Common themes and motifs of animalistic behavior, dolls and commodification, and childlike behavior is futher explained through the mise en scene and relates back to the entire film giving it a deeper meaning………. Animalistic behavior • Raccoon characteristics, sly and she painted a mask over her eyes • Dies like a fish out of water, she flops around dramatically like she’s getting electrocuted. As she waits for Deckard to arrive she stares off in the distance, then flicks her head towards the camera like an animal of prey and stays in that position · When Deckard comes she turns into a chameleon blending into the environment she is in making it hard for him to find her
• Two of the only movements in the room is a fish swimming in a small bowl and A monkey dangling in the background, making it seem like a circus • When she jumps on Deckard her hair sticks straight up like a cat when it fights or feels threatened •No words are exchanged, just animalistic grunts Dolls and commodification • The doll room is filmed in soft focus giving it a dreamy appearance • All of the mannequins/ dolls heads are faced down – represent the oppression and how they have no power in a world ruled by humans. One of the dolls eyes is painted just like hers
• The toy laughing is wearing a hat but in the close he is not, I don’t know if it was just a misstep in continuity or if it was meant to be like that. Maybe the director is trying to tell us not everything is as it appears?. The toy room has very warm pink tones a complete contrast to the the darker cooler tones of the rest of the movie •The juxtaposition reveals how the replicants like the toys aren’t seen as being part of the real world which is represented in dark tones, but apart of a fantasy • Surrounded by toys and mannequins, it forces us to compare pris to her surroundings and to being seen as just a commodity like a toy – that only lasts a few years until something better comes out or is thrown away/retired • Laughter from the dolls
• Replicants being sold as cheap labor, a pleasure model • The provocative outfits she wears highlights what was instilled in her programing, it dehumanizes her • The clear veil she is hiding under can represent how she is completely trapped in the situation she is is not just by being hunted but being a replicant, and how she can see through it that here is no way to escape it Childlike behavior • She rolls her eyes back like a child with a smirk on her face as she waits for Deckard to arrive her prey. When she attacks Deckard she puts her fingers in his nose and raises him up. She fights like a child/animal • Even though shes stronger than him, she doesn’t know how to use her strength yet •She is programmed as a pleasure model and in reality is only a few years old. • Her brain is also decaying because her lifespan is almost up • It’s a game to her, she wants to play with her prey
• She could have easily ran away, hid in the dark, or sneak off but she decided to stay out in plain sight. Isolation and being trapped • From the very beginning of the scene you get the feeling of isolation, the building is completely desolate · The shots are set up making Deckard look small as he walks in the building and up the stairs •The absence of sound except for water dripping and running and the occasional recording from outside, adds to the feeling of loneliness • The blue coloring, heavy shadows and light add to the melancholy tone • Even in the toy room the blocking is used in the cinematography to trap Deckard into the situation, showing how he is forced into this situation of retiring replicants
• Deckard is always framed to where he looks trapped, whether it with the doors when he first walks into the toy room or with the toys themselves • At the end when roy finds her he takes a moment, he realizes he is the last of his kind and kisses her, with the water and rain still being heard in the background. • With replicants being represented as unicorns throughout the film, this shot could represent the the unicorns being washed away by the rain such as the myth of the unicorns not making it on Noahs ark and being washed away.
All in all, the film blade runner has many underlying themes and motifs carefully woven together in every scene to add coherence and a deeper meaning to the overall film. In analyzing the scene between Pris and Deckard, four of the main themes were animalistic behavior, commodification like dolls, childlike behavior and isolation and being trapped. The director uses the mise en scene to indirectly tell the viewer more of the story when they take a close look and analyze the every aspect of the cinematography, editing, framing, wardrobe, and the sound.
