ESSAY :)

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The Modern and the Postmodern: A Dilemma of'Real' and 'Fake'

BY GULIZ SAHDUR

(PART OF THE INTRODUCTION)

In this paper I will analyse and discuss the 1968

novel by Philip K. Dick called 'Do Androids Dream of

Electric Sheep?' in comparison and contrast to the

1982 film adaptation directed by Ridley Scott,'Blade

Runner'. In relation to the story told by the novel

and film,I will discuss various theories and ideas

which when incorporated to the

themes,symbolism,language and images illustrate the

social,political,textual and literary message of the

novel and film. The main theories I will focus will

include modernism and postmodernism,marxism and post

marxism,existentialism, and the

Baudrillard theory of Simulacra and simulation and Hyperreality. In

conclusion,as a significant work of science-fiction,it

will attempt to detail an interpretation,both literary

and visual to which places it in a perspective and

explains our modern and contemporary dilemma of

the 'real' and the 'fake' in literature,culture,media

and the many difficulties we face as modern and

postmodern people....

A LOT OF FUN IN THE MIDDLE

A look at what's inside:

-A short synopsis of the plot and some information about the author.

-Capitalism:
Media and mass culture connected with Karl Marx's writings and the emergence of postmarxism.Also linked to alienation,the human condition and existentialism. Quotations from book and theory.Examples from our world linked it.

-Real/Fake and Jean Baudrillard:Simulacra-Simulation and Hyperreality...THE MOST IMPORTANT..Quotations and examples

-The difference between modernism and postmodernism:Its connection to the novel.

-THE NOVEL V'S THE FILMifferences and similarities

-All Connected to capitalism

-My main arguements about what this all means.Examples and quotations.

(PART OF THE CONCLUSION)

...Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheeep? and its

Hollywood counterpart takes us on a trip to a future

world. It is filled with the dark,desolate and nightmare

exploration of postmodern society’s most deepest

questions and pushes the

reader to think,analyse and dig into the

plot,symbolism and language consciously and

extensively to solve the mysteries of the postmodern

human,who as we observe,arise from a digital and

mechanic life and existence. It asks us what does it

mean to be human in the postmodern world?Can we in fact define

a human? What is reality? What is fake reality? Most

importantly,how do we answer these questions? and what

is our relation to them? We explore these questions

and shed light on them by taking a look at the various

questions and 'realities' of our own world and society

such as capitalism and class conflict,racial and

sexual identity,colonialism,religion,technology,media,

and how

cultures are functioning positively and negatively

effected by these cultural constructs which we

often assume as natural. Most often it is the many

'realities',which define and divide us,as given by

the examples and the various conflicts raised by them

in our world discussed previously thoughout this essay, which in

the end makes up our identity as a human. In this

paper,I aim to illustate how these definitions and

certainties are broken down in postmodern culture and

thought. In conclusion,.....