How Blade Runner 2049 Rewrites Business History
The sci-fi sequel brings dead brands into a future without Apple products.
Source: Warner Bros.
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In the 1982 film Blade Runner, Los Angeles has become a dark dystopia caked in grime. Set in the distant future of 2019, various brands of the time are spotted around the streets of the seedy, gloomy city. There’s video game maker Atari and airline behemoth Pan Am. RCA makes a cameo, as does the Bell telephone company.
As we approach 2019 in real life, many of those brands are gone or extremely diminished. Superstitious fans declared a Blade Runner curse for the corporate icons of the film. Appear in the film’s grim future, and a brand is believed to be doomed to the dustbin before that day arrives. Now, with the long-awaited sequel arriving in theaters Friday, Blade Runner is rewriting business history.