Strange Days, Here We Come: Pop Culture, Dystopia & Collapse18 Nov 2025

BLADE RUNNER 2049 and ELYSIUM: AI, Technology, Oppression, and the Fight to Stay Human

SFX makeup artist & creative influencer Aleena Averly joins me to discuss two films that portray dystopian futures against a backdrop of ecological collapse, Blade Runner 2049 and Elysium. We talk about how technology, AI, surveillance, inequality, and class oppression—but also pockets of heroism and sacrifice—are portrayed in both films, how the real world is racing alarmingly fast towards both futures, and why the fight to stay human in an increasingly inhuman world matters more than ever.

Topics include:

• Class divides and structural oppression

• Immigrant scapegoating as a way to maintain class oppression

• "Are you a replicant?"

• AI, AI companions, and the illusion of "realness"

• The erosion of empathy, humanity, and authenticy

• Echoes of Philip K. Dick’s ideas

• Outward rebellion vs. inner awakening

• Staying real and human in an increasingly unreal and inhuman world

⚠️ Spoilers: Blade Runner 2049, Elysium

✅ No Spoilers: All other works mentioned

Find Aleena Averly:

YouTube: @AleenaAverly https://www.youtube.com/@AleenaAverly
Instagram: @aleena.averly https://www.instagram.com/aleena.averly/

Opening quote: From a 1979 interview w/ Philip K. Dick, edited for brevity and clarity, accessed via Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/PhilipK.DickRAWInterview

Outro music: "Replicant Love" by Francesco Berta, licensed via AudioJungle Read more about the real-life lessons of Blade Runner 2049 and the fiction of Philip K. Dick on PopMythology: • The Blade Runner 2049 Replicant's Guide to Being Human in an Inhuman World https://www.popmythology.com/blade-runner-replicant-guide-becoming-human/ • Be a Dick-Head: The Philip K. Dick Way of Spiritual-Political Resistance https://www.popmythology.com/philip-k-dick-way-of-political-resistance/

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