A Ghost in the Replicant? Questions of Humanity and Technological Integration in Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell

Abstract

In this world of increasing integration with technology, what does it mean to be human in a technological era? Blade Runner (1982) and Ghost in the Shell (1995) are two artistic works that directly address this question. In this paper, I make use of affect theory to address the connection between empathy and memory in defining what is human. Using these films—along with Blade Runner’s source novel—I conclude that mainstream science fiction is increasingly comfortable with technological integration and less inclined to rigidly demarcate a human-nonhuman boundary.