Blade Runner 2049 and the Soul

I recently re-watched Blade Runner 2049.  It is one of my favorite SF movies, and the visuals are without-a-doubt amazing.  After this class, the themes of 2049 are even more apparent to me.  In the above scene, Replicant Blade Runner K (later takes the name Joe) finds weird evidence that will send him on a detective case to find and destroy the first ever born Replicant, which we learn later is the child of Deckard and Rachel (two Replicants) from the original movie.

The chief of the police force wants the child hunted down and destroyed, because this revelation could drastically change the societal structure.  As K says in the her office, “To be born is to have a soul.”  The only issue is that he has memories that make him believe he is the born Replicant.  But all memories are implants in Replicants, so K goes on a long journey.  Eventually he finds out that he was a Replicant used to help cover up the real born Replicant, named Ana.  His memories are really hers, implanted into him because Ana was kept in isolation but worked as a memory creator.  She sent out a real memory (illegal) because she so desperately wanted to share herself to the world.

On the flip side, blind god-like creator of the Replicants wants Ana in order to dissect her, and he wants to find out how to breed Repicants.  He envisions that this will not lead to their revolution, but to further expansion of slave labor.  The story is full of great philosophical moments, many of which are covered in this great video.  I would be plagiarizing if I used them as my own.

Also, I cannot help but see Dune (currently reading) reflected in this gorgeous shot of the movie.

There is also some great moments with virtual reality, as K owns a virtual girl that is a market favorite.  She is what he programs her to be, it also seems like she guesses and predicts what is best for him and his desires, which reminds me of several of the short stories we have read earlier in the year.

In this relationship, it shows K seeks to be interlinked.  In fact, “interlinked” is a key word that the police use when testing K, seeing if he has any growing sense of humanity.  This desire of belonging is seemingly not natural to Replicants, but once they are they are deemed to be more dangerous, dangerous of becoming human so are killed.

There are so many great points, and many of them are covered in the above video.  I would recommend this movie to anyone in our class (there are some gruesome parts, a little nudity, so be warned).

K eventually decides to find and save Deckard, even after his revelation that he is not the born child.  For to save someone else, to sacrifice oneself, is the most human thing they could do.   K does not need to be the savior of his people or the miracle.  He learns from Deckard the value of sacrifice, selflessness, and choice.  He uses it to reunite father and daughter, and he covers up Deckards ID, reporting him dead.

K did not need to be born to be human.  He chose to be.