02-03-2009, 07:14 PM
Jan, Damien,
As Jan knows, I share your enthusiasm for Blade Runner, and in particular the meditation on the nature of soul as proffered in Roy's death scene.
The white dove that suddenly appears in his hand is his newly "earned" immortality -- the spirit -- that somehow he has gained through his trevails. Roy's speech builds toward the ultimate climax: He conceives a metaphor.
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die."
The replicant creates artistic expression --"like tears in rain" ... and finally his totality is greater than the sum of his material inventory. Art as prayer and benediction.
Then it is time to die -- clearly Roy's reference to Ecclesiastes 3:2 -- and when he passes, Roy's soul-as-dove is released to soar heavenward.
Roy may indeed have done "questionable things ... but nothing the God of biomechanics wouldn't put you in heaven for."
We also should remember that previously, during his extraordinary conversation with Tyrell, Roy had exhibited an astounding knowledge of biomechanics. But all of it is quantifiable and predictable -- and none of it can withstand Tyrell's greater knowledge and insight. It's Catechism 101, and the altar boy is being taught a lesson by the Pope. At that point, Roy is simply a machine.
But not for long.
Androids, it seems, do dream of electric sheep. And when they interpret meaning from the dreams, they and the sheep become ... real.
CD
As Jan knows, I share your enthusiasm for Blade Runner, and in particular the meditation on the nature of soul as proffered in Roy's death scene.
The white dove that suddenly appears in his hand is his newly "earned" immortality -- the spirit -- that somehow he has gained through his trevails. Roy's speech builds toward the ultimate climax: He conceives a metaphor.
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die."
The replicant creates artistic expression --"like tears in rain" ... and finally his totality is greater than the sum of his material inventory. Art as prayer and benediction.
Then it is time to die -- clearly Roy's reference to Ecclesiastes 3:2 -- and when he passes, Roy's soul-as-dove is released to soar heavenward.
Roy may indeed have done "questionable things ... but nothing the God of biomechanics wouldn't put you in heaven for."
We also should remember that previously, during his extraordinary conversation with Tyrell, Roy had exhibited an astounding knowledge of biomechanics. But all of it is quantifiable and predictable -- and none of it can withstand Tyrell's greater knowledge and insight. It's Catechism 101, and the altar boy is being taught a lesson by the Pope. At that point, Roy is simply a machine.
But not for long.
Androids, it seems, do dream of electric sheep. And when they interpret meaning from the dreams, they and the sheep become ... real.
CD
Charles Drago
Co-Founder, Deep Politics Forum
If an individual, through either his own volition or events over which he had no control, found himself taking up residence in a country undefined by flags or physical borders, he could be assured of one immediate and abiding consequence: He was on his own, and solitude and loneliness would probably be his companions unto the grave.
-- James Lee Burke, Rain Gods
You can't blame the innocent, they are always guiltless. All you can do is control them or eliminate them. Innocence is a kind of insanity.
-- Graham Greene
Co-Founder, Deep Politics Forum
If an individual, through either his own volition or events over which he had no control, found himself taking up residence in a country undefined by flags or physical borders, he could be assured of one immediate and abiding consequence: He was on his own, and solitude and loneliness would probably be his companions unto the grave.
-- James Lee Burke, Rain Gods
You can't blame the innocent, they are always guiltless. All you can do is control them or eliminate them. Innocence is a kind of insanity.
-- Graham Greene