You are here:

BLAME!

Name: BLAME!
Director: Hiroyuki Seshita
Released: 2017
Duration: 106 min

Representation Score

5.7/10

Fair

2017

TV-14

Director

Hiroyuki Seshita

Runtime

106 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

BLAME! offers a unique, postmodern perspective on diversity by stripping away traditional social identities in favor of a post-human aesthetic. The film's strength lies in its rejection of Western institutional norms and centralized authority, presenting a world where human structures no longer exist. However, the film struggles with conventional representation. It relies on male-coded protagonists and uses physical augmentations as mere plot devices rather than meaningful character studies. The extreme isolation of the setting also precludes the development of diverse social or romantic identities. Ultimately, the work is more successful at deconstructing societal systems than it is at providing explicit, progressive representation for specific identity groups.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does BLAME! have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film doesn't include any explicit LGBTQ+ identities or romantic subplots. This absence is due to a setting focused solely on survival, where characters don't engage with interpersonal social structures.

How does BLAME! portray gender?

Fair

The story follows a typical science fiction framework centered around a male-coded main character. Female characters like Zuru play important roles as catalysts or combatants in the high-stakes action.

How racially and ethnically diverse is BLAME!?

Fair

Traditional ethnic markers are largely irrelevant in this post-human world. Identity is defined by mechanical or biological status rather than heritage, creating an unintentional color-blind aesthetic.

How does BLAME! represent religion and culture?

Good

The film excels at showing the collapse of human institutions and the irrelevance of governance and religion. It presents a world where these systems have been replaced by an indifferent, automated system.

Does BLAME! include disability representation?

Limited

Physical augmentations and mechanical replacements are treated as standard genre clichés. These elements are used as tools for survival rather than as nuanced explorations of lived experience or neurodivergence.

Present on Screen

Effectively deconstructs traditional Western institutions and social hierarchies.
Presents a post-human aesthetic that bypasses conventional ethnic hierarchies.
Explores themes of anti-institutionalism through a decaying, automated landscape.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit LGBTQ+ visibility or interpersonal social development.
Relies on traditional gender hierarchies and male-coded protagonists.
Treats physical augmentations as genre clichés rather than nuanced disability representation.

Official Synopsis

In the distant technological future, civilization has reached its ultimate Net-based form. An "infection" in the past caused the automated systems to spiral out of order, resulting in a multi-leveled city structure that replicates itself infinitely in all directions. Now humanity has lost access to the city's controls, and is hunted down and purged by the defense system known as the Safeguard. In a tiny corner of the city, a little enclave known as the Electro-Fishers is facing eventual extinction, trapped between the threat of the Safeguard and dwindling food supplies. A girl named Zuru goes on a journey to find food for her village, only to inadvertently cause doom when an observation tower senses her and summons a Safeguard pack to eliminate the threat. With her companions dead and all escape routes blocked, the only thing that can save her now is the sudden arrival of Killy the Wanderer, on his quest for the Net Terminal Genes, the key to restoring order to the world.

How are these scores produced? →