BladeZone's Off World Forums

Hi, i'm a newbie, and i would like to thank all the people discussing in this chat-section because it helps a lot.
well i'm currently working on blade runner, and i intend to write something so i could graduate in september.

well i have (for the moment) just a little question (maybe someone just asked it before, in that case just warn me)

well, why do you think that replicants are being human-shaped manufactured?

i can understand such a choice regarding to the pleasure-model, but , what about the warrior models? or any other that are build to work hard?
they could have been designed in so many other ways than human-shape...
well, just let me know if you've got an idea about this question...
thanx a lot
the greg

(by the way, i might have badly written things, forgive me , i'm french!!! )

Bonjour Monsieur
I think that you'd have to accept that, if Roy Batty had looked like something out of Robocop, the thematic backbone of the story would have been lost or obscured. The Replicants have to look human to highlight the dilemma Deckard is in and, as we take the role of viewer, to grab our attention to the fact that what he is doing is wrong. We are asked to empathise with the replicants and the film succeeds in doing that (imho) but I don't know if that would have been possible if they had been seen as physiologically different. When Deckard shoots Zhora in the back much would be lost if she/it were portrayed as some mechanoid construction. We are drawn into the tragedy of the scene because she appears so human.
Whilst writing the above it occurred to me that the HAL 9000 computer (2001) is often described as the most human character in that film so I do not suggest that a human appearance is necessary for empathy, only that it depends on the context.

Welcome, the greg! Interesting question.

Here?s a scenario: Say a group of replicants are created for the sole purpose of working at a mining or waste disposal complex doing extreme physical labor. There is no chance for these replicants to ever be seen by the outside population. Could they be created with, say, an extra pair of arms or legs? Or perhaps abnormally big/tall? Such features will no doubt make them more productive at their jobs. A group of so called, ?Freak Replicants?? I guess it?s possible.

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That's a very good question - I think the short answer (as already stated above) is that the book/movie wouldn't work if you could 'spot' a replicant by it's physical characteristics.

Generally speaking, in the real world, there does seem to be a desire to create 'our slaves of the future' in a humanoid form - perhaps this is to give them a better chance of being accepted by the masses. The Tyrell corporation are trying to 'sell' their product to the off-worlders - marketing a 'normal' looking humanoid as part of the family would be far easier than a six-armed 'freak'.

I guess, generally speaking, people have a very negative attitude to 'mutations' in fellow human beings and would therefore be less likely to accept a mutated replicant - I suppose it's just in our nature.