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Concluding paragraph: "San Francisco is in the future. San Francisco's future isn't pretty. It's cold, hard, technological. It's fueled by both extreme poverty

Concluding paragraph: "San Francisco is in the future. San Francisco's future isn't pretty. It's cold, hard, technological. It's fueled by both extreme poverty and extreme wealth. By technology and heroin. It is the future of dystopian novels. It is the future of Gibson and Philip K. Dick. It is the future of Blade Runner. Someone needs to take hold of the dystopia dial and turn it back down. Quickly. Before it becomes too late."

jdale27 9y ago
Someone needs to take hold of the dystopia dial and turn it back down. Quickly. Before it becomes too late. Wow, thanks for that brilliant suggestion, buddy. Okay, here you go... twist twist twist... all better now! Why didn't I think of that before?
remarkEon 9y ago
I saw Blade Runner (1982) in the theatre this last weekend. First time I’ve watched it in probably a decade. It’s still an absolutely mesmerizing film, but I couldn’t help but think of San Francisco and Los Angeles while watching. The fact that it’s always raining in what’s supposed to be Los Angeles in 2019 foretells environmental disaster that seems not far off. The abject and gross poverty reminded me of the tent villages in SF. It’s a timeline I have little faith we’ll jump out of.
- theyregreat 9y ago
  Life isn’t a movie: there are no mandatory self-fulfilling prophecies and learned helplessness is optional. Also, you can break by the bystander effect by actually doing something. Most people just pretend homeless people don’t exist, don’t deserve to be treated like people and shouldn’t be helped. Be different.
- Eridrus 9y ago
  I also watched it last weekend, and one of the interesting tidbits was when talking to Sebastian he mentions that there's no housing shortage, and he wasn't allowed off-world, implying that everyone had wanted to get off world and those left behind are those who couldn't. Which seems a little contradictory (if everyone's trying to get off, why do Replicants want to come back?), but whatever. I wonder if Musk has thought about Blade Runner through this lens.
- sogen 9y ago
  Don’t forget the thousands of pigeons, the millions of black gum splotches in the sidewalks, and the white 20-somethings.

jdale27 9y ago

Someone needs to take hold of the dystopia dial and turn it back down. Quickly. Before it becomes too late. Wow, thanks for that brilliant suggestion, buddy. Okay, here you go... twist twist twist... all better now! Why didn't I think of that before?

remarkEon 9y ago

I saw Blade Runner (1982) in the theatre this last weekend. First time I’ve watched it in probably a decade. It’s still an absolutely mesmerizing film, but I couldn’t help but think of San Francisco and Los Angeles while watching. The fact that it’s always raining in what’s supposed to be Los Angeles in 2019 foretells environmental disaster that seems not far off. The abject and gross poverty reminded me of the tent villages in SF. It’s a timeline I have little faith we’ll jump out of.

theyregreat 9y ago
Life isn’t a movie: there are no mandatory self-fulfilling prophecies and learned helplessness is optional. Also, you can break by the bystander effect by actually doing something. Most people just pretend homeless people don’t exist, don’t deserve to be treated like people and shouldn’t be helped. Be different.
Eridrus 9y ago
I also watched it last weekend, and one of the interesting tidbits was when talking to Sebastian he mentions that there's no housing shortage, and he wasn't allowed off-world, implying that everyone had wanted to get off world and those left behind are those who couldn't. Which seems a little contradictory (if everyone's trying to get off, why do Replicants want to come back?), but whatever. I wonder if Musk has thought about Blade Runner through this lens.
sogen 9y ago
Don’t forget the thousands of pigeons, the millions of black gum splotches in the sidewalks, and the white 20-somethings.