Tears in the rain

Before I begin reviewing Week Three materials, I would like to comment on the Blade Runner.

In the film,  genetically engineered organic robots called replicants are manufactured.  The replicants have a shorter life span so that they do not become masters but always subservient to the manufacturer. There have been designed to be like human to perform menial and dangerous tasks.

There are many parallels in real life in the context of immigration where new comers are sometimes regarded as second class citizens, and once their service is no longer required, they are not welcome any more.  In fact, there is much to learn from the new comers, apart from the diversity it brings, they also introduce different skills and talents and they are as human as anyone else.

A question was posed about being human, in this last series of the film festival, and it certainly gives us something to think about.  What is human in the virtual domain, and when is there a cross over between the virtual and the real? In the Blade Runner, it seems to me the values of humans, are lower than those possessed by the replicants.  The line, “tears in the rain” is apt to describe how we regard the feelings of the replicant  as non-relevant, like tears in the rain.