Blade Runner film, directed by Ridley Scott in 1982, is based on the ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep 1968 novel in which the movie examines what is real and what is unreal between replicants and humans (Sammon 12). Ridley Scott intentionally creates confusion and suspicion throughout the movie, which brings the question, ‘Is Deckard a replicant? Like humans, the replicants have feelings of love and hate and can get hurt; for instance, Rachel, the replicants, are very similar to humans, making it harder to understand if Deckard is a replicant or a human. As a character, Deckard has been portrayed as ‘good,’ he consistently protects the well-being of other people, kills the replicants not for his own sake but for others, and ensures law and order in the process. In an interview, the director argues that considering that the movie is filled with paranoia, it was only suitable that his character remained in a dilemma. Deckard locates the differences between humans and nonhumans captured in the quote, ‘An android does not care what happens to another android, ‘to which someone logically replies, ‘Then you must be an android.’ (Bukatman 69). Deckard is a complex human, evident through his emotions, moral dilemmas, and role in the film.
First, Deckard’s emotional capacities of love, empathy, and fear lead us to believe he is not a replicant. According to Phillip K.Dick’s definition, ‘the human is that which experiences empathy. However, if Androids have no feelings, then it is worth noting that blade runners are not supposed to feel anything (hatred, fear, lust) for their victims.’ (Bukatman 69). The first defining characteristic of humans is the ability to feel and form bonds. Just like humans, Deckard forms a genuine bond with Rachel, which results in him exposing his uncontrolled feelings of empathy, vulnerability, lust, and love, which is uncommon for a replicant. In the film, Deckard tells Rachel ‘”I want you. I want what you want (Dick). “Deckard’s guilt further stresses his humanity; for instance, when he quits his job, he hesitates when doing his work of ‘retiring replicants and questions if he is doing the right thing. Deckard consistently thinks about the nature of life and death, which most humans do. Moreover, Deckard reveals his fear in his encounters with the artificial replicants, especially when he is in the hands of Roy; he feels afraid, threatened, and anxious, which are defining characteristics of humanity when faced with danger.
In addition, Deckard constantly faces ethical and moral dilemmas in the film, further reinforcing his humanity. Among the determining factors of a human is conscience; Deckard’s actions as a result of his conscience prove that he is human. At the movie’s beginning, Deckard does not want to be involved in the Blade Runner game; later, Deckard confesses to Rachel that ‘I get the shakes whenever I kill a replicant (Bukatman). ‘This shows that Deckard was conscious and had been affected emotionally by the ‘work’ he was doing. Deckard’s conscience drives him from being a hardened replicant hunter-human to discovering his humanity and developing emotional understanding. Like humans, Deckard is empathetic to the replicants he was supposed to kill; he falls in love with Rachel and feels emotionally connected with her, highlighting the human potential for empathy that artificial beings cannot feel. Deckard also feels unsure when differentiating between humans and replicants; he is confused and worried that he might kill the wrong person. The internal battles and moral dilemmas are reflective of human characteristics.
Deckard’s character and role in the film prove that he is human. In the film, Deckard represents the human world and is the character from whom the audience gets the experience of the dystopian world; his daily activities and beliefs emphasize human thinking capacity and the nature of their lives, fears, and weaknesses. As a blade runner, he had to be human to retire the replicants and bring out the contrasting sides. Through his character, we compare human and nonhuman, natural and artificial, which is evident when Scott, during an interview, stressed, “He is human. We have the human and the machine’ (Sammon). His role in the film was to bring out the differences and drive the theme of the US vs. them forward throughout the film. Deckard is the character that most audiences resonate with; his experiences exemplify humans’ lives and experiences.
In contrast to the fact that Deckard is human, some counterarguments exist that Deckard is a replicant, precisely the question surrounding the unicorn dream, the replicant glittery eyes, and the test. Deckard’s unicorn dream hints that he is a replicant; Gaff knew about the dream, which only means that the memories were planted in Deckard’s mind, and he intentionally leaves him a unicorn origami made of paper in the end, pointing out that he knew about his identity and the shared dreams. The dream reflects the character’s inability to escape captivity, which all replicants had in common. The unicorn symbol consequentially hints that his memories were implanted like the replicants he hunted. The question of whether Deckard himself took the Voight-Kampff test is uncleared, which suggests that he might be a replicant. When Rachel asks Deckard if he went through the Voight-Kampf test, Deckard ignores the question, leaving questions on whether he is a replicant. If Deckard were truly sure that he was human, he would have quickly answered the question; furthermore, he is expected to have taken the test first just out of curiosity, even before testing the others. Just like the other replicas, Deckard’s eyes had a red glow in the apartment, as described: “his eyes glint with an ominous reflection in the bathroom mirror, a visual echo of the artificial glow seen in the eyes of known replicants” (Bukatman). As much as the scene is brief, it is the most explicit proof that Deckard is a replicant. When Deckard looks at Zhora, the spark of his eyes in the mirror raises curiosity about his identity. The glowing eyes differentiate humans from replicants in the film since their eyes are made with shiny materials; this scene evokes curiosity and questions about Deckard’s true nature.
Nevertheless, despite the contrasting views, the counterarguments are not substantial and can be rebutted. First and foremost, we are still determining whether Deckard ignored the question about him taking the test or fell asleep and did not even hear Rachel asking the question. Secondly, regarding the glittering replica eyes, there might have been a technical issue with the lights; it was not consistent but was a very brief moment, which proves that it was not deliberate and not a hint. The fact that the director, in an interview, comments, ‘ The greenscreen shoot was a special-effects session that we did to correct some minor visual and audio problems’ (Sammon 16) only highlights that minor mistakes happen during filmmaking. Lastly, regarding the argument that Deckard had the shared dream familiar to all replicants about the unicorn, the dream reflects his subconscious; he felt trapped and controlled by his work, and it is normal for a human being in an entrapped love situation to dream of freedom where he would freely love. More importantly, Deckard had read the replicants’ files concerning their memories, and these might have been Rachel’s memories but not his. Deckard’s humanity is more evident than the few justifiable instances of artificial nature.
In conclusion, a more thoughtful analysis helps confirm Deckard’s humane identity despite the film’s ambiguity on Deckard’s identity. The emotional capacity and ethical dilemmas Deckard experiences are common characteristics of human nature and what human beings go through in their daily life experiences. It was important for the director to make Deckard’s identity a dilemma for artistic reasons and to bring out the thematic concerns effectively.
Works Cited
Bukatman, Scott. Blade Runner. British Film Institute, 1997.
Dick, Philip K. Blade Runner : (Do Androids Dream All Electric Sheep?). Ballatine, 2007.
Sammon, Paul. Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner. Dey Street Books, An Imprint Of William Morrow, 2017.
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