At first sight, it is easy to identify what means to be a human thus referring to a concept of Homo sapiens species. That means that to be human implies to be differentiated from animals. Therefore, unlike animals, humans have not only biological needs but also constant needs in communication within society. Hence, people always feel the necessity to communicate with friends and family. Regarding this, to be intelligent and to have the ability to speak does not fully mean to be a human. Humanity is the main feature that makes us aware that we belong to a certain community. To be human means to care for the world’s welfare and fight against evil. The movie Blade Runner is a bright example of the gradual realization of human features and a difficult process of personality shaping.
Blade Runner is a science fiction film that depicts Los Angeles of 2019 in which sophisticated humanoids beings called replicants were created as a labor force serving on the outer colonies beyond the human world. That is why they are not recognized in the human world as a full-fledged member of society. The main character of the film is a blade runner who is trained to liquidate the escaped replicants until they become too human. In general, the film reveals the problems of human morale and human behavior; it is the story that narrates the essence of the notion of humanity. In this movie, the main hero goes through numerous adventures thus transforming his outlook on what it is like to be a human. The authors of the film intend to present their own idea of humanity.
The hero of Harrison Ford, Rick Deckhard, zooms the streets in the constant search for the lost replicants. Through the film, we see the hero’s facing the actual human values thus evolving from an unhappy and impassionate personality to a concerned human being overwhelmed with the issues of morale.
At the beginning of the investigation, Deckard together with his partner seeks four replicants who fled from the colony. While investigating the case, the hero discovers that his beloved is a replicant so that it was the first when he starts reappraising the machines. Rick begins rethinking the actual concept of humanity since his replicants’ probability to reveal emotions changed the outlook on humanity’s purpose. Moreover, the fact that he had affection for a creature that has no soul and heart has forced him to look at his life from another angle.
In the course of the movie, Rick encounters many situations that propelled him to think over the actual purpose of life and why replicants are considered evil creatures since they were created by humans. If so, then everything that is created by people is harmful so that the humans themselves are evil. The situation when Rachel saves Ricks’s life from Leon’s Attack reveals the truth that replicants, like humans, may feel compassion and sympathy and there are cases when they are even more reliable than humans made of flesh and blood. The main hero realizes that the technological era greatly changed the people’s attitude to nature and to the main principles of morale. Instead, power and strength were the major virtues.
In the scene, when Rick Dackard encounters the replicants he managed to witness to what extent the robots were horrified being on the edge of death. They reveal their extreme desire to live and that is why they were ready to fight to the end. Moreover, what impressed Dackard most is the replicants’ ability to work in a team and to support each other. He was also confused by the way humanoids treat people. For instance, instead of expressing their hatred, Roy tries to help Sebastian, a human who is suffering from the accelerated aging. Here, Dackard feels respect for the replicants who appreciate the time and life itself much more than real people. The most exciting scene in the movie is the rooftop scene where there emerges the final battle of the humanized machines and hard-hearted humans. Even though humans win in this battle, replicants reveal their richer spiritual inner world than people do. Thus, at the moment when Dackard hangs outside the roof, Roy stretches his hand of help saying: “I’ve seen many things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder f Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tanhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain….Time to die.” Here, on could see the manifestation of human spirit revealed by a heartless machine. Roy makes Rick believe that life is wonderful and the most valuable thing in the world.
The film reflects the main philosophical question: each human should feel responsible for his/her life and appreciate every minute of it. Only cooperation and mutual help can generate love and respect. Hence, the main character of the movie realized that to be Homo sapiens does not mean to be fully human.
Works Cited
Scott, Ridley Blade Runner 1982. Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young. DVD: Columbia-EMI-Warner, nelson Entertainment.