Blade Runner Analysis

As depicted in the 1982 Sci-Fi film Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott, the future could be full of surprises! If you consider human clones called Replicants a surprise. Set in Los Angeles, USA in the year 2019, a retired blade runner is called back into action to kill six of Tyrell Company’s Replicants after they escaped a ¨human¨ colony on another planet and headed towards earth to seek a longer life span from their creator. Mainly known for his role as Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford is the actor who plays this paranoid and antisocial retired blade runner called Rick Deckard. Other characters include the Replicants themselves who’s leader runs by the name of Roy Batty, a perseverant and desperate ¨man¨ who would do anything to live longer than four years and Rachael, a good and kind hearted Replicant who after saving Deckard’s life, gives him something to live for, Love. But even though this film is exciting and raises many questions, does it really qualify as a good representation of Sci-fi?

A main characteristic in all Sci-fi films is the use of advanced science and technology. In the case of Blade Runner, there are many predictions on what technology could be developed in the future, considering that the film was made in 1982. Genetic modification and mutilation runs the whole plot for this film because without it, there would be no Replicants to hunt. The film shows us inventions like flying cars, artificial intelligence and some of which already exists, such as video calls. I find that imagination plays a vital role in the creation of Sci-fi and the ideas that come with it, such as predictions of future discoveries and the lifestyle of the future population of the world.

The thought of the future to many means a technological utopia, but for others, an ecological dystopia. What does the future really hold in store for mankind? Ridley Scott’s vision of the future in Blade Runner shows a decaying metropolis with over 100 million inhabitants, poor economy, a solitary lifestyle, crowded streets and most of all, a dark ecosystem full of contamination just like most Sci-fi films. One of the many aspects that makes Blade Runner stand out as a Sci-fi is the cyberpunk theme that runs through the whole film, from the setting to the technology used.

Taking into account that Blade Runner is based in a futuristic dystopia, one could think, what are the warnings for mankind within the film? With plain observation, one can deduce that there is a clear ecological warning and a warning on earth’s overpopulation. As the film continues, it warns us about trying to control what is beyond our reach, in this case it would be the Replicants. The Replicants were designed to obey human orders, but since they were built to be stronger and smarter than humans, they reach such power that mankind loses their control thus unleashing a Replicant revolution.

Many aspects come into consideration

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