The Edge of Human: Blade Runner - Essay Example

 Blade Runner Introduction The film Blade Runner has Ridley Scott as the director and it is based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, written by Philip K. Dick. The film revolves around the quests of Rick Deckard. He hunts down the androids and replicants, who are his prey. The film depicts the conditions that must be present for one to be regarded as human. Moreover, the film raises the same concerns as to those of past philosophers and religions that were downright. In addition, the Blade Runner moves a step further by showing how people respond to the painful situations that surround them. The film brings into focus the philosophy associated with the mind, the philosophy that is connected to being moral and the repercussion of improving mastery of genetic engineering by humans. This paper will analyze the film Blade Runner from the philosophical point of view. Question 1 The androids are not people. In the film, the androids are referred to as replicants. In the film, the replicants are the android’s latest models which were developed by the Rosen Association. The replicants take the form of Nexus-6 which impersonates human beings in each and every way; on the contrary, they do not have empathy. The replicants commit murder without being disturbed by their actions. Moreover, the failure to show empathy like humans made them illegal on earth through a law passed by the humans. The Voight-Kampff machine is an integration tool that is factual and helps to distinguish human beings from replicants. The equipment is highly developed as it measures the existence of out of sight airborne elements that are released from the body and the contractions of the muscles in the iris. The Voight-Kampff machine is made use of by Blade Runners to establish if the person they are suspecting is a real human by determining the true measure of his or her empathy through statements and questions that are carefully worded. In looking at a persons’ empathy, the Voight-Kampff machine evaluates the functions of an individual’s body, for example, movement of the eyes, respiration, and heart rate in regard to questions that are emotionally stimulating. In the film Blade Runner, replicants Rachael and Leon take the test (Jeter 80). Rachael takes over one hundred tests to be determined if she is a replicant. In humans, the response is faster than in replicants. Question 2 Some human beings would fail the test administered by the Voight-Kampff machine. This is because an individual may be coming from a family that is avoidant emotionally, where members are detached. Such a person lacks a proper model to experience empathy and emotions. Avoiding feelings and emotions disconnects individuals from their biological make up. Emotions make us aware of health status, what actions are appropriate, what we believe in at a moment, surroundings, and what is happening within them. Failure to attend to these feelings makes someone to be disturbed, in this case empathetic or nonempathetic. Adjustment to behavior depends on the person’s ability to respond to his or her feelings in the most appropriate way. These also affect a person’s ability to empathize. Moreover, lack of empathy destroys the capability of communicating emotionally. Question 3 In the film, the androids are made like humans through the process of genetic engineering. They show that they can work and perform tasks like the natural humans. The androids have the ability to speak; they also experience emotions and have feelings. The only difference between humans and the android is that they have a shorter lifespan, of four years, are smarter, stronger, and faster than human beings. The androids were initially manufactured for labor but later moved to planet earth to seek a longer life span from their creator. The androids posse virtually all qualities related to humans. They have emotions and feelings that connect them to their loved ones and friends. Besides, apart from thinking, the androids can get close to feeling emotional. An example is when Rachael gets out of the room crying after Deckard informs her that she is a replicant (Jeter 150). Humans acquire their soul from a deity being, and this forms part of the reason why we do not understand how we came to have souls. Similarly, the androids have a creator, and it is believed they were created with souls, just like humans. Question 4 The androids seem to consider themselves as being human. For instance, when Rachael goes to take away Leon’s life, an android who intends to kill Deckard, she displays human like tendencies. After killing Leon, Rachael meets with Deckard at the apartment and Deckard falls asleep. She takes a sit at the piano and lets her hair drop to the shoulders. She plays some tunes on the piano; she portrays every aspect of a human. Apart from Rachael’s sensitivity, Roy also shows human character. Roy does not kill Deckard and puts across his yearning to stay alive throughout the film (Jeter 220). His desire to be alive is purely in his conviction that his experience as a human being is the same as Deckard’s. In another instance, Roy asks Deckard if there is a disparity between the android’s urge to stay alive and the human life desires. Question 5 Replicants are made like humans through genetic engineering. They show the ability to work and perform duties like humans: the replicants can speak; they also have emotions and feelings. They have a short lifespan, of four years, are smarter, stronger, and faster than humans. The androids posse almost all qualities related to humans. They have emotions and feelings that connect them to those who relate to them. On the other hand, a computer is a machine which is programmed and works according to the programs. A computer is stagnant and can be moved only by being carried. A computer is designed for idea implementation. A computer contains a processing unit and a limited memory capacity. Question 6 Replicants differ from animals. Whereas a Replicant has almost all features to that of humans, animals do not. A replicant can think and is aware of emotions. An animal is not conscious of emotions, and its ability to think is minimal. Animals lack the ability to gain new comprehension due to their inability to combine and recombine several forms of knowledge and information. Additionally, animals cannot figure out symbolic representations of senses and computation. Furthermore, animals’ actions are mainly due to their instincts. As seen in the film, replicants can determine what is right and wrong whereas animals do not. Question 7 Replicants are biological machines that have most qualities associated with humans. The replicants can also experience dreams. In the film, there is the scene of the unicorn dream by Deckard. The dream involves Deckard and Rachael. This proves that just as humans dream, replicants can too. Question 8 Pris considers herself to be human, like all the other replicants. This is because she feels she has acquired all the features that make her human. Moreover, Roy is a sign of being human as he is created and set apart from his maker. Furthermore, he sacrifices himself and spare’s Deckard life. Most empathetic people go to the extent of giving up their needs or life for the benefit of the whole. Question 9 Once a replicant gets past a curve, they move to a psychological state of confusion. This psychological situation turns the film into a horror. Due to their love for their job, Blade Runners release their frustration about humans out on replicants. Roy is the superior replicants’ leader, but he cannot control his emotions. Additionally, the religious theme is significant. Roy’s desire to live for long is made impossible by the fact that Troy, the giver of life, has refused to extend it. The relationship between Roy and Tyller signifies that of Jesus and God. This is evident when Roy goes to the mountain to communicate with Tyrell. He later dies after piercing himself with a nail and a white dove comes from his lifeless body. Roy is an existentialist hero as he takes responsibility for his actions. His willingness to act differently to expectations allows him to follow the meaning of his life past being a replicant. He saves Deckard from his death. At the time of his death, Roy reflects on what he had seen and done and accepts that his time of death had reached. The film is a critique of current culture in that it combines different cultures and genres. The action, clothes, technology, and futuristic set employed in the film involve what is not present in the contemporary culture. Furthermore, the combination of science-fiction and noir is another illustration of the film deconstructing of genre and cinema. Work Cited Jeter, K. W. The Edge of Human: Blade Runner. (Book 2). Houston: Spectra, 2000. Print. Read More