Burning Chrome: As Compared to Blade Runner - Essay Example

12 Dec Burning Chrome: As compared to Blade Runner Introduction This paper is going to compare the Ridley Scott movie Blade Runner with the William Gibson short story “Burning Chrome.” This paper is going to compare the setting and the overall tone of the movie with the short story. Furthermore this paper is going to show exactly how the urban setting of the two works along with the tough guy tone of the two works seems to affect the overall experience of the two texts. Blade Runner is originally derived from a novel called Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick. It shows a dark future where the Tyrell Corporation has created replicants, human look-alikes, to do the dangerous things that humans are unable to do. However there was one catch, the replicants had a four year life span. But in that four year life span some of the replicants were beginning to develop underlying human emotions. It is these human emotions which led to the revolts of many a replicants making them illegal to be on Earth. Thus, special replicants hunter units, called Blade Runners, were formed to eliminate the illegal replicants. “Burning Chrome” by William Gibson is a predecessor to many novels he wrote characters from this short story mad their way into other sci-fi novels written by Gibson, such as Neuromancer and the Sprawl series of novels. “Burning Chrome” shows a computer cowboy, named Bobby Quine jacking into cyberspace, reminiscent of the movie Johnny Mnemonic, based on one of Gibson’s short stories of the same name, and his partner, Automatic Jack. The story is set in the point of view of Automatic Jack. Comparison This part of the paper will compare the tone and the settings of the movie Blade Runner with the cyberpunk short story, “Burning Chrome.” Both are set within the city in which they inhabit, but both there is a time in each story where one loft is the center of attention. Setting Both “Burning Chrome” and Blade Runner are set in the future with technological advancements beyond our wildest dreams. Furthermore, both are set in differing urban settings, in the streets of a city. However, where the setting in Blade Runner shows are more even playing field for the inhabitants of the city of Los Angeles, “Burning Chrome” shows that the city, in which the story is set, has a very big discrepancy on those who have it and those who don’t. Blade Runner is set in the city of Los Angeles in the year 2019. The setting allows the viewer to see that this is a bustling metropolis with millions of different things going on all the time. There are several specific locales in the movie where Deckard and the other characters go, such as the Tyrell Corporation building, Police headquarters, J.F. Sebastian’s apartment, the strip club where Zhora works, Deckard’s Apartment, and the local noodle house in Chinatown. These locations give the key to finding out exactly who or what Deckard really is. In “Burning Chrome”, Bobby Quine and Automatic Jack are cyber flunkies who hack into various systems to score riches from those who have the money to give to those who do not. There are two main setting in “Burning Chrome”, the city setting (the outside world) where Bobby and Jack live and the cyber world (where Bobby and Jack are master thieves and hackers breaking down firewalls and security programs). ‘Bobby was a cracksman, a burglar, casing mankind’s extended nervous system, rustling data and credit in the crowded matrix, monochrome nonspace where the only stars are dense concentrations of information, and high above it all bum corporate galaxies and the cold spiral arms of military systems.’(Gibson, pg 197.) “Burning Chrome” shows that the setting whether in the real word or cyberspace can be just as dangerous as the other. Cyberspace just like the real world could have the effect where one while jacked in could lose themselves, lose who they really are forever. Deckard in Blade Runner faces the very same problem. I suspect that is why he previously left the position of blade runner before being coerced back into the position by the police captain, Bryant. Deckard is afraid of losing himself again as a killing machine and not the person he is. Tone The tone of the two works is very similar indeed. Both are dark and gritty with streetwise smarts being used in situations where others really have the upper hand upon the basic hero of the story. Furthermore, it seems as though the main characters of each story have been coerced or strong armed into positions that they feel is not where they need to be. As stated previously, Captain Bryant of LAPD strong arms Deckard into returning to a position in which he no longer works. Deckard suggest that the position go to another person, which it originally did but with some very near fatal results. Bryan does not really give Deckard any choice, but to reenlist as a blade runner for the LAPD to retire the illegal replicants. Furthermore, Deckard is strong armed as well by his partner Gaff who is like a watchdog making sure that Deckard does not screw up his mission to retire the illegal replicants that have landed upon Earth. But in Blade Runner Deckard is not the only one who is being strong-armed. Roy Batty, one of the illegal replicants, convinces J.F. Sebastian to take him to see Tyrell. Once in the presence of his maker, Roy tries to convince Tyrell, at first, to help him live longer. The moment Tyrell explain that is impossible, Roy begins to strong arm Tyrell into doing so. But in the end, Roy’s efforts are wasted and he destroys what was once so good in him. Just like Blade Runner, the tone about “Burning Chrome” is dark and gritty with a sharp edge of strong arm tactics thrown in for good measure. The cyberpunk story takes place in the future where high tech is unevenly distributed. Those who have the money control the majority of the technology out there in the world. These people with the money have formed their own mobs. Chrome, the target of Bobby Quine is the money handler for the Mob. Thus, Bobby strong arms his partner in getting the equipment necessary to go after Chrome. Automatic Jack does not like this at all. However he still manages to get what they need and they go after Chrome. But like Roy Batty trying to strong arm Tyrell into giving him more life, basically Bobby, who went after Chrome to give him the big score to settle down with Rikki, instead winds up driving her away. Rikki told Jack that she was leaving for good. She knew that he wouldn’t under stand that she had to this on her own. ‘No. I’ve got to go. I guess he won’t understand, but I’ve got to go. (Gibson, pg 219)’ How Experience Affected The experience between the two works is definitely tied to the urban settings and the strong arm/ tough guy tones shown. Blade Runner has different people acting as the tough guy through out the film. And Bobby and Finn seem to act as the tough guys in “Burning Chase.” The urban setting in Blade Runner affects how Deckard can deal with the tough guys throughout the film. At times, Deckard has the upper hand since he is armed with a pistol which allows him to retire the replicants from a far. Several people in the film try to strong arm him into doing what he has no interest in doing. The first person in the film to act a tough guy, show his machismo, is Gaff. Gaff shows a quietness about him that leads the viewer to believe that he holds secrets that could probably ruin most characters that he is around, which allows him to be in the position of authority that he is in. The second tough guy, Deckard runs into is his old boss, Bryant. Never one is Deckard ever the toughest guy in the film. However, Deckard has to be tough to get through the situations in which he has been placed by Rachel, Gaff, Roy, or Bryant. This shows that he has to struggle to attain his goal of just being left alone, or by the film’s end, left alone with Rachel. His toughness shows the strong will of his character to survive whatever hell has been place in front of him. The experience from this shows the viewer that no matter how hard the situation is, you can rise up and, with a lot of focus, survive the situation at hand. In “Burning Chrome”, the urban setting allows for the reader to see that that there is more to the characters than being a hacker in cyberspace. Furthermore, Jack has to be tough to try and get what he wants from those in which he interacts. For Instance: When talking to Finn in New York on a shopping expedition he is surprised to hear: ‘I’ll give you a bargain on that for old times’ sake. (Gibson, p. 199).’ However, even being the tough guy does not allow one to hide from emotions. And this is surely show when Rikki walks out on Bobby and Jack to head off for a career out west. She knows that Bobby will not understand, but she decides to do it anyways. Although, Bobby was tough love can hurt harder than any toughness can show. For instance: ‘She was right about Bobby. I went back with her. He didn’t understand. But she had already served her purpose, for Bobby, and I wanted to tell her not to hurt for him, because I could see that she already did. He wouldn’t even come out into the hallway after she packed her bags. ‘ (Gibson, pg 219) The experience from the stories show us that even though we can excel and survive very tough and nearly difficult situations that are on the verge of killing who we are, there is always something or someone that can bring us back down to Earth and allow us to see that being the tough guy is not always the most important thing to do, but to be there for those you care is. Conclusion In conclusion, there are quite a few similarities between Blade Runner and “Burning Chrome”. Deckard is the reluctant guy to bring down the replicants in the movie, since he initially refuses to become the blade runner once again that Police Captain Bryant want him to be. Deckard would rather live a normal life than become the killing machine that he once was as a blade runner. In “Burning Chrome”, Jack thinks that his friend is absolutely crazy for going after one of the Mob’s biggest money makers, Chrome. However, Bobby tells his friend that he is ready to settle with Rikki and that the reason they’re going after Chrome’s money is because of Rikki. However, the difference between the two is unrequited love. Deckard manages to go back to Rachel and they leave Los Angeles for parts unknown. But, unlike Deckard, Bobby does not have the same luck. Even with the acquisition of the cash from Chrome’s personal stockpile, Bobby loses Rikki to the bright lights of Hollywood where she can go on to become a simstim star. Works Cited Gibson, William. “Burning Chrome.” Burning Chrome,2003: ppp 195-220. Web. 11 Dec 2011. Read More