Phillpott--Blade Runner and Replicants

The movie Blade Runner deals with the complex question of what make someone (or something) human? In Blade Runner, there are Replicants (humanoid robots) that live amongst the post-apocalyptic Los Angeles community. According to "A Film Pro Dissects Sci-Fi F/X Unsurpassed after 25 years," the Replicants are genetically engineered humanoids that do the hard work on off-world colonies. They were made by the Tyrell Corporation, but are difficult to distinguish from “real” humans. They have all the qualities of humans. They have emotions, and they are able to communicate and live amongst the “real” humans (those born “naturally) without giving their true identities away. They act like they are human, and in the case of Rachel, she doesn’t even know that she is a Replicant.

In Blade Runner, the Replicants are subjected to a “human” test to prove whether or not they are Replicants. In the movie, the androids are seen as being below humans socially. Yet, the irony is that the Replicants seem more human than the real humans. They only have a four year life-span so they live each moment to the fullest. They don’t hold back on their emotions like the humans in the movie do.

So, their behavior begs the question of what is human? Are you a human solely based on genetics, or can you be human if you were made by humans? Is being human defined by your actions in life, or by being born from a human mother? I think this movie does a great job with exploring this question. The idea of human should not be restricted to our limited understanding. Blade Runner truly proves that the Replicants are more human than humans.