Blade Runner

1
Blade Runner

• Questioning Human Identities

2
Outline

• General Questions
• Introduction
• The world of Blade Runner architecture and space
  
• The Replicants vs. Humans
• Scientists as Fathers the Lost Mothers
• Relative proofs of identity photographs the
  eyes
• fighting for survival and Replicants
  Reflections on human society
• Rachaels learning
• The Others Gaff and the Animals in the film

3
Blade Runner, Minority Report The Matrix

• How are these three films similar to or different
  from one another? What postmodern issues do they
  each address?
• How does Blade Runner define human identity and
  human nature?
• Whats impressive about this film?

4
The Three Filmshuman solutions to machines
control
Blade Runner Minority Report The Matrix
Tyrell replicants for commerce Precrime social security Matrix humans as batteries
Esper (Eye ?) VOIGHT-KAMPFF ? to determine human and 4-dimensional reality Car control Eye scanner Computer imaging ? to control identity and predict future The Matrix computer programs Agents and sentinels ? Pervasive control
Love Escapeindividuals Choice--individuals Love, Choice Belief -- Alternative system
5
The Three Filmsthe Ambiguous
Blade Runner Minority Report The Matrix
Definition of human identity (photo, emotional response, empathy and love) ?? flattening of subject, waning of affect Postmodern simulacra How is crime defined? Is the prediction fallible and changeable? minority report as echo, fabricated or another time path? ? Multiple reality Is Anderson Neo? How much of our existence a mental projection of our existence? (in-)separability of mind and body, subject and object, individual and system ? Postmodern simulacra
6
Reality

• Lyotard The Postmodern Condition Our task is to
  search "for new presentations, not in order to
  enjoy them but to impart a stronger sense of the
  unpresentable "(p.81), since ...it is our
  business not to supply reality but to invent
  allusions to the conceivable which cannot be
  presented.
• What is unpresentable in our society?
• 1) capitalist simulacra
• 2) reality as a matter of perception
• 3) memories and history
• 4) the human?

7
The Three Films the Other Postmodern Issues
Blade Runner Minority Report The Matrix
1. Environment capitalism 1. Environment capitalism 1. Environment capitalism
World gloomy, raining all the time, huge ads Nature final escape World clean and neat animated ads Natureonly as a lab World colorful Illusions Nature--absent
2. Slum and minorities 2. Slum and minorities 2. Slum and minorities
Ethnic minorities women Underground Helpers (e.g. Tank)
8
Introduction

• Philip K Dicks Novel and Ridley Scott

9
Philip K. Dicks Do Androids Dream of Electric
Sheep?

• Published in 1968 (the period of anti-war
  movement)
• 1992 San Francisco ? (the film) Los Angeles in
  2019
• Philip K. Dick claimed that footage of the film
  was exactly what he had envisioned when he wrote
  the book. (source)
• Deckard in the novel bounty hunterkills more
  than two replicants.
• The question of whether one can mistake human for
  replicant Deckard mistakes for replicant his
  fellow bounty hunter Phil Resch, because the man
  suffers from a condition called flattening of
  affect (which means a lack of emotion),
  something which can occur in people suffering
  from certain forms of mental illness or brain
  damage. (source)

10
Ridley Scott

• Alien (1979)
• Thelma Louise (1991)
• Gladiator (2000)
• Stunning visuals.
• His films often feature strong female characters?
  (source)
• The movie BR omits the religious and mythical
  elements of Dick's original novel (e.g., empathy
  boxes and Wilbur Mercer), it falls more strictly
  within the cyberpunk genre than the novel does.
• William Gibson would later reveal that upon first
  viewing the film, he was surprised at how the
  look of this film matched his vision when he was
  working on Neuromancer. (source)

11
The World of Blade Runner

• Lack of Dynamic Social Fabric
• a Pastiche of Architectural Styles with signs of
• -- (fake) signs of power
• -- signs of decay and decrepitude
• -- signs of the stereotypical Oriental
• ? placelessness a global city

12
Places in the BR City

• Center of Power Tyrell Corp (chap 7), Police
  Station
• Residences of Deckard (chap 11) and Sebastian
  (4010)
• Everyday Life--Eating and Sex-Related
  Entertainment Streets and shopping areas (chap
  4)
• China town Chinese dragon in neon lighting ? Eye
  making place
• The Noodle Bar
• Little Tokyo Animoid Row
• Shopping arcade ? Snake Pit nightclub - a place
  for upper-class persons to slum it, smoke opium,
  watch exotic dancers
• Social Functions Degenerated ? No family
  connections or the other social functions.

13
Social Space Power Center

• Tyrell Co. manufacturing replicants to serve as
  slaves in Off-World exploration and colonization.

14
Social Space Signs of Power

• Tyrell Co. Egyptian pyramid-shaped
• Roman and Greek columns
• Owl and some statues,
• Difficult access, etc.

15
Policemen and the Police Station

• Rep-Detect, a unit specifically created to cater
  for escaped Replicants.
• The other policemen, in the background.
• Not really powerful.

16
The more powerful --Commercials

• High-tech the stereotypical

17
Off-World another Frontier for American Dream
Expansionism

• Off-World colony a golden land of opportunity
  and adventure, complete with a new climate
• Slavery absolutely free... Use your new friend
  as a personal body servant or a tireless field
  hand - the custom tailored genetically engineered
  humanoid replicant designed especially for your
  needs. So come on America, lets put our team up
  there...
• Those on Earth ethnic Minorities and the
  physically weak

18
The Residence Pastiche of Styles

• The Ennis-Brown House in the sytle of Mayan
  temple (location) ? the textile block

19
JF Sebastians Bradbury Building

• In the film and its everyday footage

source
20
JF Sebastians Pastiche

• Ornate Pillar vs. garbage ? capitalist societys
  rapid production of waste

21
The Other Side of Power

• Everyday Life in a Post-Industrial City
• Artificially reproduced animals
• Over-Population, noise
• people of all races in Little Tokyo, Chinatown,
  etc.
• Raining all the time

22
Animoid Row

• where all sorts of replicant animals can be
  purchased, and perhaps repaired. This scene is
  very reminiscent of the Akihabara market in Tokyo
  (source)

23
Chinatown messy and neon lights everywhere

• Graffiti non-readable for Western audience
• Neon light dragon

24
Replicants vs. Human
Leon Roy Combat model Zhora Kick murder
squad (beauty and the beast) Priz Basic
pleasure model (for military clubs)

• Definitions of Humanity
• search for the father and mother
• proof of identity
• fighting for survival and Replicants
  Reflections on human society
• Rachael

25
Scientists as Fathers

• Both isolated, powerful only with their toys.
• Chew --genetic designer of eyes
• Roy "If only you could see what I've seen with
  your eyes"
• J. F. Sebastian friendly and childlike
• Makes friends with toys and robots
• Theres some of me in you to Roy
• Suffers from a problem similar to that of the
  replicants Accelerated decrepitude.

26
Scientists as Fathers

• Tyrell cares only about business experiment
  indifferent to their well-being
• The Father-Son scene
• Tyrell The light that burns twice as bright
  burns half as long. And you have burned so very
  very brightly, Roy. Look at you. You're the
  prodigal son. You're quite a prize! Roy I've
  done questionable things. Tyrell Also
  extraordinary things. Revel in your time. Roy
  Nothing the god of biomechanics wouldn't let you
  in heaven for. Roy kisses Tyrell on the mouth.
  Tyrell screams as his eyes are gouged out.

27
Missing Mothers

• The test of Leon
• Describe in single words, only the good things
  that come in to your mind about your mother.
  Leon My mother? Holden Yeah. Leon Let me
  tell you about my mother. shot fired
• 2. Rachaels attempt (3310)
• You think I'm a replicant, don't you? pause
  Look, it's me with my mother.

28
Relative Proofs of Identity

• Empathy test
• Snake Scale
• Photographs

• Bryan Tyrell complete lack of feelings (e.g.)
• Artificial snake
• How about Deckard? His photos put together with
  those of Leons.

29
Tyrellcreates the past to control

• Tyrell unable to change Nexus 6, or unwilling
  to?
• The replicants lifespan has to be limited
  because they develop their own emotions.
• Commerce, is our goal here at Tyrell. More human
  than human is our motto. Rachael is an
  experiment, nothing more. We began to recognize
  in them strange obsessions. After all they are
  emotional inexperienced with only a few years in
  which to store up the experiences which you and I
  take for granted. If we give them the past we
  create a cushion or pillow for their emotions and
  consequently we can control them better.

30
Replicants More human than human

1. Duplicating a duplicate.
2. Ironically, simulacra become the best possible
   human reality.

31
Blade Runner

• retirementcruel and inhuman
• Deckard kills two replicants rescued twice by
  them.

32
Deckard

• Cold. Sushi. That's what my ex-wife called me.
  Cold fish.
• Kills to avoid being a victim. I'd quit because
  I'd had a belly full of killing. But then I'd
  rather be a killer than a victim. And that's
  exactly what Bryant's threat about little people
  meant.
• Equipped with a gun and machines otherwise, he
  would not have been able to make it.

33
Machines? to reconstruct space and identity

• Voigt-Kampff machine administers an empathy test,
  a test device similar to a lie detector that
  measures emotional responses.
• Challenged by Rachael.
• ESPER -- A high-density computer with a very
  powerful three- dimensional resolution capacity.
  
• ? Snake scale ? Zhora
• Only evidence of Zhoras presence

34
Eyes and its Implication

• The False Mirror, 1935
• Seeing is Believing?

35
Eyes

• Rachel He wont see me.
• Surveillance machines

• The replicants blue or brown eyes.
• Roy I've seen things... seen things you little
  people
• wouldn't believe...

36
Zhora challenges Deckard

• Deckard Well, like to get this job. I mean, did
  you do, or... or were you asked to do anything
  that's lewd or unsavory or otherwise, uh,
  repulsive to your person, huh? Zhora Ha. Are
  you for real?

37
The Death of Zhora

• Exploited and Brutalized like the mannequins

38
The Death of Pris

• Pris likes Sebastian.
• Chap 28 --
• A strong bond between her and Roy because both of
  their lives were running out at the same time.
• Pretends to be a doll.
• Like a doll electrically shocked.

39
Roy appreciate and struggle for survival

• Cites poetry --Fiery the angels fell,
• Deep thunder rolled around their shore,
• Burning with the fires of Orc (Blake America
  A Prophecy)
• the last chase-and-run
• Not yet drives a nail through his hand to
  keep his spirit up.
• Six, seven. Go to hell, go to heaven. Deckard
  breaks off a pipe from the wall... hits Roy's
  forehead like a bat. Yeah, that's the spirit.
  Deckard flees out a boarded window by kicking
  it.

40
Roy Asks for Sympathy

• Slavery Quite an experience to live in fear,
  isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
• Experience and Accepting Death I've seen things
  you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire
  off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams
  glitter in the dark near Tannhauser Gate. All
  those moments will be lost in time... like tears
  in rain. Pause Time to die.

41
Roy Shows Sympathy

• Appreciates life at the end I don't know why he
  saved my life. Maybe in those last moments he
  loved life more than he ever had before. Not just
  his life, anybody's life, my life. All he'd
  wanted were the same answers the rest of us want.
  Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long
  have I got? All I could do was sit there and
  watch him die.

42
Rachaels Survival

• Chap 35 Completely passive
• Deckard Do you love me? Rachael I love you.
  Deckard Then trust me. Rachael I trust you.
• Ending OVshe has a longer lifespan

• Chap 22
• To prove her humanitygt
• Deckard tries to kiss Rachel, but she heads for
  the door. Deckard stops her by force... then
  kisses Rachael. Deckard Now you kiss me.
  Rachael I can't rely on... Deckard Say kiss
  me. Rachael Kiss me. Deckard I want you.
  Rachael I want you. Deckard Again. Rachael
  I want you. Put your hands on me.

43
Empathy Test

• Remember when you were six? You and your brother
  snuck into an empty building through a basement
  window... you were gonna play doctor. He showed
  you his, but when it got to be your turn you
  chickened and ran. Remember that? You ever tell
  anybody that? Your mother, Tyrell, anybody, huh?
  You remember the spider that lived in a bush
  outside your window... orange body, green legs.
  Watched her build a web all summer. Then one day
  there was a big egg in it. The egg hatched...
  Rachael The egg hatched... Deckard Yeah...
  Rachael ... and a hundred baby spiders came
  out. And they ate her. (potential sign of her
  resistance)

44
The Others (1) Gaff

• begins as an ambitious brown-noser, wanting to
  get a promotion in the police department.
• city-speak, guttertalk-- a mishmash of Japanese,
  Spanish, German

45
The Others (1) Gaff

• Shows sympathy for both Deckard and the
  replicants.
• Gaffs the origami paper-foldings
• 1) chicken when D has no choice
• 2) stick paper man in Leons room
• 3)unicorn

46
Unicorn rare and unique species
47
The Others Animals as signs of life

• In this film, although we dont see real animals
  (except for a sight of some ostriges), animals
  are used as icons with positive or negative
  implications for human characters and replicants.
  
• Negative Leon tortured like the Turtle in his
  empathy test. Zhora artificial Snake and snake
  scale (associated with her job) Tyrell
  artificial Owl (no real wisdom) Sebastian
  Mouse (timid)
• Deckard Sushi (raw fish--coldness)
• Positive Roy Wolf (his energy), Dove (peace)
  Rachael unicorn Pris Raccoon (playful)
• (reference http//scribble.com/uwi/br/brfaq/trivi
  a-notice.html )