Comments for Strange Days

Strange Days: 10/21/04

Last night Ian and I rewatched Strange Days because Ian remembered liking it but couldn't remember much about the film. While watching we had a lovely discussion of cyberpunk cowboy noir, our name for that mixed up genre that usually takes place in the near future but has motifs that borrow heavily from Westerns and Film Noir. Usually it's the lone cowboy or fallen sheriff type who is going against the film noir gangster syndicate only to be foiled by a femme fatale.

Strange Days has all of these elements. The main characters are ex-cops and to further drive the point home, the B plot has the two rogue cops doing their own version of justice. There is the general lawlessness of the old west town where a good sheriff can't be kept until the end of the film. Faith as the femme fatale personifies Lenny's lost faith in the system and life in general. No longer a police officer, he'd rather peddle underground "clips" and live on the fringes of society. As with all good film noirs, never trust a woman who sings in a seedy bar or in this case, rave.

Other fine examples of this hybrid genre are:

• Cowboy Bebop
• Blade Runner
• Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man

In the Newsletter:

My recent drawing, Morning Commute, was selected as the best image of the 2D gallery for the 3DCommune's October 20th Newsletter. I'm thrilled and honored. It was such an unexpected event.

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