After hearing so much about Blade Runner 2049 for years, I finally got to sit down and watch this 2 hours and 40-minute film in its entirety.
With the length, our day and age’s attention deficit has to be put at bay to thoroughly enjoy the movie. Something I failed to do with Discord and Messenger on hand.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
I was expecting so much from this film. To be honest, I was far from disappointed and thoroughly surprised. Even so, you could see how the film was a general flop at the box office.
The slow-paced storytelling may be considered dragging next to jam-packed action films, not to mention the length. Some scenes may also feel a little bit dull as sound design played with silence and sustained notes for background scores. The design intentionally made to put you on the edge of uncertainty or root for the protagonist.
Even with the drawbacks, these elements are tied into the award-winning Bladerunner 2049. The main driving force aside from the length and sound design is rooted in the desires of our protagonist, KD6-3.7 in short “K” (played by Ryan Gosling).
If it were not for the play on silence and the colors, K’s emptiness would have been easily brushed over, and Blade Runner 2049 would have lost any of its appeal. Without, you may consider it a lengthy waste of time aside from the stunning visuals. Except if you are an avid fan of the original movie, then none of this would be a problem.
As the story progresses, you root for K as he scrambles to fill his emptiness. He was on a journey to put together the pieces of a puzzle and prove that he was special.
The film hit a chord in all of us. One way or another, each of us desires to be a focal point in some generational change.
Sadly, most of us will never be the case. Based on 7.6 Billion people in the world as of 2017 (per this The Economic Times article), there are only about 210 people (more or less) have won the Nobel prize in the 21st century (excluding organizations), while about 518 people won a Pulitzer prize (excluding news organizations and entire staff). The sum is not even 1% of the latest population census.
My statistic may be off. To be honest, I could not find a comprehensive list of everyone who has made a global impact in the 21st century. So I decided to look at one of the most prestigious international awards instead.
So, what are the chances for the likes of you and me?
K was probably aware of the statistic and did not want to believe he had any chance in the matter. He was a replicant and lived a life of a Blade Runner, something the general society looked down upon.
Being a replicant, he was disposable and used to do the dirty work. K was a mere copy of the unique and special place the humans have in the animal kingdom. As a replaceable cog in a machine (I knew I related to K on some deep level), he worked and did as expected of him, as he was designed. No questions asked.
To top it all off, his girlfriend, Joi, was some AI sold by the Wallace Corporation to be and say everything that you need. She was displayed around town, a consumer product anyone could buy.
Joi may be specially programmed to meet K’s personal desires and quirks, but her regard for him is as plain as that, artificial. Perishable with a click of a button. Any special treatment K felt in the company of Joi was not unique, thousands of others were probably hearing the same thing from Joi’s computer-generated mouth. (Her sentience is a debate for another day)
With his circumstances, a glimmer of hope sets fire to K’s empty life.
The flame–though something he rejected at first–made him believe that deep inside his cells interlaced, he was special. He never wanted to say this out loud, but this was something his AI girlfriend convinced him to accept. Joi was designed to tell her partners what they wanted to hear anyway.
K hoped that there was something better to his existence, that he could be the messiah to the replicant race. Clouded by the inner turmoil of his existence, he gave in to what he wanted and found himself thrown off his high horse.
As he chased this dream, he lost his job, home, and girlfriend. He even lost the identity that pushed him on the question-filled adventure.
In the end, K was not the messiah. The blue-eyed boy was not the one to change 2049 and add value to the existence of the replicants.
K may not be special enough for a human name like Joe (something his Joi decided to call him since he was special), but he played an important role in the life of the real messiah.
Our Blade Runner learned that, though not special to save a whole race, he had a purpose and a reason to be alive and in the position he had. His desire even rolled the gears to lead 2049 to the change it needed, especially for replicants like him. He was meant to help in the process of changing the world.
As K stares up at the sky, snow falling before him, and the end credits roll in, you can see how K is just like you and me.
As Millenials, we grew up on Disney shows and movies that celebrated the underdog who would have time in the limelight, such as Lizzy McGuire or Cinderella. Characters in these shows were plain and pushed aside by the popular bunch, but were celebrated as something bigger than life.
In our struggle to find a career or path that would celebrate us at the same level, we may fall into the same trap as K did.
Jumping on the Great Resignation train may be a wrong move. But could be right if, like K, you find your purpose outside of what you expected. Check out my posts on joining the Great Resignation and things I considered before I took the plunge.
We may not be individuals that would spark remarkable change in the world. We may never be the underdog-to-princess protagonists in those Disney shows.
That does not mean you do not have a specific role to play in your lifetime.
K may be an extra in the life of the 2049 savior, but he was the main character in his own story.
There is a difference between some special, other-earthly calling to save mankind and the innate purpose here on earth. The latter is something we all share.
K had to find that purpose and live it out. Something K learned from Freysa Sadeghpour (the woman who broke the news that K was not the child).
“Dying for the right cause is the most human thing we can do”
– Freysa, Blade Runner 2049
Our protagonist, though disappointed, saw the role he was granted to play in the whole scheme of things. He saw why he was caught up in all the mess, the reasons for his desire, and strange memories.
To the point of death, he lived out this newfound purpose. Though not special enough to call himself Joe and save the replicant race, he was a distinct piece to the whole puzzle. And that was enough for him.
Busyzi 