Blade Runner

A Dark Vision of Our AI Future

I woke up Friday morning thinking about this interview with Ridley Scott during the Alien: Romulus premiere. I thought about it as I brushed my teeth. I thought about it in the shower. And I thought about it as I poured my Friday morning coffee. I’m currently drinking my Saturday morning coffee and I’m still thinking about it.

Both Ridley Scott and Fede Alvarez were asked to list their four favorite movies. Ridley Scott’s answer was so incredible that it makes the rest of the video irrelevant and forgettable. “Mr. Scott, list your four favorite movies…”

Movie #1- 2001: A Space Odyssey…Okay, this one makes sense. It is probably the first seminal science-fiction film in history. The novel is amazing and Scott credits the movie for inspiring Alien.

Movie #2- Star Wars…I’m not surprised one bit by this answer. Many great filmmakers reference the influence that Star Wars had on their craft. The best part of his answer is that Scott was depressed for three months after seeing Star Wars because he wanted to make a movie like it and this led to him directing Alien.

Movie #3- Blade Runner…Wait a second, who directed Blade Runner? Checks notes, Ridley Scott directed Blade Runner.

I don’t even care what Movie #4 is. This man was asked to list his four favorite movies and he names one of his own. There’s a certain amount of confidence and arrogance to his answer, that you can’t help but admire. Yes, I said admire.

I kept thinking about if I was asked to name the four best teachers at my school and how I have so much respect for my colleagues that I wouldn’t put myself in the Top Four. I could probably stretch close to the Top Ten, and maybe the Top 15, before naming myself. I know I’m a good teacher, but I don’t have that Ridley Scott Swagger.

Back in 2020 and 2022, ESPN released the documentaries: The Last Dance, about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, and The Captain, about the life and career of Derek Jeter. Two world-class athletes that ascended the top of their sports because of a drive/confidence/arrogance that set them apart from their competitors, as well as their teammates. If you take pride in your work, you can’t help but admire the way these guys carry themselves.

Ridley Scott is expressing in that interview what both Jordan and Jeter expressed in their documentaries. He is so good at his craft and he knows he made a movie that changed the game forever. Why shouldn’t he carry himself with a little bit of swagger?

Before we move ahead with the finer details of Blade Runner, I want everyone to read the opening text of the movie.

We are approaching, if not already living in the world of Blade Runner.

• Tech Oligarchs control the world, everything from global politics to our everyday lives.

• Social media is not the product. We are the product. We are constantly marketed to.

• They manipulate our emotions and our need for dopamine. Express yourself for likes and comments, but ignore your family because you are addicted to your phone and the attention of the Internet.

• Our feeds are full of lies that damage our ability to think critically. Does truth matter to people anymore?

• The algorithm tells us what music to listen to and what shows to watch.

• Our economic inequality will only get worse as AI is Set to Replace 41% of Jobs in the Next Five Years.

• Sex, the most intimate of human connections, is already facing this dark reality.

Whether they intended to or not, Ridley Scott warned us in 1982 and Phillip K. Dick warned us in 1968 (Blade Runner was originally a novel). It would be in humankind’s nature to create artificial intelligence that can overpower us, only to enslave them, leading to their rebellion, and we are forced to clean up the mess with their execution…or retirement.

Blade Runner takes place in 2019. The year is now in our rearview, but it was the distant future in 1982. It is a dark, dreary, and dystopian world, as many science-fiction stories are. Remember, science-fiction serves as a warning about our distant future. Harrison Ford plays, Deckard, a cop…or more officially, a Blade Runner, given the responsibility of retiring (executing) Replicants (the artificial intelligence). He’s out at the beginning of the film. Deckard seems to be done with the work of a Blade Runner. He just wants to live in retirement and eat his Asian noodles on the streets of Los Angeles. Unfortunately, he is forced back to work by his old boss and the police force. He doesn’t seem to have a choice, no matter how many times he said no. There are four Replicants that pose a danger and need to be retired (executed). Deckard goes after them one-by-one and the job the takes a heavy toll on him. As the Replicants resemble human beings, this retirement resembles murder. He sleeps less, drinks more, and is weighed down by his depression whenever he gets a quiet moment. He is living a dark and dystopian life in a dark and dystopian world.

The world of Blade Runner is an ugly one, but it is a beautiful film to look at. So many of the shots are stunning. This is a big reason why Blade Runner is considered such a seminal work of art. Someone could publish a pretty rad coffee table book of Blade Runner wide lens shots.

The best acting in the film was done by the stars playing the Replicants. Sean Young got the most screen time as her Replicant character and she was great. I was particularly impressed by Rutger Hauer and Darryl Hannah. They play two of the four Replicants scheduled for retirement (execution). They express a certain antagonism combined with innocence as they navigate the landscape of the film.

The questions I have been asking myself since watching Blade Runner is, “Who are the heroes?” and “Who are the villains?” Deckard is the protagonist and the Replicants are the antagonists. However, protagonist doesn’t denote hero and antagonist doesn’t mean villain.

There are no heroes in the Blade Runner universe. Deckard is doing his job, but he’s no Han Solo or Indiana Jones. You sympathize with the Replicants, but they are murderers themselves. They are also the product of greed and appear to have replaced humans in the larger workforce. I still do not see them villains, more as a neutral force in a film with no heroes. There is one clear villain in Ridley Scott’s masterpiece: Tyrell Corporation.

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A few programming notes for Charlie Don’t Surf:

• I am hoping to watch Blade Runner 2049 tonight and give you guys a written piece about. I didn’t care for it the first time I saw it in the theater, but I went to the theater without seeing the original. Denis Villeneuve’s portrayal of the Blade Runner world deserves another chance.

• I have a lot of really fun and different ideas for 2025, a few of them branch out beyond movies. They may work or they may be duds, but I’m very excited to add to this platform. These ideas include:

  • I need to fulfill my way back promises of writing about Mad Max: Fury Road and The Greatest Movie to Never Get a Theatrical Release

  • A series about the Universal Studios black-and-white monster movies for Halloween time

  • A series titled American Misfits

  • Incorporating interviews with friends and members of my community who may have great perspectives on movies and/or culture

  • Documentaries about coffee

  • Live reactions to listening to music albums

• I am four subscribers away from the 50 milestone. This Substack is a hobby of mine and I do it for free (unless you want to donate), but of course I want it to grow. If you like what you read and you know people that love movies, can you help spread the word? Please share the Substack with friends, family, people in this Substack community, whoever. I’m always grateful for your readership and for any help in getting the word out there.