This paper argues that postmodernism is not the end of something, as many theorists would have it, a cultural formation that follows something called modernism; rather, postmodernism is the early articulation of a new era of contested modernity. The paper seeks to advance this argument by analyzing the intertextual relation between Edward Hopper’s “The Nighthawks” (1942) and Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner” (1982). Furthermore, this intertextual relationship is reflected epistemologically in a discussion of Lukacs’s notion of realism and Ricoeur’s notion of utopia. The era of multiple or contested modernity is a consequence of the rapid economic modernization of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and other countries in the region. It signals a new era, in which being advanced or modern is not the monopoly of the West. The paper outlines a three-level model of cultural analysis, where an economic development (contested modernity) is reflected in epistemology (realism and utopia), which informs the cultural domain (postmodern culture). The relationships between the three levels are fluid, dynamic, and multidirectional.