Viewing: Blade Runner

Ridley Scott 1982

Blade Runner is one of my favourite films, so this was not my first time watching it, however for this viewing I tried to focus on noticing the elements of the film which relate to the topic of fake and its relation to the characters and the society.

Intro /Overview

Blade Runner is a bleak, dystopian (dark future) neo noir film set in a futuristic Los Angeles filled with technological advance and social decay. Blade Runner reflects the dominant ideologies that shaped social reality at the time of filming (1980’s America) including issues of identity, gender, race and social class.

Favorite quotes 

• “It’s too bad she won’t live, but then again who does”
•  “You know that Voight-Kampf test of yours? Did you ever take that test yourself? Deckard?”.- Rachael

Key themes of Blade Runner

• Identity- what does it mean to be human?
• Social hierarchy
• Mortality
• Social decay
• Gender & Patriarchy
• Religion 

“If you were a replicant, how would you know?”

• The Voight-Kampff test: The Voight-Kampff test is a test used as of ‘2019’ by the LAPD’s Blade Runners to help test an individual to see whether they are a replicant or not. It measures functions such as respiration, heart rate, blushing and eye movement in response to provocative questions

https://www.bfi.org.uk/are-you-a-replicant/

Linking  to ‘Fake’

When I think about Blade Runner, my mind immediately thinks of themes of humanity/what it means to be human. Filmed and written in a time of advancing technology and ever changing social hierarchy (particularly regarding gender), the film captures the post-war/post feminism zeitgeist of the 80’s yet also, (when rewatching this I realised)  is very relevant still today.

Blade Runner is not a film that is critical of the US, but it is a critique of the capitalist obsession with commodification. The sci-fi, dystopian genre offers a distance between the representation of the world that it is commenting on. Tyrell embodies the Capitalist worldview that has taken over the verisimilitude and threatens to overtake our own society. Tyrell sees no “soul” within the Replicants because he views them purely for their financial worth. We can draw parallels from this way of thinking with the way that people see wage-labourers in society in the 80s and today. The reflection in the Replicants’ eyes make them look empty – ‘eyes are the window to the soul’ therefore suggesting Replicants have no soul. this links to ‘fake’ in terms of fake society, and how consumerism lulls us ito a false sense of individuality when in reality we tend to just conform and follow along with whatever trend is at the forefront of discussion.

Blade Runner questions the idea of human identity and individuality through the characters of the replicants. What does it mean to be human? This is a question Scott forces us to contemplate throughout Blade Runner, the answer we form evolves and changes as the narrative unfolds, influencing our understanding of identity and individuality as a whole.  Humans are characteristically defined by their ability to ‘feel’, replicants tracked down and tested on their emotional response to see if they are human or not. Theoretically the replicants should lack empathy and compassion since that is what their programming tells them. however throughout the film we see the replicants grieve for their fallen friends, reminisce on ‘memories’ which have been tricked into believing, and finally feel compassion and empathy, as seen in Roy Batty’s final living action to spare the life of Deckard. 

Deckard, whose humanity becomes an enigma as the narrative unfolds (but who we are lead to believe is in fact human), presents himself as more of a machine than anything. He lacks traditional empathy and treats Rachael like a plaything, disregarding her emotional response and consent, thinking only of his own pleasure and social gain. 

Almost ironically the replicants become more human than the humans themselves, leading the audience to indeed question what makes us human? As Pris states ‘I feel therefore I am’. Do our emotions define our humanity? This, to me stood out as a key link to ‘fake’ and how people often put up a false front/persona, also linking to AI and ideas regarding robots and artificial emotions.

The Unicorn

→In the Director’s Cut and the Final Cut, there is a sequence in which Deckard daydreams about a unicorn; in the final scene, he finds an origami unicorn on the floor outside his apartment.

Left there by Gaff, this suggests that Gaff knows about Deckard’s dream in the same manner that Deckard knows about Rachael’s implanted memories. Scott confirmed this interpretation was his intent in the unicorn daydream. However, while memory implantation for replicants is established elsewhere in the movie, it is unclear if daydreams work in the same way. Even without considering this scene, there is other evidence and hints that allow for the possibility of Deckard being a replicant but does not eliminate the possibility of Deckard being human.

This to me, links to ‘fake’ in the way of thinking about dreams and illusions and if we can ever truly trust our eyes and our senses for what they’re telling us. The whole idea of reality/illusion and what is fake (replicants?) or authentic (humans?) is repeatedly commented on throughout the film and I think underpins the themes and morals Scott is trying to convey.

Takeaway

Links to belief: can we trust our thoughts and memories? what part of our personalities are ‘real’ and what parts are instilled and forced upon us by society/situation. Rachel and her ‘childhood memories’ made me think of my recent ‘belief’ project and interview with Michelle regarding childhood stories and memories. Your childhood is such an important part of why you believe what you believe and how you interpret the world. I think that the idea that this can be manipulated and ‘installed’ is a very interesting concept.

I think Blade Runner is a beautiful and very intriguing film which touches on so many complex themes and concepts which the more time you watch it the more relevant and interesting they become. For this reason it remains one of my favourite films, as well as being an aesthetically stunning masterpiece and presenting a compelling and socially relevant narrative.