Blade Runner - Final Film Blog by Julia Chadi, Ryan Haque, and Ananda Ortiz Rojas

Blade Runner – Julia Chadi, Ananda Ortiz and Ryan Haque

Is believing you are a sentient being enough to make you one?

Storyline

Blade Runner takes place in a futuristic 2019 Los Angeles. Rick Deckard is a Blade Runner, a cop that specializes in killing replicants who are artificially created human-like beings. He is requested to come out of retirement and is given an assignment by the Head Police Bryant to hunt down and eliminate four replicants that have escaped from slavery on colonies in outer space and come to earth. As a blade runner, he has orders to shoot to kill as soon as he detects a replicant. While hunting down the replicants Deckard meets Rachael, a young, attractive replicant at the Tyrell Corporation with whom he falls in love. (IMDb)

Film Information/Details

This film is entitled Blade Runner, it is 1 hour and 57 minutes long. The movie was made and released in 1982. It was directed by Ridley Scott and screen written by Hampton Francher and David Peoples. The leading actors in the film Blade Runner are Harrison Ford (Rick Deckard), Sean Young (Rachael), Rutger Hauer (Roy Batty), Edward James Olmos (Gaff), Daryl Hannah (Pris), Joanna Cassidy (Zhora), Brion James (Leon), Joe Turkel (Eldon Tyrell), and William Sanderson (J.F. Sebastian) (Shmoop, “Blade Runner: Screenwriter”).  

Dir. Ridley Scott.

Perf. Harrison Ford, Sean Young, Rutger Hauer, Edward James Olmos, Daryl Hannah, Joanna Cassidy, Leon Lawalski, Joe Turkel, M. Emmet Walsh, William Sanderson, and Morgan Paull.

Warner Bros, 1982.

(IMDb)

Trailer

Trailer Blade Runner 1982

Cinematic techniques

These are ways in which the director gives more detail to the movie. It makes it easier for the audience to understand, follow and enjoy the film

Editing

When Deckard is interviewing Rachael to see if she is a replicant, the screen dissolves in and out to showing the same place but in different times (minutes to hours probably). This is something often used in many movies to show time is passing by.

Point of view is also present in the film: when Rick is sitting next to the piano, the audience gets to see what he is thinking: a unicorn galloping through the woods. We can tell this is his imagination because the unicorn scenes are kind of blurry and the director alternates shots of this illusion and Rick´s face.   

Framing

When Rick is talking to Rachael about her past and her memories, he makes her realize that she is just a replicant and not a human. In this part of the movie we can see a close up shot on Rachael’s face designed to show her reaction to what she has just learnt about herself. The close up shows Rachael crying, giving the audience the feeling, she is sad. It also brings up the question of her “humanity” for example when she mentions the picture with her mom, up until that point, she believed she had real human childhood memories of her family but in reality the memories were not hers. She was obviously very upset to realize this.

High angle shot is used to shoot from above Deckard’s head during his fight with Roy as Deckard is hanging from the building after failing to completely make his jump. It shows how far the ground is from under him, demonstrating that if he falls he won't survive. This also demonstrates how he is in a powerless position because Roy made the jump and is now standing over him, looking down upon him. Roy is in the power position.  

Costumes

Pris. At the beginning her style is punk, it shows her as ready to fight Towards the end of the movie Pris’s clothes are like a clown/doll, it shows her as versatile, childish and immature. It also reflects some mental instability. Most different as main characters showing opposition of two forces good/bad humans/replicants.Gaff. Extravagant clothing but at the same time low-key. He seems suspicious/mysterious.

Sound

Non-diegetic sound is used when Rachael gets upset after Deckard tells her that her memories are not real but are in fact just implants. She throws her photo on the ground and storms out of the room. Sad music plays in the background, which can obviously not be heard by the characters in the film but enhances the emotion of the scene.

Diegetic. At the beginning, when Gaff is in a aircraft-kind-of we we can hear the motor of other crafts that fly next to him. This can be heard by the character and the audience. It is part of the environment and the scene, in this case it helps contextualize the scenario; he is on the outside where there is more people and movement.

Effects

When Deckard is chasing Pris as she attempts to make her escape, the way the lighting was very low key, and the area was very foggy and full of smoke allowed the audience to experience why he was having such a hard time tracking her down in a crowd of people under those conditions.

Side lighting. At the beginning Rachael’s face is half lighted and half dark. Might indicate secrets or something we don’t know about the character (that was before we knew she is a replicant)

What does the film teach us OR Three main things the film taught us(?) One of the main questions raised in this film is "What does it mean to be human?" A human is a sentient being and someone who can store really memorable memories from past experiences. The ability to fall in love, to feel love, to experience love, and to go through a whole range of emotions that only a human can experience. For example, when Deckard and Rachael have strong feelings for one another and they kiss. Examining humanity is the universal theme of the film Blade Runner. This is shown frequently throughout the film. In order to find a replicant, they go through a psychological testing process. During the psychological test they are given a numerous amount of questions to provoke emotions that indicates someone’s humanity.  

The second universal theme of the movie Blade Runner is the place of memory in terms of selfhood and identity. Memories are the key to everything. If you did not have memories of the past, you would have no idea how to behave in the present. This is the main problem that the replicants face in the movie Blade Runner. When the first ones were created, they did not have memories of the past therefore they could not experience real emotions and furthermore reacted strangely to things. But then, the Tyrell Corporation creates Rachael as an experiment to make her a more balanced replicant. They implanted fake memories into her which make her respond to things and make her acted relatively normally… more like a human; they did this with all the replicants from Nexus 6. When Deckard questions Rachael, it usually takes fewer questions to confirm that one is a replicant but in Rachael’s case, it took more that 100 questions. Rachael was raised as human, she does not know yet she is a replicant.

The third theme of the movie Blade Runner is mortality. Humans are born and they grow up to become children, teenagers, and finally adults. As they go about living their lives, they encounter many experiences that are felt through their senses which brings them an awareness of the world around them. They feel happiness and an appreciation of life when all goes well. They feel sadness when things do not go as well, and also when a sense of awareness of their own mortality creeps in when their health deteriorates or when those around them of the same age start to die. When discussing the killing of replicants, the blade runners are not murdering them but rather “retiring” them. The replicants fear death just like humans and their purpose for coming to earth is to find a way to extend their lifespan to be longer than the four-year limit they have all been given. (Shmoop, “Blade Runner: Screenwriter”).

Word Count: 1102

Review & Comments on the film ★★★★☆

Blade Runner was a film with many strengths, so we will start with pointing out its one glaring weakness, which was the lack of lighting throughout a majority of the film. It was pretty dark at certain points, therefore, it was hard to understand what was going on. It was sometimes very difficult to see anything due to the lighting that was used, along with the excessive use of fog in some cases. This was especially present in the scene where Deckard engages in a foot chase with the sex worker replicant, Zhora. As Deckard chases her through the streets, the lighting was very low and the scene was extremely foggy, which made it hard for us as an audience to even be able to tell if Deckard was going the right way. The chase was rather confusing because of this, it was simply cut between 2 people running, since it was very hard to actually tell if he was closing in on her or not. In general, the film was very good and did many things well and had some interesting twists to the story, (Like when Deckard is left with a silver origami unicorn at the end) which forced us viewers to think more critically and make connections. We would definitely recommend Blade Runner to anybody because it is a film that really only had one weakness to it but had a very engaging plot and other smaller ideas/questions that the film influenced you to develop for yourself.

Connections to the Course          

Memory

Memory is something that plays a very important role in this film, as it shows to impact multiple different characters. Since replicants have a short life-span of only 4 years and are created as adults, they possess what are called “implanted memories”. Implanted memories are exactly what they sound like, as they are simply built into some replicants when they are created to make them believe that they had experienced many things in their past and are real humans. Implanted memories go as far back to childhood as memories would for anybody. These memories can either be created or can be the memories of somebody else, placed into their mind. One character that this is strongly demonstrated in is Rachel. Rachel believes she has certain memories from her childhood and tells Deckard about them, when he doubts that she is real. After this, Deckard proves to her that these are not her memories, but in fact belong to Mr.Tyrell's niece. Memory plays a huge role in shaping who we are as individuals, and we can see this by how crushed Rachel is once she is told everything was not true. These implanted memories are what helped shape Rachel to become who she was, more than any other part of her making.

Sentience

A sentient being is any living thing that is able to have its own thoughts, emotions and reflect on its experiences. In most cases, we would argue that any type of robot or machine made by men cannot possess sentience because it is simply an object that is programmed to perform certain tasks. However, replicants in this movie are extremely sentient, to the point where in a couple of cases, it was hard to tell the difference between them and actual humans. Nexus 6 replicants are sentient beings because they are very similar to humans in ways that they show real emotions and are even capable of developing their own ideas to achieve what they want. Implanted memories, as mentioned previously can essentially make their past feel so real, that they can connect with the memories so deeply and become emotional about it. These memories also allow them to have a sense of themself in a way that they shaped who they are, which can lead to development of emotion in current situations as well, as seen in the small affair between Deckard and Rachel. Another example of sentience in replicants is how Roy desperately wanted a longer life span. He had to form that thought out of what he wanted, he desired a longer life because he had emotion and the news of having such a short life upset him. This lead him to coming up with a plan in order to get to Mr. Tyrell and ask for this to be changed.

Anthropocentrism

Some of the humans in the film have anthropocentric views, because of the way that they banned replicants, making them illegal on earth and sent them to only live on other planets because of a few crimes that some of them had committed. We believe they also feared that because the replicants were superior to humans (being more powerful and intelligent than their creators), that it scared them because they wanted to be the most significant and advanced beings who feared that they could potentially be taken over. This is probably an unmentioned reason of why they were sent off to colonize other planets and were not allowed on earth. Humans feared that they had become too powerful, both mentally and physically. They wanted to avoid being taken over by another species.

Questions raised from the film

- Would you date a replicant knowing they were a replicant? Why or why not?

- If you were a replicant, would you rather know the truth or not?

- Is Deckard's memory of the unicorn an implanted memory?

Leave on the comments what you think!

Interesting links you might check out!

How do we know if we are actual humans? Could someone give one definition that every human could fit in. Different hypotheses are shown in the following link: https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-know-if-I-am-a-human-1

Are we all humans actually humans? What if there are aliens living with us right now? This article talks about this and more, shows us some evidence and different opinions about it. https://www.gaia.com/article/are-humans-actually-aliens-on-earth

Works Cited

Shmoop Editorial Team. “Blade Runner: Screenwriter”. Shmoop, Shmoop          University, 11 Nov. 2008, www.shmoop.com/blade-runner/write.html.

“Blade Runner.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 2016, www.imdb.com/title/tt0083658/.

Golden, John. “Introducing Cinematic and Theatrical Elements in Film”. Knowing the Inner Self, McKinney, Kelly, 2018, pp 9-17.

https://giphy.com/gifs/blade-runner-rachael-sean-young-rSo5JggDy5iHS (link from the gifs)

Blade Runner - Final Draft - Kelsey Beauchamp, Julian-Lestat Campanella, Eugenia Fiorello, Madeline Mugridge

Blade Runner

Blade Runner, 1982, directed: Ridley Scott, screen writers: Hampton Fancher and David
Webb Peoples, lead actors: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer and Sean Young, running time:
117 minutes (1 hour and 57 minutes) (IMDb).

Film Trailer
   
General Review of The Film


 

Film Techniques

Framing

Close-ups, long shots, etc.

During one of the first scenes of the film, when the agent from the Tyrell
corporation is doing a test to one of the “robots” (Leon), there is a close up shot of the
camera that he uses to look into the eyes of the replicants. This makes us think, who is
really behind the mind of the robot? Do they have feelings? Do they analyze and have
a subjective experience related to what they are seeing? It puts a lot of emphasis and
importance on the camera and the eyes of the “robot”.

During the scene where Dr. Tyrell asks Deckard to do a “Voight-Kampff” test on
Rachael, the director used a very long shot, we can see the shade being lowered when
Deckard saying “it's too bright in here”. Everybody in this scene are at the same eye
level for the viewer, because none of the characters have more power than the others
in this scene. We do not know them yet. They are all equal and neutral.

Sound

Diegetic—part of the film, Non-diegetic outside the film, Internal diegetic—from the
point of view of one character, etc.

During the scene where the police officers and one of the replicants are flying
the police car and are traveling through the city, we can hear music in the background
(non-diegetic sound) the sound of classical music (violins), which makes the city look
beautiful in the eyes of the viewers.

When Decker first admits to Rachael that she is a Replicant there is music
(non-diegetic sound) that really sets the tone for the scene. It is this very emotional
music that tells the audience that he feels bad. He does not want to tell her and he can
tell that this is not the thing she wants to hear.

Lighting

Low-key, high-key, shadows/light, etc.

Deckard’s scenes are in the tone of blue and grey, which makes him look more
masculine. On the other hand when Pris is surrounded with plastic toys, the scene is
shot with a pink color shade, more feminine.

There is a blue tint to the lighting when Roy and Leon are in the laboratory of
the man who works on the eye balls for the Replicants. The whole room is very blue
and it is not only a recurring color, in terms of lighting, in this scene it adds an emphasis
on the room being cold.

Sets

Different scenes and what the sets were like, etc

The sets are amazing. When the camera takes us on the street level, we can see
that there is people from every part of the world, people who speak different languages,
which is likely how it is going to be in the future. But this set, it gives the viewer the idea that 
everybody is in the underclass and that there is a lot of confusion and disorder.  On the
other hand, when the camera takes us into the sky, we can see the futuristic world. This
shows us how the technology has revolutionized. There are a lot of flashes of colors
and the buildings have a lot of light.

Another cool set would be the freezing laboratory of the scientist who created
eyeballs for the Replicants. Everything in the room was frozen and all the technology
was very futuristic looking and even though it is in a film, the room feels cold. You can
tell from just looking at the set exactly what it is and how it is supposed to feel. This set,
in particular really layers the aesthetics of the old and the new. It is a a supposedly very
technologically advanced laboratory and yet some of the technology being used looks
outdated for the time period of the film.

Important and significant props

The origami figure in the film implies that Gaff knew about Deckard's unicorn
dream. This, in turn, implies that Deckard is a replicant too and that Gaff knew about
Deckard's dream since it was an implanted memory. Furthermore, the origami man,
which was left for the replicant Leon to find, was used to make the viewers understand
that Leon in a sense was a paper man, which means made by a man, consequently not a
real human but a “robot”. 

A prop that was also very important to the film would be the Voight Kampff test
machine. It is very futuristic looking and plays an important role in the film.Without the
machine they would not be able to tell the Replicants from the humans. With the use of
this machine we learn that Rachael is a very advanced Replicant.

Main Themes

One of the main themes is the difference between man and machines and their ability to express emotions. Replicants are made by someone else, which means that they don’t have their own identity, but throughout the movie we see that they somehow develop emotions and act on their own. Furthermore, replicants can have fake memories implanted in their head, but does that make them more human? In the beginning of the movie, Rachael wasn’t aware that she was a replicant and then became convinced that she was a replicant when Deckard defined some of her childhood memories to her. Can we believe our memories or should we question them?

Throughout the movie,a question that was raised several times was whether replicants feel empathy and if yes, do they deserve basic human rights? When we think about robots, we think about the absence of feelings and emotions. In the movie, empathy is used to differentiate human from replicants through the voigtt-kampff test. If we think about, Racheal and Roy saved Deckard’s life, which means that they care about him, therefore they show signs of empathy. We can ask our self the question what really makes us human? In fact, some humans don’t even have empathy, what would happen in this case? Is Deckard going to kill them or will they be able to live since they are considered humans.

Lastly, one of the issues that was explored in the movie was whether or not it is morally right to use replicants as slaves, by making them do tasks that are considered dangerous to humans. In fact, Dr. Tyrell the owner of the Tyrell corporation created a ‘’nonhuman’’ society in order to make money from them and exploit them. Can we use them for our benefit, since we created them? Is it a proper life we are giving them? Do we need to set them free once they realized they are oppressed? If we think about it, those replications are as intelligent and as capable of having sincere emotions, but their life are restrained to 4 years of living and under slavery. Is it morally okay to say that the blade runners are ‘’killing them’’ in order to retire them?

Word Count: 1144

Review

Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is most definitely a science fiction classic. It set a new
precedent on how the science fiction genre could be a shaped and the way many later films,
of the same genre, would be created.

Overall, it’s use of minimal lighting, shadows, set design and it's attention to detail
make for a refreshing aesthetic that pairs nicely with the story and its characters. For
example scenes that involve Deckard often have blue tones to them, whether through
lighting, costume design or the set itself,  projecting his masculinity. While scenes with
Pris will have slight pink ones, showing her femininity. Ridley Scott is an expert when it
comes to cinematography and nothing shows this more than what he chooses to show and
when he shows it. A scene can start off as an intimate medium/close shot then pan back
into an extreme long shot showing us a world full of life.

While Blade Runner is a cinematic marvel for it’s time, one area where we think it
lacks is its inability to tell a strong and cohesive narrative. Blade Runner’s characters and
world could have been expanded much more. There is hardly ever any indication to why
something is the way it is and when there is an explanation, it is short and sweet. We found
ourselves asking questions like, “what makes these replicants special?”, “how did they pass
through the uncanny valley?”, “what is their story?”, “how does the public feel about the
replicants?” and “what is Deckard’s story?”. We wanted to know more about the world of
Blade Runner and its inhabitants. The film’s visuals are what brought me in but its lack of 
narrative made it hard for me to stay invested.

Overall, we think that Ridley Scott’s, 1982, Blade Runner is most definitely worth a
watch if you enjoy science fiction. However, if you are not a science fiction aficionado we
suggest you look elsewhere before watching such a niche film so that you can appreciate it
for what it is.

★ ★ ★ ★

Connections To Course Material

1) In our course pack, a self-aware self is defined as a being that perceives a subjective
experience and can reflect upon its own internal processes. A self-aware self implies that
a being can say “I am", that they can symbolically represent themselves. (p.7). This concept
is exemplified when Roy and Pris are in Sebastian’s house. Pris quotes Descartes to 
Sebastian by saying “ I think, Sebastian, therefore I am” stating that she is more than just the 
technology he aided in developing (he is the genetic designer). Pris is arguing that if she can
be aware that she has thoughts, and is thinking, then that would imply that she is aware of
herself and much more than just an addition to artificial intelligence.

2) In our course pack, sentience is defined as a subjective perceptual experience, having
feelings and desires (p.3). Rachael, who is a replicant demonstrates sentience when she is
confronted by Deckard’s harsh and deliberate questioning about her memories. Deckard
presses Rachael by asking her if she is able to remember her past as a child, her mother,
etc. Rachael does not know she is a replicant herself and these questions made her
emotional and displayed her feelings. Her vulnerability was shown to Deckard when she
began to cry because she had no answers to Deckard’s questions. Rachael having the 
ability to feel pain and to cry implies that she was having a subjective experience. She
perceived his questioning as hurtful, felt sad and began to cry because her feelings were
hurt. This demonstrates that Rachael is a sentient being.

 

3) Epistemology is analyzed throughout the film in terms of replicant testing and
Deckard’s identity. In our course pack, epistemology is defined as the study of knowledge,
what is fact and what are beliefs (Matrix film guide). Nearing the end of the film, as
Deckard is on his way home, Gaff turns to him and says (about Rachael) “It’s too bad
she won’t live but then again, who does”. This statement was very broad and open for
interpretation. The replicants were created to serve a purpose for the humans but even
Tyrell himself (the man who invented replicants) said they were not designed to last. We
all search for a way to become immortal but what is the true extent about our knowledge
on existence. Additionally, after Rachael completed the replicant test, she asked Deckard
if he had ever taken it himself and he never responded. This scene can be tied to the
scene at the end of the film. Deckard finds the origami in the shape of a unicorn that
was sacred to his dreams, Deckard’s vulnerability is vaguely demonstrated as he questions
whether he is human or replicant. At this moment, the viewers see Deckard reflect on the
knowledge he has, is there a possibility that he is not human?

Questions

1. Are we playing God when creating sophisticated AI robots? And if so is it morally 
   wrong to have them purposefully built to perform tasks for us?
2. Deckard clearly has feelings for Rachel, and she for him, are these feelings to be considered as real as they would be for a human couple? Should they be allowed to be wed in the eyes of the state? Is it morally wrong to deny them these privileges?
3. If people wanted to leave Earth, but only those who were rich or passed a physical test could 
   leave, why do you think it is that replicants are not allowed on Earth?
    

Elaboration on Themes 

1. https://phys.org/news/2017-12-robots-rights.html

This article, published on Phys.org and written by Molly Callahan, asks the question should 
robots have rights? In the article she speaks to, Northeastern professor, Woodrow Hartzog, a 
robotics and automated technologies researcher, about the issue. Hartzog brings up 
interesting moral questions about his field of work and how anthropomorphizing might not be 
such a good idea.

2. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/elon-musk-artificial-intelligence-scaremongering
     
   This article, published by Wired and written by Toby Walsh, is a response to Elon Musk,  

Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who has been vocal about how he believes that AI, more specifically AI 
singularity, will mark the end for mankind. The article is written by a professor of AI, at the University 
of New South Wales, an expert on the topic. He says that AI singularities today, like Amazon, 
Facebook and Google’s algorithms are not the best. But that they do not need to be shut down, rather 
they need to be regulated and worked on. To offer more choice for consumers and less misdirection; 
he uses the 2016 US elections and the Facebook scandal as an example of this.

Works Cited

“Blade Runner (1982).” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt0083658/.

Callahan, Molly. “Should Robots Have Rights?” Phys.org - News and Articles on Science 
and Technology, Phys.org, 8 Dec. 2017, phys.org/news/2017-12-robots-rights.html.

Walsh, Toby. “Elon Musk Is Wrong. The AI Singularity Won't Kill Us All.” WIRED, 
WIRED UK, 19 Sept. 2017,

 www.wired.co.uk/article/elon-musk-artificial-intelligence-scaremongering.