To better understand the question posed for the topic of this essay, I will tell you what the question is actually asking. Is Richard Deckard culpable (blame-worthy) for his actions? Richard Deckard is an ex-Blade Runner. A Blade Runner is a nickname for a Rep-Detect, a police officer that is specially trained in the use of the Voight- Kampff machine. Their sole mission is to track down and retire any replicant that breaks Earths policy against replicants living on the planet. The Voight-Kampff machine is a tool that senses and measures contractions in the iris muscle of the eye. It is used with a series of questions. These questions are cross-referenced and are intended to provoke an emotional response.
The test proves positively or negatively that the test subject is a human or a replicant — normally about 20 to 30 questions for a definite answer. It does so by measuring the degree of empathetic responses through the carefully worded questions and statements! . Thus, the Blade Runner makes the conclusion that the subject is indeed a human or a replicant. Various scenes from the movie help show how I came to my conclusion about the character Richard Deckard. At the beginning of the movie, we see Deckard as a rundown ex-cop who has no purpose.
After the opening scene with Leon, it goes to scene of Deckard who is waiting for an open spot at a sushi bar. When he finally gets served by the old oriental man at the counter, he is confronted by Gaff. Gaff is a police officer sent by Bryant, the inspector of the police force. Gaff says Lo fa, ne-ko shi-ma, de va-ja blade… Blade Runner. which loosely means, come with me to see the inspector or be arrested. Rick Deckard goes with him begrudgingly. The next scene is in the inspectors office. Inspector Bryant tries to talk Rick into being a Blade Runner again.
Deckard tells Bryant that he is done with that sort of work. He is not going to work as a Blade Runner any more. Bryant threatens Deckard by saying, If youre not a cop, youre little people. This means that if he does not work as a Blade Runner, he will always be a slave to the grind. Nothing will ever change. With this thought running through his head, he reluctantly agrees to the idea. The other cop, Gaff, is behind him the whole time in Bryant’s office. At the end of the scene we see that Gaff has made a paper chicken, symbolizing that Rick is a chicken, afraid to become a Blade Runner again.
Deckard is getting briefed on the newest model of replicants, the NEXUS 6. The NEXUS 6 group has the most human-like characteristics of any of the series before them. So much like the real thing, the creators put a failsafe device in them that limits their lifespan to only four years after their incept date. The incept date is their equivalent to human birthdays. Leon Kowalskis incept date was April 17th, 2017. Zhoras incept date was June 12th, 2016. Priss incept date was February 14th, 2016, fitting in a way because as Bryant said, she was Yer standard pleasure model.
Lastly there is Roy Batty, the leader. Roys incept date was January 8th, 2016. Every replicant has an animal symbolic for who they were and how they tried to kill Deckard. Leon was a turtle, slow moving, and could not keep up with Deckard. He didnt realize Rachael had a gun pointed at him. Zhora was a snake, sneaky, cold hearted. She tried to kill Rick by strangling him with his tie. Pris ! is symbolic of a raccoon, she was dressed in raccoon-like colors, and she tried to break Deckards neck when she was wrestling him to the ground. Roy was symbolic of a wolf.
During the last fight scene between Rick and him, he howled at Deckard to intimidate him. There is a unicorn that runs through Deckards dream. This is symbolic at how he feels about Rachael. Gaff can see that Deckard has an attraction for Rachael, and he then makes a match stick man with an erection to symbolize that feeling the two have for each other. Rachael is the girl who Deckard tested at the Tyrell Corporation with the Voight-Kampff machine. Rachael answered over one hundred questions Deckard asked her before he was reasonably convinced that she was a replicant.
Rachael believed that she was really a human. She was programed with memories from Dr. Eldon Tyrells nieces childhood. Rachael represents the unicorn in Deckards dream because it is a symbol of purity and virginity. In the end scene when Deckard and Rachael leave his apartment she knocks over a silver paper unicorn that was left there by Gaff. This is an indication that Gaff knows something that Deckard doesnt know, and that Gaff has a lot of free time. Gaff is an intriguing character in that he knows about Deckards memories just like Deckard knew about Rachaels memories.
This leads me to believe that Deckard is the sixth replicant, or even a higher order of replicant put out by he Tyrell Corporation. I say this because there is no other way that Gaff could know about the unicorn at the end. Bryant also knew Rick was a replicant. He chose Rick because replicants are strong. A replicant is strong enough to withstand as many beatings as Deckard did. Deckard was strong enough to climb up to the roof with two broken fingers. Also, in the beginning of the movie Bryant states that there were six replicants. One died trying to break into the Tyrell Corporation.
Which leaves five, Leon, Zhora, Pris, Roy — who is the fifth? Bryant would rather have a eplicant fight against replicants because they are stronger and tougher than humans. They are made for battle and adverse conditions. Why risk the mission with a human! life? Therefore, Rick Deckard is not culpable for his actions because he is not in control of his actions. He can think on his own but his thought processes have been handed to him by the programmers that made him the way he is. The reason NEXUS 6 have a limited lifespan is because they can think for themselves.
Dr. Eldon Tyrell knew that he had created the perfect brain, as smart as the designers that made them. More human than human is their policy. The replicants will be able to think for themselves and find out that they are a dying breed. That is the whole argument Roy is fighting about. The police know they will have to combat these replicants sooner or later so, they capture Deckard, reprogram his memories, give him pictures, and set him off on a quest to kill his own kind. He knows who is a replicant and who is not by the photos he saw at the Inspectors office. With his mission in effect, he is ready at all times.
After killing Zhora, he is attacked by Leon. Leon asks him about their incept dates, but Deckard wont tell him anything. Leon is on the verge of killing him when Rachael shoots him in the back. Deckard then takes Rachael back to his flat and tells her that he will not kill her. This is the point where Deckard realizes that he is in love with her. He holds her in high regard from that moment on. He then goes in search of the last two replicants. At Sebastian’s house, he finds Pris. Pris and Rick fight for a while, and then he shoots her. After she is retired, Roy comes home and sees her lying there dead and snaps.
He paints his face with her blood and hunts down Rick Deckard. He breaks two of Deckards fingers and taunts him repeatedly. Deckard climbs to the roof to get away from Roy. On the roof is where the final con! frontation occurs. Rick and Roy are staring each other down. Rick runs away and jumps to the next rooftop, only to fall short, and he barely holds on for his life. Roy leaps across and leans over the edge to talk to Deckard. Ricks grip is starting to slip, and finally he lets go, but Roy reaches down and snags his hand and lifts him back up on the rooftop.
At this point, Roy shows empathy for Deckard. He was not programmed to feel that way, it was learned. Empathy is a human trait. Roy knows that Deckard was sent to kill him, but he proceeds to save his life. On the roof, Roy talks to Deckard about things that he has seen with his own eyes. Roy realizes the beauty of life at the last moment. He knows that it is his time to go and goes peacefully. Roy was carrying a dove in the last scene, and when he is done talking to Rick he lets it go symbolizing that he is dead. This is a peaceful end to the replicant fugitives.
Deckard ealizes at the end that he is a replicant. After Roy dies, Gaff comes up to the roof with a Spinner (a hover car) and says Youve done a mans job, sir!. Then he says, Its too bad she wont live! But then again, who does? The scene ends with Deckard kneeling in the rain on the roof, looking very confused. If the replicants can learn the value of human life, then so can he. Back at Deckard’s apartment, the door is open, causing Rick to be alarmed. He enters his house with his gun drawn. He is thinking that Gaff has retired Rachael, and he frantically searches for her.
Calling her name and looking all round, he finally sees her under the covers of his bed. He rushes over to her and checks if she is still alive. She is, and she tells him that she loves him Then he kisses her. In the last scene of the movie, the two remaining replicants are going to run away together. They go out the door, and Rachael knocks over an origami paper unicorn. In the background, we hear Gaffs voice say, Its too bad she wont live! But then again, who does? With that, Rick Deckard crumples the paper figure and tosses it to the ground, then walks into the elevator with Rachael for the closing of the movie.
