Gattaca and Bladerunner

1. 10th September 2012 Gattaca and Bladerunner Making links between texts

2. Bladerunner • Directed by Ridley Scott • Filmed in 1982 – set in 2019 • Stars Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard (the blade runner) • Sean Young plays Rachael, the love interest. She is a replicant but is unaware of this fact.

3. Replicants • In the world of Bladerunner, there are two classes: the humans and the replicants, who are human clones. • In order to control the replicants, they have limited life spans and are forbidden from living on Earth. • This effectively elevates the humans into a ruling class, while the replicants are little more than slaves.

4. Replicants • Some replicants develop emotions and realise that they are going to die. To prevent this, they escape from their assignments and go to Earth, in search of their creator, whom they believe can extend their lives. • These replicants are being hunted by Rick, whose job it is to ‘retire’ them – a euphemism for execution.

5. Replicants • The replicants who are being hunted by Rick are: • Roy Batty – RutgerHauer • Pris – Daryl Hannah • Leon Kowalski – Brion James • Zhora – Joanna Cassidy

6. Links between Gattaca and Bladerunner • The theme of discrimination is one which quite clearly links theses two films. • Both films have a two-tiered society of the ‘haves’ and the have-nots’. In Gattaca, these are the valids’ and the ‘invalids’; in Bladerunner, these are the ‘humans’ and the ‘replicants’.

7. Links between Gattaca and Bladerunner • Both films look at the conflict between science and religion. • In Bladerunner, the execution of the replicants is justified by using a euphemism, ‘retirement’. • The film looks closely at the power of scientists and poses the ethical debate which is also asked in Gattaca: just because we are able to do something, does that mean we should? • Religion is seen as the opposite side to the coin – the moral restraint on the power of science.

8. Links between Gattaca and Bladerunner • Although the replicants are initially seen as the ‘enemy’ and ‘evil’, it becomes clear as the film progresses that they are victims rather than perpetrators. • The replicants could be said to symbolise fallen angels – they come from the ‘off-world’ (the heavens) to Earth. • Roy deliberately misquotes William Blake, "Fiery the angels fell..." (Blake wrote "Fiery the angels rose..." and seeks to destroy Tyrell, when like Lucifer, he cannot get the power he wants from his creator. • Roy creates a stigmata by driving a nail into his hand, becoming a Christ-like figure who provides salvation to Deckard. • Upon his death, Roy's soul ascends into the heavens in the form of a dove, which symbolises peace. • This could be linked to Vincent’s ascension into space at the end of Gattaca.

9. Links between Gattaca and Bladerunner: Film Noir • Both texts have links to film noir. • This was a particular style of film made in the 1940s and 1950s – modern films that suggest this genre are sometimes known as a neo-noir. • The detective element of both films is typical of the film noir genre. The opening scene, where we see Deckard being hauled in to see his boss uses a mise-en-scene which is the staple of the film noir genre: a dark, untidy detective’s office, complete with Venetian blinds.

10. Links between Gattaca and Bladerunner: Film Noir • The clothing worn by the detectives is again typical of film noir films: raincoats and trilby hats. • The female characters Rachael (Blade Runner) and Irene (Gattaca) are both beautiful, mysterious and initially cold, but then fall in love and show a softer side to their personalities. • They also both smoke – typical of the femme fatales in film noir.