Miller: Who is Rick Deckard?

Michael D. Miller

Blade Runner Blog

Who is Rick Deckard?

Discuss three ways in which the Rick Deckard of Blade Runner, 1982, is different from the character in Philip K. Dick's novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Then discuss at least one way in which they are alike.

Rick Deckard in the book, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” is married, chooses to be a bounty hunter, and is fully ensconced in Mercerism.  Whereas, in the film Rick Deckard is not married, is forced into becoming a Blade Runner, and virtually has no affiliation to any religious ideology.

In the book, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” Rick Deckard is married to Iran, a woman who seems to be succumbing to the drudgery of life after World War Terminus. The idea of Rick being married lends to his human side. A man who is married has the ability to love and care for another human just as much as himself, which many would consider a human quality.  In the book, she comes across as unhappy with her current life situation, depressed, and is happy to share her depression with her husband. Iran make a number of comments that seem to undercut Rick’s profession, claiming that he is a murderer working for the police department instead of retiring malfunctioning androids. Rick is tolerant and growing weary of Iran’s mood but still seeks to mend their relationship.

Rick Deckard chooses to be a bounty hunter for monetary gain. He is searching for his identity. One way he is doing this is by searching for a real, live animal to connect with. He feels that he is losing his ability to empathize with humanity; therefore he is continuously searching for an animal to keep him connected with his emotions. The book also postulates that the ownership of a real, live animal is one afforded to those of privilege, a sign of status. However, Deckard chooses to be a bounty hunter in order to earn enough money to buy the real animal. By doing so, Rick believes that this will also rekindle his relationship with Iran.

Rick Deckard is connected to the religion of Mercerism the dominant religion of the day. The fictional religion headed by the cult figure, Wilbur Mercer. Humans can connect to Mercer through the use of the empathy box, which in a way inserts the user into the scene with Wilbur Mercer where the user experiences what Mercer experiences. By doing so, the human senses the thoughts and feelings of other users therefore connecting the collective through Mercer.

            In the film Blade Runner (1982), Rick Deckard is a single man living alone in an apartment. This fact tends to give the impression that Deckard is driven by his work and has little time for anyone else in his life. However, he connects with Rachael, a known replicant. “The moral dilemma is made worse when he falls in love with one of his targets—Rachael—and android so indistinguishable from an actual person that she possesses an artificial memory and real emotions” (Pfeiffer 121).  By the end of the film, he and Rachael run off together presumably to live happily ever after.

            Rick Deckard is forced to return to his former profession as a Blade Runner. He is picked up at a local restaurant and brought back to meet with Bryant who tells him, “Either you’re a cop or you’re little people?” He replies, “No choice.” Deckard is the best at what he does and the challenge of locating, testing, and destroying the renegade replicants is no easy task. Deckard may also be feeling a sense of revenge for the Holden being severely injured by the replicant Leon.

            The film also seems to conveniently omit everything that is Mercerism or any religious ideology. The religious aspect of the book is not even mentioned in the film. There is, however, a development of the theme of empathy in the film. This is accomplished through other means. Rachael saves Rick’s life when she shoots and kills Leon on the street. Leon and Rick are fighting and it appears that Rick is about to die, when suddenly Leon’s head explodes and the camera pans over to show Rachael holding a laser gun. Additionally, on the rooftop, when Rick and Roy are engaged in the final showdown, rick leaps to a neighboring roof and does not quite make it. He is slowly losing his grip when Roy leaps to the same rooftop and watches Rick struggle to regain his grip. At the last moment, Rick slips and Roy reaches out and saves Rick from falling to his death. Both of these instances certainly display a form of empathy on the part of the replicants, which replicants were believed to be devoid of throughout the film, thus making them sub-human.