women in life and on screen). It merely confirms it instead of actually dealing with it at any point. It has glimpses of potential, especially in the female leader of the rebelling replicants, but she only appears for about 3 minutes.
Ultimately, there is no extra dimension/message to a storyline if the particular storyline relies on one-dimensional characters.
Which is a shame, really, since dystopian universes make excellent spaces for ‘what if…’-narratives that can deal with some issues of our society (sexism, racism, etc.) and the possible consequences if said issues have even more room to ‘flourish’.
I’m not saying the original was any better at this nor that only women are misrepresented in this matter. All in all, I’m just disappointed once again having the same old story and treatment of women on screen confirmed. And not just on behalf of my own sex but as a film and sci-fi enthusiast. Quite objectively, it was simply a jarring narrative flaw as well as a missed opportunity to be more subversive in an otherwise gorgeous and thought-provoking sci-fi film.
To expand on my commentary:
All the female bodies in Blade Runner 2049 somehow adhere to a male character's command (Joi and Rachael; digital simulation, Luv; personal assistent and killer machine) or an institutional or physical limitation (Mariette; prostitution, Dr. Ana Stelline; containment and seclusion due to immune system deficiency). Despite their potential, no greater arc or development are involved in their respective storylines, and many are left underused and unfinished, if not altogether dead.
Even the rebel leader of the replicants, Freysa, cannot see herself entirely free of these enforced restrictions; the very reasons she reacts in protest and rebels (in the criminally minimal screen-time we actually get to see and hear about her, thus grossly undermining the whole aspect of any agency among the replicants and/or the women, androids or not).
Robin Wright's Lt. Joshi doesn't get enough screen-time either to let us know what she actually thinks and feels, and though we're likely not supposed to know, it unfortunately leaves her presence and character entirely too flat and unused, especially for an actress of Wright's potential.
Is the film really an intentional warning of the misuse of female agency through the simulation and the limited/controlled representation of females - or an unintentional sign that we are already there?
I'll wager the latter more than the former. Ultimately, the film fails to balance any well-meaning intent of representing either case, hence, in my opinion, it fails its prevailing message of preserving human life without the restriction or control of motherhood, the female body or mind in general.
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