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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 FILM
ifferences 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,.....
