Topic: I watched Blade Runner again today

[Mooning Freddy]

First time I watched it I was around 15 and had to stop halfway through because I couldn't follow.
Now I watched it again and loved it. My conclusions:

1. They don't make serious science fiction like that anymore. It's a shame. Maybe they still do but I never hear about it. Is it because people are not interested in the genre as they used to in the 60's-80's? That may raise an interesting debate about our generation's disappointment with progress and technology.

2. The movie is set in 2019. Damn, that was optimistic. We're almost in 2013 and we have still only made tiny first steps in cybernetic technology, AI, bioengineering, and could only dream of space colonization. Today we have the technology for basic "flying cars", but it's far too expensive and ineffective to be mass-manufactured.

3. Philosophical debate: If we had the technology for creating androids / replicants with intelligence close to that of humans, do you think humanity could allow that? Or do you think the dangers would be far too great? The debate could be about robots, but androids make it more difficult as they are outwardly identical to humans.

[Phoenix7786]

I think some greedy corporation would make its own line of synthetic workers, and would deliberately mark them with an obvious, hard-to-remove mark identifying them as such. And, since the corporation created its own workers, it would argue that the workers are its own property and therefore not have to pay them for their own services, leading to free labor. Human workers would make an outcry, about being replaced by machines (Hell that argument is already happening). Human-rights activists would argue that the synthetic workers are human-like, therefore they must be treated equal to humans. There would probably be a socio-comparison to the synthetic workers as slaves, leading to people bringing up the Civil Rights Movement and the abolition of slavery. 

[Ratty]

I watch a lot of crappy movies, ALOT of them, and usually enjoy them. But Bladerunner is easily up there with Lawrence of Arabia and Farewell My Concubine as not only one of the most poetic and beautiful film achievements I know of, but also one of my favorite good movies. It's a testament to what the science fiction genre and the film medium as a whole can achieve when they're at their best.

3. Philosophical debate: If we had the technology for creating androids / replicants with intelligence close to that of humans, do you think humanity could allow that? Or do you think the dangers would be far too great? The debate could be about robots, but androids make it more difficult as they are outwardly identical to humans.

Well once something has intelligence I think that it becomes a question of the value of life and free will, since it is really alive in all but a technical sense. It would not be ethical to enslave intelligent beings nor to kill them without reason. I think this is why artificial intelligence in fiction has the potential to be so poignant- they may really represent the underclass, the powerless, the forgotten and the used. Even Anthony Daniels, the actor best known for playing C-3PO, described his most famous character as a "tragedier", and just look at GLaDOS. There is something ineffably sad about both of them even as they are comic characters.

[Flame]

Glados is actually disturbing once you look into the unused audio for portal 2 and what the story presents.

on cybernetics, we are actually more advanced than youd think in regards to prosthetics. look up gametheorys deus ex ep. sometime

[TheCruelAngel]

I think the real question here is...

Did you watch the theatrical release or the director's cut? If you saw the theatrical release, I recommend giving the movie another watch through, but this time with the director's cut!

But I digress, it is easily one of my favorite movies and I love watching it. The genre of cyber punk was really hard hitting and I wish a lot more dealt with it. The 80's was a golden era in Sci-Fi in that regards with a lot of unknowns about how our future would develop and the consequences of our massive technological increases and globalizations of corporations. RoboCop also deals with the issue of corporations having a stronger pull than the government (a classic cyber punk theme) and how that effects everyday life.

I think the closest I can think of for serious sci-fi in recent years (and good) was Moon. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/ Which I recommend, especially if you enjoyed Blade Runner.

ALSO: super serious spoilers ahead, do not read if you have not watched!

(click to show/hide)

What do you guys think of the theory that Deckard is a replicant? I think it's plausible, as what else could hunt replicants designed for offworld harvesting/combat? And I believe Ridley Scott has gone on record to say that Deckard is a replicant (though I think I remember Harrison Ford thinking otherwise...). I think it gives a new interesting perspective on the story and creates a whole new level of intrigue. Are all the Blade Runners replicants? How many are hidden in society with no one even knowing? Is this something funded by the government or just the Tyrell corporation? Does the government know? Oh the possibilities are endless!