Sunday, June 21, 2020
Friday, June 19, 2020
Reflecting Humanity A Reading of the Complexities of Ridley Scotts Blade Runner - Literature Essay Samples
Prior to the release of Blade Runner 2049 in theaters in October of 2017, I prepared myself for the film by re-watching the last ââ¬â and best ââ¬â version of Ridley Scottââ¬â¢s landmark 1982 film Blade Runner: The Final Cut. In the film, Scott portrays a dystopian Earth in which a genius inventor named Eldon Tyrell has created mechanical humans called replicants. While once an exciting and innovative product, virulent hate for the new beings has begun to spread throughout Earth and its surrounding colonies and the eponymous blade runners (all of whom are essentially hitmen tasked with killing rouge replicants) are tasked to hunt down and destroy the newly rebellious replicant population. One such blade runner is Rick Deckard (played brilliantly by Harrison Ford, who later reprised his role in 2049). Deckard is tasked with pursuing and ultimately killing (or terminating, depending on point of view) four replicants, including the antagonist of the film, Roy Batty (played by Rutger Hauer). The group is near the end of their life cycle and have captured a spaceship to return to Earth to meet their creator Tyrell. As audiences get acquainted with Deckard, Rachel, and Batty, the films themes become more and more clear. And one of many things the film does well is make its themes palatable and exceptionally complex. Among all of the films themes, one sticks out: What does it mean to be human? The film posits that what makes humans human is the ability to think and emotion, specifically empathy (one of the characters in the film repeats a Descartes quote: ââ¬Å"I think, therefore I amâ⬠). Yet, Tyrellââ¬â¢s newer models have become nearly indistinguishable from humans. In turn, the blade runners turn to the Voight-Kampff test to help them differentiate between human and machine. In a memorable and key scene in the film, Rick Deckard, administers the test to a young woman named Rachel to determine if she is a replicant or human. At the end of the test, Deckard a man the audience is unsure is human or replicant is unsure if of her status. After all, her responses were nearly indistinguishable from those that humans would give. Nevertheless, at the end of the encounter, Tyrell tells Deckard that Rachel is in fact a replicant he has created to be his servant. In the world of Blade Runner, this sort of test has become necessary because the line between human machine h as become more and more blurred. Replicants can feel emotion, empathy, think critically and independently, and as we learn in 2049, have children. Take Battyââ¬â¢s now famous farewell speech as example. ââ¬Å"Ive seen things you people wouldnt believe,â⬠he says, ââ¬Å"Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhà ¤user Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain Time to die.â⬠In this key scene, Battyââ¬â¢s humanity is emphasized. He has the capability to emotionally reflect (hence the mention of rain and the fact that it is raining when he gives the speech) on his life well-lived. Batty may have robotic capabilities no human does, but he has the soul of a human being. Now, even the one noticeable difference between humans and replicants humans are born, not manufactured is becoming a moot point. Most are manufactured, but increasingly, replicants will be born to a loving mother. This leaves one difference: humans are made up of flesh and blood and replicants are made up of circuitry and technology. But at the end of the day, what is the difference? As we draw closer and closer to the advent of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) technology, this is the question that philosophers and laymen alike will increasingly ponder. Over 35 years ago Blade Runner posed this question; it is a testament to the minds of Philip K. Dick (the man who wrote the book this film is based off, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) and Scott that the book and film have endured and stayed so relevant after all these years. In many ways, Blade Runner was ahead of its time, particularly when it comes to the discussion of the nature of humanity. Sure, there had been films like Stanley Kubrickââ¬â¢s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Fritz Langââ¬â¢s Metropolis (1927) before it, but never before had a film and its themes been so accessible and palatable (yet still very complex) to general audiences. Scottââ¬â¢s Blade Runner is a cult classic for a reason. Itââ¬â¢s a trenchant film and one that brought up questions still being considered today. Like the novel on which it was based, Blade Runner redefined what it means to be human.
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Use a Program to Check For Errors in Term Papers
Use a Program to Check For Errors in Term PapersWith the help of a program to check for errors in term papers, you can get hold of every single error that may appear on your paper. It is not too difficult to find the errors in your term papers because they are usually accompanied by a list of instructions and a reason for why they were written. Since the error will normally be accompanied by these reasons, you should try to see if you can guess where it may have appeared.There are two common methods to use to check for errors in term papers. One is to check all the papers individually before printing them out. The other is to use a program to check for errors in term papers. Both of these are quite simple methods to use.You can check for errors in term papers with the help of a program to check for errors in term papers. The program will look at the errors in the paper in detail. This is done by searching through the document to try and find the error, which is almost always present. This is the easiest and most convenient way to check for errors in term papers. It will also enable you to print out a list of the errors, thus making it possible to identify where the errors originated from. However, this is only applicable if the errors are located in a specific section of the paper. If you were to include everything, it would be very difficult to find the errors in the documents because they will simply be scattered throughout the entire document.Another way to check for errors in term papers is to use a program that searches for a specific pattern or word within the document. This will enable you to find the error even if it is hidden within the document. You can either go through the entire document or just find a section of the document where the error appears.For a program to check for errors in term papers, you will need to be able to find it on the internet. You can simply type 'program to check for errors in term papers' into any search engine and get as m any results as you want. You will probably find programs for a variety of different types of documents.If you are unable to find the program you are looking for, there is another option to check for errors in term papers. You can ask your teachers or tutors who might have a copy of the program that you can download onto your computer. This will enable you to read the program and identify any errors in the documents that you need to edit.Although programs to check for errors in term papers can be a bit time consuming, it is well worth the effort. You can spend hours looking for errors in your term papers, which can be very frustrating. By using a program to check for errors in term papers, you will be able to save a lot of time and make it easier to solve the problems that appear in the documents.
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