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Does Deckard Think He Might Be A Replicant?
- Thread starter monta
- Start date
Depends. If the now infamous deleted unicorn scene is included, Deckard might be a replicant, since Gaff might have an idea of what Deckard was dreaming about. And then there's the now famous scene where Deckard's eyes glow.
I prefer to interpret Deckard as human. First, if a replicant, why is he such a wimp? Yes, there were weaker replicants that were intended to mimic normal human abilities but even a "basic pleasure model" like Pris was super strong. Also, in the shot but never released chase scene, where Deckard is running across cars to get Zora, Ford played Deckard as normal- that is, clumsy and having a rough go of it, a contrast to the agile, fast and strong replicants.
Also, Deckard's relationship with LAPD is rocky- but Bryant refers to Deckard as an "old blade runner" as if they've worked together for a long time. The memory manipulation tech' is implied to be brand new though. Maybe Bryant was lying about the "old blade runner", but that would then show that the entire police dept. was in on keeping Deckard's non-humanity a secret.
The origami unicorn is intentionally ambiguous, but Gaff also made an origami chicken to imply Deckard was a coward, not as some insight into chicken dreams. And the stick figure man was Gaff's not-so-subtle way of saying "stop screwing around with Rachel", not some insight into Deckard's head. I interpreted the unicorn as a symbol of Gaff's critique of Deckard chasing mythical unattainable things.
Scott used eye imagery all throughout the film, and Deckards glowing eyes in the one scene may be a hint that he's a replicant. But I saw it as a stylistic gesture showing how Deckard was sympathizing with the replicant's plight, not that he was actually one.
In the novel he is definitely not a replicant. Either way, even if Deckard was a replicant, I don't think Deckard thought he was one until the end and even that was likely murky to Deckard himself.
I prefer to interpret Deckard as human. First, if a replicant, why is he such a wimp? Yes, there were weaker replicants that were intended to mimic normal human abilities but even a "basic pleasure model" like Pris was super strong. Also, in the shot but never released chase scene, where Deckard is running across cars to get Zora, Ford played Deckard as normal- that is, clumsy and having a rough go of it, a contrast to the agile, fast and strong replicants.
Also, Deckard's relationship with LAPD is rocky- but Bryant refers to Deckard as an "old blade runner" as if they've worked together for a long time. The memory manipulation tech' is implied to be brand new though. Maybe Bryant was lying about the "old blade runner", but that would then show that the entire police dept. was in on keeping Deckard's non-humanity a secret.
The origami unicorn is intentionally ambiguous, but Gaff also made an origami chicken to imply Deckard was a coward, not as some insight into chicken dreams. And the stick figure man was Gaff's not-so-subtle way of saying "stop screwing around with Rachel", not some insight into Deckard's head. I interpreted the unicorn as a symbol of Gaff's critique of Deckard chasing mythical unattainable things.
Scott used eye imagery all throughout the film, and Deckards glowing eyes in the one scene may be a hint that he's a replicant. But I saw it as a stylistic gesture showing how Deckard was sympathizing with the replicant's plight, not that he was actually one.
In the novel he is definitely not a replicant. Either way, even if Deckard was a replicant, I don't think Deckard thought he was one until the end and even that was likely murky to Deckard himself.
rojse
RF Addict
I loved the scene in "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" where Deckard is taken into custody, and told that he is a Replicant. That was quite a mind-blowing moment in the novel for me.
If you liked the Blade Runner movie and novel, have a look at the first sequel to Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2: Edge of Human, written by K. W. Jeter (and there are two more I have not yet gotten around to reading). It's the first franchise novel that I would actually recommend to someone else - it ties together the book and movie quite well, and clears up the inconsistencies between the book and movie, too.
That entire novel has such profound insights I find something new every time I read it.
I haven't read Jeter's books but have always wanted to despite them being franchise novels. I did pick up the recent comic book of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and it's worth reading. It's not an adaptation, but lifts the prose directly from Dick's novel. It's a cool attempt at bridging the prose novel and film; comics as a medium do that pretty well.
Review: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? #1 - Comic Book Resources
rojse
RF Addict
I thought the same as you when I first saw the spin-off novels - here's an author trying to get on the gravy train without any thought for the quality of the books being written, let alone the fans of the book or movie. I wrote a review and posted it on LibraryThing (a site for cataloging books): The Edge of Human (Blade Runner, Book 2) by K.W. Jeter | LibraryThing. My review is the one with more than two paragraphs, BTW.