Blade Runner Review

 Blade Runner

    This is a blog post I am especially excited to write since Blade Runner is one of in not my favorite movie of all time. Directed by Ridley Scott in 1982, this movie is one of the most influential sci-fi movies of all time. It does a fantastic job touching on the themes of a violent and paranoid society, as well as the changing sentiment of civil rights during the time. Teen rebellion themes are slightly present, but not as prevalent. 

   

Starting with the violent and paranoid society, Scott shows a dystopian society that is dominated by huge urban environments basically inventing the genre of cyberpunk. It shows a government that employs Blade Runners, detectives that hunt replicants, genetically modified humans that were created to be superior to regular humans. These Blade Runners kill replicants without any thought or remorse, showing how the consensus during the time period was that people feared the government and its power. Things like MK Ultra had just happened two decades ago so it would make sense that people would dislike the power that the government was displaying. One scene I think of is when Roy Batty, the replicant antagonist, visits Tyrell, the creator of replicants. Roy asks him to extend his life beyond the designed 4 year cap, and after being denied, he murders him. I think in this scene Tyrell represents the government and Roy, the American people. I think of it like a group of people standing up for what they believe in and the government censoring their cause.

    When it comes to the sentiment of civil rights, this movie is very indicative of people realizing the changes that need to be made. The replicants are a whole race of individuals that are treated like lesser members of society despite being humans in every way besides birth. I like the scene of Deckard, the protagonist, and Rachel, a replicant love interest, meeting for the first time. Rachel is a special replicant since she has memories implanted into her, giving her an advanced sense of empathy, which is how they determine someone is a replicant. Anyway, this relates to civil rights since when they meet, Deckard cannot find significant differences between her and a real person through the "Voight Kampff Test". This shows how people stopped seeing races like African Americans as lesser members of society. During the civil rights movement, it was heavily emphasized that everyone was equal, and the movie brings that up through the race of replicants. The replicants can represent any marginalized group, which makes the movie even more timeless. Outside of some divine intervention, there will most likely always be marginalization in our society and Blade Runner does a great job at displaying why they should be treated as equals. 

    Themes of teen rebellion are also slightly present in a very indirect way. The replicants are born as humans and have a 4 year built in lifespan, making them very immature and childish. The way I would relate this to teen rebellion is in the opening scene of the film, Leon, a replicant, is being interviewed as he is suspected of being a replicant. They pose morally and ethically questionable scenarios and he reacts like someone with less than 4 years of life experience (A child) would. He gets angry and confused and doesn't understand the questions. The replicants have adult bodies but have the mental state of children. It makes me think of the mission as teenagers fighting back against people telling them what they can and can't do. 

    All in all, I absolutely love this movie and admire how innovative it was for the sci-fi industry.