Themes in Blade Runner

The thematic complexity of Blade Runner is hard to ignore, and Ridley Scott does very well in incorporating different themes as social criticism and warning of a corporatist driven future. As with most dystopian science fiction films and novels we have seen, there is a large degree of dehumanization of several human characters. In this instance, it is the artificially created "replicants" that are relegated to . At the same time, however, some religious symbolism is brought into play regarding the replicants, as they seem to symbolize fallen angels. As the other world colonies can be seen as ideal, and more heavenly than the hellish Earth presented within the film, and especially Roy who prefers to "reign in hell" (Earth) rather than "serve in heaven" (hell), Earth symbolizes a hellish future.

When Harrison Ford's character is seen pursuing a replicant in a strip club, he asks her if the snake she possesses is real, to which she replies it is artificially created as she cannot afford a real snake. This implies not only that nature has become a scarcity in this dystopian society, but also that artificial creations still do not hold the same weight as naturally created ones. This seems to be a driving thematic element of the film, as the emotions (or lack thereof) of the replicants are never considered in anyone's interaction with them, save Harrison Ford witnessing Roy's cathartic soliloquy at the end of the film and his interactions with his love interest. These couple instances, however, imply that artificial intelligence may not be accepted as equivalent to natural beings, but they may become indistinguishable.

The presence of heavy advertising in the film serves as a social commentary for 1980s society as one increasingly bombarded with billboards, television advertisements, and other forms of advertising. At the same time, several advertisements are shown throughout the film for other world colonies throughout space, . Besides reinforcing the idea that large corporations have used capitalism to subject society to a dystopian future, these colony advertisements mimic advertisements throughout Western history that promise . This could also be seen as a subset of the American Dream, and society's resilience to pursue it even if it requires them to travel abroad, in this case to another planet.