DZ-48: One-Shot - Blade Runner 2049 - Agency vs Choice

Listen to discover how characters can be dramatised through binary choices (and understand the difference between choice and agency).

To kick off 2018, Chas and Stu take a deep dive into one of their favourite movies of 2017: Blade Runner 2049. However, they abstained from “Fox News-ing this shit” by being joined by the most accomplished screenwriter they know, C.S. McMullen (Blood List 2017, Black List 2017, also a lover of Blade Runner 2049).

For a film that is thematically about choice, Stu and Chas thought this would be an excellent opportunity to explore how characters can be dramatised through binary choices. And yet, CS opened their eyes to the idea that characters can still be given choices without having agency. Without having choice in their choices. Not having choices that lead to different outcomes.

It is perhaps the lack of agency (rather than the lack of choice) that lead to some of the troubling depiction of women and minorities in Blade Runner 2049, which our intrepid hosts explore in detail.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

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CHAPTERS

• 00:02:29 – Blade Runner 2049
• 00:10:33 – Wallace And Luv
• 00:26:18 – K And His Mission
• 00:30:19 – K And Joi
• 00:36:00 – K's Choices And His Arc
• 00:47:34 – Deckard And The Las Vegas Sequence
• 00:58:26 – Luv And Joshi
• 01:01:52 – K's Hero Choice
• 01:04:45 – K And Luv
• 01:10:57 – Tears In The Snow
• 01:19:24 – Depiction Of Women And Minorities
• 01:35:36 – Wrap Up And Key Learnings

FILMS

• BLADE RUNNER 2049 (2017) — (w) Hampton Fancher, Hampton Fancher, Michael Green (d) Denis Villeneuve

SCRIPTS

• Study the script: BLADE RUNNER 2049 (2017) — Hampton Fancher, Hampton Fancher, Michael Green

LINKS

• Read: Find: C.S. McMullen
• Read: JustWatch: Blade Runner 2049
• YouTube: Watch: Blade Runner 2049 - Alternate Trailer Blu-Ray (Fan-made)
• Read: Blade Runner 2049 Script
• YouTube: Watch: Black Out 2022
• YouTube: Watch: 2048 - Nowhere to Run
• YouTube: Watch: 2036: Nexus Dawn Short
• YouTube: Watch: Baseline Tests
• YouTube: Watch: Joi Virtual Girlfriend Scene
• YouTube: Watch: DNA Searching Scene
• YouTube: Watch: K vs Luv Scene
• Read: The Conversation - Blade Runner's problem with women remains unsolved in its sequel
• Read: The Guardian - Is Blade Runner 2049 sexist - or a fair depiction of a dystopian future?
• Read: Digital Spy - Can we talk about Blade Runner 2049's problem with women?
• Read: NY Post - You'll love the new 'Blade Runner' -- unless you're a woman
• Read: Mashable - The hidden feminist message buried inside 'Blade Runner 2049'
• Read: New Statesman - Blade Runner 2049 is an uneasy feminist parable about controlling the means of reproduction
• Read: Mary Sue - Director Denis Villeneuve Tries to Defend His Portrayal of Women in Blade Runner 2049
• Read: The Mary Sue - Blade Runner 2049: Bad Representation Is Not Representation
• Read: EXTREMES OF LIGHT AND TEMPERATURE: NOTES FROM THE SET OF 'BLADE RUNNER 2049'
• YouTube: Watch: I want more life

RELATED EPISODES

• DZ-20: Writing Strong Secondary Characters - Trinity, Bechdel and a Bamboo Killer
• DZ-41: Theme and Worldview
• DZ-42: One-Shot - Character Worldview & Macro POV in SPLT

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Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2018/dz-48/