Alex Remington
Avery Johnson
Cal Gutiérrez
Matthew Mimeault
Avery Johnson
Cal Gutiérrez
Matthew Mimeault
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eogpIG53Cis
Blade Runner (1982) 1:57:37 Directed by Ridley Scott. Screenplay by Hampton Fancher and David Webb Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer and Sean Young.
Movieclips Trailer Vault. ( Blade Runner (1982) Official Trailer). Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube 27 January 2014. Web. 19 November 2017.
Movieclips Trailer Vault. ( Blade Runner (1982) Official Trailer). Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube 27 January 2014. Web. 19 November 2017.
In Los Angeles, 2019, Rick Deckard is a retired Blade Runner (a cop that kills rogue replicants). Replicants are androids used in space colonies for dangerous and life-threatening tasks, as well as degrading jobs such as escorts and janitors. Replicants are banned on Earth. When four replicants escape from their off-World colony, Deckard is forced, by his former boss Bryant, to return to his old job as a Blade Runner in order to hunt down the four replicants and “retire” (kill) them. The four replicants are Leon, a replicant with a lot of strength, Pris, a "basic pleasure model," Zhora, trained for an off-world kick-murder squad, and Roy Batty, a combat model. Deckard must stop these replicants before they track down their creator (Tyrell) to demand that he expand their four year lifespan.While visiting Tyrell, Deckard meets Rachael, a replicant that didn’t know she was a replicant. She thought she was Tyrell's niece because Tyrell implanted her with his niece’s memories. Deckard falls in love with Rachael. When Rachael realizes she is in fact a replicant, she runs away and Deckard is informed by Bryant that he has to kill her, too. Rachel kills Leon. Deckard kills Zhora and Pris, but is almost killed by Roy Batty. Luckily, Roy shows mercy and compassion, therefore allowing Deckard live before he dies. In the end, Deckard escapes with Rachael so he doesn’t have to kill her.
Costumes
The wardrobes in Blade runner consists of a unique melange of 1940s styling,since the movie is set in the future, it makes the movie timeless.Pris has very interesting clothing, apart from her infamous face makeup and her wardrobe includes props of many colours, fishnets and rips and tears. Pris style depicts her as a very futuristic and grungy replicant.
Rachel also has a very unique style that includes a mix of very formal and proper clothing, she often wears over the top outfits. Deckard's wardrobe is very bland and basic, he wears plenty of dull, earthy tones.
Film Techniques
The majority of this movie is filmed with the use of low-key lighting. This type of lighting gives of the effect of darkness and scariness to this movie, making Blade Runner a very eary and dystopian type of movie .It is constantly raining in this movie, this shows that the world is highly polluted ,this also contributes to the film noir effect, which makes the movie more dark and mysterious.
High key lighting was rarely used. The intention of using high-key lighting rarely was to show the audience the importance of a specific part on the movie. For example, the scene when you see a unicorn in his dream
High shot angle: an example in the movie is when Deckard is hanging from the rooftop, the camera films from a high angle this represents how vulnerable Deckard is. This shot also shows the audience how far the drop down is and how fatal the fall could be. When the Tyrell corporation’s building is shown, it is filmed from a low angle, showing how important the corporation is and how much power it has over the society.
Cross cutting: An example of this film technique in the movie is when Deckard is searching for Roy at Sebastian’s apartment, shoots of both of them, therefore building suspense and representing a cat and mouse chase.
Non-diegetic sounds: the use of Non-Diegetic music occurs during multiple scenes in the movie. For example, when Deckard is chasing after Zhora in the streets and shoots her in the back, therefore killing her. At this scene, there is a use of Non-Diegetic music adding to the suspense of the scene and increases the heartbeat of the viewers.There was a similar type of music that was played throughout the movie, the music included simple sounds of twinkles. This music was very simple but does have a profound effect of suspense on the audience.
Questions raised
Many questions are raised while viewing this film such as "How far should we go in robot development?" ." “Should robots be considered as our equals and treated the same as we are?”and “Would it be possible to fall in love with a robot and live with them as partners?” Some other questions were raised are "Why is there so much advertisement?", Could all of the advertisements represent corporate capitalism?
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Film Review
The quality of the film was good considering that it was made in 1982.The plot was well written, but the movie was slightly confusing and difficult to follow and should be watched more than once to completely understand. As of strengths, the action scenes were well shot and built enough suspense. The special effects were a strength in this movie because they were very realistic and didn’t look cheesy what so ever. As of weaknesses, some scenes were dragged on too long and some were unnecessary, an example of a scene that was dragged on too long is the opening scene where an overview is shown of the setting.This scene lasted close to 3 minutes where as a one minute overview would've been sufficient. Another weakness was that at some points the movie did not keep the audiences attention well, partially due to the low lighting and the absence of sound.
Themes and Issues
In the movie, the replicants are not granted personhood and are treated like slaves. Replicants main purpose on earth were originally used to do dangerous and life risking jobs. Every replicant were assigned a different task. For example, Pris is a basic pleasure model, Leon a solider and manual laborer and Zhora a sex worker retrained as an assassin.They were given the jobs in which real humans wouldn't normally do. Replicants are not considered as a person and many may argue that they should be. The criteria to consider someone a person includes sentience. In the movie Blade Runner, Rachel shows sentience towards Deckard through compassion, love and also expresses her feelings towards him.
In the movie, the replicants are artificial intelligence robots and are objectified. For example, the replicants are expected to do the jobs that humans would not do such as a garbage man/women as well as jobs like escorts. Replicants are used as slaves for the real humans. In this movie we can argue that replicants are in fact sentient beings who have their own perception, are aware and can feel emotions. Replicants and robots are similar in the sense that they were both created by humans, they also have their differences such as the fact that replicants have their own personalities, preferences and views just as a human being would.
In the movie, the artificial intelligence replicants are conscious of their decision-making skills and possess emotional feelings. For example, the scene when Rachel saves Deckards life when shooting Leon in the back before killing him, therefore she felt the fear of Deckard dying and wanted to save him. Another example, when Rachel shows love and compassion towards Deckard and eventually falls in love with him. From what we know this proves consciousness in a real human being.
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Questions Raised
1. Do you think that replicants are really sentient or just programmed to appear sentient?
2. How would it feel to fall in love with a robot and how will society perceive this kinds of relationships? Can it compare to how society perceives homosexuality?
3. Should a robot virtually be identical to a human, having an equal intelligence and appearance be granted personhood?
Links
This video is focused on the Real Doll, a realistic sex doll that was created. This video goes through the controversy of sex dolls and how they objectify women and humans in general. Sex dolls are created to do things that normal people wouldn't usually do, just as replicants were. This video also explains the uncanny valley and how they are trying to work towards creating a sex doll that has surpassed the uncanny valley, something like a replicant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3880Trwl-AE
Engadgets ( Realdoll's first sex robot took me to the uncanney valley| Computer Love.) Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube. 11 November 2017. Web. 19 November 2017
This video describes Steven Hawking and his views on artificial intelligence. Hawking says that Artificial Intelligence will "Take off on its own, and redesign itself at an increasing rate". In theory Steven Hawking believes that with further development of Artificial Intelligence, therefore it can lead to passing the level of the human race. As a result, we will have to worry about the extinction of the human race.
https://globalnews.ca/news/1705667/stephen-hawking-warns-artificial-intelligence-could-mean-human-extinction/
Works Cited
Engadgets ( Realdoll's first sex robot took me to the uncanney valley| Computer Love.) Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube. 11 November 2017. Web. 19 November 2017
IN THE NOW ( Hawking warns Ai will end Mankind uses AI himself). Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube. 10 December 2014. 19 November 2017
I believe that Replicants are truly sentient, as they perceive and experience the world around them, confirming their consciousness. Throughout the movie we can see them express their emotions, such as anger when Roy realizes that he cannot extend his life span and kills Eldon Tyrell. In addition to understanding the world around them, they can also physically feel pain and recognize it, like when Priz is shot by Rick. Their qualia demonstrates their sentience, although one can argue that this is part of their programming.
ReplyDeleteTo answer to the third question, I do not think that robots should look like us, humans, or that they should have an equal intelligence, or be granted personhood. Robots are just a program in some metallic pieces, but humans have a brain and skin and a heart. How can you trust something with no feelings or without a conscience to have rights and responsibilities? I could not trust it. I said it because it is not a he or a she even if it has a human apparence. I did not know what a Blade runner was and the fact that you explained it is really great. I had not watch that movie and from what I read of the plot summary I think I can figure out quite well what the movie is about and what will happen.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the 1st question, I think that replicants are really sentient because in the film we see that the replicants go and demand for more life because they feel that it was unfair to be given such a short life. This shows that these replicants have a sense of what is fair and unfair, and are aware of themselves and their surroundings. It points out that they really are sentient because if their creator didn’t program them to feel that unfairness, then they have established it themselves. Another hint is how emotional Rachael was in the film, she was much more emotional than the other replicants, making it obvious that Rachael is really sentient and not programmed to be.
ReplyDelete