Some replicant questions - Blade Runner (1982) Discussion

[–] criztu 9 years ago

Replicants are banned from Earth

watch carefully: the replicants are banned from earth, not from Earth.

The 'Off-world' is capitalized, 'earth' is not capitalized. As soon as Rachel sets foot on earth, she becomes illegal.

emotional obsessions

they develop a "strange obsession", not an 'emotional obsession'.

The replicants want to be free, they want to be like their creator, that's the 'obsession'.

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[–] BB-15 9 years ago

by mobocracy;

"If they're so dangerous, why is an ex-cop, even if he is a trained replicant hunter, assigned to track them down?"
"It's as if there was gang of terrorists in New York City, and the best NYPD could do was track down some washed-up former anti-terror cop for the job."

In Ridley Scott's vision, Deckard is a replicant.
If Deckard is killed, it is not a risk to the regular naturally born human police force.

"I'm assuming that Sean Young's character represented Tyrell's attempt to "fix" this problem without sacrificing intelligence, although for most of what they were employed for (dangerous environments or "pleasure" models), it would be easier to just engineer in less intellect."

A big message in the movie is that Tyrell is creating beings that are almost = to naturally born humans.
Since the replicants are a product; an almost = to naturally born humans are more valuable.
Tyrell makes more money.

Why? Because an almost = to naturally born human like Rachel, who can be used as a sex slave, is a valuable product.
And do people in our world want sex slaves? Yes. Sex trafficking is a major crime problem.
Tyrell is filling the sex slave market and the fighter slave market.

And that's because another message in Blade Runner is that it is about slavery.

Roy Batty: Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.

BB ;-)

it is just in my opinion - imo - 🌈

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[–] Ace_Oddity 8 years ago

As stated, in Ripley's version Deckard is a replicant and thus expendable. However, in the minds of the writers and Ford and my own he is not.

However he still belongs to a poor socio-economic class, hence the 'little people remark'. Which makes him expendable, cheap and thus a good choice to send after the escaped replicants. He's also good at his job as well.

As to why Roy was made with superior intelligence, I assume to increase prosperity they wanted slaves who could perform more complex tasks or dictate tasks to their intellectually inferior peers like architecture, science or simply managerial roles.

Resolve is never stronger than in the morning after the night it was never weaker.

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[–] fjk1138-731-161881 8 years ago

I've wondered about this also and why more elaborate police procedures weren't being practiced when seeking out the replicants.

For example, let's take the scene where Deckard visits Zhora. Why not have Deckard just get Zhora to either leave with him and/or have extra police cover the exits to pick her up if/when she bolted. That would avoid a scene in public and have far less risk of bystanders being in the crossfire of a potential shootout, which is what ultimately wound up happening.

My guesses would be due to reasons that may or may not have been explicitly explained on-screen:

1. There was a limited police force, for whatever reasons
2. Deckard was expendable
3. Tyrell and the powers that be wanted may want to keep retirements quiet for business practices/public image reasons
4. The replicants were going to die after a matter of time so no need to waste expensive resources on tracking them down
5. Replicants may be viewed as an embarrassment or even outright failure by Tyrell corp in the public eye, so to do a quieter approach to retirement would be preferred
6. There may be public outcry as to why the government is not doing a better job of weeding out the replicants, and we are seeing their initial attempts to achieve this.

These are my assumptions at least.

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[–] mobocracy 8 years ago

1. There was a limited police force, for whatever reasons

I think we're supposed to believe it's something of a dystopic future (the chaotic, crowded streets, run-down buildings at street level, etc), and like most dystopias, the police are overwhelmed and under-manned.

I think in some ways the film wants to have it both ways with this dystopia idea. On one hand, the civilization seems very advanced and futuristic, with massive, tall buildings, consumer advertising, and so on. You don't get those things in a broken civilization, that requires a pretty sophisticated, large economy.

As for the police, the "station" seems like something out of a 1940s movie, yet Edward James Olmos' character drives a flying car -- so how under-resourced are they really?

As amazing as the art direction is, and it's really fantastic, it's a little contradictory of the future it's trying to describe. It's both dirty, overcrowded and poor, almost in a "Soylent Green" way, but at the same time it's fantastically modern and sophisticated, a very functional future.

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[–] BB-15 8 years ago

by fjk1138-731-161881;

"I've wondered about this also and why more elaborate police procedures weren't being practiced when seeking out the replicants..."

A reason was given in the film.

Bryant: ...we know they're around.
Deckard: Embarrassing.
Bryant: No sir. Not embarrassing, because no one's ever going to find out they're down here. 'Cause you're gonna spot 'em and you're gonna air 'em out!

What is being described by Bryant here is a secret mission where Deckard is acting like an assassin.

* You and the OP are proposing a massive manhunt with the entire police force is on alert for replicants including where a special team is going door to door and is informing the entire city that they are looking for replicants.
- This idea is not compatible with what Bryant said; "no one's ever going to find out they're down here.

- What is Bryant asking for? A secret mission.
This is similar to the secret agent concept.
It goes along with where a lone assassin finds and kills each replicant.

Imo at least, BB ;-)

it is just in my opinion - imo - 🌈

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[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] BB-15 8 years ago

by DrAndreiSmyslov/SMF;

"Just a theory, but perhaps it was sold to the public by the replicant corporations that it is guaranteed that no replicants could ever return to earth and create havoc. So those corporations strong arm the earth police to keep it on the quiet side since the corporations could not uphold that guarantee."

I think that theories like this help in understanding the power of the Tyrell Corporation and its relationship with the civil government and the police.

One source which is useful to sort that out imo is the PK Dick novel.
In the novel the world governments have screwed up the earth's ecology with nuclear war and the extinction of most animal species.
To get humans away from the radiation, the United Nations has teamed up with android manufacturers so that there is a mass migration to off-world colonies which is encouraged by each migrant getting a free personal android.
To help fix the animal shortage, there is widespread production of mechanical replica animals.

The Dick novel is more complicated than that of course but the overview gives the idea that the mechanical / biological being manufacturers (animals / androids) had become completely intertwined with everyone's daily lives and with the workings of the government(s).

* Back to your theory;
Using the novel, in "Blade Runner" the replicants are being used to entice naturally born humans to leave earth.
Essentially, if a person goes to an outer space colony, they get a slave.
This means that the colony system is based on a slave economy.
And the purpose is to get as many naturally born humans off of earth as possible.
The only ones left on earth are people who are poor or those who have genetic defects (like Sebastian) or business owners who don't want to leave (Taffy Lewis or even Tyrell).
- In this system, agreed upon by the world governments, the corporations and the police, there are not supposed to be any replicants on earth (unless Tyrell wants to produce them and keep them in his labs).
- Replicants living on earth would break down the off world colony system. It can't be allowed. It's a fundamental rule.
- I agree that the corporations and the governments have guaranteed that nothing could go wrong with this system.
(That's irrational because with slavery there are always slave revolts.)
But that is the scam that the governments and the corporations are playing on the people of earth.
- Any escape of replicants from a colony to earth (or from Tyrell's labs) then is a threat to the entire system.
The threat not only has to be eliminated but it cannot even be admitted to exist.
- The result are the special blade runners who work alone, who hunt down escaped replicants with no publicity or help from the regular police.
Because officially for the police, government and corporations; replicants never escape and if they do, they are never on earth.

Imo at least, BB ;-)

it is just in my opinion - imo - 🌈

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[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] BB-15 8 years ago

to DrAndreiSmyslov/SMF;

"Well at least one person of the public has heard of the Blade Runner force.....

Did the old man knew what the words "Blade Runner" mean? Maybe, maybe not. He was just translating for Gaff."

This is one of the intriguing questions about the movie "Blade Runner".
What is the general population told that a blade runner is?
Not only does the person at the restaurant know about the name but after Deckard kills Zhora, he holds up his badge and tells the police in public that he has a blade runner.

The novel isn't that helpful about this because how the police are handled in it isn't realistic. It's more surrealistic which is trying to give a philosophical message.
For instance in the book, there is a police station which is completely staffed by android police officers who are pretending to be naturally born humans.
PK Dick isn't trying to create a realistic world in how police operations are handled but is more focused on the philosophical issue of corporate control becoming so widespread that average people do not know whether they are being controlled or not (whether they are androids or not).

Imo with the film, "Blade Runner", the viewer is left to guess about what the general population thinks that the blade runners are.
I can speculate that for the general public blade runners are just a type a police officer.
I can't really go much beyond that except that according to Bryant, no one is going to know (outside of his office) that the replicants came to earth from the off world.
And I imagine to be consistent with Bryant said; that the public knowing that a blade runner was working would not be an immediate tip to everyone that replicants were running around Los Angeles.

Imo at least, BB ;-)

it is just in my opinion - imo - 🌈

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[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] kaskait 8 years ago

The reason why the replicants have emotion and psychological problems are because they have no childhoods. They are grown to adult size and have memories implanted via brainwashing. They can't react normally to situations they have no experience handling. The intelligence factor gets in the way because it allows them to know that their memories aren't real. And since they never had a childhood, they have no interpersonal skills, no ability to properly read body language, intentions, or emotions of other people.

But this isn't permanent. When they gain life experience, they become more sophisticated, more adult and less like children/teenagers. THAT is why they are given such a short lifespan. After 4 years a replicant would behave no differently from a regular, natural birth human being.

If we go by the film dialogue, we can interpret Tyrell's knowledge about not being able to stop the genetic 4 year termination date because he was asked to by his investors. I mean why would any military outfit want to lose someone like Roy who has intelligence, experience and leadership skills?

But Tyrell can't just stop the 4 year life span, it is law. That is what the majority of regular "little people" want and keeps them from revolution. Hence we have Deckard and Rachel.

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[–] CremersAlex 8 years ago

Hence we have Deckard and Rachel.

Or the Adam and Eve of the new world ...

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[–] criztu 8 years ago

The reason why the replicants have emotion and psychological problems are because they have no childhoods.

No. Tyrell blabbers about the replicants "developing a strange obsession". Dude is psychopathic. For Tyrell, the fundamental desire of being free, is an obsession.

Once you understand that Tyrell regards the need of being free as a strange obsession, everything he says gets the opposite meaning:
you can see the replicants being friends, lovers, feeling sadness, joy, playfulness, anger, empathy, mercy, the whole range of emotions. Not once do we see the replicants acting like they're having any bit of emotional or psychological handicap.
What does Tyrell do, all day? He lives alone in his apartment, experiencing neither love nor friendship, not feeling sad or joyful, he is a no lifer, might as well be dead.

This no lifer is lecturing us about freedom being a strange obsession. He is the one who has serious emotional and psychological problems.

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[–] CremersAlex 8 years ago

Batty, Pris and Leon are children trapped in a dying body.

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[–] criztu 8 years ago

what makes you say that? what was childish in Roy's behavior?

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[–] CremersAlex 8 years ago

what makes you say that? what was childish in Roy's behavior?

Yes, I say that because they exhibit child-like behavior throughout the entire movie, but also because I know it was intended that way. What and where? I would literally have to sum up almost every scene that involves Leon, Pris or Batty. The way Batty tells Sebastian he's got 'some nice toys' whilst Pris (with a painted animal face - children like to paint their faces too) is playing with a broken doll. Pris and Batty are playing all the time, even during their life and death battles with Deckard. They are all, to a certain extent, still children. Except Zhora, for some reason she acts as if she a woman of the world. It's almost as if she's just as cynical as Deckard or Bryant. Of course, her screen time was the shortest.

Indeed, Deckard doesn't exhibit child-like behavior, but that could be said about Rachael as well. They are the most advanced generation of replicants. In order to pass as human, they have been implanted with a full life of experiences. Clearly, from now on, the VK empathy test is no longer an efficient tool.

Alex

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[–] criztu 8 years ago

The way Batty tells Sebastian he's got 'some nice toys' whilst Pris (with a painted animal face - children like to paint their faces too) is playing with a broken doll.

Pris is not playing with a broken doll, watch the scene again.
Sebastian calls the little guys dressed as soldiers and the dummies "his toys"; as I see it, Roy had been there before, set the meeting with Pris, who gave him info on Sebastian and his peculiarities, and now Roy is using that information to ease into establishing a good relation with Sebastian.

Pris and Batty are playing all the time, even during their life and death battles with Deckard.

For me, that certainly isn't child playing. Batty is enacting a ritual. I can only hope you recognized the story of Tyr and Fenrir in his actions during the chase.

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[–] CremersAlex 8 years ago

Pris is not playing with a broken doll, watch the scene again.

http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/american-actress-daryl-hannah-as-the-replicant-pris-holding-a-broken-picture-id110868024

For me, that certainly isn't child playing. Batty is enacting a ritual. I can only hope you recognized the story of Tyr and Fenrir in his actions during the chase.

Then the makers have 'failed' to make it more clear but ironically enough that's mostly the reason for the beauty of Blade Runner. It's different things to different people. Anyway, I know it was intended this way. It's canon in the world of Blade Runner. After all, the replicants are only a few years old and could never have developed emotional maturity. Doesn't that make sense to you?

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[–] criztu 8 years ago

Oh, you're referring to the scene where Pris is contemplating that broken doll dangling from her hand, while Roy starts playing chess with Sebastian.
As I see it, that is not a child playing with a doll, but an adult thinking about existence. As Sebastian asks Roy and Pris to show him some tricks, as they admit they're replicants, Roy responds with gravity: We're not computers, Sebastian. Pris completes with : I think, Sebastian, therefore I am.

Then the makers have 'failed' to make it more clear but ironically enough that's mostly the reason for the beauty of Blade Runner. It's different things to different people.

The makers of Blade Runner referring to Tyr and Fenrir, didn't fail to make it clear. They made it very clear. But if the audience doesn't know about Germanic mythology, then they're lost.
Hell, there's people who don't know about Christian symbolism, they think Roy Batty found that white dove lost on the roof, or that Roy put a nail through his hand to delay his expiration date, rofl...

I myself was completely ignorant of the story of Tyr and Fenrir, or of the White Dove as God, until I dug deeper into the symbolism of Blade Runner.

After all, the replicants are only a few years old and could never have developed emotional maturity. Doesn't that make sense to you?

It is only Bryant the police dude - the one convinced that if you're not police, you're little people - who makes the claim that the Nexus 6 replicants have a 4 year life span limit.
Bryant who also shows Deckard an altered video of Holden interviewing Leon.

Once you take the words spoken by a spin doctor as truth, you're lost.

Deckard is a blade runner, that means he is walking on a thin line, where if he's not aware, he can conclude that the replicants are machines. And he would be lost, too.

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[–] kaskait 8 years ago

Yes, they are friends, lovers etc. THAT is because we are seeing them at the end of their life cycle. They have experiences that cushion their emotional responses. There are even indications that their general intelligence improves as they grow. Leon was supposed to be some blue collar, muscle type. Yet we see him display higher reasoning skills that he shouldn't have. He certainly got the jump on both Holden and Deckard.

Tyrell is a megalomaniac obsessed with tinkering with the human genome and creating a master race. He is also a man who profits from slavery. People of his class get off on using people like objects.

Yes, he has isolated himself for his genome work. But we see he completely RECREATED his beloved niece and called her Rachel. The reason why Rachel is who she is, is because she has most of Tyrell's niece's memories. I wonder if his niece donated them. I have a feeling she isn't alive. That he dropped her after she failed the VK test, indicates to me that he was angry that she wasn't his niece. That even with all his niece's memories, she didn't have the same soul. He didn't capture immortality.

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[–] criztu 8 years ago

Yes, he has isolated himself for his genome work. But we see he completely RECREATED his beloved niece and called her Rachel.

That's what Deckard tells Rachael, out of his ass.
Deckard also tells Rachael that replicants are "like any other machine"

Observe: you're watching a bumbling fool - Deckard - being in charge with deciding who is human and who is machine, and you take his words as truth.
If Deckard is anything but clueless, then he's right when he says that replicants are machines.
If replicants are machines, then Deckard falling in love with Rachael, or simply running away with her, is absurd, or at least contrary to everything Deckard stood for so far.

So, the best you can do here, is to understand that Deckard is talking nonsense, until he completes his transformation and realizes that he does have a choice, pal.

The reason why Rachel is who she is, is because she has most of Tyrell's niece's memories. I wonder if his niece donated them. I have a feeling she isn't alive.

Rachael, just like Deckard, sets herself free from the slavery of the system. The picture of her and her mom is real!

Tyrell's claim that "we gift them with a past as a cushion for their emotions to control them better", is illustrated by Deckard's test on Rachael in Tyrell's office:
towards the end of the "test", we hear Deckard saying "orange body, green legs"
much later, in his apartment, Deckard is asking Rachael if she remembers that spider from her childhood, orange body, green legs.
she says yes, as she's obviously unaware of Deckard telling her about that spider during the VK test at Tyrell's office.
he exclaims: fake memories, therefore you're a machine!

That which we see Deckard doing to Rachael, is exactly the type of control Tyrell is talking about: discrimination, dehumanization, prejudice. Instilling into the exploited's unconscious the idea that they are inferior by birth.

Deckard, Holden, are agents of the system, manipulating other human beings' unconscious, trying to inoculate them with the belief that they are not human beings, but machines, created by a dude whose name is El-Don Tyre-El, that is God-Lord Evil-God - google "el deity wikipedia" and "tyre garden of eden"

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[–] kaskait 8 years ago

That's what Deckard tells Rachael, out of his ass.
Deckard also tells Rachael that replicants are "like any other machine"

He wasn't, he had full access to the files of all replicants including Rachel. Remember Bryant told Deckard that Tyrell had a replicant to interview (Rachel).
They just didn't show us the scenes of Deckard reviewing her file.

Rachael, just like Deckard, sets herself free from the slavery of the system. The picture of her and her mom is real!

Every picture the replicants are shown to own is REAL. These pictures just don't belong to them or are connected to real experiences to them. I think the only replicant who owned real photos was Leon. Again, Leon was more advanced then the rest of them in this respect.

Deckard is asking Rachael if she remembers that spider from her childhood, orange body, green legs. she says yes, as she's obviously unaware of Deckard telling her about that spider during the VK test at Tyrell's office.
he exclaims: fake memories, therefore you're a machine!

The VK test works on specific memories that are given to replicants. I'm sure there are redundancies since Rachel and Deckard are special. This was the reason why Rachel was hard to catch. She has Tyrell's niece's memories. Memories that are not on the list for 4 year span replicants.

Deckard, Holden, are agents of the system, manipulating other human beings' unconscious, trying to inoculate them with the belief that they are not human beings, but machines,

No, we see examples of other business creating genetic material on the side. Acting as independent agents for Tyrell corporation. We are dealing with genetically enhanced clones that Tyrell is telling everyone are robots. You are making more of this than it has to be.

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[–] criztu 8 years ago

He wasn't, he had full access to the files of all replicants including Rachel. Remember Bryant told Deckard that Tyrell had a replicant to interview (Rachel).
They just didn't show us the scenes of Deckard reviewing her file.

You are reasoning on a premise that's not in the movie - Deckard getting access to Rachael's file where it supposedly says Tyrell's niece's memories were recreated in Rachael's mind.
Matter of fact, we see Deckard getting access to Roy, Leon, Zhora and Pris' files, where there's very limited info on them.

Deckard is saying "orange body, green legs" to Rachael when he "puts the machine on her", before even knowing that she is a replicant, so certainly before any possible reading of her file.
Later, at his home, Deckard asks Rachael if she remembers that childhood spider "orange body, green legs", and jadedly imparts to her that that's a fake memory, since he already knew about it, right?

I am reasoning from a premise that is in the movie - Deckard saying "orange body green legs" to Rachael as he "put the machine on her", and later telling her she's a machine, since he already knew about the spider "orange body green legs", is actively creating a false memory.

You conclude that Tyrell recreated his niece in Rachael, although he doesn't even hint to such a thing.

I conclude that Tyrell is enslaving people through manipulation of their unconscious, in other words "putting the machine on them", that being the very reason why Deckard was brought to meet Rachael - a practical example of how they're trying to persuade humans into thinking of themselves as machines.

Think about it. There's no reason for Deckard to go "put the machine on her", other than his job that he thinks to be about the detection of "replicants", being the very process of Rachael's enslavement.

Deckard is unaware that "putting the machine on someone" is the act of programming of the unconscious of other humans with the belief that they are machines.

No, we see examples of other business creating genetic material on the side. Acting as independent agents for Tyrell corporation. We are dealing with genetically enhanced clones that Tyrell is telling everyone are robots. You are making more of this than it has to be.

Nowhere in the film is it stated that the replicants are clones. As far as the intro text goes, the replicants are "evolved robots created by genetic engineers", whatever that means...

I'm trying to show you that the real story of Blade Runner is in the subtext. The visible layer is nonsensical - eg. Tyrell corp. advanced robot evolution into blah blah blah by the genetic engineers that created them

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[–] edisonnosidE 8 years ago

Nowhere in the film is it stated that the replicants are clones. As far as the intro text goes, the replicants are "evolved robots created by genetic engineers", whatever that means...

I'm trying to show you that the real story of Blade Runner is in the subtext. The visible layer is nonsensical - eg. Tyrell corp. advanced robot evolution into blah blah blah by the genetic engineers that created them

You make wonderfully incorrect assumptions based on your preference or imagination, and ignore the truth.

From the script, once again:
"Early in the 21st Century, THE TYRELL CORPORATION advanced robot evolution into the NEXUS phase - a being virtually identical to a human - known as a Replicant. The NEXUS 6 Replicants were superior in strength and agility, and at least equal in intelligence, to the genetic engineers who created them."

Definition of virtually:
1: almost entirely : nearly
2: for all practical purposes

"Roy: We're not computers Sebastian, we're physical.
Pris: I think, Sebastian, therefore I am."

Impossible is illogical.
Lack of evidence is not proof.
 +  = 

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[–] criztu 8 years ago

You make wonderfully incorrect assumptions based on your preference or imagination, and ignore the truth.

Tyrell corp. advanced robot evolution. Robot. Ro-bot.
genetic engineers that created them. Genetics. Human. Hu-man.

It is nonsensical to claim that by engineering the human genome - DNA, you are advancing a robot's evolution. Evolution. E-vo-lu-tion.
Robots don't evolve. Only life forms evolve. Robots are machines. Robots are not life forms.

Therefore, when you're manipulating DNA, you're not creating advanced evolved robots. You're breeding humans. Hu-mans. H-u-m-a-n-s.

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[–] Snake_MacReady82 8 years ago

criztu is starting to crack.

Thit and thpin!

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[–] edisonnosidE 8 years ago

It is nonsensical to claim that by engineering the human genome - DNA, you are advancing a robot's evolution. Evolution. E-vo-lu-tion.
Robots don't evolve. Only life forms evolve.

Definition, evolution:
1.
the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.
2.
the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form.
"the forms of written languages undergo constant evolution"

Impossible is illogical.
Lack of evidence is not proof.
 +  = 

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[–] criztu 8 years ago

No matter how complex you're making a robot, it's still a robot. A non-living object.
If you're manipulating DNA, you're not developing a robot, but breeding a human. A living organism.

let me put it differently, perhaps you'll understand better:
No matter how complex a steam engine, it is not a diesel engine.
No matter how complex a leather armor, it is not a steel armor.
No matter how complex a 2d video game, it is not a 3d video game.
No matter how complex a analog movie, it is not a digital movie.
No matter how complex a photo of a rock, it is not an actual rock.
No matter how complex a robot, it is not a human genome living organism.
A human genome DNA cell is not a robot.

A robot is a machine:
robot
A machine capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically, especially one programmable by a computer - Oxford dictionary

Deckard falling in love with a machine, a robot, would be nonsense.

The writers of Blade Runner intentionally used ambiguous pairings: robot evolution and genetic engineers.
They are offering you two clefs, two keys: take the key to the narrow gate, and you'll find yourself on a difficult way; take the key to the wide gate, and you'll find yourself on Broadway.

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[–] edisonnosidE 8 years ago

You state the obvious.

The evolution is the process.
A robot is a slave, a Replicant is a process of technological evolution in making slaves.

We are not in argument here, just a "failure to communicate."

Impossible is illogical.
Lack of evidence is not proof.
 +  = 

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[–] criztu 8 years ago

We are not in argument here, just a "failure to communicate."

The writers of Blade Runner are communicating a subtext, and you fail to understand it.

When they say "Tyrell corp. advanced robot evolution... genetic engineers created them", they refer to Eloah, the gnostic demiurge, who is an inferior god, having created an imperfect world, our world.
That is why Tyrell dwells atop an unfinished pyramid, in a city called Los Angeles (the angels).
The 4+1 replicants stand for angels. Roy Batty rebelling in the Off-World and taking 3 replicants with him, stand for Lucifer rebelling in Heaven and taking a 3rd of the angels with him.
Rachael is an angel, a virgin, who tames the unicorn. The virgin is the sacred prostitute, reserved for sex with a god.

This motif of Enkidu brought into a higher state of being by the sacred prostitute Shamhat, is repeated in Ridley Scott other film - Legend.

The metafors in Blade Runner are communicated very clearly. But if you don't know the story of Enkidu and Shamhat, the story of Christ and the Dove, the story of the Virgin and the Unicorn, you will fail to understand what is being communicated to you. For ever!

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[–] edisonnosidE 8 years ago

Thanks for your perspective, critzu. Sometimes I think you read too much into it, but that's just my opinion.

You are focused on the esoteric parts of the film, which were put there by adepts, either consciously or subconsciously. While I strive to refine the more mundane aspects, which should neither be ignored. 99% of the audience struggle to even understand the mundane, which is where most of us are focusing.

I know some of the gnostic aspects of which yo speak, though I missed them in the film (too caught up in the action & plot), but it would explain why after my first viewing I came out of the theatre in abject awe, having my subconscious/unconscious touched by those elements ingrained in our human mythology.

Communicated clearly? Well, it depends on the depth of knowledge of the viewer, I suppose. I suppose in so doing Scott is violating some 23rd-degree oaths.

Frankly, I think you should gather your materials and write a book: "The Sacred and Profane in Blade Runner." Or some such.
Best wishes.

Impossible is illogical.
Lack of evidence is not proof.
 +  = 

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[–] criztu 8 years ago

99% of the audience struggle to even understand the mundane

That's because the profane layer in Blade Runner is subordinated to the sacred layer.

An owl, a snake, a unicorn, and a dove! that screams gnosticism... alright, thanks for the wishes.

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