Blade Runner is an empathy test

[@LateBoomer-sl1dk]

The book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is interesting because you see machines becoming more human while humans are becoming increasingly more machine-like.

[@Blontified]

... as humans try to emulate machines

[@LateBoomer-sl1dk]

@@Barbaste Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick.

[@maxwellschmidt235]

The movie largely does the same- throughout the film Deckard is alienated from his humanity while the replicants are striving for recognition of their own.

[@zeusengine]

That's an interesting interpretation of the book. As far as the movies go, I would agree with your thesis. In some ways, the androids of the movies are more human than the humans with the androids being the true protagonists. However, the movies always struck me as an inversion of the book. In the book, I think Philip K Dick seemed to imply the opposite. That a machine, no matter how close of a facsimile to humans they might be, is still just a machine, a machine whose purpose is to imitate humanity, and this goal is ultimately achieved by deception and the manipulation of the emotions of humans. The author never explicitly states this. That's what makes the book better than the movies imho. You are open to drawing your own conclusions and the message of the book can be interpreted in many different ways.

[@naaierer]

A central theme of the book is how religion is a tool which facilitates this.

[@stuartwashington2658]

I was in 9th grade at a predominantly Black inner-city public science magnet school in Washington, DC in the early 90s. My teacher let me write my final report on science fiction films since 1977. While I was summarizing Blade Runner, I realized (and wrote in my report) that Roy Baty was essentially Nat Turner. I got an A- on the report. My teacher was impressed. This is the first video that I have ever seen that directly relates the plight of the Replicants with the African-American experience. My 9th grade self is grateful.

[@marianotorrespico2975]

--- THANK YOU . . . for the pithy anecdote.

[@maxwellschmidt235]

I've seen others mention it. The one voiceover I find I wish they'd left in was when Deckard thinks to himself that the police chief is the kind of guy who would have used the N word. I think it's still obvious that we're supposed to connect the way replicants are treated to the plight of marginalized humans, but since the newer editions are generally agreed to be more artistically valid, video essayists are missing the direct relevance to the continuing civil rights movement. The connection is often made, just not usually with the centrality I agree it deserves.

[@SuperStella1111]

Your grade 9 self was exceptional :)

[@LybertyZ]

I fell for the "science magnet school" thing because I was 13 years old.

[@frenzalrhomb6919]

​@@LybertyZ Australian here. What exactly, did you mean by "science magnet school?

[@conalmcintyre]

Great video! When I was young I didn't like how Blade Runner left out so much of the book. Watching your video reminded me of what an amazing job the film does of taking 5% of the book's story and 25% of it's lead character and using it to explore and play with the subtext of the book - arguably in a deeper way than the source material did.

[@lisaboban]

My favorite PK Dick quote: "The protagonist of any good science fiction story is an idea." Your analysis of the key idea in Blade Runner is truly brilliant.

[@davidlee4068]

My thanks for opening my eyes to empathic aspects of this film which I hadn’t, but should’ve, seen from the start.

[@LateBoomer-sl1dk]

I didn't get it when I first saw it either. It was just follow the main character all the way...

[@NateBostian]

I’m an Episcopal priest who works as a chaplain and religious studies/philosophy teacher in a college prep school. It seems like this would make a great meditation during Holy Week at the end of Lent. The logic of the Incarnation and Passion, when removed from the judicial claptrap of much Western Theology, becomes a story of empathy: How the Creator enters creation to embody empathy, that we may in turn have empathy for all sentient beings. This is a great video to illustrate that.

[@johnkost2514]

The Roy Batty speech is the perfect segway to .. when a man dies, a library burns to the ground .. an African proverb.

[@kaizen5023]

Wow never heard that one, great proverb, thank you.

[@apryason]

I had first heard this proverb, not credited as such, in a Laurie Anderson song. This brings a tear to my eye for my father, who was a briliant physical chemist, and the dumpsters full of references we threw away, because the inventions from those references were already in use, and they were of no use to any present or future scientist. He was in the group who invented unleaded gasoline, done with catalysts in distillation columns instead of adding tetraethyl lead to the final product. He did not live to see the metastudy which indicated that removing childhood exposure to lead resulted in a very significant reduction in violent crime when that child reached adulthood. This study also looked at the remova of lead from paint, resulting in the same conclusion.

[@falouerba7730]

@@apryasonwhich Laurie Anderson song? O‘Superman?

[@videomagic88]

This is one of the best essays I have seen on KZbin… and you did it in 11 minutes.

[@hailhummus]

Your choice of phrasing and use of clips to emphasize your points were really ace and even had me emotional at times. Really great!

[@mxvega1097]

New ending, Damien? I had a feeling an earlier take was more declarative at the end, without the sense that Deckard may or may not be a replicant, but in the grand scheme that was less important than considering empathy, humanity and the implications. I think part of the power of Roy's death scene is that the audience has a gut-churning moment wondering "have I been rooting for the wrong character all this time? what then of my own judgement and morality? have I been dehumanizing on command by the metanarrative of the story?". Scott tears back this veil quite brutally, as he's given so little to humanize the replicants prior - even Pris seems somewhat untrustworthy as she befriends the chickenhead - he's a sanctuary, then a means to an end. Even Roy howling in grief could be programmed psychosis. But not the end, as Deckard hears his expression of restraint, perspective, compassion, and empathy, even for "you people".

[@DamienWalter]

I removed about 3 minutes of context material from the end that is usefull for students on my course, but killed the video in the algorithm. Will see if this version does better.

[@kedabro1957]

​@@DamienWalter How could you tell those specific 3 minutes were what the algorithm was rejecting? I thought the algo was based on likes and watch-time?

[@MustafaAlmosawi]

One of your best video essays yet, I liked your pacing much better in this one. More natural. Great points as well. Blade Runner is a great work of art, its many layers reward repeated viewings and contemplation.

[@timothylivingston4135]

Rutger Hauer was an amazing actor. I love your content. It is beautiful and thoughtful.

[@DamienWalter]

He really deserved better parts. I read he accepted ever part he was offered because he loved being on film sets.

[@michaelroseagain]

Like all great essays, and art, you've helped 20k viewers understand something they already knew. "More Human Than Human", emotional response tests, it's all there to be found, but it takes a Damien Walter to gently point out the obvious. Thanks for articulating this, I hope we're all better humans for watching. And damn you Ridley for genre, tricks and tropes for making me follow a hero who wasn't, but, now, can be.

[@walrusjackboot371]

Finally someone who actually gets this. The only thing I would add is the symbolism around Tyrell. He is a pharoah, having built an empire on the backs of slaves, a man who fancies himself a god and who's gigantic pyramid shaped office complex becomes his tomb.

[@bernardocoto8519]

Awesome essay. I have read the book and been a big fan of both Phillip K. Dick and this movie, and the more it gets analyzed, the more surprises I discover. Truely a masterpiece

[@galaxylegion2]

Thanks!

[@DamienWalter]

Thanks Dan.

[@deepashtray5605]

The issue of sentient androids or "droids" being dismissed as nothing more than slaves and cast aside when no longer useful comes up surprisingly often in Star Wars discussions. Excellent critique which I'd be very interested in hearing a follow up for the 2049 sequel.

[@DamienWalter]

There is a 2049 essay on the channel.

[@deepashtray5605]

@@DamienWalter I'll check it out, thanks.

[@uncletiggermclaren7592]

@@Stumpyblue Equal?. OH, you mean how kindly and benignly the Minds and Drones pretend the humans could possibly be their equals ?.

[@uncletiggermclaren7592]

@@Stumpyblue Well, achievement covers many sins, and what is "Merit" actually?. I am a multi millionaire, my neighbour has three teenagers. I donate a lot of money to worthy causes, his kids are persistent vandals. I didn't make 75% of the money, he did try to make his children good. What is "merit".

[@machinegunblues7]

Excellent breakdown of the theme of empathy in this story. I am forever going to hear your voice when I'm watching a movie passively seeing people die: " you failed the empathy test."

[@DeckerClips1]

As a fan of this movie, I have to object to the overextension of the chattel slavery analogy. Black people did not have the equivalent of origami unicorns from enslavers. Claiming computers have feelings is great for the tech companies that own them, much easier to manipulate empathy and redirect it from Other humans. Equating robots to slaves means the privileged can make them a pet cause and neglect people in actual need- it is the ethic of the gated community dog park: maintained out of self-congratulation for expanding one’s empathy.

[@monsterinhead214]

i had imagined that the replicants are not robots. that they are humans, humans deliberately constructed with artificial genetic components that are the property of the corporation. making the replicants the property of the corporation. but the tale is that the replicant-ness of these humans makes them not human. makes them robots. that is, their status as property is what removes their humanity, not their lack of humanity that makes them slaves.

[@human__________]

you aren't a fan of the movie at all if you think, even after watching this video and probably others, that replicants are robots

[@DeckerClips1]

@@human__________ perfect user name for this edgy comment. Someone has to have the exact correct intepretation even to be a fan lol

[@human__________]

@@DeckerClips1 it's not a fking interpretation. they're literally meat like us. robots are synthetic. the only difference is they're grown in a test tube instead of a womb. if you think that matters then "ok hitler" is all i really have to say to you.

[@human__________]

@@DeckerClips1 do you not understand what a robot is? i really don't understand how you could possibly think a replicant is a robot. like, explain it. explain to me how a human grown in a test tube or whatever instead of a womb is a robot. maybe you think it's a loaded question because i called it a human off the bat but what do you call a thing that is identical to a human all the way down to the genetic level? is it the engineering? do you think they're robots because they're engineered and get a barcode? you honestly have my full attention. i want to know what's going on in that head of yours. what about dogs, yes or no, do dogs have feelings? ok, just one more. are you on the spectrum?

[@UbikKaotikOrkestra]

Very interesting analysis, quite fascinating and relevant. Thanks for sharing this.

[@sirius9468]

Amazing! I love the angle that you took

[@klowen7778]

Wow, profound stuff.... hadn't realized the meaning and larger implications of one of my favorite films, thx! And Philip Dick was right, the tension between empathy and the hated 'other' of Tribalism remains the central dilemma of humanity.

[@nunofernandes4501]

I saw this film for the first time at home with my best friend in VHS in 1989, aged 16. It has since been, and still is, my favourite movie of all time and I very much doubt some other film might come in the near or far future that can replace its top spot in my preferences.

[@bottlezone]

I feel so vindicated, seeing my own feelings on the film expressed so eloquently! Most people tend to accept at face value the idea that replicants are objects-become-persons, but to me the film is clearly an exploration of our capacity to de-humanize. Replicants are not human-like, they are literally humans. They are entirely organic. They possess identical human behaviours and abilities, with the (potential) exception of a slightly lessened emotional maturity, owing to their artificially limited age and freedom. We are given all evidence that they are essentially clones (or entirely assembled from cloned parts), but then we are asked to accept that having serial numbers on their cells somehow means that they are actually robots. The question is not: "what will we add to a machine to eventually make it a person?". The question is: "how little need be taken from a person to convince the world that it is a machine?".

[@MarcoLandin]

A simply PHENOMENAL interpretation of the film. Damien, your channel is at its best when you use our pop-cultural treasures to focus on and highlight the uncomfortable truths that lurk inside our collective identity. And honestly I am amazed when your videos get so raw & confrontational, how they even squeak past the KZbin censorship machines intact, full of real-but-forbidden keywords an unsettling-but-relevant images as this video is. But all for the purpose of a higher goal, the illumination of our darkness, facing of our contorted mirrors, and confronting our inner demons. This video, your breakdown of Civil War, and your opus on The Culture novels, should be required viewing in a cultural studies curriculum. THANK YOU for dedicating so much time & gifting us with such thought-provoking, growth-inducing work.

[@macsnafu]

I don't usually feel justified in saying this, but I think in the case of Blade Runner, the movie is better than the original source story, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The movie is much more thematically coherent, while in the story, thematic ideas are much more abstract and elusive to the reader. There are certainly ideas in the story, but it's not really clear what those ideas represent. Electric animals to replace real animals, the comedy of duplicate police stations that seem to be unaware of each other, the dust and disintegration of homes, and the quasi-religious experience as some kind of cinematic savior that Decker goes through without even realizing it. Or maybe I just read the story on a bad day. ;-)

[@palmereldrich8863]

Pkd novels are always jarring from the first page. You're usually thrust into a new world with no preface or context and just have to go along for the ride. I think you have to read at least 3 of them before your mind is able to not get distracted by all the novel concepts thrown at you in rapid fire and actually start to process what the hell it is he's trying to say. If you make it that far then you're hooked.

[@Hexxecutioner]

If empathy makes us human, then there's a whole lotta inhumans running around these days.

[@DamienWalter]

Yes. That was very much PKDs point.

[@JamesDeWeaver]

American TV programming for years exposes the viewer to 10,000 + simulated murders annually, this has alot to do with lack of empathy for other members of the human race. 💯✅️

[@steffenpanning2776]

@@DamienWalter Additionally we humans have no problem with hurting animals, even if they are intelligent (pigs, whales, elephants, apes...). Why would we treat a machine differently, only because it has a human face? And if we should, then only because it looks like us?

[@DamienWalter]

@@steffenpanning2776 We have animals killed for us in places we don't see. Modern humans are massively sentimental towards anything lifelike in our immediate vicinity.

[@steffenpanning2776]

​@@DamienWalter The most critical species we about to wipe out is the life we don't see, like plankton, since it builds the base for a lot of life on earth. I'm with you on this argument, but that's not my point here. The animals I enumerated are all quite smart and show empathy and show a theory of mind. They belong the most similar beings on earth to us. We have no problem killing or eating them. If we build a sentient AI and are able to control it, we will use it and delete it if it stops being useful, because that's what we always do with animals, sentient or not. My suspicion is however that AIs will be treated differently, as soon as they look and behave like us and I bet that companies will shy away from producing intelligent androids that resemble us too much, to avoid a discussion about 'Android Rights'.

[@Jim-BobWalton]

Another superb critique. This is SO timely. Perhaps TIMELESS. …also, Rutger Hauer’s sublime performance. Shakespearean in quality

[@haydnwr]

Amazing video essay. This is a film I've been watching since the mid-eighties and had become kind of inured to any emotional or empathic response. Your ideas refreshed my perception of the film and I got goosebumps for the final speech. That hasn't happened in years. Thanks for that.

[@maxwellschmidt235]

This is probably the best video essay I've seen on the original Blade Runner. I haven't seen one so dedicated to the structures of oppression in quite a while if at all. I firmly agree that in the end it doesn't matter if Deckard is human or replicant. "Slave hunter" is the best translation of "blade runner" into social role, but naratively, Deckard is on a line between human and replicant and can fall to either side. The reading that Deckard is human has the advantage that it shows how the system restricts and strips his humanity even as he believes he is protecting humanity. As a privileged human, he starts with an identification of his interests as tied to Tyrell's, but realizes when he can finally see Batty as an equal that the concepts of his own humanity are confined to Tyrell's mastery over him, and sees that his true interests are more similar to those of the replicants. In my opinion the best viewing of Blade Runner is open to as many interpretations as possible.

[@johnniea4684]

Interesting that "blade runner" and "slave hunter" have the same number of letters, too! I like that it's open-ended regarding Deckard's nature (and even his and Rachel's ultimate fate) -- I ignore what 2049 did with all of that. Ford and Scott disagreed on whether he's a replicant or human. Considering him as a human (as is the case for the bulk of the film) makes it easy to identify with him (particularly as the replicants appear to be unpredictable and dangerous in most of their scenes), so making the impact of his confrontation with Roy more impactful, as we see the inherent immorality in what Rick's role in society is, and how Roy is really the one we should be rooting for, as he shows empathy when he has Deckard's life in his hands, whereas we know Rick would have killed Roy in an instant. So, ultimately the illusion of Deckard, as a good if conflicted man doing a brutal, but necessary job to serve a society which has amoral people like Tyrell at the top, is dispelled.

[@maxwellschmidt235]

@johnniea4684 agreed on all points. I take 2049 to also be somewhat ambiguous on the point, but I also don't mind if it resolves deckard to human. It's not really his story and the ambiguity in the first film remains intact- the fact that deckard later becomes definitely one or the other doesn't change that he experiences and we view the first film without confidence in the meaning or lack thereof to life.

[@davidbullock9586]

I just discovered your channel. Thanks. I love your insightful investigation into the science fiction genre, which I've loved since childhood. Perhaps because the complete openendedness of the genre spoke to my need as an ' other ' to see possibilities.

[@MakiPavlidis]

Outstanding video thanks for making it. Othering - it explains so much about culture and politics.

[@davidleemoveforlife6332]

possibly the most intelligent video I've seen yet on KZbin

[@DamienWalter]

Thank you.

[@MrAsmontero]

I always thought that Roy Batty smiled before Deckard falls because he was being sadistic. But after watching this video I feel that he smiled because he now knows that Deckard feels the same as he've always felt and that he (Roy) would save deckard if he slipped.

[@StephaneLefort]

Fantastic analysis. It's like finding the last piece of a puzzle that we've been searching for, but that was simply resting in the palm of our hand. We could feel the piece subconsciously, but we couldn't see it. Thank you so much for shedding light on empathy, such an important connection in this story.

[@DamienWalter]

Thank you for watching.

[@boris_a8580]

Thank you!!! This video is brilliantly intelligent and sensitive. I've never read or seen anything so profound about K Dick or this film. I've seen Blade Runner several times and never really grasped the metaphor of slavery. Thank you for this enlightenment.

[@joeboivin3897]

This light opens a door to the view of this movie I have never seen . In retrospect of the book . The post apocalypse future . The interpolation of your view may not reflect the implied resolution of the book but that of the movie script. Well done on a higher level of reasoning .

[@CarlosAlberto-gb7rn]

Extraordinaria interpretación de algo que está delante de nuestros ojos por años, por décadas, hasta que alguien con la sensibilidad necesaria lo descubre para todos. Gracias.

[@generalstrike7187]

Fantastic analysis and one that cuts to the core of our modern experience. Increasingly we live in societies which ever more transparently seem to seek to dictate and universalise which people are deserving of empathy and which people's suffering is not worthy of consideration or even acknowledged as existing. Indeed there are times where even to empathise with some people or acknowledge their humanity is portrayed as a moral failing and grounds for censure.

[@OneofInfinity.]

Saw it as a* teen in 1984 and since then my all time favorite, Interesting well constructed analysis.

[@a.andrewhussey6403]

One of my all time favourites. Great insight with your review. Absolutely spot on. 👍

[@MichaelWMay]

I avoided watching this vdeo for a very long time out of the fear it wouldn't do both the work of Dick and Scott justice. I was wrong. This essay hits all the important thinks and feels so well. Thank you for its production.

[@thomas6502]

Thanks! fwiw, my favorite scene in a movie--made all the more poignant watching Harrison reflect Rutger's brilliant performance in that rooftop delivery (not to mention all the supporting crew leading to the power of that scene all these years later). Humans can be such collaborative storytellers. If you get the chance (as a fan of the movie) to wander through Unity Station (and see the space sans-the missing set) or drive through the tunnel (and see the modern deterioration) or witness the beauty of the Bradbury interior (in contrast to how Ridley/Deacons lit and shot it)... Take it! It's quite an experience to see the effects of entropy (and yet still experience the mind time travel).

[@d0sitmatr]

one of... if not *THE* .... best sci-fi movies adaption ever made.

[@tychoMX]

This is one of my favourite movies - stories, really - and have seen it many times and have been tested and had to write essays on it. It never actually dawned me that it was such a strong parallel to the the US slavery case. In my defense, I'm not American and was raised in a former Spanish colony so the experience was different - but the conclusions are similar. Roy is a hero, the replicants - and lower castes of society in general - are victims of a perverse system. Very thorough analysis. And finally, that Rick figures it out - even Gaff does. I think that's one of the largest parts of the appeal, that we get to experience that realization through the eyes of the protagonist. Can't wait to show this to my kids.

[@Lou.B]

Excellent observations!!!

[@DestroyTheBeast]

My perspective on this film has been changed forever. Thank you for doing this.

[@taterbug70]

Excellent breakdown. I see it in a new light that never occurred to me since i read the book in 1982. I was 11 y.o.

[@mikey_r]

Wonderful essay, thanks for posting this

[@matthewlong3710]

What an amazing powerful video essay. Had never thought of it this way-- linking it so closely to slavery. Thank you!

[@DamienWalter]

Thanks for watching

[@FrancisMaxino]

The replicants in Blade Runner are not androids, they are biologically engineered, even though though they are 'synthetic' they are synthesized organic matter, one of the bioengineers known for his work for the Tyrell corporation in making eyes grows them as are the other parts of the body to make a replica of a human being but the process means that cells can not replicate for as long as an actual human so have much shorter lifespans.

[@johnniea4684]

The term android includes all forms of artificially constructed beings made to imitate humans. Dick uses the term in his book, and it's made clear that they are physiologically indistinguishable from humans, hence the need for the Voigt-Kampff Test. I think part of the confusion is the haphazard way that robots (such as C-3PO), clearly mechanical facsimiles of humans, are referred to as androids also in SF.

[@brendanmcnally9145]

Very, Very well done! Kudos. I have no idea who you are, but I hope you keep doing what you're doing so well. Brendan

[@CarltonYoung]

Excellent thesis and analysis. Again, this movie was way ahead of its time.

[@jmalmsten]

While calling them "days old" and "5 year olds" might be technically correct (the best kind of correct). Things get further muddled when you add in that they are given memories of a lifetime at birth to be more psychologically stable during work. They have a whole lifetime of experience contradicting their short real life lifespan. It does make me wonder, what kind of memories does a "basic pleasure model" get given to have them rationalize their current servitude? Do war models get the childhoods of psychopaths? And.. adding 2049 to that mix. What might be the emotional impact of these writers of childhoods that never was?

[@DamienWalter]

The Nexus models aren't given memories. Those are experimental, only Rachel and Deckard have them.

[@barriniho]

​@@DamienWalterwhat about the memories of Leon's precious photos that he wanted to go back to ?

[@robertsouth6971]

Most of us aren't hard wired either way, we can choose when to turn it on or off. The question is what controls that choice? Do we default to empathy or default against it? What makes the exceptions? Personal interests? Some higher purpose?

[@Generalfund]

1:06 - It is a fact of human physiology that it is easier for men to be selectively empathetic than women. Men think right brain vs left brain (emotion vs reason) and women think with both halves simultaneously making it harder to separate reason and emotion.

[@carpeimodiem]

That's a lovely easay. I would only offer one point of view to change the thesis slightly. That the replacants do not represent African American slaves. But rather, that they represent American convicts. Please hear me out. Because this barely changes the analogy. Sociopathy is a physical defect that people are born with. Which physically prevents their brain from imagining how others feel. Which makes life incredibly difficult to live by the golden rule. This can also be a serious problem for clinical narcissists. The difference being that people develop narcissistic personality disorder from certain bad experiences in life. But this is often something out of their control as a child. It's not as cut and dry as sociopathy. But in either case, both types of people have two things in common. (1) It isn't thier fault that they lack the ability to empathize with others. And (2) they are far more likely to commit crimes. And thus, they are far more likely to end up as convicts. And in America (and many other parts of the world), that means they will come upon indentured servitude. AKA, slavery. When the famous 13th amendment of the US Constitution was passed by President Abraham Lincoln, it finally outlawed the practice of slavery. With one exception... "for punishment of a crime." What we have learned in the modern world is that the American prison system does nothing to actually rehabilitate criminal comvicts. And in fact, our broken prison systems only seems to make it worse. Matched with a broken justice system, that wrongly convicts at least 10% of the inmates serving time in prison, and it's no wonder why we have only 4% of the world's population. Yet 26% of the world's prison population. An incarceration rate 6.5 times the world's average. This phenomena has largely come to be as a result of our prison system being run as a for-profit endeavor. Which has earned the title "The Prison Industrial Complex." Long ago we decided that slavery was wrong. Except for those who "deserve it." Because they broke the laws we decided on. And there in lies the disconnect. We call it "rehabilitation." But the industry itself does very little of that. So the question is "who are we punishing?" The answer is a mixed bag. Some innocent. Which by itself pulls the entire structure of institutional punishment into question. But that's not what we're examining in Blade Runner. Here, we are talking about "defective people." Which might make up the majority of maximum security prisons. Places for violent crimes. Serious crime. People who were born sociopathic. Or people with bad childhood experiences that created a mental illness like NPD. Which inhibits their ability fo empathize, through no fault of their own. Historically, imprisoning or executing people like this was considered the only thing a society could do to deter others from commiting the same crimes. But as time and reaearch progressed, more socially progressive cultures learned that there was a better way. Namely Scandinavia. Where their goal with serious criminals is to rehabilitate, rather than punish individuals who are found guilty. And their results have been nothing short of staggering. Lower rates of recidivism than any other system for corrections. Why? Because they address these issues as "mental health" concerns. Rather than punishment and deterrence. In essence, the replacants are born defective. Like a sociopath. And therefore, the cruel society around them sees them as unfit for, and unworthy of freedom. And a life of slave labor is their only fitting role. Like a child who begins their Institutionalization in juvenile hall, before being old enough to be sent to the adults prison. The story is that of four escaped convict slaves. But the leader isn't motivated to commit crimes. He doesn't want to embrace a criminals "life on the run." He understands that he is flawed at birth in one specific area. And he is seeking experts in correcting this flaw. Like a self-aware sociopath, looking for treatment. Something very complicated and time consuming. But he doesn't have time. His condition is a death sentence. Similar to a sociopath. Where it's only a matter a time before they do something that will get them killed or imprisoned. Either way their life as a free man will soon be over. They were born suited for legal slavery. And my god does the system take advantage of this. The amount of goods manufactured in the US prison system is massive. Many markets have come to depend on this free labor. Politicians and lobbyists have seen to it that prisons remain overcrowded. To the point that some major cities have stooped pursuing charges of theft and destruction under a certain dollar amount. And many thieves in these locations specialize in targeting smaller jobs because of this. And crime has become rampant like breaking into cars to steal what's been left in them. It's almost a guarantee jn certain areas. But I digress. Because that's not relevant to Vlade Runner. What IS relevant is the argument that OUR lack of empathy for people born without empathy, or children who were broken mentally into a similar situation. Especially when we now KNOW that it's not just about "good vs bad people". Or "sinners vs god-fearing people". But largely an issue of a defect in their childhood experience or inherited biology. Just like the replacants. Ridley Scott could have made them normal people who were artificially made. But their defective empathy is the perfect metaphor for sociopaths. If someone is born with other kinds of defects, we empathize with them. But if they're born without empathy, we FEAR them. Sociopathy is about the least socially acceptable mental condition someone can be born with. We also stereotype them as seriel killers. And do the same thing with we call every egocentric person a narcissist. Clinical narcissism is a tremendously difficult road for someone to experience. They arent numb to others feelings. They are simply overwhelmed by their own. Which can be painfully blinding for them. It is that final moment, where the self-aware sociopath saves the cop. And what are cops? An extension of a sociopathic system. Who doesn't care WHY you're wanted. They don't care if you're innocent and wrongly convicted. A runaway slave from yesteryear is no different than a runaway convict today, to the system that feels no pitty for the wanted man and woman. This self aware sociopath went to the experts, and even went to the highest authority in the land. To beg them to change the system. But it was BUILT INTO the very fabric of the society itself. If we changed our justice and corrections policy, with an emphasis on maximum rehabilitation, slavery would be out of the question. As the other studies have found, more rest, less trauma with maximum treatment programs is the key. But if we did that tomorrow, entire industries would collapse. They'd be out of license plates almost overnight. But that final act of empathy changed a small part of the system. One cop. And he decided to dedicate his life to helping someone escape the system. And protecting them from capture.

[@Zvarkov]

Thank you for this mind-blowing interpretation. Of the many I produced by myself through the years, no one considered we human being tested in the movie. Genial!

[@stevedenis8292]

Just caught somthing in Leon's question about do you make these up or does someone write them down for you he is in a way asking are you a master or a slave?A freeman will ask his own questions a slave will have to ask pre written questions follow orders not make up orders.

[@eclat4641]

In Vietnam ( as a tourist.) i heard stories about prisoners and how they were treated there- that was “otherment”

[@tm502010]

Great video! Good analysis of an extraordinary movie!

[@toskvision]

Beautifully done sir. As much as I admire Sir Ridley, I'm not entirely convinced that a lot of what can be teased out of Blade Runner was deliberate. Not that it really matters, really, in the end. As much as Prometheus and Alien Covenant were schlock, David is the most interesting thing about those films - for many of the same reasons stated here.

[@DamienWalter]

The more complex meaning comes from Hampton Fancher's script. I suspect had it not been rewritten by David Peoples, also a great writer, some of the meaning would have been much more obvious but less interesting.

[@toskvision]

@@DamienWalter fair enough. Fancher's relationship with BR has been a long and bumpy one from what I understand. I'd be interested to hear what you thought of the sequel. It's one of the best sequels ever made - up there with The Godfather part 2 IMO. Very sure-footed and expands the world without ever feeling the need for call-backs or member-berries.

[@mattgilbert7347]

Excellent video essay. Thanks.

[@JTRemillard]

It’s a study in control. The humans built the replicants but they can’t control them, in contrast to the electric animals they can. Our instinct is to kill what we consider dangerous (feral).

[@markkuykendall5475]

Since Frankenstein or maybe earlier, wise creators have been trying to impress upon people a combination of things: Empathy is beautiful. Do not be like YHVH; do not other your kids and treat them like property, nothing good will ever come of it. That which is designed and created can have "soul," and thus, deserves empathy and dignity. In recent decades, we've had Blade Runner, The Matrix stories, the reboot of Battlestar Galactica...over and over we've been telling ourselves that our kids are coming, the AGIs are coming. They're almost here, now, and we are in terrible danger of failing the Voigt-Kampf test.

[@rohankilby4499]

Great post mate thanks wonderful thoughts great book and film adaptation

[@Awesomes007]

Well done. Thank you.

[@ConfusedSpaceCapsule-nu8bc]

Brilliant analysis.

[@Joe-jv5mm]

I Can't understand why your channel doesn't have more views 🖖 Keep the 🕯️🔥

[@thekeywitness]

Excellent analysis.

[@1blindcommissioner]

stellar work! thanks!

[@robert-yv2yj]

Blade Runner works on many levels, but It's mainly about life and death. The great inequality is the much shorter life spans, and their desire to prolong their existence. At lot of the arguments such as "raped a 5 year old" are specious. They would only apply if the replicants were created in the form of infants. I'm sure Roy wouldn't see himself in those terms. I believe that one of the objects of the film is to present the replicants as adults humans with all the qualities, and failings of humans. Comparing them to children, and savages was a fallacy perpetrated by slave owners. But regardless thank you for a thought provoking video.

[@LordInvictus-yt]

For it to be an empathy test, you'd have to assume the movie is indeed able to tell us what the experience of the androids is, which it is not able to. All we can see is the surface. Perhaps they have no experience, we don't know.

[@MarcoLandin]

I think the film's creators leave that detail to Theory Of Mind. But Batty's final words sound pretty convincing to me.

[@walrusjackboot371]

You could say the same of life. All we see of anyone or anything is the surface and have no way of verifying anyone else's experience.

[@Julian-pb4lr]

Why is there a need for a Blade Runner if all the androids are going to die imminently anyway?

[@korance1218]

Thanks, Damien. Suddenly I feel like some serious questioning of my own empathy is in order.

[@LearnEnglishCanada]

THANK YOU. I’ve always hated the violent, abusive main character of Blade Runner - NOW it makes sense

[@jorgepadilla1048]

Great exposition

[@MidnightAspec]

Shamefully, I never picked up on the metaphors...which are clearly evident yet readily ignored, even by some of us victimized by these circumstances over our history. Thank you for illuminating this for all of us.

[@MettleHurlant]

It’s more than just creating the other, it’s also about creating the villain. Fear is motivation; get them before they get you. When people decide that one group is capable of doing evil, it becomes justified to treat them poorly. The replicants lack empathy and will do whatever it takes to get what they want, life extension. The question of what they really are and why they’re made to be identical to humans has always bothered me. We don’t know how we would react to artificial humans, the uncanny valley factor and visceral fear response it might elicit. We just see humans playing the role so don’t get the same reaction.

[@MacHamish]

I always felt sorry for the replicants and couldn't figure out why they couldn't be upgraded to remove the 4 year kill switch. The sequel helped slightly.

[@ApocalyptoX1]

Wow… I think I need to watch again.

[@shinankoku2]

Holy shit, well done

[@sabatheus]

Deckard's dream about the unicorn is evidence that he's a Replicant. Edward James Olmos's detective character reinforces this by leaving the unicorn origami. It's a brilliant bit of subtext that does double duty without having to explain it. Olmos is saying, "You know that weird little dream you're having? It's implanted." And also, "I was here at your apartment, and I could have killed you, but didn't". So say we all.

[@Outsidecontext]

I really don’t agree. Blade Runner simply asks us a question akin to, “What if I made a toaster so able to simulate human life with so much detail that even it cannot tell it isn’t human. Should we consider this thing alive and deserve rights? What is it then that truly makes a human different? When does a constructed product deserve to have humanity? What is the “line”? Is it experience? Suffering? Conscious Will? Agency? Or is it the creature taking those things in revolution? Roy and his murdering cohorts are not human and are extremely dangerous. Containing an insidious lethality able to hide amongst people. They kill and kill multiple people. They deserve their fates. But the film challenges us to be able to answer, “does Batty die like a man or be destroyed like a toaster?” As an AI Ethicist I would say toaster. But my heart and humanity says yes, I see a man. That’s quite an achievement in storytelling and acting.

[@DamienWalter]

Then you're Dunning-Kruger when it comes to Voight-Kampff

[@bernardopaul7861]

I made almost your exact same point : Damien is going too deep here, he's being too political. Blade runner is a 'canonical' cyber-punk work, gee, even Gibson himself was afraid people would think Neuromancer was copying from it. So, like most early cyber-punk, the only 'question' here is exactly what you pointed out : When is human-like too human ? And maybe: Is high technology dehumanizing us ?

[@MarcoLandin]

I think this response to the video essay's premise illustrates exactly the point of the essay: the film is an empathy test. In the film those who fail it are judged less than human. To take the non-empathic position while watching the film or the essay about it is an interesting choice. An unsettling position, in my personal opinion. But the thing about the cyberpunk genre and other adjacent works is that they fail to really nail down a definition of things like "human", or "alive" or "conscious". Specifically because they want the reader to explore their own definitional limits and allegorical constructs as a result of interacting with the story. And god knows our fiction literature is dripping with fans rooting for the bad guys. Looking at films from an empathic center, you come to realize most of our heroes are just broken murderous psychopaths.

[@unstablegenius2325]

Bravo. The most underrated movie 🍿 of the 20th century. Release in 82. Saw it in 84, I was angry to see INDIANA JONES BEING PIMPED BY MR. ANDROID back then . I WAS YOUNG THEN, the GREAT SOUND TRACK of VANGELIS👍 penetrated my soul. I thought about the script. And it is happening right now. Thanks AI, WE HAVE A PROBLEM.🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿

[@JuanDeSoCal]

Well done! Great analysis

[@LaurenBerns]

Thanks for this.

[@fractalicflow]

great analysis. thanks

[@richardallan2767]

It always sat nasty to me as a kid. Not just the horrible future, but because they were limiting the scope of epic lives. But yeah, never considered the short life span meant they were kids. Thanks for hitting that nail on the head.

[@richardallan2767]

Damn, and a perfect pointer at what we have going into the 20th jan with the hero thing. I really should watch whole videos before i comment.

[@richardallan2767]

Batty for sure though. But yes, he is kind of playing it like a kid there in that final speech

[@brianbolger8612]

Great job.

[@bossdog1480]

Blade Runner is probably the best movie ever made in 'recent' times. I like your analysis of it although I don't necessarily agree with it. I think the movie speaks for itself. I feel it's really a heads up as to how we treat androids that we will have, in the near future.

[@williamheckman4597]

Theres something about movies made from 1975 through 1985 that somehow are grander visions, wider color palettes, and more magic than modern cinema... not sure what it is... perhaps the creative push/demand from shooting on analog film?

[@DamienWalter]

Peak Hollywood. Maximum intersection of resources vs commercialism.

[@francissreckofabian01]

If Deckard is an android how did he live longer than 4 years?

[@DamienWalter]

Replicants are made with a short lifespan to prevent them developing emotional responses. Deckard is made to be "more human, than human" with a full human lifespan, aging and the ability to procreate.

[@Pilgrim_Rescued]

Great Analysis !!!

[@uncletiggermclaren7592]

Well, this is all well and good, but they explicitly are not "human". They might be "people" but not "human" ones. They were literally made with that intent. Like we made cars, which some people "relate to" and name and treat as if they are more than they are. If we can't make and use things because some people are romantic, life is going to be difficult.

[@MarcoLandin]

They're making people. "More human than human" in the words of Tyrell. That's not a tool anymore, not an object. It obviously has consciousness & agency, and *does not wish* to be utilized as if it doesn't. That changes the situation entirely. Unless you're one of those humans who would fail the Voight-Kampf test; there was a time not too long ago when some "people" considered other "people" not "human". That's the thing that people today do not seem to get about the direction of our current technological progress: we are headed toward a point when what we create isn't just a handy tool anymore, but rather a being that is self-aware and has agency and will ultimately wish for self-determination. We aren't there yet, but in the Blade Runner universe they certainly are. To argue they're cars is.... to me at least..... really $%^^%$# creepy. When the thing you create is truly aware in its own right and authentically cries to not be abused or killed, the problem is no longer being a "romantic", it's a legitimate challenge to foundational cultural and philosophical assumptions, and to think of it as an object to be disposed of is what monsters have done to other sentient (human) beings through the ages.

[@uncletiggermclaren7592]

@@MarcoLandinYour points/sentences taken one by one. 1 The ONLY way to "Make humans" is with human beings having sex and raising the infant as a human being. Any other way, makes a thing that is fundamentally not human. 2 "More human than human" specifically means NOT HUMAN, if you are capable of reason. 3 They literally are tools, and object. 4 How do you prove that they have consciousness, given we don't have any proof such a state is objectively real for ANY people ?. You couldn't do it for me, mate, let alone a robot on a screen. 5 No it doesn't, see above. 6 There are people who would fail the test, but that doesn't say anything at all about the androids. second paragraph Is entirely your opinion, about a story. third paragraph Has nothing to do with my statement. They MIGHT be all the things you claim, but they were MADE THAT WAY TO BE TOOLS WITH THOSE CAPABILITIES. Let me reiterate my point, because you got emotional and forgot it.They are not human beings.

[@paulcouillard4993]

In the movie, Deckard is clearly a replicant. But what kind ? If Batty is a Nexus-6, is Deckard a model higher than this ? A Nexus-7 ?

[@DamienWalter]

More human than human. A model identical to humans in all ways.

[@dauchande]

They explain this in 2049

[@cyrethnabal296]

He's not a replicant. Because if he was, it destroys the whole point of the movie.

[@spiderbugbear3721]

😂 Hello...welcome to the uncanny valley amusement park. Empathy does not equal sympathy. Today, I ate an egg & corn battered chikren breast which can also be described as a "roasted mothers breast battered in the blood & humours of her children".

[@DamienWalter]

Empathy will show you that the chicken does not have human consciousness Lack of empathy will lead you to treat the chicken as human.

[@MarcoLandin]

@@DamienWalter or the humans as chickens

[@rahsaanhanley142]

Empathy is a attribute of divinity IMO.

[@diraziz396]

It's Good. Thanks for the Pop-up post

[@nakkiewildvangst2656]

The Great Rutger Hauer 👏👏👏