 |
In Blade Runner, it is more of a feeling of an event happening before use as opposed to a storytelling with accompanying backdrops. As technology advances, the subtle details in the props allow audiences to pick up information without thinking too deeply in symbolism. Although the act of eating is strongly symbolic, it is specifically what and where an individual is eating that reveal the nature in which a movie takes place.
At the beginning of Blade Runner, Deckard starts a meal at an oriental style fast food noodle kiosk. It portrays a future that is current to the trend of rising populations of Asians this is not a far-fetched portrayal. The fast food street vendor also reveals the poor social conditions of the times and the state in which the planet is in contrast to the advertisement of a better life floating above. Deckard is then arrested while eating and he continues to eat in the police vehicle, showing that he is either more powerful then the cop or that he does not care, informing audiences of his disdain towards the law and calm personality towards a potentially dangerous situation. It gives him an attitude typical of most leading male characters of sci-fi movies; also, it seems in the future citizens of such unruly metropolises are desensitized too many situations. This meal scene is strategically placed at the beginning right after an explanation about robots that are identical to humans. Because Deckard is seen eating, subconsciously, we assume he is human. It seems to be his last and only meal but we do not see any of the other robots having a meal. By the end of the movie you might wonder if he was naturally hungry or programmed to be so. Since I have watched the movie AI I assume robots can not eat and therefore I believe that the major significance to this scene is to prove that Deckard is human. |
