NATURE OF THE UNCONTROLLABLE VARIETY;

Predominately in Blade Runner, as also apparent in I, Robot and Renaissance we see the use of rain in a manner of pathetic fallacy. The constant downpour of Ridley Scott’s L.A. creates a miserable environment of discomfort and restlessness. The actual purpose of the rain within the films is not quite as important as the symbolism attributed to the rainfall. Rain, even in all of these futuristic depictions, still falls outside the domain of human control. Environments that have been fully built up and every aspect of these cities would appear manipulated, but it still remains quite clear that Mother Nature would have a last standing dominion over our built worlds.
In Blade Runner the constant downpour forces one into an interior, void of all that would be natural. It would seem certain that one would long for sunshine to dry and warm and lift the spirits. Reflection would show that our built environments in their most primitive historic state arise specifically because of this uncontrollable aspect of our natural environment. The predominant ideal of shelter as the perpetuating force that has created any city anywhere. And from the very distant past to the however distant future, it would appear that human power would always be dwarfed by that single side of the environment which can never be locked down. Rain in the films stands only as a symbol to this, and a microcosm to the idea of natural disasters such as floods, droughts, hurricanes, etc. After all, it is quite clear to us that the California of today is prone to earthquakes, and by no means would the California of tomorrow be exempt from this pending threat. And although extreme weather events remain out side of human control patters exist to show that they may not be altogether uncontrollable and in some essence are triggered by human action.