I found Rachel to be the most complex and interesting character in the film. The fact that we identify her as a multifaceted character is ironic because she is a Replicant which suggests that she is incapable of emotion or being truly “human.” As the subject of an experiment conducted by the Tyrell Corporation, Rachel is a “new model” of Replicant and believes that she is human. She has also been implanted with false memories from her non-existent past. The experiment seems to be continued as Rick exposes the Corporation’s scheme to Rachel and she realizes that she is, in fact, not human. Upon this realization, Rachel appears to be confused and upset, though we do not know how deep her emotions extend.
Because I watched the theatrical version and not the director’s cut, I saw the alternate ending where Rachel and Rick drive off together into a scenic landscape. I was a fan of this ending because I like happy rom com-esque endings, but it presented me with even more questions about Rachel’s emotional capacity. Does she love Rick? We know that Replicants are capable of developing emotions, but will always be emotionally stunted because of their short lifespan. So, could Rachel, a Replicant, experience love, presumably the most powerful human emotion? As a next generation Replicant, Rachel has no expiration date, so maybe there is the possibility that she will be able to develop these feelings toward Rick.
Yes, I liked the corny voice overs as well.
I also found Rachel to be one of the most interesting characters in the film. She obviously has emotions, but we are never quite sure how deep her emotional capacity truly is. The fact that she is a Replicant and has been implanted with false memories makes her emotions even more of a complicated thought or concept go grasp. Your question of whether or not she has the capacity to feel and experience the human emotion of love is also a complicated thought, particularly because the complexities of the emotion "love" can stretch to several different kinds of love, along with the emotions that are connected with them. But the fact the Replicants could learn emotions over time by observing and interacting with humans makes me wonder if they could only experience the love that another feels for them, or could they learn their emotions like humans do by experiencing the emotions for themselves. With all of this said, it is obvious that emotion plays an important role in the film.
ReplyDeleteReverting back to the argument between the theatrical or the director's cut, I believe that the director's cut we watched in class adds an entirely different dynamic to Rachel's character and the entire movie. From my understanding the added voice over in the theatrical version adds clarity to the fact that Rachel's model of Replicant has no expiration date, a key fact left out in the original film. Without the voice over, the ending of the movie leaves viewer with a much more ambiguous tone. Yes, Rachel is alive, but how much longer will she have to live? The also leaves uncertainty about the motivations of Decker. Having seen first hand a Replicant expire, how does he intend to save Rachel? Also is he a Replicant himself and will he expire shortly? This ambiguity is clearly intended by Scott, and the movie itself is a tale of the human life cycle, and the uncertainty each day brings as far as mortality is concerned. The reason for ending the movie with Rachel and Decker escaping to unknown fates is to show that there is no plan to life or definitive expiration date. You have to live each day like it is your last.
ReplyDeleteI found Rachel's character to be interesting, however unlike most people, I feel somewhat unimpressed by her characterization within the film. Though she may have been central in the mind of Harrison Ford's character, she seem quite lacking in the film as a whole. Most of the film appeared to be either setting up and exploring its futuristic world, or fighting the other replicants. To me, Rachel was lacking within the story. I suppose one of the main reasons for this may have been to create a mystery behind her capabilities and life as the newer-generation replicant, one that, according to the theatrical cut, has no expiration date. Rachel's reaction to Dacker's recognition of love was not inspired to say the least. She simply repeated Decker. Again, this could have attributed to her replicant character, however it left me quite unsatisifed with the complexity of her character.
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