The discussion- why it's so important to have honor and nobility and faith in humanity that they will see the light and the truth.
Granted there were several lessons in this scene:being a slave to emotions, living in fear and remembering the past cause your memories are fleeting and don't really matter anyway because one day you will die!
Well, what I gathered from this scene was that in the end everyone wants the same thing- redemption. I tried to kill you but I also found your car keys when you were leaving me so that counts for something. Not usually the case.
The END is the part that has to occur, if you are fine and dandy then you will sell your soul just to be happy. And happiness is way overrated! Let's take another movie from 1991 by author Stephen King and starring Max Von Sydow, he played Jesus...wait that was another movie. In this he plays the Devil and sells trinkets to small town patrons, who in turn do wicked things to other people who live in the town.
I think this is more of a tribute to human nature. We have a thing, person or material possession in our mind that we "want" and change ourselves to obtain this goal and in the process lose our minds and change ourselves beyond recognition. So that we become the product of fear and emotional turmoil until the End when we want redemption and salvation through forgivness and contemplation. Get on the bus to Beelzebub and throw apples or make apple jack.
Now I am not a religious man. There are certain things that I like to do research on: virtues, sin and theological figures...along with Elder Gods who do cameo appearances in music and television....anyway! Life is ours to do with as we will, we don't know when we will die but we do know that we aren't immortal...
Smoke 'em if you got 'em!
It's a strange concept for me to have been raised in a religious family and feel the way I do now. I think we each are good and evil. We make the decisions that portray us as such. Good, thought provoking post!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one who 'gets' it. :) Even though Roy Batty is portrayed as the 'villain' I think he was the most understanding of all when it comes to humanity -- although android, he, to me, was more human than any of the 'actual' humans. He felt anger, fear, loss, love, and eventually peace. Essentially, Roy is humanity at its best and at its worst. It wasn't an 'end' decision to save Deckard; it was the gift of life. Through ultimate sacrifice comes redemption...and hopefully nothing the God of Biomechanics wouldn't let you into heaven for...
ReplyDeleteRoy and the other androids were basically children they were "grown" in a lab, they may have been adult sized and treated as such but their mindset was that of a child. It was the do as I say not as I do mentality of the creator who was in fact a little obsessed with toys. Anyway, as William Blake said children are inherently evil. They have to be taught right and wrong. These children Roy, Leon, Pris and Zhora are "used", discarded and somewhat disillusioned.
ReplyDeleteI like that angle -- the did have a childlike innocence about them; however, if you remember what they were designed for specifically I think it's more like life from an abused child's perspective -- Roy - the combat model A/Physical and A/Mental, Leon - A/Physical and C/Mental soldier and worker model, Pris - Standard Pleasure Model and Zhora - A/Physical and B/Mental (Beauty and the Beast). So, they were genetically engineered to be mentally and physically fit although the world was completely new through their eyes. Interesting theories to debate!
ReplyDeleteOkay I agree to a point. Yes, they were designed for specific roles in society but a "person" has a myriad of attributes not just job qualifications.
ReplyDeleteRoy has PTSD, Leon from the moment we see him take the psych eval we know he is unstable. Work related psychosis? Pris has a lot of issues- like a sexually abused girl with uncle/daddy abandonment issues. And Zhora too butch to want a man and too much a woman to be alone. But the key to it was they knew nothing else. They were not taught relationships-social or family so they rebelled. Stealing, murder and basic crime. Granted they sought answers, from their maker, the big brain behind the corporation and even from the authority figures they met.
You can see this behavior in broken homes, orphans and yes, even abused children or neglected children. Physically fit yes (to perform their jobs) mentally not so much unless they did what they were told. After that they were lost in a sea of questions.
Thanks for the debate, enjoyed as always. :)
By mentally fit, my word choice wasn't exactly right -- their centralized power stations were designed with purpose; they were given particular levels of intelligence to perform tasks (or lesser intelligence to be drones or pleasure machines). The Corporation was working to build the perfect machine and in a way their greatest design flaw was attempting to replicate human nature. By doing so and having a four year life span as a fail-safe, perhaps the Corporation thought they could maintain better control of their slaves if they could be broken down as only we humans can break one another. The added aspect of free will is perhaps something they didn't bargain for... all of their actions were done of free will and the replicants became victims of their own circumstance, seeking answers as only we humans do and finding a sense of one's true self along the way. And, as victims of circumstance, yes, nurture gives way to nature.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, this discussion carried over to my Live Journal! Interesting input there too...look me up, missautopsy -- if you wanna play. :)
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