Response to Blade Runner

After watching Blade Runner, I can now see the many connections between the common themes of Frankenstein, R.U.R., and this movie. The replicants in Blade Runner look like perfect humans. Upon superficial, visual observation, one cannot tell the difference between a replicant and a regular human being. The replicants that we encounter as the audience all have their own personalities and show their individualities. These four Nexus 6 replicants that come back to Earth are not what we would normally think of as robots. The robots in R.U.R. seem to all be the same, as they perform the same tasks and are very machine-like, the way they were intended to be. However, the replicants in Blade Runner act according to their own wills and desires (at least the ones that we come across on Earth). The creature in Frankenstein realizes he is different on his own over time, through the way he is treated by humans. An interesting point in the movie that stuck out to me was that the act of killing a replicant is called "retiring" it instead of "killing" or "murdering". This makes it seem justified to kill the replicants, as if they do not have lives of their own and have no right to live. Rossum's robots and Tyrell's replicants were created for the same purpose--to do work for humans. Since both the robots and replicants were treated as slaves, they later realized and staged rebellions against their creators because of this unfair treatment. Victor Frankenstein's creature has morals and feelings, and would have been a very benevolent being if not for the harsh, cold treatment he received from both his creator and people he encountered. The robots and replicants were not initially supposed to have feelings or show emotions, but towards the end of their respective stories, the robots were given souls according to Helena's wish, and some of the more advanced replicants, such as Rachael, Roy, and Pris, were able to show emotions. All three creations eventually turned against heir human creators/leaders and against innocent, uninvolved humans as well. Rossum's robots revolted against the Rossum Corporation and killed off all humans on Earth, except for Alquist. Frankenstein's creature indirectly tormented Victor by murdering his loved ones. The replicants in Blade Runner eliminated humans who got in the way of their plans. (For example, Leon killed the blade runner who was questioning him, and Roy tried to kill Deckard.) Also, all three works seem to be warnings of what can become of our world and society if no precautions are taken. They all seem to warn us of the possible consequences of our ambition and craze for technological and scientific advances.

Roy Batty's decision to save Deckard was undoubtedly an interesting turning point in the movie, even though it was at the end. It was unexpected to me, considering Roy's maniacal and insane behavior while chasing Deckard throughout the Bradbury Building. Roy may have chased and frightened Deckard as an automatic reaction to Pris's "retirement" and his realization that he was now alone and about to die. On the other hand, he may also have been tormenting Deckard to show him what it feels like to "live in fear", as if to give Deckard a taste of his own medicine (the inhumane and uncaring way that humans treat the replicants). He tells Deckard of how he had seen and done things that Deckard and other humans would have never imagined before, and implies that he and his fellow replicants were treated very poorly. He emphasizes the point that he is not a human, but is rather truly a machine when he mentions that his memories will disappear like "tears in the rain". Like Deckard narrated, Roy may have realized, at the moment he was dying, that life is too precious and short to be wasted on petty things like discrimination and hatred between the humans and non-humans; equal and ethical treatment of non-humans can allow all beings, human or not, to coexist in harmony.