Future Noir

If I told you that there was a genre of film that blended traditional noir films from the 50’s,
with dystopian science fiction worlds of the future, you might be surprised. Then again, you
might not. This genre, (aptly named “Future or Tech Noir”) has a number of famous titles
under its belt. The most notable- and indeed the genesis of Future Noir - was “Blade
Runner”, Ridley Scott’s science fiction masterpiece from 1982. The great attraction –at least
for a few of us- of this genre is the mix of an exciting and disturbing futuristic world with the
classically dark and atmospheric look and themes of a Noir. Films in this genre can often
take a closer look at how we may evolve or react as a species or society to the possible
social and technological changes of the future, sometimes with unnervingly prophetic
results.

Philip K. Dick and the Origins of Future Noir

Blade Runner’s story was adapted from a very memorably named short novel, “Do Androids
Dream of Electric Sheep”, written by visionary Science fiction Author Philip K. Dick. Dick Is in
fact responsible for a great many science fiction classics aside from Blade Runner, such as
Minority Report, A scanner Darkly, Total Recall and the Adjustment Bureau. His stories often
featured themes of altered consciousness, the dangers of technology and an overall
pervasive ambiguity. Despite what you might think, what with so many of his stories ending
up with film or tv adaptations, he actually had a visceral dislike of Hollywood. In an
Interview with Author Paul Sammon, he said “You would have to kill me and prop me up in
the seat of my car with a smile painted on my face to get me to go near Hollywood.”

He Tragically died at only 54, in 1982, not long after seeing about 30 minutes of Ridley
Scott’s then unfinished adaptation of his book. Whether or not these two events are linked
is a mystery to this day, but it’s said he was pleasantly surprised by what he saw, and one
can be reassured that had he lived he may have loved many of his stories screen
adaptations.

The 90’s and Animation

After the Iconic Sci-Fi Anime Film Akira was released in 1988, it opened the metaphorical
floodgates to a huge increase in animated features of a cyber noir and punk nature
throughout the 90’s and 2000’s. Not satisfied with merely drawn masterpieces like the
Ghost in the Shell films, enthusiasts of the genre began utilising CG animation to make films
such as Renaissance, or even to enhance and maybe make characters, like in Enki Bilal’s
unusual 2004 film Immortal.

The nineties saw a fusion of tech noir, future noir and cyberpunk. Films like The Matrix, Dark
City, Strange Days, Brazil, The City of Lost Children and Twelve Monkeys. I realise I said a lot
of films just then, but that’s just it, there were a lot of these sorts of films in the 90’s! In fact,
there were more mainstream future-noir and cyberpunk films in the 90’s than there have
been through both the 2000’s and 2010’s combined.

The 2000’s and Onwards

My poor Future Noir loving soul has been painfully starved of new and original films for
much of the two decades that followed that wonderfully techy, cyber noir era of the mid to
late 90’s. While there have been some, many were simply reboots or continuations of older
franchises; The Matrix sequels and Animatrix, Blade Runner 2049 and the live action Ghost
in the Shell to name a few. Even 2002’s Equilibrium was panned by some as merely a Matrix
rip off, but while there are definite similarities that’s a little unfair of an accusation.

It seems the tendency in this modern age of over saturating our films with copious amounts
of CGI has led to more of what we’d call “hard sci fi”.
No longer held back by the technical limitations of the 80’s, (and to an extent the 90’s), it’s
much easier to create a far more futuristic looking film, set in an unrecognizable world or
even in space or another planet. If there was one thing you could safely say about the vast
majority of Future noir and some cyberpunk, it was always set in an uncomfortably familiar
world.

How Tech Has Changed Trends

I think what I’m about to say will be about as predictable as (insert predictable thing here).
Basically, CGI has both enabled and greatly harmed the genre of Future Noir. What made
Blade Runner’s densely detailed look so authentic was how grounded in reality it was. Now
although this suited the tone and setting of the film, it wasn’t done purely for design
reasons, however much Ridley might say otherwise! They simply had to use what they had,
and for Scott and co. in 1981 that was a lot of old sets and locations. They certainly did a
fantastic job of spicing it up, but one cannot deny that the film’s unique and famous look is
lent to it by its fusion of new and old. These days however, there’s no need for all that, one
can easily create entirely digital environments and even characters.
On the one hand this would be expected to be a good thing, making it far easier to create a
convincing dystopian look for film. But on the flipside, audiences now want to see a more
wildly different world.

CGI, The Bane and Saviour of Sci-Fi

CGI, (Computer Generated Imagery) Is the creation of still or animated visual content with
digital software. It’s probably best to know something about it before we get into its pros
and cons. What it allows one to do is create pretty much anything you might want in a
digital environment, and then through the use of a method called compositing, insert that
thing into live action footage. If you’re thinking that that sounds epic, then you’re 100%
right. We can truly do anything in film, and it’s nowhere near as hard as it used to be. The
nerds making Claymation models and animatronics from the 60’s through to the 80’s have
turned into the nerds creating worlds and characters digitally in the 90’s and onwards.

When you think about the earliest CGI you probably think of TRON or perhaps even Jurassic
Park springs to mind. Wrong! No, you are sadly wrong. Technically the first use of
“Computer Generated Imagery” was in fact in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 Psychological thriller
Vertigo, a film that is perhaps better remembered for its ground-breaking camerawork. A
certain level of confusion may be warranted by this. You may be trying to remember some
flashy visual effect in the film, but no, the CGI is all contained in the animated opening
sequence. It wasn’t until 1972 that we got the first truly three-dimensional CGI. Technology
that started by giving us a roughly fashioned and jenky hand, has over the years developed
to the point where it’s cheaper and easier for films to give characters entirely digital
costumes.

Why Is This Relevant?

Yes, I do realise that was the biggest and most seemingly pointless detour since Finn and
Rose’s adventure on Canto Bight, but bear with me, I’m no Rian Johnson. Basically, CGI has
entirely changed the trends for the Science Fiction genre as a whole, and while you can
argue whether or not future noir has more than just a toe dipped in those waters, the
implications of the broader umbrella genre are inevitably going to impact the comparatively
baby genre that Future Noir is.
To put it bluntly, people want to see the most extravagant, the loudest and most visually
explosive things that they can, and if you’re a studio executive (or in any way a part of
Marvel) then that means vomiting all the CGI you possibly can onto the screen. While
there’s nothing wrong with this in itself, it certainly shrinks the market for potentially
nuanced or thought-provoking Future Noir.

The Fate of Future Noir

Yes, perhaps this is all a desperate S.O.S, a cry to save the genre I love from sad fate of
neglect or even from being forgotten altogether. The past two decades truly have not been
kind to it, and most films that echo its style do so in a spirit of homage or just blatantly rip it
off. There is a place to find hope however, and that is in Indie film. With the advancements
in digital and visual technologies it has become easier to make such films for less, and as a
result indie directors have begun to bring worlds to the screen that would previously have
only been possible through the backing a studio.

Hopefully these films continue to be created and one day break more into the mainstream,
maybe even starting a resurgence of its popularity close to how it was in the 90’s. My
fingers will be well and truly crossed, but I eagerly await a time when I can be adequately
impressed and challenged by a film in that genre of genres: Furure Noir.

By Peter Hennesy