The Exaggerated Power of Pupils

Eyes are often considered one of the greatest gifts of humankind. They allow for people to witness beauty, happiness, and even tragedy. Their significance, though, is that they provide the opportunity for humans to experience life. In the film Blade Runner, the Tyrell Corporation actually provided the replicants with this ability. This is witnessed whenever they communicate with each other, since eyes often play a large role in communication. Even when the replicants are killing the humans in the film, and they are glancing at each other, they are sharing a strange "moment." Eyes also allow for the replicants to, in a way, love and trust each other. When Roy Batty says, "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe," he is basically proving that he has experienced life, even if not everything was good. The replicants did not seem to appreciate their gift of sight until that point in the film.

Part of their anger stems from the fact, though, that their eyes appear different from humans. If one does a simple Google search on “Blade Runner eyes,” it is apparent that the replicant eyes do not have normal pupils. One can actually “look” into a human’s eyes through their pupils. Meanwhile, replicants’ pupils are not “windows into their souls,” but instead contain different colors. They seem to resent this idea and take their wrath out on humans, who are lucky enough to be so called “open books.” This deeper connection that humans can share seems overestimated to me. By looking into another person’s pupils, you really cannot understand that person any more. For this reason, the replicants should only be upset about the fact that they only have a four-year lifespan. All of the things that people say and do make them who they are, not just what their eyes look like.