What Does It Mean To Want To Be Human

Tonight's marathon centers around a simple question. That question is what does it mean to be human? Tonight's marathon is an attempt to provide an answer for that question while also presenting a straight forward theme for the evening. Here lies several different story arcs of outsiders who want to fit in with the rest of humanity. As human beings, everyone asks questions about themselves asking such ones as what their ultimate purpose is on Earth, and will they be accepted by any form of group. Through the filmmaking talents of Ridley Scott, Andrew Niccol, Michael Bay, and Luc Besson, they give us insight into these questions and present a gripping yet exciting struggle for acceptance when all the films are put together. For this evening, we have on our menu:

             Blade Runner 1982, Gattaca 1997, The Island 2005, and The Fifth Element 1997

Here lies an exciting and thought provoking lineup of movies that make the story of wanting acceptance a universal theme while placing the time period in the future. This run of films has action, drama, thrills, romance, comedy all rolled into one with the combination of great visual scenery and ideas about the future world. We begin the evening with Ridley Scott's science fiction classic titled Blade Runner. Blade Runner starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, and Daryl Hannah centers around a Blade Runner whose assigned to pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and returned to Earth in order to find their creator. Their ultimate crime is wanting to be human like everyone else, providing the emotional core of the story. Generally considered a box office disappointment upon it's release, the film has gone on to become a cult classic through international praise and the releasing of several different versions of this film. A central subplot in the film that connects with the later films in the marathon is the character of Deckard played by Ford falling in love with a replicant named Rachael played by Sean Young. Though Deckard is assigned to terminate all replicants, he becomes conflicted when he establishes an emotional connection with Rachael's character. Blade Runner is the perfect film to open up this marathon because it introduces all the essential themes such as alienation, discrimination, wanting acceptance, while providing the hunt for the non humans. The second film of the evening is Gattaca starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law. Nominated for an academy award for best art-set decoration and critically acclaimed, Gattaca's story focuses on a genetically inferior man who assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel. Gattaca is a more gripping drama than Blade Runner, ditching the mysterious and crime ridden feel and focusing on the characters and their struggle to break out. The chase element of Blade Runner returns in Michael Bay's underappareciated science fiction blockbuster The Island. Much like Blade Runner upon it's release, The Island was considered a box office flop in the United States but did amazingly well overseas. Generally considered one of Bay's better films in a rather controversial filmmaking resume, The Island centers around two runaway clones played by Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johannsen, who escaped from a facility that gives misleading promises that those chosen by a lottery will be taken to an island, when in reality they are being killed off and body parts harvested for their actual human counterparts. The Island is different from the typical Michael Bay film because this one has a concept that goes in line with Blade Runner and Gattaca in terms of searching for answers and finding one's true self. Strong supporting roles from Steve Buscemi, Sean Bean, and Djimon Hounsou, and Michael Clarke Duncan make this one an exciting yet gripping experience about two outsiders who simply want to live. The fourth and final film of the evening brings it all together while taking the scope further out to greater heights in Luc Besson's The Fifth Element starring Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, and Gary Oldman. Much like Blade Runner, The Fifth Element takes place in a visually striking future where a cab driver unwittingly becomes a central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to save humanity from a ball of fire heading for Earth. What draws this film back to Blade Runner in terms of having a strong connection and coming full circle is the relationship between Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich which mirrors the one between Harrison Ford and Sean Young, making both relationships human and non-human. Jovovich's character also begins her own personal journey towards becoming human over the course of 24 hours, and learning about what is worth saving against the forces of darkness.

So what are all these movies trying to say? Blade Runner says that enslaving the replicants and killing them off is wrong. Replicants are misjudged and they can form strong bonds with humans. Gattaca says that you're more than the sum of your genes. The Island says that any life is worth saving to exist, and anyone will do anything to survive. The Fifth Element says that the human race will survive because of love.

Our main characters for this evening: