The Effects of Blade Runner on its Audience
By: Julia, Chad, Kayla & Shaun
Released: June 25, 1982
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenwriter: Hampton Fancher & David Webb
Lead Actors: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Daryl Hannah, William Sanderson, Edward Olmos & Joe Turkel (IMDb, Blade Runner)
Before we get into all of the details of Blade
Runner, go ahead and watch the trailer so that
you have a better idea of what we are going to
be talking about! Enjoy!
The movie “Blade Runner” takes place in November 2019 in a dystopian society, where a company called the Tyrell corporation has created robots that are virtually identical to humans - they are known as replicants. These replicants are superior to humans in strength and agility and are just as intelligent. They were used as slaves in the dangerous colonization of other planets but were soon banned from Earth and considered illegal, under the penalty of death. Blade runners are the police officers that are tasked with finding and killing any replicants that have returned to Earth. Rick Deckard, an ex-blade runner, is called back to action because four replicants have returned to Earth, and he is the best person to exterminate them. However, once he meets Rachael, who is not one of the four replicants, but Tyrell's experimental new replicant, he falls in love with her. Deckard does manage to kill the other four replicants, but he cannot bring himself to kill Rachael, so he escapes with her out into the country where no one will find them so they can live peacefully together.
Many very interesting film techniques are used throughout the film, which all have a different effect on the audience. These techniques include, but are not limited to, editing, props, lighting, framing, and sound.
The editing in this movie is impressive because it is the technique that has the most impact on the audience. For example, the scene when Roy, the leader of the replicants, gets to meet Tyrell at his home is an extremely long take because the director wanted the audience to feel the scene unfold in realtime since this allows for more suspense and emotion to be felt, which makes it feel much more realistic. It is important for this scene to feel long to the audience because it reflects how long Roy has been waiting to get answers to his questions regarding his existence and his lifespan.
Another excellent example of editing that has a significant impact on the viewer is when Roy and Deckard are fighting each other towards the end of the movie. There is a lot of cross-cutting in this scene to show as much action as possible. This allows for there to be an effect of fast-paced action and a thrill for the audience who can not help but wonder what will happen next. Also, this type of shot allows the director to show the emotions of both characters throughout the fight scene, which is crucial for the audience to know what to think about what is happening.
Props also play an important role in this film because they serve to support the actions and dialogue of the actors, thus making the scenes more impactful as a whole. For example, the origami that is made by Gaff at the beginning of the film is seen at the end when Deckard and Rachael are shown running away from their home in order to be together. This serves as a tool to imply to the audience that Gaff is the one who helped them escape together without getting caught by anyone.
Low key lighting, which can be seen on the streets and even in Sebastian's house, is present throughout most of this film because this type of lighting represents the lower classes of society, including anyone who is not involved in the management of the Tyrell corporation or anyone responsible for the creation of the replicants. This lighting indicates that these people are not as important in the society, and this is reflected through the dark and gloomy lighting they are always under. The film is set in a dystopian society, therefore it is a "dark movie".
High key, warm lighting is used when Tyrell is first seen. When Deckard goes to the Tyrell Corporation and is speaking with Rachael, Tyrell appears and when he is seen, the entire lighting of the room changes. He is surrounded by gold lighting which is the reflection of light on all of the gold objects that surround him. This makes him seem extremely wealthy and superior to anyone who surrounds him. It makes him look almost God-like. This type of lighting continues throughout the rest of the movie whenever Tyrell is seen because this is a symbol of his superiority to both the replicants and the blade runners.
Framing allows the director to force the audience to focus on one specific thing in a scene and is therefore used to emphasize certain important details. A long shot is used at the very beginning of the film when the skyline of the city is shown, and there are large explosions happening throughout the city. This effect allows the viewers to get a sense of what kind of place the story takes place in, and immediately signals the presence of violence, the vastness of the city and how widespread industrialization is. This long shot also helps to demonstrate the magnitude of these explosions and makes the audience wonder why they are occurring.
Another instance of good framing occurs when Brian is trying to convince Deckard to rejoin the Blade Runner Unit in order to kill the replicants who have come back to Earth, and there is a close-up of a piece of origami that Gaff has made, which later proves to be a significant piece of the story. The close-up in this instance serves as a clue to the audience to focus on this one specific little detail because the director is foreshadowing its importance for later on in the story. (See image of origami figure above)
Sound is a crucial, often forgotten about, tool of filmmaking. It allows the director to insert a mood, or atmosphere into any given scene. For example, when Leon Kowalski is given a replicant test at the beginning of the movie, there is a diegetic sound of the machine while it is functioning. This sound serves as a continuous reminder that Leon is being analyzed, which helps to make this a stressful situation for him. This sound may be easily overlooked at first, but it actually is a crucial component of this scene because it demonstrates the analytics related to the Tyrell corporation.
Also, throughout most of the movie, there is a non-diegetic, rather suspenseful electronic and atmospheric soundtrack that plays. This is evident when Deckard is in the space shuttle with Gaff on his way to the Tyrell corporation for the first time. This type of music helps sets the mood of the scene as being suspenseful in that neither the audience nor Deckard know how this meeting with Dr. Tyrell is going to go.
The second major theme brought up in the film would be love. In Blade Runner, Rick the blade runner falls in love with Rachel. Meanwhile, Rachel is a replicant. Towards the end of the film, Rick and Rachel leave the apartment and run off into the city. Considering that Rick is a blade runner, love takes on effect based on if either he was going to eliminate Rachel or escape with her.
The third major theme brought up in the film would be the relationship between technology and human society. In Blade Runner, the replicants, animals and the whole city are run by technology. Except for the humans themselves, everything in this film is technology-based. The flying cars, the robot owl, the replicants and the toys in JF’s apartment are all guided by technology and were created by humans. The film gives the audience a sense of what the world would be like where AI and machines intertwine with each other.
This movie has used this theme for positive and for negative purposes. Flying cars and robots are cool and fun especially for the audience, but they also have a dark side. Tyrell, for example, created advanced sentient AI but used replicants as slave labor to humans. This instrumental use led the replicants to revolt against their human creators.
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Blade Runner is definitely a high-quality film regarding cinematic techniques but lacks when it comes to the entertainment of its audience. If you are someone who truly enjoys analyzing film and paying attention to all of the little details, then this is the movie for you! However, if you are looking for a film that will keep you entertained from start to finish and is easy to follow, you should probably steer clear of Blade Runner.
This movie did a really good job of creating a world through its cinematic techniques, including editing, framing, sound, and lighting. All of these effects help to set the mood of the movie as well as support the actor's performances.
For example, the lighting in this film is a huge indicator of power within the society. The Tyrell corporation is always lit with gold lighting, which signifies its importance, whereas all of the replicants and blade runners are lit with blue lighting which implies that they are not as important. This is just one example of a cinematic effect that may have been noticed by some, but not by those who do not pay attention to these sorts of details.
Although the cinematic techniques were strong, the acting was quite poor and slow. Harrison Ford's acting was rather lacking in the sense that he did not seem fully invested in his role, which definitely translated into his performance. Because of this, the audience had trouble relating to Deckard and the emotions he was feeling throughout the film. However, Rutger Hauer's acting was extremely impressive. He managed to make the audience understand how the replicants were feeling, and how the injustices of the society have affected their lives. All in all, the overall acting of all of the actors seemed as though they were not fully invested in their characters, which translated into the final product of the film. It was hard to feel any sort of personal emotion towards any of the characters because they failed to engage their audience in their respective storylines.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/11/technology/artificial-intelligence-bias.html
Artificial intelligence is extremely powerful because this domain is exploding with breakthroughs in facial, voice and learning recognitions and algorithms. In this article, it is explained that BERT has the power to collect both good and bad information and make an unbiased decision because its knowledge is not compromised by any outside sources or past experiences.
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenwriter: Hampton Fancher & David Webb
Lead Actors: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Daryl Hannah, William Sanderson, Edward Olmos & Joe Turkel (IMDb, Blade Runner)
Before we get into all of the details of Blade
Runner, go ahead and watch the trailer so that
you have a better idea of what we are going to
be talking about! Enjoy!
Rick Deckard Rachael
The editing in this movie is impressive because it is the technique that has the most impact on the audience. For example, the scene when Roy, the leader of the replicants, gets to meet Tyrell at his home is an extremely long take because the director wanted the audience to feel the scene unfold in realtime since this allows for more suspense and emotion to be felt, which makes it feel much more realistic. It is important for this scene to feel long to the audience because it reflects how long Roy has been waiting to get answers to his questions regarding his existence and his lifespan.
Roy Tyrell
Another example of a useful prop is the owl that is present at the Tyrell corporation headquarters which serves as a symbol of Tyrell’s knowledge about the replicants and what exactly they are. This knowledge is valuable because it is what has allowed him to gain so much wealth in the society. Another interesting fact about the owl is that it is artificial, meaning it is essentially just like the replicants. Therefore, Tyrell has created his own symbol of his own knowledge.
Another instance of good framing occurs when Brian is trying to convince Deckard to rejoin the Blade Runner Unit in order to kill the replicants who have come back to Earth, and there is a close-up of a piece of origami that Gaff has made, which later proves to be a significant piece of the story. The close-up in this instance serves as a clue to the audience to focus on this one specific little detail because the director is foreshadowing its importance for later on in the story. (See image of origami figure above)
Sound is a crucial, often forgotten about, tool of filmmaking. It allows the director to insert a mood, or atmosphere into any given scene. For example, when Leon Kowalski is given a replicant test at the beginning of the movie, there is a diegetic sound of the machine while it is functioning. This sound serves as a continuous reminder that Leon is being analyzed, which helps to make this a stressful situation for him. This sound may be easily overlooked at first, but it actually is a crucial component of this scene because it demonstrates the analytics related to the Tyrell corporation.
Also, throughout most of the movie, there is a non-diegetic, rather suspenseful electronic and atmospheric soundtrack that plays. This is evident when Deckard is in the space shuttle with Gaff on his way to the Tyrell corporation for the first time. This type of music helps sets the mood of the scene as being suspenseful in that neither the audience nor Deckard know how this meeting with Dr. Tyrell is going to go.
Universal Themes & Issues Raised by the Film
The first major theme brought up in the film would be power. In Blade Runner, we see that power is introduced throughout the narrative. Tyrell (being the creator of all replicants) is first in the arbitrary caste system. He is the most powerful, and the wealthiest, resulting in him living in a penthouse that overlooks everyone else. He is also powerful, considering that he created the replicants and they consider Tyrell “the father” of all replicants. What is also noticeable in the film is the low key and high key lighting that projects the important aspect of power. In Tyrell’s penthouse, there is high key lighting. The whole room is bright and gold, illuminated from the candles. In the streets, where the robots are located, it is mostly dark and cold, which is a tint of blue.The second major theme brought up in the film would be love. In Blade Runner, Rick the blade runner falls in love with Rachel. Meanwhile, Rachel is a replicant. Towards the end of the film, Rick and Rachel leave the apartment and run off into the city. Considering that Rick is a blade runner, love takes on effect based on if either he was going to eliminate Rachel or escape with her.
The third major theme brought up in the film would be the relationship between technology and human society. In Blade Runner, the replicants, animals and the whole city are run by technology. Except for the humans themselves, everything in this film is technology-based. The flying cars, the robot owl, the replicants and the toys in JF’s apartment are all guided by technology and were created by humans. The film gives the audience a sense of what the world would be like where AI and machines intertwine with each other.
This movie has used this theme for positive and for negative purposes. Flying cars and robots are cool and fun especially for the audience, but they also have a dark side. Tyrell, for example, created advanced sentient AI but used replicants as slave labor to humans. This instrumental use led the replicants to revolt against their human creators.
Appreciation of the film
⭐⭐⭐
For all the reasons listed above, we rate Blade Runner 3 stars out of 5.Connections to Course Material
1) Sentience, a concept described as a subjective perceptual experience, connects well to Blade Runner. Roy, one of the replicants, therefore has sentience since to be sentient means to feel emotions and have all of the senses. At the end of the film, as Deckard is hanging from the building by one arm, Roy could have let him fall and die, but instead, he helped him back onto the roof, thus saving his life. Since replicants can only live up to four years, Roy’s lifespan was coming to an end. He reflected on all the things he has seen since he’s been ‘alive’ and actually felt sad that it all meant nothing anymore. He described this feeling it as “a tear in a rainfall". Even though Roy is a replicant, he does display all of these key concepts of sentience, therefore it can be said that he is a sentient being.
2) Epistemology is the study of where knowledge comes from and how you acquire it. In Blade Runner, all the replicants really want from the Tyrell corporation are answers to their questions about who they really are. They primarily want to know how they were made & how long their lifespan is. This is an epistemological question because the replicants think they know who they are, but what they think is not actually their reality. For example, Rachael did not even know she was a replicant until Deckard performed the Voight Kampff test on her and found out for himself and then told her. She was so unaware that she was a replicant that she needed to be convinced by evidence gathered by Deckard such as her transplanted memories. Also, Deckard needed to ask Rachael a lot more questions during the test than he needs for the usual replicant, which implies that Rachael is not your average replicant. This is just one example of how convinced she was that she was just like everyone around her, a human. Therefore, she was not who she thought she was. The characters in this movie are faced with an extremely important epistemological question: who is a replicant and who is human? It is impossible to know this without each person take the Voight Kampff test.
3) Personhood is defined as “the status of being a person- a legal or social category”. In this movie, the replicants serve as slaves for a long period of time before they get banned from Earth. Therefore, they definitely do not have personhood because slaves have never been considered to fit into that category. On top of being slaves, the replicants are not even actual humans, so this raises another question of personhood that needs to be addressed: do non-human beings deserve to be granted personhood? In Blade Runner, the society of non-replicants has decided that replicants do not deserve personhood because they are a threat to humans being the most powerful beings on Earth. Therefore, replicants are not granted personhood. However, Deckard chooses to treat Rachael as having personhood because he has fallen in love with her--he grants her social personhood. However, as a whole, replicants are not granted personhood in this film because they are being hunted down like animals because they are considered a threat to society.
Some Questions for You!
- What do you think happened to Deckard and Rachael once they ran away together? Do you think they lived happily ever after? Or do you think they were eventually discovered?
- Do you think our society should be using robots for workforce labor? Explain your opinion using concrete examples from our society.
- Is there any way to know if your memories are your own? Explain why or why not.
Sites about Blade Runner's themes
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/05/ai-slaves-the-questionable-desire-shaping-our-idea-of-technological-progress
In this article, the robots, who are essentially used and seen as a slave race, are being used as a representation of humans. Similarly to Blade Runner, the robots are being used in order to benefit humans and allow them to perform tasks that would otherwise be impossible. The technology mentioned in this article is so advanced that robots are capable of collecting information and keeping a note of it, which the human would not be capable of doing without some sort of assistance.
In this article, the robots, who are essentially used and seen as a slave race, are being used as a representation of humans. Similarly to Blade Runner, the robots are being used in order to benefit humans and allow them to perform tasks that would otherwise be impossible. The technology mentioned in this article is so advanced that robots are capable of collecting information and keeping a note of it, which the human would not be capable of doing without some sort of assistance.
Artificial intelligence is extremely powerful because this domain is exploding with breakthroughs in facial, voice and learning recognitions and algorithms. In this article, it is explained that BERT has the power to collect both good and bad information and make an unbiased decision because its knowledge is not compromised by any outside sources or past experiences.
Works Cited
“Blade Runner.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 25 June 1982, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083658/.
“Knowing the Inner Self” coursepack, John Abbott College, Kelly McKinney (2019)
Metz, Cade. “A.I. Systems Echo Biases They're Fed, Putting Scientists on Guard.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Nov. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/11/technology/artificial-intelligence-bias.html.
Singler, Beth, et al. “Are We Expecting Automation to Give Us Modern Day Slaves?” World Economic Forum, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/05/ai-slaves-the-questionable-desire-shaping-our-idea-of-technological-progress.
YouTube, Blade Runner (1982) Official Trailer - Ridley Scott, Harrison Ford Movie, https://youtu.be/eogpIG53Cis.
Youtube, Blade Runner - Voight-Kampff Test, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Umc9ezAyJv0
Youtube, Blade Runner (1982) CLIP - The Replicants + Tyrell Corporation (HD) Harrison Ford Movie, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b09CxYuwro8
“Knowing the Inner Self” coursepack, John Abbott College, Kelly McKinney (2019)
Metz, Cade. “A.I. Systems Echo Biases They're Fed, Putting Scientists on Guard.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Nov. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/11/technology/artificial-intelligence-bias.html.
Singler, Beth, et al. “Are We Expecting Automation to Give Us Modern Day Slaves?” World Economic Forum, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/05/ai-slaves-the-questionable-desire-shaping-our-idea-of-technological-progress.
YouTube, Blade Runner (1982) Official Trailer - Ridley Scott, Harrison Ford Movie, https://youtu.be/eogpIG53Cis.
Youtube, Blade Runner - Voight-Kampff Test, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Umc9ezAyJv0
Youtube, Blade Runner (1982) CLIP - The Replicants + Tyrell Corporation (HD) Harrison Ford Movie, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b09CxYuwro8
Response to question #2: I do believe that our society should be using robots as workforce labor, however I do believe that the sectors in which we do so need to be monitored. I believe that robots should be used to eliminate work that can severely injure the workers. Therefore, advances in robots that can lift, move and place heavy material would be a specific way in which society should use technology in the workforce. An example of this would be the construction industry. Furthermore, they should be used for quick, simple and specific answers, such as telephone information centres for companies. For instance, a company can use a robot to answer certain questions based on the company. However, if the customer has a question that needs a more comprehensive response or wants to file out a complaint, then I do believe a human is needed for that position. In my opinion, robots should only be used to create a safer work environment and to help customers get quick and easily accessible responses. On the other hand, robots should not be used to replace jobs that require human-to-human interaction. I believe that companies that do this, frustrate their customers and also create a bad stigma surrounding robots in the workforce. In reality, humans and robots can both work together in harmony. It is just important to distinguish the line that cannot be crossed. What I mean by this is that, society as a whole needs to choose a point at which robots can no longer replace humans. An example of this that comes to mind is the daycare teacher position. I do not believe that robots, no matter how intelligent they are, should be children’s daytime care-takers. They do not provide the human-to-human interaction and love that these children need in order to grow up happy and healthy.
ReplyDeleteJuliette Gennaro
ReplyDeleteAnswer to question 3) When I read this question, I thought of how our brains have the capabilities to invent a lot of memories that seem so real instead of discussing how memories could be implants from other people's past, like in the film. From the point of view that I have taken, my answer would be that there is never a certainty of knowing if our memories are our own. I believe that this question is closely related to what Descartes refers to knowledge. As we learnt in class, Descartes believed that “only propositions that are beyond all doubt can be knowledge”. In this case, concerning memories, we can never be sure that the memories we have are our own or even remotely accurate. For example, at home I have a picture of me and my little sister hugging each other. In that picture I am around four years old, and interestingly I remember exactly and vividly what happened in the moment my mom took that picture of us. However, I often reflect on the fact that I remember that moment so perfectly even though I was so young. Now I am asking myself questions like: Do I remember exactly what happened while this picture was taken or now that I’m older and am looking at the picture itself, did I create a memory based on what was visible in the picture? Was this memory mine or did I invent it? There is research in psychology that show that our brains create memories and “fill the gaps” in memories to mimic them being real, when in fact they can be greatly distorted. We often hear stories of people who hear anecdotes or something on the news and their brain creates a memory like if it was their own, when in reality it has never happened to them before. All in all, all of us probably have many memories that are not our own or are very distorted from the reality.
Qingze Gao
ReplyDeleteAnswer to Question 1) What do you think happened to Deckard and Rachael once they ran away together? Do you think they lived happily ever after? Or do you think they were eventually discovered?
It is a quite thought-provoking question! If Deckard and Rachael run away together seeking their love, then the consequence may really depends on the identity of Deckard: is he a human being or a replicant? I just break it down into two scenarios.
Firstly, if Deckard was a human being, and if he runs away with Rachael, a replicant, he then will commit a "crime" betraying the human species where he is not fulfilling his duty of "retiring" replicants. He might live a happy life with Rachael due to the fact that they are really falling in love, and their love, in my opinion, may not only represents the breaking of the boundary between humans and replicants, also the unification of humans and robots. With Deckard's experiences as a Blade Runner (policeman), he would have the ability to disguise themselves as normal human beings under the potential search of the police (especially Gaff, the officer who gives Deckard tasks for replicant eliminations).
Secondly, if Deckard was a replicant, and if he runs away with Rachael, he is still failing to accomplish his duty as a Blade Runner. If Deckard was a replicant, I would see him as a robot controlled by humans and designed to follow humans' orders to kill his own peer robots. I think Deckard and Rachael might have a lovely time together, but they will be discovered eventually the next Blade Runner. Gaff probably knows that Deckard is a replicant that there are evidences shown where Gaff can read his mind; for example, those origami figures made by Gaff and the scene of unicorn in Deckard's dream (Blade Runner). Deckard and Rachael may be discovered by Gaff, and they would face a deadly consequence.
As I explained above, if Deckard and Rachael run away together, the result is mainly depending on the identity of Deckard that might plays a significant role even throughout the movie.
Answer to question 3)
ReplyDeleteOur memories come connected to a feeling of how accurate they are. I can remember what I ate this morning pretty well, but yesterday's breakfast is more of a blur. Our memories should bring a sense of joy or sadness but like the AI in the movie there is no emotional response to there own implanted memories.
Response to question 3
ReplyDeleteThere is no way we can, without doubt, verify that our memories are genuine. As Descartes points out, there could be an all-powerful demon bent on deceiving us. He would then implant memories that would be indecipherable from our own. We have also seen that individuals have memories change as time progresses. Most notably, 9/11, people have been known to have 'false-memories' concerning where they were on 9/11. We see that even without divine intervention, our memories are already unreliable sources. Our memories already do not give an accurate description of our past, so how can they be our own? Our memories are not scripts from the past but the previous chapter of our story. Whether implanted or not, they are still fictitious.
-Sean Watson