Essay about Blade Runner

Rating: 10/10 (19 September 2010)

The scenario for this story is a town, in the future, with more then one hundred million inhabitants, with an atmosphere so polluted that the sun barely shows up and it is taken by a constant acid rain; Los Angeles. At this time, for colonization and exploration of other planets were developed Replicants, genetically engineered humanoids, stronger and faster than a human being and with comparable intelligence. But they were emotionally unstable, had little empathy,aggressive behavior and their life was limited to four years. After a rebellion in a colony outside of earth they were outlawed on earth, under penalty of death. In spite of this a group of six rebel replicants came to earth in search of their creator, and with him try to increase their shelf-life and escape from death that was approaching. They were hunted by police known as "Blade Runner", with orders to kill, or rather "remove". The persecution of the replicants becomes a harrowing fight for life where no one knew who as hunting or who was hunted, especially after blade-runner meets the latest model of replicant, "Rachel", which received the complete memories of "Tyrell"'s niece, the father of all androids. As they hunted and killed one by one, we perceive ourselves more human characteristics in replicants than in hunters. In the penultimate scene, the hunter's life is in the hands of the last replicant, that even knowing being in his final moments, saves the hunter using only one of his hands. It was raining at the moment when the last replicant looking the terrified hunter, says:
"-I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. -All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain. -Time to die"
then he lowers his head and dies without any furthers movement, under the hunter's stunned gaze.
Our moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain, it makes us think about the preservation of life and our eternal desire to live forever. It address us to some questions that humans have asked for centuries: What does it mean to be human? what is reality? How does our environment affect us? What are the moral issues we face in the creation of artificial people?
These and many more questions are there in this film for those who wish to examine them. (Obviously Androids will not dream of Eletric sheep)