To the editor,
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I would not have given a second thought to the editorial if I had not had my curiosity piqued by something that happened a moment later. I flipped over to Section Two and started reading some of Mr. Rosenbaum’s encapsulated reviews of other movies showing around town. There, close to the front of the alphabetical listing, was his lyrical ejaculation on Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. Calling it a “visionary look” at “the allure of capitalism in the Reagan era,” Mr. Rosenbaum appeared to miss what has come to be seen as that movie’s most lasting impact.
Historically, Blade Runner is seen as the movie that institutionalized the art of product placement. At the time it came out the press was peppered with laudatory releases about how Scott had managed to sell nearly a half million dollars in advertising space in the movie. I suppose that an argument can be made for the use of all the Koss, IBM, Coca-Cola, etc, plugs (possibly something about illuminating the Reagan-era commercialism), but the fact remains that the true intent was to get me to pay for the privilege of watching a 117-minute compendium of glossy ads for razor blades and running shoes. Certainly Scott knew a good deal when he saw one; his movies since have been larded with similar “placements” (who can ever forget the three-way chase between Thelma and Louise, the state police, and the Thunderbird logo?).
Instructor, Film Department
