Classical MythologyDr. Fredricksmeyer
Watching Blade Runner
A. Background and General Information
1. Name the director of BR (Blade Runner) and at least 3 other films of his.
2. Name the year BR was released.
3. Name the novel on which the film is based, the novel’s author, and 3 other films based on this author’s works.
4. Identify at least 5 conventions of film noir seen in BR.
B. Setting
5. In what year does the film take place, and what kind of major event is implied to separate us (now) from the people and events of the film? Explain.
6. By what means does BR make its world recognizable to us despite its futurism?
C. Central Themes and Intrepretation
7. In terms of physical qualities and intelligence, how does the opening narrative describereplicants relative to humans?
8. When do replicants become dangerous?
9. Please identify scenes in which a replicant might be seen to express emotion.
10. Despite their superior qualities and human-like emotions, to what status are replicants restricted?
11. What sorts of terms does Chief Bryant use to describe the replicants, including when they are killed?
12. By what gender does Deckard initially identify Rachel, and how does he initially treat her?
12. What measures are taken in order to prevent replicants from becoming a danger to humans living on earth?
13. What is Batty doing in the first few seconds of BR, and what is the point?
14. What scene later in BR again draws attention to Batty’s hands, and what is the point?
15. When the replicants make it to earth, by what test are they detected?
16. In what scenes might the replicants be seen as exacting retribution for being subjected to this test?
17. According to the English poet and graphic artist, William Blake, “the eyes are the window to the ______.”
18. Despite the preceding expression, how and in what scene(s) might BR imply that the replicants have a soul?
19. While the replicants’ supposedly mechanistic nature is revealed through an eye exam (as noted above), what they perceive with their eyes—the things they see and commit to memory—are extremely important to them. Identify as many scenes and statements by replicants as possible that stress this importance.
20. What qualities does Sebastian share with the replicants?
13. Do the replicants appreciate humor (a quality that separates humans from animals)?
15. What is the gender of the first replicant "retired" by Deckard, and why do you think the film’s creators wrote the story this way?
17. Note the use of terms like "retire" for "kill" and other euphemisms in the film, and suggest why characters in the film use such terms? Suggestsimilar euphemisms used today?
18. What does Leon say about pain or what is painful?
19. How does Leon intend to kill Deckard, and why does he choose to do so in this way?
20. What is the central turning point in Deckard's change of attitude toward replicants?
21. Does Rachel and/or Batty display emotions?
22. Describe Batty's relationship to his father (or creator), i.e. Tyrell?
23. How does Ridley Scott characterize the death of Priss, and why?
24. Why does Batty drive the nail through his hand when hunting Deckard?
25 What is the significanceof the dove that Batty holds in the final scene, and what might the dove's flight suggest or invite us to infer about Batty and his death?
26. What does Batty say, that echoes Leon's earlier statement, about fear, and to what type of human does Batty compare himself?
27. What does Batty says about his experiences?
28. What does Batty seem to regret the most about his own imminent death?
30.Please identifypairs of opposing categories (e.g. male/female, etc.) that become inverted.
31. Can you apply the narrative pattern of WDR that we see in the Iliad to Blade Runner?
32. Identify as many parallels as possible between Batty and Achilles.