Close Textual Scene Analysis: Retiring Zhora
Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Ridley Scott, 2007) is the definitive re-edited cut of the 1982 cult classic, a pioneer of the cyberpunk genre that explores complex sci-fi concepts and philosophical issues. Premier among these themes is the primary question of the film: do replicants (realistic humanoid robots) have souls? The scene discussed in this analysis occurs during the midpoint of the film, and serves as the second time that Rick Deckard, the protagonist, considers the humanity of replicants, as he ‘retires’ (legally murders) the exotic dancer and refugee replicant Zhora. The precise use of costuming, set design, and cinematography in this scene characterise Zhora as a desperate victim, and Deckard as a cold-blooded hunter; this shifts the dynamic of Deckard’s profession as a blade runner from one of begrudging obligation to that of traumatic entrapment, and jumpstarts his character progression to the eventual point of falling in love with and rescuing another replicant.
The two costumes on full display in this scene are the titular blade runner’s neo-noir trench coat, and the pursued replicant’s revealing undergarments. Both costumes are symbolic of film noir, respectively employing trench coats, padded shoulders, and spiked heels, which ‘trigger certain expectations of narrative, character, and theme’ (Doll, & Faller, 1986). This communicates to the audience that Deckard belongs to the archetype of the noir detective, a character who is morally grey and has to sort right from wrong in a world of murky ambiguity; his choices are not vindicated by his costuming, rather they invite the audience to interpret for themselves whether he has taken the morally righteous or dubious course of action. Zhora, as the femme fatale, is expected to perform for the audience as she does for the viewers of her pornographic stage show, and be a deadly but arousing object of desire. She fulfils this partially through an earlier attack on Deckard, ambushing him whilst distracting him with her sexual allure; when the chase erupts on the street, however, she has still chosen to wear ‘what seems to be her normal clothes… only partially obscuring her body, adding sheen to it as if enticing the viewer to look more closely’ (Skweres, 2019). The only state in which Zhora knows how to exist is as the object of sexual desire, her designation as an object and her desperate occupation have conditioned her to dress and perceive herself this way; Zhora is not the femme fatale, she is a victim to the core.
Corrigan and White (2012) contend that “Contextualized props acquire a [meaning] through their changing place in a narrative”, the mannequins wearing similar lingerie to Zhora in this scene are prime examples. In the background of a shot, they would merely be an indication that Zhora’s attire is deemed attractive and desirable to consumers; when juxtaposed directly with Zhora, they are her reflection, sexual commodities, contained by the whims of those who own them. It is important to note the glowstick necklace on the mannequin in Figure 3, reminiscent of a collar that may be place on enslaved people; equating the mannequins with Zhora thereby also reinforcing her status as enslaved. When Zhora finally breaks through the enclosure that she was metaphorically encaged in since her creation, she succumbs to the wounds inflicted by those who oppose her wish to be more than what she was made for; seeking to escape the purpose chosen for her is what condemns her to death. As Zhora moves through the set, the way the lighting is designed to react to her presence reveals important information about her character and the story (Corrigan & White, 2012): she is constantly reflected in panes of glass which illuminate the scene with bright neon lights and the gawking silhouettes of onlookers (Figure 6). These bright lights and reflected bystanders illustrate the publicity of Zhora’s death, how the execution is observed as a spectacle and not interrupted. Even in death, she remains a show for an audience and satisfies their base desires, now a sick snuff film, instead of a sex stage show. As snow falls on her body, Zhora is granted some reprieve from the negligence of her humanity. In a completely urbanised environment, the nature from which humanity evolved is replicated and contained for display; this is seen in the many artificial animals throughout the film and of course the replicants. Anthony (2022) describes another replicant, Rachael, as ‘an artificial creation and yet more human than any other character we have seen in the film’, reminiscent of the replicant manufacturer’s slogan ‘more human than human’. In Blade Runner, the most ‘natural’ components of the film are not the humans or non-present biological fauna, but the replicants and the artificial nature that humanity has created. When snow, artificial and manufactured within a display case, falls on Zhora’s body, it welcomes her to the realm of artificial nature, more natural than the humans who murdered her; she is vindicated. She may not be free, but she has achieved the foundation upon which freedom would be built.
In the quiet moment of reflection after Zhora succumbs to her wounds, Deckard watches along with a gathering crowd of onlookers in a series of long, medium, and full shots; this allows the protagonist and the audience to digest the tragic scene before them, to realise that a person has died as a result of Deckard’s actions. This is in stark contrast to the prior chase, which mostly utilised quick close-ups, medium shots at furthest, to create a sequence which depicts the primal, urgent attempt at escape from an overwhelming force and catching Zhora before she disappears, as in Figure 9. What illustrates most clearly the power differential here, when both characters are frantic and desperate, is the extreme angle differences between the depictions of Deckard and Zhora in Figures 7 and 8. Spadoni (2014) describes the effect that a low-angle shot can have, making the subject seem ‘powerful’, where the opposite makes subjects ‘diminutive and vulnerable’; this is precisely the effect that is achieved in this chase scene, which invites the audience to empathise not with the protagonist, but with the fearful, smaller Zhora.
The genre-conscious costuming decision to clothe Zhora in her stage lingerie, spiked boots, and transparent jacket speaks to the sexual exploitation that she has internalised, her drive for survival, and her vulnerability. The dramatic and symbolic set design dictates that Zhora dies in a reflective cage of her allegorical kin, and has snow softly fall to rest on her body. This speaks to the visual pleasure that audiences gained from her oppression and her death, and the unjust persecution that she experienced by being labelled less than human, despite being more human than the organic people around her. By being introduced with an extreme high-angle shot and experiencing a tense, frantic pursuit for her life through close-ups and quick cuts, Zhora’s animalistic drive to live, and fear of death, is evidence of her genuine life. All of the cinematic techniques present in this scene contribute to a successful and monumental shift in the tone of the film and Deckard’s character, launching his character arc towards empathy for replicants.
References
Anthony, T. F. (2022). More Human Than Human: The Exile in Blade Runner. Journal of Film & Video, 74(3/4), 18–33.
Corrigan, T., & White, P. (2011). “Exploring a Material World: Mise-en-Scene.” In The Film Experience: An Introduction, Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s, 63-93.
Doll, S., & Faller, G. (1986). Blade Runner and Genre: Film Noir and Science Fiction. Literature Film Quarterly, 14(2), 89.
Skweres, A. (2019). Clothes Make the Man—The Relation Between the Sensual and the Sexual in Blade Runner (1982). In McLuhan’s Galaxies: Science Fiction Film Aesthetics in Light of Marshall McLuhan’s Thought. Springer International Publishing, 1–14.
Spadoni, R. (2014). “Cinematography” in A Pocket Guide to Analyzing Films. California: University of California Press, 88-120.
Figure 1. Deckard’s costume: trench coat, shirt, and tie.
Figure 2. Zhora’s costume: transparent jacket, stage lingerie, and knee-high spiked boots (not pictured).
Figure 3. Mannequins in lingerie.
Figure 4. Zhora’s corpse, under falling snow, having crashed through glass.
Figure 5. The display case containing a winter-themed lingerie advertisement.
Figure 6. Zhora’s reflection seen in glass panes, through which the silhouette of a man is seen, watching.
Figure 7. Deckard looks down as he spots Zhora, before pulling out his revolver.
Figure 8. Zhora, shocked, looks up to find that Deckard is still on her tail.
Figure 9. Deckard pushes through a dense crowd in pursuit of Zhora.
