The Blade Runner controversy

Cats always seem so deep, as if they know the secrets of the universe. Yet at the flick of a switch they can turn into playful kittens, and then instantly back into sage mode again. I guess this dual nature to their personalities is one of their main attractions - dogs by comparison always seem so one—note.

Hence the deep philosophical conversation about Blade Runner, interrupted by a fly.

The Blade Runner controversy is one I’ve been having over many decades with my friend Paul. I’m firmly in the Deckard is a replicant camp, while Paul thinks he’s a human being. The fifteen or so separate cuts we’ve seen since the movie first came out in 1982 seem to vindicate my theory, with contact lenses, unicorns and planted photos all helping to bolster my theory. But it still doesn’t explain what Tyrell’s motives were in introducing Deckard and Rachel in the first place, apart from a desire to mess with the heads of two of the most advanced replicants who lack the self knowledge of their origins. The only explanation I can come up with is that it’s a Ridley Scott movie - it doesn’t have to make sense, it just has to look pretty.

Props to the io9 website for the Descartes theory.