Editing Blade Runner (section)

== Themes ==
{{Main|Themes in Blade Runner}}
The film operates on multiple dramatic and narrative levels. It employs some of the conventions of [[film noir]], among them the character of a ''[[femme fatale]]''; narration by the protagonist (in the original release); [[chiaroscuro]] cinematography; and giving the hero a questionable moral outlook&nbsp;– extending to include reflections upon the nature of his own humanity.<ref name="Barlow">Barlow, Aaron "Reel Toads and Imaginary Cities: Philip K. Dick, ''Blade Runner'' and the Contemporary Science Fiction Movie" in {{harvnb|Brooker|pp=43–58}}.</ref><ref>Jermyn, Deborah "The Rachael Papers: In Search of ''Blade Runner''s Femme Fatale" in {{harvnb|Brooker|pp=159–172}}.</ref> It is a literate science fiction film, thematically enfolding the philosophy of religion and moral implications of human mastery of [[genetic engineering]] in the context of [[Theatre of ancient Greece|classical Greek drama]] and [[hubris]].<ref>{{citation |url=http://trumpeter.athabascau.ca/index.php/trumpet/article/view/172/210 |title=The Dystopian World of ''Blade Runner'': An Ecofeminist Perspective |access-date=July 27, 2011 |journal=Trumpeter |last=Jenkins |first=Mary |year=1997 |volume=14 |issue=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214004426/http://trumpeter.athabascau.ca/index.php/trumpet/article/view/172/210 |archive-date=February 14, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> It also draws on Biblical images, such as [[Genesis flood narrative|Noah's flood]],<ref>Kerman, Judith B. "Post-Millennium ''Blade Runner''" in {{harvnb|Brooker|pp=31–39}}.</ref> and literary sources, such as ''[[Frankenstein]]''<ref name="Alessio">Alessio, Dominic "Redemption, 'Race', Religion, Reality and the Far-Right: Science Fiction Film Adaptations of Philip K. Dick" in {{harvnb|Brooker|pp=59–76}}</ref> and [[William Blake]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Harley |first1=Alexis |title=America, a prophecy: when Blake meets ''Blade Runner'' |journal=Sydney Studies in English |date=December 24, 2020 |volume=31 |pages=61–75 |url=https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/ielapa.200601721 |oclc=107741379 |access-date=January 29, 2022 |archive-date=February 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210000145/https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/ielapa.200601721 |url-status=live }}</ref> Although Scott said any similarity was merely coincidental,{{sfn|Sammon|p=384}} fans claimed that the chess game between Sebastian and Tyrell was based on the famous [[Immortal Game]] of 1851.<ref>{{cite web |last=Edwards |first=Jacob |title='A Most Unconvincing Replicant: Allegory and Intelligence in Blade Runner's Chess Game', by Jacob Edwards |url=https://www.regencychess.co.uk/blog/2016/05/chess-in-film/ |work=The Lifted Brow |date=December 27, 2013 |access-date=April 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406231358/https://www.regencychess.co.uk/blog/2016/05/chess-in-film/ |archive-date=April 6, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

''Blade Runner'' delves into the effects of technology on the environment and society by reaching to the past, using literature, [[religious symbolism]], classical dramatic themes, and ''film noir'' techniques. This tension between past, present, and future is represented in the "retrofitted" future depicted in the film, one which is high-tech and gleaming in places but decayed and outdated elsewhere. In an interview with ''[[The Observer]]'' in 2002, director Ridley Scott described the film as "extremely dark, both literally and metaphorically, with an oddly masochistic feel". He also said that he "liked the idea of exploring pain" in the wake of his brother's death: "When he was ill, I used to go and visit him in London, and that was really traumatic for me."<ref name="scottobserver">{{citation |last=Barber |first=Lynn |title=Scott's Corner |date=January 6, 2002 |url=http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,,628186,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080720054223/http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0%2C%2C628186%2C00.html |url-status=dead |work=[[The Observer]] |location=London |access-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-date=July 20, 2008}}</ref>

A sense of foreboding and paranoia pervades the world of the film: corporate power looms large; the police seem omnipresent; vehicle and warning lights probe into buildings; and the consequences of huge biomedical power over the individual are explored&nbsp;–
especially regarding replicants' implanted memories. The film depicts a world post [[ecocide]], where warfare and capitalism have led to destruction of 'normal' ecological systems.<ref>{{citation |last=Leaver |first=Tama |title=Post-Humanism and Ecocide in William Gibson's ''Neuromancer'' and Ridley Scott's ''Blade Runner'' |url=http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/post-humanism_and_ecocide.html |year=1997 |access-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703104841/http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/post-humanism_and_ecocide.html |archive-date=July 3, 2013 |via=The Cyberpunk Project}}{{self-published source|date=February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Avenging nature: the role of nature in modern and contemporary art and literature |date=2020 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-1-79362-145-0 |editor-last=Valls Oyarzun |editor-first=Eduardo |series=Ecocritical theory and practice |location=Lanham Boulder NewYork London |chapter=13 |editor-last2=Gualberto Valverde |editor-first2=Rebeca |editor-last3=Malla García |editor-first3=Noelia |editor-last4=Colom Jiménez |editor-first4=María |editor-last5=Cordero Sánchez |editor-first5=Rebeca}}</ref> Control over the environment is exercised on a vast scale, and goes hand in hand with the absence of any natural life; for example, artificial animals stand in for their extinct predecessors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Representations of Ecocide in Blade Runner and Neuromancer |url=http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/post-humanism_and_ecocide.html |access-date=June 21, 2023 |website=project.cyberpunk.ru |archive-date=July 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703104841/http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/post-humanism_and_ecocide.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This oppressive backdrop explains the frequently referenced migration of humans to "off-world" (extraterrestrial) colonies. Eyes are a recurring motif, as are manipulated images, calling into question the nature of reality and our ability to accurately perceive and remember it.{{sfn|Bukatman|p=9–11}}<ref>Heldreth, Leonard G. "The Cutting Edges of ''Blade Runner''" in {{Harvp|Kerman|1991|p=44}}</ref> The film also consists of themes of Japan as a power, coming amid a time of [[anti-Japanese sentiment in the United States]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cheded |first=Farah |date=June 29, 2017 |title=Quite an Experience to Live in Fear: An In-Depth Look at How the Anxieties that Inspired 'Blade Runner' Fare Today |url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/blade-runner-anxieties-today/ |access-date=February 13, 2024 |website=Film School Rejects |language=en-US |archive-date=February 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213225002/https://filmschoolrejects.com/blade-runner-anxieties-today/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

These thematic elements provide an atmosphere of uncertainty for ''Blade Runner''{{'}}s central theme of examining humanity. In order to discover replicants, an empathy test is used, with a number of its questions focused on the treatment of animals&nbsp;– seemingly an essential indicator of one's "humanity". Replicants will not respond the same way humans would, showing a lack of concern. The film goes so far as to question if Deckard might be a replicant, in the process asking the audience to re-evaluate what it means to be human.<ref>Gwaltney, Marilyn. "Androids as a Device for Reflection on Personhood" in {{Harvp|Kerman|1991|p=32–39}}</ref>

The question of whether Deckard is intended to be a human or a replicant has been an ongoing controversy since the film's release.{{sfn|Bukatman|p=80–83}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/deckard-replicant-history-blade-runners-enduring-mystery/ |title=Is Deckard a Replicant? The history of Blade Runner's most enduring mystery |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |author=Tristram Fane Saunders |date=October 5, 2017 |access-date=March 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190311132411/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/deckard-replicant-history-blade-runners-enduring-mystery/ |archive-date=March 11, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Both Michael Deeley and Harrison Ford wanted Deckard to be human, while Hampton Fancher preferred ambiguity.{{sfn|Sammon|p=362}} Ridley Scott has stated that he envisaged Deckard as a replicant.<ref>{{citation |editor-last=Peary |editor-first=Danny |year=1984 |title=''Omni''<nowiki />'s Screen Flights, Screen Fantasies: The Future According to Science Fiction |chapter=Directing ''Alien'' and ''Blade Runner'': An Interview with Ridley Scott |publisher=[[Omni (magazine)|Omni]] / [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/omnisscreenfligh00pear/page/293 293–302] |isbn=978-0-385-19202-6 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/omnisscreenfligh00pear/page/293}}</ref><ref name="nytkaplan">{{citation |access-date=July 27, 2011 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/movies/30kapl.html |title=A Cult Classic Restored, Again |last=Kaplan |first=Fred |date=September 30, 2007 |work=The New York Times |quote=The film's theme of dehumanization has also been sharpened. What has been a matter of speculation and debate is now a certainty: Deckard, the replicant-hunting cop, is himself a replicant. Mr. Scott confirmed this: 'Yes, he's a replicant. He was always a replicant.' |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180205073914/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/movies/30kapl.html |archive-date=February 5, 2018}}</ref> Deckard's unicorn-dream sequence, inserted into Scott's ''Director's Cut'' and concomitant with Gaff's parting gift of an origami unicorn, is seen by many as showing that Deckard is a replicant&nbsp;– because Gaff could have retrieved Deckard's implanted memories.<ref name="Alessio" /><ref name="scott2017">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/blade-runner-questions-may-have-seeing-sequel/ |title=What is a Blade Runner? And other questions you may have before seeing the sequel |author=Adam White |date=October 2, 2017 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |access-date=March 11, 2019 |quote=[RIDLEY SCOTT] Gaff, at the very end, leaves an origami, which is a piece of silver paper you might find in a cigarette packet, and it's a unicorn. Now, the unicorn in Deckard's daydream tells me that Deckard wouldn't normally talk about such a thing to anyone. If Gaff knew about that, it's Gaff's message to say, 'I've read your file, mate.' |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329195134/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/blade-runner-questions-may-have-seeing-sequel/ |archive-date=March 29, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/825641.stm |title=''Blade Runner'' riddle solved |date=July 9, 2000 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140406230204/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/825641.stm |archive-date=April 6, 2014}}</ref> The interpretation that Deckard is a replicant is challenged by others who believe the unicorn imagery shows that the characters, whether human or replicant, share the same dreams and recognize their affinity,<ref>Brooker, Peter "Imagining the Real: ''Blade Runner'' and Discourses on the Postmetropolis" in {{harvnb|Brooker|pp=9, 222}}.</ref> or that the absence of a decisive answer is crucial to the film's main theme.{{sfn|Bukatman|p=83}} The film's inherent ambiguity and uncertainty, as well as its textual richness, have permitted multiple interpretations.<ref>Hills, Matt "Academic Textual Poachers: ''Blade Runner'' as Cult Canonical Film" in {{harvnb|Brooker|pp=124–141}}.</ref>