BladeRunner

Why does it still captivate?

What was so compelling about the movie, Bladerunner? I was changed by this movie, despite rewatching and finding it slow 25 years later. I'll blame screens and my ADHD. Obviously it was well cast and acted. There were huge, memorable scenes and much novelty and exposition. The Film Noir feel set a gloomy mood: darkness, rain, endless night and disconnection. An urban future dystopia that spoke of a worsening decay, an exaggeration of the problems of today.

But the movie asked philosophical questions centering around the need for and lack of connection with others in an atomized world. Also, the film pondered the questions, 'what makes one alive?' What makes us real? What makes us legitimate? And thus, what is a real connection when we don't know if the other is real? (and by extension, if we are truly real).

BladeRunner posits that life begins when we realize how fleeting it is. This is epitomized in Rutger Hauer's scene 'tears in the rain,' which he rewrote. I was devastated and transfixed. I'll never forget that scene, and yet, through much of my life, I didn't let its message inform my decisions.

He was motivated to forgive his enemy and to save life in his final moments of life. Impending death brought meaning, purpose, inspiration, and appreciation, even to a man who was a machine. He had gained perspective.

He spared Deckard's life and this prompted Deckard to value his remaining time and to speed away with his woman who was no woman. It didn't matter. His and her lives were fleeting and they had a deep connection. The only consideration was getting to safety and spending whatever time remained together.

Because the distinctions didn't matter. Who was human and who was a machine. This was the red herring that dominated the movie and distracted the viewer. Robot or human can be stand-ins for gay or straight, black or white, citizen or illegal, protestant or Catholic, and on and on. We focus on the surface, the label, the differences, the apparent mismatches, at our peril. Our fascination with binaries wastes our precious time. This is the time where we could be loving our lovers, and living our lives.

As we approach this computerized future where giant businesses dominate and liberty feels quaint, we must do as the unlikely heroes did in this love letter to courage; we must feel for one another. We must see past arbitrary labels. We are alive now. Life is precious. There is no time to waste. All we have are our selves and our soul connections. Togetherness is what makes life worth living.

That movie came out when I was a child. I first saw it as a 25 year old adult. I reveled in its high drama. And then I fell asleep for 25 more years. And here I am sitting in the full catastrophe of its meaning. There is nothing but the urgent task of loving those we love and living our truth. And then we're gone.