MAN DESTROYS CREATOR, MAN BECOMES CREATOR, MAN CREATES, CREATION DESTROYS MAN, CREATION BECOMES MAN.

In 1968 Philip K. Dick wrote the influential Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? in which humans of the future construct replicas of living species gone extinct after the last World War. Desperate for companionship, those remaining on Earth (many people have been forced to recolonize off-planet) construct human replicas. These replicas have been given a short lifespan. After rethinking the consequences of playing God, the humans send the replicants off-world. The replicants over time have developed a conscience and begin to question the meaning of their existence. Many who are opposed to segregation and deportation simply blend in unnoticed.

This classic story tackles some pretty big questions about our creative ability, why we are here, our deep seeded need to categorize and discriminate, as well as virtual vs. reality.

In 1982 Ridley Scott recreated the story as the film Blade Runner, in which a retired "replicant killer" hunts down several dangerous androids who have returned to Earth in search of their creator.

The most memorable part of the film is the scene in which the lead replicant, Roy, finds his creator who he murders by pushing his eyes into his skull. This scene is poetic on several levels: the failsafe marker of replicants, the only differentiation between replicants and humans, lies within its eye-function (the "involuntary dilation of the iris"). The act of patricide is seen in many classic works and has long haunted me as one of the darker acts of humanity.

A similar scene occurs in the 2000 film, Gladiator. Commodus murders his father Marcus Aurelius upon learning that he will not succeed him as Emperor. There are feelings of betrayal and innocence in both scenes that I relate to. I assume Ridley Scott must relate to these as well due to the fact that Gladiator is also his work.

An underlying (yet essential) theme of Bladerunner is Deckard's self-questioning. Is he real or a replicant? Everything he has come to know about himself, about the world around him, could be false. In addition to this he has been used by the system to commit acts he may or may not be comfortable with. In the end he discovers the true meaning of life.

Philip K. Dick is a major literary inspiration. Ridley Scott is one of my favorite film directors. Blade Runner is my favorite film.

"Blade Runner is one of the great films of the twentieth century. There are many reasons that contribute to this. There is the obvious enjoyment one can have of simply watching a fantastic film with interesting characters in a stunningly created environment set to terrific music. But there is also much more depth to this particular film. It addresses some of the eternal questions that humans have asked for centuries, for example:

"What does it mean to be human?"
"What is reality?"
"What is the difference between real memories and artificial memories?"
"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 the film for those who wish to examine them. Brought out by script, direction and even visual design, which in Blade Runner sometimes almost becomes a character in itself.

Many are interested in these subjects simply for their own sake. Others are lucky enough to study them as part of academic courses. It seems there is an increasing need for a resource guide to find all those excellent analysis essays dispersed across the Web. Let this be it" (Taken from brmovie.com, 2005).