How Is Blade Runner Similar To Humans

In Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, robots known as replicants are built very similar to humans, in fact they are almost identical to humans. They have a conscious and the ability to reason. During some instances in the film the replicants are morally superior to humans. This contrast is used by the film to highlight the German Expressionist belief of the madness of humanity. The film represents the darkness of humanity by portraying the replicants as moral beings while humans are ruthless killers, which is done by different shot selections throughout the film.
One scene in the film that embodies this is the scene where Roy is playing with Deckard. Roy knows that he is superior to Deckard and can easily kill him; however, Roy does not

kill Deckard. In fact, Roy helps Deckard when Deckard is about to fall off the ledge of the high-rise building. This is to accentuate the fact that these sub-humans have a superior moral ability than humans. Deckard was going to kill the very thing that saved his life. In German Expressionism this relates to the darkness of humanity because even though there is this being that is not all bad, Deckard was going to kill him. The use of a low angle shot when Deckard looks at Roy represents how Roy is superior to Deckard. This is not only in a physical sense, that Roy is stronger and faster, but also in a moral sense that Roy knows what is acceptable and what is not more so than Deckard.
The scene with Sebastian and Pris also exemplifies this. This is because Pris is nice to Sebastian and makes him comfortable. She does not try to hurt him. However, when Deckard comes he immediately kills Pris even though she is not bad. She is a good person. This juxtaposition heightens the effect that humans are killers while the replicants are moral. This represents the madness of humanity through the dark and messy place of Sebastian’s home. Many things are everywhere and a messy place can represent a cluttered mind.
Overall, the film Blade Runner employs many scenes to exert German Expressionism. This use of German Expressionism comes in the form of the darkness of humanity which represents a social criticism that humans are not that good. In reality, humans are bad and other things, like robots as seen in the film, can be more moral than humans.