From: IIC2912@malloco.ing.puc.cl (IIC2912)
Subject: Re: Deckard as 6th Replicant doesn't hold water
Organization: Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 18:58:11 GMT

Mike Haskell (mlh@eddy.austin.ibm.com) wrote:
: In article <1992Sep30.215705.20802@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> dleibow@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (David E Leibow) writes:
: >In article <BvA2GF.IBo@quake.sylmar.ca.us> brian@quake.sylmar.ca.us (Brian K. Yoder) writes:
: >>In article <10538@baird.cs.strath.ac.uk> imcc@cs.strath.ac.uk (Iain McCord) writes:
: >>>Peter Alexander Merel (pete@cssc-syd.tansu.com.au) wrote:
: >> 
: >>>: The crux of the matter is whether or not Scott intended Deckard's nature to 
: >>>: be ambiguous. Given the years of debate on the issue, with no resolution 
: >>>: either way, I think you'd have to agree that the ambiguity is intentional.
: >>
: >>>  I thought that Deckard said he retired because he was begining to emphasise
: >>>with the replicants.  It's common for good hunters/cops to learn to think
: >>>like their prey.  Deckard was one of the best, until he became too involved.
: >>>  Unicorns are a fertility symbol,  this could have been what Gaff intended
: >>>when he left it.  This would be ironic as androids are probably infertile.
: >>>He may also have access to Deckards psychiatric records.
: >>
: >>Considering the way Deckard was being tossed around by the replicants throughout
: >>the movie, I would say that he couldn't have been a replicant himself.  The
: >>only question that remained for me is how the other cop knew about the unicorn.
: >>One explanation would be that HE was a replicant and has Deckard's memories
: >>implanted, although this seems unlikely given that Deckard didn't know all
: >>the languages the other guy did.
: >
: >I think that this endless analysis of every last detail of the movie to
: >determine if Deckard is "really" a replicant is ridiculous.  The bottom
: >line reason for everything that happens in the movie is thematic.  The
: >plot has to have internal logic and the events in it reinforce the theme
: >or themes.  In light of the theme of (to put it entirely too bluntly)
: >"what does it mean to be human" it is either entirely irrelevant whether
: >he is a replicant or not or it is thematically unsound.  Everything in
: >the film sets up comparisons and contrasts between Deckard and the
: >various replicants.  As long as we are aware of theses comparisons either
: >it makes no difference or it works a lot better if we assume he is human
: >so we can more easily see his similiarities and contrasts with the
: >replicants.  You can argue the intricate plot points all you want but I
: >can't believe that the director or writers could care less as long as you
: >understand what the movie is really *about*.  
: >
: >As for the unicorn, the origami found at the end need not imply anything 
: >about him having any knowledge of Deckard's dream.  We know he makes 
: >those things and we can guess that he left it behind as a kind of calling 
: >card to let Deckard know he was there.  This is consistant with his 
: >last line.  If it seems a bit like too much of a coincidence that its 
: >a unicorn, well, many directors have taken much more artistic license 
: >than that to symbolially emphasize a thematic point.  If this wasn't 
: >SF nobody would have given it a second thought...
: >
: 
: I hate to disappoint you but movies are *about* seperating you from your
: cash.  period.  Now, the better they depict and portray their writing and
: filming skills, the more easily they will be able to seperate me from
: my cash for their movie.  Its this kind of discussion about whether or
: not Dekard is a replicant, that helps me see points about a movie I may
: have missed while watching it.  It also keeps it fun.  Your belief of 
: what the theme is irrelevant to most of us.  If you dislike the forum so
: much, you can read all the thema you want out of rec.art.cinema with all
: the other more refined (read English Lit. arrogance) people.  I do hope
: you are patient for postings there.  :-)  See ya!
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.movies,alt.models