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Essay Humanity in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner

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Humanity in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner

The issue of humanity is one of the central themes in "Blade Runner." Countless arguments have taken place over whether or not Deckard is a replicant. The replicants are supposed to be "better humans than humans." Director Ridley Scott has many ways to communicate this theme, but one of the most prevalent is eyes. Human eyes are featured both in the beginning of the film and near the end.

After a brief introductory text crawl which explains the world in which the movie takes place, "Blade Runner" cuts to a dark, futuristic Los Angeles. There are some flying cars, but mostly we see dark, smog-filled skies and smokestacks belching fire. As the camera moves across this landscape, blue eyes are …show more content…

Leon is watching, and afterwards he attacks Deckard. Again, this could just be an intellectual decision. Deckard obviously represents a threat. But Leon definatelty acts angry during the fight. What intellectual purpose does uttering the phrase "Wake up! Time to die!" have?

Okay, so maybe Leon has the ability to get pissed off at people. Would that make him human? Would lack of that ability make him inhuman? Look at the debates over Deckard's status. Does Scott's announcment that he was a replicant make him any less human? He dreams not of electric sheep, but of unicorns. What is there about him that makes him inhuman?

Roy's death in the final scenes is a very poignant example of this particular theme. Replicants have a built-in maximum life span of four years, and Roy's time is up. Here's his parting soliloquoy:

BATTY I've seen things... (long pause) seen things you little people wouldn't believe... Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion bright as magnesium... I rode on the back decks of a blinker and watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tanhauser Gate. (pause) all those moments... they'll be gone. Like tears in a

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