‘Blade Runner’ explained: What is the meaning of the unicorn?
Like most of the best science fiction movies, Ridley Scott’s 1982 classic Blade Runner is littered with hidden meanings and profound symbolism. In Blade Runner, Rick Deckard, played by Harrison Ford, slowly retires the rogue replicants as per his orders and descends into a state of existential anxiety while encountering a series of symbols which point to his potential bio-engineered origins.
Of all these symbols in the genuine masterpiece Blade Runner, perhaps few are as crucial as the unicorn. Early into the 1992 Director’s Cut version of the movie, Deckard is depicted dreaming about a unicorn running through a meadow, which gives rise to the speculation about whether or not the Blade Runner himself is indeed a replicant.
This gets interesting when it relates to a scene towards the end of the film in which one of Deckard’s fellow blade runners, Gaff, leaves behind an origami unicorn for him in his apartment. When Deckard finds the unicorn, his existential anxieties are provoked. How could Gaff know about his dreams unless they had been planted there, making Deckard a replicant himself?
Discussing this part of the unicorn puzzle, Scott once told Wired, “Gaff, at the very end, leaves an origami, a piece of silver paper you might find in a cigarette packet, and it’s a unicorn. The unicorn in Deckard’s daydream tells me that Deckard wouldn’t normally talk about such a thing to anyone. If Gaff knew about that, it’s Gaff’s message to say, ‘I’ve read your file, mate,’ and therefore Deckard, too, has imagination and even history implanted in his head.”
So, in terms of narrative, this is the real purpose of the unicorn’s inclusion: to provoke speculation and invite audience members to question the reality of Deckard’s human existence. However, there is a further symbolic resonance to the unicorn, which reveals more about how it relates to Deckard’s question of existential certainty.
The unicorn itself is, of course, a mythical creature steeped in mystery and its uniqueness embodies the kind of individuality that Deckard believes will satisfy his anxiety. It, therefore, serves as a metaphor for Deckard’s quest for existential authenticity and a vehicle on which he can pin his hopes and aspirations.
However, the fact that a unicorn is indeed a fantastical creature is indicative of the kind of battle between what is real and unreal that is taking place in Deckard’s mind and heart. A unicorn is far less reliable than, say, a regular horse, so for Deckard to symbolise his existential certainty on a mythical creature is indicative of his inner fragility and turmoil.
If Deckard were to be a replicant and is thus becoming more human as the film progresses, and humanity is no longer defined by biology but by the capacity to think, be aware and, most importantly, feel, then the unicorn suddenly bears even more significance. It would represent the limitless transcendence of a non-biological organism to achieve and experience hitherto solely human emotions, thus moving beyond the limitation of one’s programming.
On a lighter basis, the unicorn may also symbolise beauty in a world defined by its technological dependence and post-post-capitalist dystopian hellscape. The unicorn is, therefore, an icon that represents hope and the possibility of change and salvation, not only within Deckard and in Los Angeles but for the world at large.
The unicorn in Blade Runner is a symbol of a truly multifaceted nature. From its narrative importance in addressing Deckard’s existential anxieties and prompting the audience to join him in his scepticism to its dream-like fantastical resonance, the unicorn represents the ambiguity of identity in an ever-increasingly technology-dependent world of deception.
When is Blade Runner set?
Blade Runner takes place in a dystopian future in 2019, as shown in the original movie by Ridley Scott. 2019 Los Angeles feels simultaneously familiar and alien with its towering skyscrapers and neon-lit streets with persistent smog covering the city.
Even though the film was released in 1982, Blade Runner examines timeless themes like identity, society, and technological advancement. Denis Villeneuve’s sequel continues this kind of exploration, with the action taking place 30 years after the original, in 2049.
What is Blade Runner about?
Blade Runner is a neo-noir science fiction movie that dives headfirst into the themes of identity, society, technology and morality. In a futuristic version of Los Angeles, the film focuses on blade runner Rick Deckard, a specialist police employee tasked with taking out rogue replicants – bioengineered beings who work in colonies off-planet.
The film sees Deckard grapple with the moral difficulties of his job as he seeks out a team of replicants led by the enigmatic Roy Batty. Deckard’s existential anxieties come to the fore as the story becomes a meditation on what it means to be a human in a technology-dependent world.
When is the Blade Runner unicorn scene?
The unicorn scene in Blade Runner occurs towards the film’s end when Deckard is in his apartment. Reflecting on his existence, the blade runner picks up an origami unicorn made by police officer Gaff. This is significant because, in the Director’s Cut version of the movie, Deckard had been dreaming about unicorns, suggesting that Gaff knew of Deckard’s inner memories and indicating that they had been planted inside him all along.
