Blade Runner : A Dystopian take on Technological Dehumanization

 

"Blade Runner is simply one of those cinematic drugs, that when I first saw it, I never saw the world the same way again". -Guillermo del Toro

 

The city of Los Angeles,2019 in Blade Runner

    The science fiction genre is instrumental in allowing us to project our ideas on scientific advances, social changes, and environmental impacts in the near or distant future. Science fiction is profound in the way that it allows us to speculate about our present-day rational and the perceived outcomes in the future.

     Perhaps one of the most thought-provoking and pivotal film adaptations for the genre stems from the Blade Runner franchise. The first entry into the series was just titled Blade Runner and was released on June 25, 1982, and speculates about what the future landscape will look like in the year 2019. The film was directed by the science fiction legend Ridley Scott but was based upon the works of Philip K. Dick and his novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? For the purpose of this article, I will be focusing on the thematic elements of the film. 

    The reputation of the film within the science fiction genre proceeds any explanation that I could provide. A variety of polls from The Guardian, New Scientist, and The Irish Examiner all place Blade Runner at the pinnacle of science fiction films. The film was even selected by the Library of Congress in 1993 to be added to the U.S National Film Registry stating that it was"culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".  But why does Blade Runner have such a large impact on society?  It has largely to do with the setting and the ethical dilemmas brought up within the film. This being the dystopian future and the dehumanization on behalf of society.

Prologue to Blade Runner

The Dystopian Setting

Blade Runner is set in the year 2019 in the city of Los Angeles. Instead of being the beautiful sunshine city we know today, the city is characterized as being a result of late-stage capitalism. The dystopian take heavily relies on imagery of being heavily urbanized and controlled by corporations. At the forefront of these corporations is the fictional Tyrell Corporation. The goal of Tyrell is best described by the prologue to the film and is pivotal towards the plot(see prologue figure). The result of such mega-corporations has created massive pollution, which gives the city its dark smog-ridden feel. In conjunction with that, the people who populate Earth are downtrodden and meant to feel like nothing but cogs in the wheel. The oppression of the people and the deprivation of moral and ethical liberties creates an atmosphere in which the overlying theme of dehumanization of androids can thrive.

The ultimate horror in science fiction is neither death nor destruction but dehumanization, a state in which emotional life is suspended, in which the individual is deprived of individual feelings, free will, and moral judgment. . . this type of fiction hits the most exposed nerve of contemporary society: collective anxiety about the loss of individual identity, subliminal mindbending, or downright scientific/political brainwashing 

- Carlos Clarens, An Illustrated History of the Horror Film 

 

Dehumanization of Replicants

The replicants serve as an intermediary between humans and androids. They are created as a culmination of advanced robotics and genetic engineering. Biologically they are almost identical to humans and have at least equal strength and intelligence. Although it is the lab creation and modifications made that make them appear less than human. The overlying theme of dehumanizing the replicants is a result of both class and racism.

The class system in the world of Blade Runner is accentuated by the visual representation of verticality between the working class and the elites. This is done by showing scenes of the masses of working-class persons operating on the surface of Earth. This is contrasted by the people of power, such as Eldon Tyrell of Tyrell Corp., living high over the city and literally looking down on the rest of the world. To further accentuate this, the police, who are representations of both power and authority, are often seen flying in hovercrafts looking down upon the city. This visual representation of class and power, especially with the police and the Blade Runner units, is how the dehumanization of replicants can take place.

The dehumanization of the replicants is one that is made extensively clear by verbal exchanges with racist undertones. A clear example of this is a conversation within members of the police force. Capt. Bryant and Rick Deckard, the main character and Blade Runner, have an exchange in which Bryant refers to the replicants as "Skin-jobs". Deckard then relates this phrase as being a slur towards the replicants and being on par with calling a black person the n-word. This verbal exchange epitomizes the inherent racism within people of power as a result of the subliminal brainwashing on behalf of societal beliefs. 

Based on the quote from Carlos Clarens, there is a clear breakdown of moral judgment within people of power in the dystopian world of Blade Runner and in turn allows for the ultimate horror of dehumanization. This is perhaps the reason why Blade Runner is considered to be one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. It's the ability to place the viewer in a dystopian world that poses the viewer with an unorthodox ethical dilemma that makes Blade Runner the science fiction masterpiece it is today.