This article comes from: Hong Ling
▌It doesn’t rain in Los Angeles, and the nuclear war is full of dust in the end of the nuclear war
The movie version of "Blade Runner" directed by Ridley Scott (Ridley Scott) is full of magnificent spectacle and superpower, as well as explosive power that is difficult to completely restrain no matter how large an integrated system is. The most "naturally natural" scene of majestic agitation is the last few minutes of the life of the artificial organism Roy who is about to die. Ignoring the human male executioner who was rescued by artificial life at the last moment and hesitated and confused, Luo Yi read a poem of unknown origin, and all the words and spirits leaked were "the brightest flame, burned the most dazzlingly short." [1]; The melodious and desolate tone expresses the contemptuousness, madness, and weird compassion of "the sublime other" (the sublime other).
"The things I have seen, you humans are absolutely unbelievable,
On the edge of Orion, our arson strategy, the star ship burns,
Beyond the darkness next to the star gate of Don Hauser, I stared at the sparkling light,
However, this moment of moment... will dissolve in the torrent of time,
Like...tears...sold in the rain...
This is the moment of my death. "
The key words of this poem are starship, raindrops, and tears; however, I don't know if it is coincidence or irony. All three are absent from the original novel of "Blade Runner". In the novel, artificial life and human beings are in similar fatigue. The rebellious repertoire is not a fierce interstellar battle, but a temptation and mockery performed by a camp. In the novel, no one shed any tears. It never rained, and even in the end there was a small existentialist theater that was thirsty and deserted. In fact, Los Angeles is not a rainy city, but an incarnation of dryness—just like the texture of a novel. In contrast to the title of "Silver Wing + Killer", which is as cold as a knife-burning style, the title of the original book is like a confused and boring person who is bored, and it is not thorough enough to say it is down. It is stuck in the repeated day after day A boring situation, throwing such a soft question: Can artificial life dream of an electronic sheep?
Such language is the life of the original author Philip Dick, whether it is a private life or creative experience is a "tale of a loser" (tale of a loser). It’s just that, in his short life, this loser regurgitated the ruin of life, the anxiety of the system and the individual, and under the almost monotonous strokes, he accurately outlined the distortion, falsehood, and misery of the real world (horizon). The landscape is like a chapter of schizophrenic monologues , and several masterpieces, including this book, leave a unique heritage and narrative in the pedigree of science fiction.
During Dick's debut, the Anglo-American science fiction world was at the height of the "New Wave" (New Wave). Although compared with peer authors such as Joanna Russ, Samuel R. Delany, and J.G. Ballard, Philip Dick’s Identity politics and gender attitudes appear outdated and retrogressive (just reading this book except for artificial life, all white male humans can be seen at one end). The fierce and fanatical New Wave kings worked hard to break the central thinking of humans (white male straight people). The characters in the pen identify (or themselves are) cool lives, arrogant and cold objects. Compared with them, Dick is like him. The petty detective Dika in the pen is met with brilliant man-made life. The peers of the New Wave generation are so unruly and rebellious. Dick’s old-fashioned, paranoid and restrained have become his weird characteristics; since he became famous in " The Man in the High Castle ", Dick’s works have become neurotic protagonists. , The system is known for the multiple realities of the inner key gods, reproducing the anxiety of the Cold War era; the anxious daily life is "schizophrenia, metaphysical free fall", no matter how good and pure human beings, Just like Moser, he was faced with falling rocks (an externalized system or internalized dissident) in the process of creeping uphill.
In 1982, when a film adapted from the novel was about to come out, Dick died of heart failure. After his death, the film version of "Blade Runner" became a sci-fi classic. Under the effect of rising tide, not only the original novel was moved from the cold bench to the top seat, but the old works that were not regarded as important were also unearthed and republished. Through eager discussion with readers, Dick’s works have become the leading voice of science fiction since the 1980s, inspiring new generations of writing and issues , such as "Cyberpunk" (Cyberpunk) genre, Virtual Reality (Virtual Reality) , Human-machine hybrid organism (Cyborg). Enthusiastic science fiction fans regard this work (especially the movie version) as the beginning of the "near-future noir" (near-future noir), which has shaped many exciting topics that have stood up to this day, such as the dominance of multinational (star) capital companies Incarnate, tough losers (such as computer cowboys, hard-line trench coat detectives) try to contend with them, but they are still defeated by high-end, charming and deadly feminine characters (such as Rui Qiu in the novel).
Being famous after death is one thing. While he was still alive, Dick’s professional writing experience was really not very successful. He seemed to be a typical impoverished drug-taking writer, and he was suspicious and full of ridicule and mockery of this absurd reality. . This situation reflects the fact that the characters in his works have either suffered repeated miserable defeats, or hopelessly face the weird forces of chaos and ignorance: they are in the “outdated” freak situation given by me (such as "Dr. Blood Money" ( Dr. Bloodmoney 's deformed supersensor , the communist twin "Savior", or in " The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch " ( The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch ), a group of perverted gods bring humans regarded as recreational tools, to create a psychedelic "Stigmata"), is subject to the mercy of inexplicable cosmic conspiracy theory of parallel ( "memory wholesale" or "Minority report," the protagonist), until the moment drowned or unclear, seemingly Regardless of the bloody end of the nuclear war or the slow and futile domination system of the colonial planet, in the context of these huge crises, Dick’s theme is quite permanent and “outdated”, always returning to himself as a stranger. Subjectivity .
▌Extreme and perfect artificial organism: Nexus sixth type organism and transsexual/other body
In a certain scene in the movie version, the detective disc card inspected the room of the different color snake dancer Zhora (Zhora) with sophisticated instruments, and determined that she was not a "real human" with strict and accurate props; this A scene depicting the harshness and indiscretion of those who look at it from the position of human beings, wonderfully reminds me of how a straight society (straight society) that only sees two rigid “genders” hunts for curiosity and hunts for “outside” genders. . These "abnormal" sex/does may be similar to Ruby Love in the novel. They have achieved a (temporary) safe and noble status with the talent of an opera soprano, but they are in a closet that cannot be exposed. If the body ( Once the illegality of gender is revealed, it will become a target of violence that cannot cross the (species/gender boundary) normative unit. In the scene where Deca was chasing Zola, the camera showed indifferent violence, just like in the 1970s (or more recent times), certain national police machines could arrest, hit hard, or even torture arbitrarily. Seeking makeup queen, third-sex public relations. If it is in the process of discipline or suppression, the police mechanism is involved in the posture of "checking out criminals," which is similar to the operating procedures of these "artificial biological retirement executives" in performing official duties and winning legitimate bonuses.
Because the artificial organisms of the "Chain No. 6" model are so superb and perfect, the only race that can be compared with them is to use "body alchemy" (body alchemy)[2] to create their own transgender/other races. Compared with the limited space in the book, the movie version of Luo Yi Betty is a black anti-hero. His vigorous temperament and limbs exude excessive and fierce masculine fireworks, but it highlights the heresy of his body and transcends ( Let’s laugh at) the male humans who claim to be canonical; Luo Yi’s sex/uncharm is evil (uncanny), which is very different from Rui Rui who is "like a decayed ice fish" and "(or say) a normal male human." Rick dish card, and one of the secrets is that it (he) is not a "natural, non-artificial" human - that is, so high-pitched blazing masculinity, gender incarnation can only be presented in "artificial construct" of the body. If you want to compare with a specific gender identity, only the heroic stone wall T (Stone Butch), the trans king (Drag king), or the contemporary artificial hybrids such as the female-to-male transsex (Female-to-Male Transsex) The Cyborg-like entity can be transformed into the "excessive" (excessive) masculine body, and only then can Aidong Taylor, who created this perfect and brilliant body with one hand, praise it with a sentimental heart: " Look at you, you beautiful child, you are such a rare prize!" [3]
In movies and novels, Ruiqiu Rosen, who is different from the appearance of the two, presents two typical feminine characters. Judging from the (perhaps too romantic) T/po narrative, whether it is in the original film version or the "director's cut version" that will be determined in the future, this Ruiqiu is full of intense emotion and will, and every move is artificial life. The "self" that cannot be concealed by identity, pursues the destined (true) identity and love on its own . Even if the post-capital installation of multinational corporations shaped her essence and position, Rui Qiu did not really succumb. With her exquisite and elegant appearance of a lady, she is sometimes charming, sometimes fascinating, and is forming a natural match with the cold light, smog, night rain, and gunpowder in the background. Such an image is like the "high femme" (high femme) of certain generations in the twentieth century. The appearance is cold and mysterious, but the essence of bones overflows the net of the opposite sex's reproductive system, and finally gets out of the game (coming out). In the novel, Rui Qiu’s role is similar to that of a perfect corporate spy. She has never revealed her "truth", but readers can see the despair and desolation that has nowhere to go, regardless of whether she has a homogeneous body of Priss. What kind of mood Stritan holds, whether it is a twin-like (quasi) erotic desire, or a body from the same original model, Rui Qiu has never revealed her identity politics. Even the scenes in the temptation of Dieka, involving the old and old human reproduction mechanism of the opposite sex, are probably just lip-synching lines. For Rui Qiu, Dika, who only wants a live animal as a household pet, is just a different species that has passed by human beings who "love that goat more than love their partner".
In these two versions, we see two (seemingly constructed) feminine archetypes: the former is a princess coming out of the closet who pursues herself, agitated and determined, like a glass of hot rum thrown into the mouth of a drunkard under a radiant rainy night ——Only the alcoholic must be a fellow across the boundaries of species (sex/beyond), not an opponent. For movie lovers, the disc cards that executed artificial lives are (unconsciously) artificial humans. This is self-evident in the "director's cut version". This is not a spoiler that will ruin the fun of watching if broken (spoiler) . From the perspective of transgender reading, Rui Qiu, who has escaped the frame of heterosexual reproduction, sees what it is self-evident that he fell in love with the cyborg killer who believes to be a native (male) human. "I" is ambiguous, the tension and ambiguity between genders (species) are chaotic and unconventional . In the novel, Dick's sour cynic narrative tone makes her lose her passion and become a deadly feminine predator. However, this is not to say that the novel version of Rui Qiu lacks sincerity, her sincerity is placed on the same kind; since the stubborn Die Ka can only imagine her in a stereotype, the author's sophistication is just right, and she has no respect for human beings. The trait of a Nemesis that stands tall in an inhumane position.
▌The self that the subject does not know, the "living" toad: the redemption and reality of science fiction
Among the many amazing scenes in the author's other well-known work " Total Recall " ( Total Recall ), the most shocking scene is about the protagonist's "predecessor" telling the truth to himself who has lost his memory (natural identity): I designed another ignorant and ignorant myself, just like playing a puppet show, behind the scenes I carefully manipulated the puppet myself, the reality turned over in an instant and turned into a paranoid nightmare. It is similar in "Blade Runner", and such subject fears appear from time to time as "who is an artificial organism". From the beginning to the end, Deca longed for a "real" pet that he was so but unable to own to become a metaphor for identity anxiety. The true nature is so confusing, whether it is a goat on the roof, a rival in the same industry, or a fight for it. The mysterious strangers in the one-night stand are all "lost copies of the original." Only when Die Ka suddenly realized that even though the toad in his hand is not an organic life form, it is still alive and real. Only the almost paranoid subject can catch a glimpse of the Real from the reality of schizophrenia. .
This kind of light comes from those who are incomplete, (seemingly) deficient and inadequate. Whether it is ordinary humans ridiculed and devalued by the insufficiency of the intelligent "chicken man" John Isod, the real and false spiders and cats, in the movie, the lifelike owls flying in the cold light-filled tower, and embodying the totality ( The role of unconscious prophet-Moser who is also a so-called special element. Whether it is the golden age, the new wave, sex/other science fiction, or even science fantasy, based on the barren field after the nuclear war, such narrative motifs and elements have become the masters of science fiction. Exclusive scenery, or typical sentimental, or full of cold insights (such as rookie writer Maureen F. McHugh ( Mission Child ) exploring the boundaries of gender ). Philip Dick wrote an apocalyptic fable. Those human-machine hybrids who must struggle in the dust are riddled with apocalyptic angels, whose aura of aura becomes the protagonist of mankind. Redemption may be limited, but it can give humans who are stuck in the dichotomy of true and false imagination a trembling exit:
Feel the traces of life in every corner of this barren universe...This universe has never stopped the torrent of life. The life of an electronic creature is also a life, even if it is regarded as a life that is nothing.
In addition to bringing out the "computer traitor" genre from the 1980s to the present, it also brings out a piece of work that deeply thinks about the human-computer interface; "Blade Runner" also refutes the human-centered ideology regarded as the norm by some right-wing science fiction authors . In these recent masterpieces, whether it is " Ghost in the Shell " ( Ghost in the Shell ) human-machine hybrid physical police detective Motozi, from 0 and 1 bit Wang Yang born a "computer sub-god" consciousness puppet master, crown Gwyneth Jones (Gwyneth Jones) in the famous " Divine Endurance " ( Divine Endurance ) wonderfully sketched artificial synthetic children, and the same deep and wise cat as the title of the book, queer writer America Scott ( Melissa Scott's "Dreaming Metal Body" reveals the fight between "Alien" and Daqianhuanyu. These mysterious non-human beings wander freely between the great thousand and the interstellar, reappearing the (seemingly) impossible "phantasmagoria" (phantasmagoria), and their eyes are engraved with superb scenery and reality that humans cannot see.
This flash of light is the miniature redemption that mankind has read in masterpieces such as "Blade Runner". It may not be majestic enough, or even weak, but this dim light reflects the ruins of the aftermath that has long formed (and always resides), and the torrent of life can survive to welcome the coming 2020.
Notes:
[1] This is an excerpt from the film's dialogue.
[2] This sentence is taken from a photographic work by Loren Cameron, a positive transgender person. The title of this book is "BODY ALCHEMY: Transsexual Portraits" (BODY ALCHEMY: Transsexual Portraits). ).
[3] The original text of this passage was when Luo Yi Beaty approached the producer of "Chain Six", Ai Dong Taylor (Tyrell, Eldon, the original name is Ai Dong Rosen), in a paragraph filled with In the ambiguous and cool dialogue, the producer said to his "best product" like this: "The fierce burning flame is always fleeting, and you are so intense and surging. This beautiful child, you are such a rare prize!” (The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long·And you have burned so very very brightly·Look at you·You're the prodigal son·You're quite a prize!)
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