Sunday 16 November 2008

The shock of recognition!




















(Above) A local resident hurries to avoid the Walthamstow High Street area...


I was reading some film criticism the other day and I came across this. I wonder if you can guess which London borough I was instantly reminded of? (No prizes.)

Blade Runner, Ridley Scott’s seminal movie about Los Angeles, set in 2019, is often mentioned as a vision of postmodernity. It is set within a semi-ruined cityscape, the rubbish-filled streets illuminated by lurid advertising devices. There is an impression of absence of any sort of social order or communal services.