Social Commentary


Another criteria of a good science-fiction film is its message. The film should make a social commentary on today's society. The film should also make a projection on what might happen in the future if we stay on our present course.

Bladerunner is a very interesting science fiction film which is full of metaphors. Ridley Scott, the director, put many hidden messages in almost every part of the film. Below are two scenes of the film which contains a projection on what would happen in the future if we stay on our present culture. The first scene is the scene taken from the street. The second scene is the scene of a meeting between Tyrell and Roy.



The Settings and The People




Let us look at the above image taken from the film. From the image we can see that the billboards are not in English, but in Japanese or in Chinese. In the film, the language of the people and the music in Los Angeles are not in English either, but in Japanese, Chinese, etc. There is one scene in which Deckerd wants to ordered four bowls of noodles. He, however, is having a hard time trying to get his message across since the person who is selling the noodles comes from Japan. It seems like Deckerd needs to speak Japanese to communicate with other people. Thus, English language has become foreign language in Los Angeles.

The people who appeared in the movie were mainly Japanese, Chinese and Middle Eastern. The number of Americans in the film can be counted on one hand. Hence, Americans have become the minority in their own country, likened to on endangered species. Because the American is an endangered species, the Replicant is made to resemble an American.

In my opinion, through the settings of the street and what kind of people is the majority in the film, Scott is trying to alarm today's society especially the Department of Immigration to pay more intention on immigration. The immigration needs to be restricted in order to slow down the rapid flow of immigrants from Japan and China coming to the United States.



The meeting between Tyrell and Roy



This is a picture of Tyrell when he meets with the Replicants. This meeting includes some interesting metaphors. Tyrell is dressed in a robe resembling that of a Pope or a Priest of a Catholic church during his meeting with Roy, the head of the Replicants. The setting of the room, which is filled with high, white candles, also resembles the setting of a Catholic church.

Roy wants to meet with his creator, Tyrell, since he thinks that Tyrell is the "god of biomechanics" and can give him continued life. Tyrell, an imperfect human being, cannot give life to Roy; therefore, out of desperation, Roy kills Tyrell. In my opinion, Scott is trying to send a very important message through this scene. Here, he contrasts Tyrell and God. The coming of Roy to Tyrell to ask for more life resembles the coming of a hopeless person in today's society coming to God to ask for life from the Priest who is the servant of God. We can see in today's society that with the advancement of the technology, people are turning away from God. God is not part of their life anymore. People, instead, rely on advanced technology. Through this scene, Scott seems want the audience to question their relationship with God.


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