Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (a novel) by Philip K. Dick and Blade Runner (a film) by Ridley Scott insist on the comparison : the film is based on the story told by Philip K. Dick's novel. These works were created approximately ten years apart from each other and therefore important situational differences influenced their creation. More importantly, Ridley Scott never finished reading the novel and did not allow anyone working on the film to read it or reference the novel. Given these obvious differences, this essay will explore the difference in the representation of women in both works, as well as how many of the novel's missing ideas are still present through different representation. This essay will focus on the representation of women and how it communicates the objectification of women, the oppression of women, and the animalistic equivalence of women. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The need for women, both android/replicants and humans, to be artificial is a theme in both the film and the novel, but is emphasized in the film. The film lacks the presence of Luba Luft, an escaped android who now works as an opera singer, because the film is in the film noir genre and Luba does not fit into the femme fatale character archetype as other women do; therefore, its omission highlights the importance of the representation of the femme fatale. Unlike the novel, the film consistently displays propaganda with images of Japanese women. This propaganda objectifies women and points to the way in which women, both real and replicants, have become both technologically advanced synthetic beings and consumer products. At the time the film was made, Japan was on the rise in technology, and therefore the images represent an “advanced” woman, a synthetic woman. More in the novel than in the film, the relationship between Pris and Rachael is underlined by the fact that they look alike, which increases the quality of the consumer product of their production line. This idea of ​​an artificial woman is not recommended in the film just through propaganda, but almost required by the film's society, as can be interpreted by the fact that all the female protagonists are artificial females. The only “real” women seen in the film are an old oriental woman and a liquor seller. Additionally, the film places the story in Los Angeles, rather than San Francisco, as in the novel. This adds to the idea of ​​artificial women as Los Angeles has a reputation for an abundance of celebrities and celebrities have a reputation for plastic surgery and other forms of visual manipulation. This gives the impression that in future Los Angeles a woman must be artificial to have any sort of meaningful identity. It is for this reason that all female androids/replicants are designed to have an aesthetically pleasing appearance. This is confirmed when both the novel's Eldon Rosen and the replicant-producing Rosen/Tyrrell Corporation's Eldon Tyrell of the film describe Pris as a "paragon of basic pleasure." In the novel, another bounty hunter tells Deckard "if it's love towards a woman or an imitation of an android it's sex" (Dick 141). This quote openly suggests that to a male, a woman and a car are the same thing, and should be the same thing. The novel and film also express the oppression of women. In the first chapter of Dick's novel, the reader is introduced to Deckard's wife, Iran, and is made aware of her emotional instability as she uses an empathy box to control her emotions. Strengthens gender rolesstereotype of an emotionally distraught submissive housewife. Her submissive nature can be seen when she allows Rick to call and he dials for her "594: happy recognition of her husband's superior wisdom in all matters"; for himself he seeks “a creative and fresh attitude towards his work” (Dick 5). In Scott's film, we see Deckard's own power and the submissive nature of women towards Deckard. This is especially seen in the scene between him and Rachael, where he doesn't hesitate to tell her the lines she needs to say to him and almost forces her to get involved with him. This scene is disturbing; it could almost be considered rape if it weren't for the fact that Rachael isn't human. Rachael's character in the film is exactly the opposite of her character in the novel. In the novel, Rachael is deceitful and much more solid in holding her ground, as can be seen in her command to Deckard: “Damn it, get in bed” (Dick 193). In the film, Rachael initially appears to be a very confident and independent woman when she has no doubts that she is not human; is characterized by its rapid and precise responses to the Voight-Kampf test. Later in the film, when Deckard informs her of his replicant nature, she becomes the passive, submissive woman, the femme fatale in a film noir. Pris and Zhora are also femme fatale characters, who use their sexuality to gain some stability. Zhora, a trained replicant assassin, uses her sexuality to work at a strip club performing some sort of sexual act. Pris, a replicant, uses her sexuality to reach Tyrell by convincing Sebastien to help her and Roy. One of the most noted aspects missing from the film is the theme of real/electric animals. This theme is still found in the film through the representation of women. In today's society, many women feel chased by men like pieces of meat. In the novel, Deckard is, as his wife calls him, "a hired killer for the police" (Dick 7), who continues his duties only with the motivation of purchasing a real animal. In the film, Deckard hunts androids with the motivation that it is his job. Ironically, the only replicants Deckard personally collects in the film are Zhora and Pris, making the film a bit misogynistic. Once again the novel contradicts this idea through the character of Luba Luft. Deckard feels almost reluctant to send her into retirement because he doesn't imagine that she would be a detriment to society, thus contradicting this misogynistic idea. In the film, women are animals; they are pets, the real animals that Deckard hunts in the novel. In the film, Rachael runs to Deckard for unnecessary protection. She runs to him because he is the one who allows her to discover her true synthetic self, and therefore she feels a connection with him. In contrast, in the novel Rachael undergoes this realization differently, and instead of clinging to Deckard for her own protection, she seduces him to protect her kind. Rachael survives in the film as Deckard's pet, not his lover, while in the novel she is victorious as she is not killed by Deckard. In fact, since he ends up retiring the androids, she gets a little revenge by killing her real sheep that she bought with the bounty money. This can be a metaphor for killing women's oppression. This relationship between women and animals is also seen in the film's scene with Zhora: after performing her sexual act, she appears with a snake wrapped around her, wearing makeup that reflects the snake's scaly qualities. She became an animal. Ironically, Deckard is distracted by her beauty and openness and ultimately leaves himself open to attack, resembling the serpent of Genesis and its corruption of man. Always in the film, when.