Bladerunner and the Quest for Humanity

Blade Runner (1982) is a futuristic Film Noir that takes a cynical look at the intermingling of technology and humanity. Set in 2019 Los Angeles (presumably after the Third World War), the film focuses on Rick Deckard, a former police officer and bounty hunter who is reluctantly recruited to search for and kill four rebel android replicants (genetically-engineered robots who have strength and intelligence superior to human beings but who are designed with a lack of emotion). Originally created to work as slaves on an off-world plant, the replicants have returned to earth in search of their creator, Tyrell, in order to force him to extend their lives, which have been artificially limited to four years in order to prevent them from developing human-like emotions. The quest of the replicants and Deckard’s continuing struggle with his emotions leads to a central them of the film: What does it mean to be human? Are humans more than just a body? This essay will focus on the characte...