In the film industry, the adaptation of a book into a movie is normally a process which takes into account most of the themes presented within the book. However, in most cases, the film adaptation of the book often has a lot of details changed in order to bring forth a different feel or understanding. Most of the times, Director’s use the change to spark the movie and ensure it is well met in the market. However, the omission of key features in the film may ultimately lead to the loss of the main concept presented within the book. It is up to the Director to ensure that the film is presented with information close enough to the book to ensure the same story flows in both cases. The above is evident in Philip K. Dicks “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” and its movie adaptation Blade Runner. There are many similarities, and the plot of the story follows that of the book, however, there are many other themes that are depicted in Blade Runner, that are not present or differ in those presented within the book. Additionally, there are many scenes within the book that are altogether missing in the movie depiction. In the case of the Blade Runner movie, there have been several versions of the movie each holding various depictions from the book. Each of these versions holds a different storyline, each having selected different scenes and endings. The concentration in this paper will be made in Blade Runner (Director’s Cut) releases in 1992. A comparative analysis will be made of the movie and Philip K. Dicks “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” highlighting the similarities and differences in both movie and book.
In all the versions of the movie, the storylines follow a distinct pattern as issued within the book. They are all of Rick Deckard, as the protagonist, Rachael Rosen as the main female character. Alternatively, the storyline stars John Isidore and Pris Stratton as side casts to interlock with Rick at a later point in the story. The plot revolves around Rick as a Bounty hunter whose main job is to “retire” androids who have escaped from Mars to the home planet (earth) (Dick, 1966). The beginning of the story stars the planet earth as a deserted planet where very few people live. The few are those who are ineligible to move to the new colonies developed on Mars. The air on earth is contaminated with Radiation and hence people have to wear protective clothing to ensure they are not infected. The planet is slowly dying, the result of World War Terminus (Dick, 1966).
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In the world left behind, a major theme that is observed amongst the people and Rick Deckard is social class. With the continued advent of artificially engineered robots who are developed to assist and act as slaves of humanity on Mars. For any bounty hunter to identify the Androids from the humans, they have to conduct a Voigt-Kampff test that is purely based on the determination of empathy, as it’s the only emotion that cannot be replicated in the Androids. In this same manner, human beings are expected to own an animal to act as their own companion who aids in developing and maintaining their empathy levels through the care they provide to them (Macarthur, 2017). However, the ownership of animals has become a status symbol within the economy. It is used as a measure to identify the people belonging to various classes. People who were able to afford bigger animals were considered better off than those with smaller animals. Additionally, for people with animals that were not real, they were pitied as they were considered to be of the lower class; this is evident in the conversation between Rick and his Neighbour Bill Barbour. Additionally, the amount of time Rick spent contemplating on better ways to get a real animal. He had a great materialistic need to own a better-fitted animal to prove his status within the society, for this purpose. Animals were used as status symbols and this is evident where the Rosen Foundation was able to utilize them as a pathway for a bribe in both the film and the book.
Another theme depicted in both the book and the film is religion. In every society, there is the need to have faith and a path to fall back on when things seem bleak and tough. In this futuristic world where it seems as though the gods once present have completely forsaken the people, Philip K Dick utilizes the concept of Mercerism to depict religion. It is evident where John Isidore, in the sanctity of his apartment building is greeted by the silence and void that lay within his place of residence. To curb the feelings of loneliness, he opts to plug himself into a machine that plays the life of Mercerism. The machine has been created in the book as a tool to promote hope and belief, to ensure the continuation of people’s empathy within the human world and issue them hope amidst the struggle (“What’s Your Edition Number? The Replicating of Blade Runner: Final Cut - Bright Lights Film Journal,” n.d.). The effects of the machine and the experiences created by the device allow for real physical contact in the machine and in real life. The same is also observed where Iran Deckard, at the beginning of the book is struggling with self-imposed depression to curb the effects of mood organ she believed was depriving her of sensing the absence of life. In her state, she believed in Mercerism as the ultimate path through which individuals are able to attain true empathy, a belief shared by John Isidore (Scott, 1997). These two themes are well evident in both the book and all the film versions of the book. However, there are also key differences that are observed in the film depiction of the book.
In the Blade Runner “Director’s cut”, there are several scenes which depict a different storyline than that which is referred to in the book. The first is the ending. In this version, Deckard is depicted to be a replica of the androids. It is evident where Deckard has a unicorn-dream sequence (Scott, 1997). The dream sequence was a symbol of the parting gift issued by Gaff into the android's memories. Hence, in the director’s cut, the movie ends with ambiguity, where the audience is left to fill in the gap on whether Rick Decker was actually an android similar to Rachael Rosen or not. The book depicts a different ending with Rick having to continue his life with his wife. He travels to the hills where he uncovers the true meaning of empathy and develops a profound new outlook on life after experiencing Mercerism first hand. He is able to find a toad, however, the toad is electric, and he learns to appreciate and care for the toad, just as he would a real animal (Asimov, 2013).
The second is the concept of empathy through Mercerism. In the book, Rick is able to develop a true sense of empathy. From the previous chapters, his killing of the androids had brought great shame to himself. He was unable to face the world and believed that indeed he had conducted himself in a manner less empathic from the rest. The depiction of robots and android in the storyline seem similar, however, Androids are used tribe to describe a subtype of robots who are more human-like in their outward appearance, while, robots have a visible mechanical nature to them (Asimov, 2013). Decker, in his new resolution, decides to treat each of these animals with the same kind of empathy and emotion as he would treat other animals. However, in the film, the concept is deprived and depleted with that of ambiguity and suspense replacing it. The difference spanning from the knowledge that within the film, Decker does not achieve true Mercerism and his restoration of empathy developed, rather, we the question of whether he is an android is left hanging. The ending forces the re-evaluation of the true meaning of humanity from the movie. In this stead, showing that the androids were indeed showing compassion and concern to one another up to a level where it was easy to confuse them with humans, in the event the conclusion is that Decker is an android
The similarities and differences depicted in the film and the book all deliver the analysis of various themes within the storyline. Each of the similarities shows a uniqueness in content, however, the differences that are eminent within the plot lines give rise to the development of various themes in enacting the various storylines. Even with the analysis of these comparisons, it is evident the review of what it means to be human within both stories is important. The various considerations that are given in each society have been depicted, from the development of empathy as a core human emotion, social status, and class, wealth and status quo, employment as a source of purpose, as is seen with the work Decker performs. Both the book and the film evoke questions that seek to understand humanity better.
References
Asimov, I. (2013). Empathy and Dyspathy between Man, Android and Robot in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick and I, Robot . Lund University, Sweden. Retrieved from http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/4023784/file/4023785.pdf
Dick, P. K. (1966). Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Auckland. Retrieved from https://www.larevuedesressources.org/IMG/pdf/dadoes.pdf
Macarthur, D. (2017). A Vision of Blindness: Blade Runner and Moral Redemption. Film-Philosophy , 21 (3), 371–391. https://doi.org/10.3366/film.2017.0056
Scott, R. (1997). Blade Runner . Warner Home Video.
What’s Your Edition Number? The Replicanting of Blade Runner: Final Cut - Bright Lights Film Journal. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2018, from http://brightlightsfilm.com/whats-your-edition-number-the-replicanting-of-blade-runner-final-cut/
