2. Blade Runner
• Released 1982
• Directed by Ridley Scott
• Second of 3 Sci-Fi Films
• Seven different versions of the film exist

3. Blade Runner is set in Los Angeles Do
Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is set in
San Francisco
San Francisco
[Opening Scene + 7:46] Los Angeles

4. Other Differences Between Film and
Novel
• Lack of Mercerism
• Replacement with alcohol; Rick drinks with
Bryant, attempts to drink with Rachel several
times, Taffy gives him a drink
• Alcohol becomes both a communal activity, like Mercerism, but
also distracts from reality

5. Other Differences Between Film and
Novel
• Lack of Animals
• With the exception of the owl and the snake,
there is no concern for animals in the film.

6. Other Differences Between Film and
Novel
• “Androids” are referred to as “Replicants”
• Syntactically, this places implies that humans and
their mechanized counterparts are more
inherently linked; “Android” is a colder word,
with emphasis on the machine.

7. Questions
• What thematic differences do you see between
the film and the novel? How does this affect
your interpretation of the film?
• In what ways is the film’s lack of concern for
animals disconcerting?

8. Replicants
• Created to do jobs humans are insufficient
at; i.e. Pleasure or war.
• Their intelligence surpasses that of humans, Roy’s defeat of Tyrell at chess
and emotional killing of his creator is juxtaposed with a gang of humans
mindlessly attempting to loot Rick’s car.

9. Replicants
• Increasingly human; dehumanizing of the
human
• The traits we believe to be inherently human
appear in replicants, although exaggerated, thus
diminishing human exclusivity
• “More Human Than Human” -Tyrell [18:00]
• Human qualities are emphasized in replicants,
i.e. Roy’s sweating, Rachel’s crying, Roy’s
emotional responses

11. Replicants
• Blending of human and machine
• “There’s some of me in you” - Sebastian to Roy
• “We’re not computer’s Sebastian, we’re physical”
-Pris
• The line between human and machine
is very blurred in the film

12. Replicants
• Anxiety about mortality
• Inexhaustible will to survive. [1:20:30]
• Inherent quality of all living things
• “This is not called murder, it is called
retirement”

13. Question
• How do the qualities of the replicants make
them “more human than human?”

14. Rick Deckard
• Strongly indicated that he is a replicant
• Unicorn vision; Gaff’s origami
• Interest in photographs
• No back story, aside from Bryant’s statement that he “knows the score”

15. Rick Deckard
• Romantic relationship with Rachel [1:08:00]
• Forceful, will to conquer
• Occurs after she asks him if he has ever taken
Voight-Kampff
• Psychologically we are attracted to those that
resemble ourselves.

16. Questions
• What does it mean that the protagonist of the
film is a replicant?
• According to the film, what does it mean to be
human?
• Do you agree with the ambiguous ending or
the original happy ending?