Technology In Blade Runner

In essence, Science Fiction is, as David Brin expounds, “the literature of exploration and change”. The enduring relevance of this genre comes from its ability to infer the implications of human advancement by creatively inventing scenarios that reflect upon the human psyche. These pseudo-realities constructed through artificial worlds by writers and filmmakers explore ideas about our own reality, by asserting the potential for technological advancement to corrupt the individual and society. Ridley Scott’s timeless film ‘Blade Runner’ (1982) and Jonathan Nolan’s television adaptation of Michael Crichton’s 1973 film ‘Westworld’ (2016) effectively demonstrate author's ability to explore ideas of technological advancement through the construction

I ought to know. I do the same thing.” Texts within the genre of Science Fiction serve as testimony to Dick’s statement, with their core elements of the artificial world present within the text being the key to understanding our own reality. Scott’s ‘Blade runner’ encompasses the superficial elements concerning fictional science in a futuristic setting in order to express ideas of technological advancement and the idea of “more human than human”. Scott weaves together noir elements to create the dark, rain-drenched megalopolis of Los Angeles in 2019 which is evidence of his manipulation and amalgamation of genres to present these key themes. He does this in order to present ideas about human destruction, technological control and thus reinforces ideas about the dire nature of the human reality. He extrapolates from America’s economic situation during the 1980’s and the influence of Reaganomics - President Ronald Reagan’s conservative economic policy that attacked the 1980 recession and stagflation. Through doing this he extends the situation to speculate about the

The idea that the immorality that characterised the human characters in these texts would be considered immoral if these androids were not appreciated as more than a machine is explored through the construction of artificial worlds. Throughout ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Westworld’ mankind is viewed by the audience in a way that consequently evokes an ironic sense of empathy for the created rather than the creator. The androids - whilst capable of being wrong - essentially exhibit more ‘humanity’ than their human creators. This is exhibited through the plosive consonants present in Roy’s confession to Tyrell “I’ve done.. Questionable things” , to which Tyrell replies “Also extraordinary things”. Tyrell’s reassuring affirmation in response to his own self-interest reflects the nature of the moral compass that directs his life as a result of the capitalist greed that overwhelms his life. In ‘Blade Runner’, Scott aims to answer the difficult questions of ‘What constitutes humanity’ and the idea of immorality versus morality through scenes such as the high modality in Pris’ declarative statement ‘I think therefore I am’. This coincides with the ‘Tears in the Rain’ scene involving replicant Roy and Deckard. This scene depicts Deckard’s cold and apathetic existence, juxtaposed to Roy’s passionate and free-thinking nature. He