The Lovely Bones

This movie is narrated by 14 year old Susie Salmon who was brutally raped and murdered. This story takes place during the 70s in a small town in Pennsylvania. After Susie is killed the family falls apart; the mother leaves the family because her husband was obsessing over finding their daughter’s killer. Susie’s mother wants to try to begin living life as normal, but it’s impossible when her other daughter, Lindsey and her husband are set on finding the murderer. The grandmother, a matter-of-fact alcoholic, came into live with the family to help keep the family a little sane. Meanwhile, Susie is stuck in purgatory; helplessly watching her family collapse and sensing that her murderer is going to strike again. The psychopath serial killer is their seemingly normal next-door neighbor, George Harvey, who begins to choose his next victim, Lindsey.

Stanley Tucci plays Harvey and does a phenomenal job in this role, maybe a little too good. He gives Hannibal Lecter a run for his money in this part, and Anthony Hopkins is outstanding and is able to give me goose bumps each time I watch the Hannibal movies. Every aspect of his character helped to make him seem that much more terrifying, from his sickening chuckle to his sly smile and how he was able to lure his victims using his different baits. Harvey is scarier because it’s much more likely to run into a creep like him than a Hannibal, although it does happen. I think the aspect of this film that scared me the most was the fact that nobody ever questioned him. He pruned his roses, made doll houses and kept to himself, yet over the past decade he had raped and murdered many young girls. It’s a small insight into the mind of these psychos and how they are able to get away with the awful crimes they commit.

Peter Jackson definitely was able to capture the suspense factor in this movie, but with enough flashes back to Susie in her place of limbo to break it up. A movie that is all suspense, and has the audience tense and on the edge of their seat the entire time is not an enjoyable experience, it’s a very fine line the directors need to walk to have to correct balance of suspense.

On one hand we have the drama down on Earth taking place, and on the other is also Susie discovering the “land of limbo” where she meets another girl. She is presented to all of the other victims killed by the same man, including a six year old girl. It’s composed of purple mountains, powerful waterfalls, blazing deserts and other oases that all morph into one another as the two walk. This part was my favorite because it was so visually striking with the swirling moons and marmalade skies. Peter Jackson, the king of CGI, incorporates a lot into this film. I loved how artsy it was and these breaks from the suspense down below allowed me to breathe again. The colors are vibrant and fun, the opposite of the feelings of her family. Some of the reviews see this as a mistake Jackson made because not everyone wants to know what heaven looks like. I disagree with this statement, ignoring the fact that it’s supposed to be purgatory and only focusing on the CGI and visual effects, they are incredible scenes.
Before I wrote this review I wanted to read some others to see what the general consensus on this movie was and in most of the articles I read the critic didn’t like it. It was either because the movie didn’t do an adequate job following the story from the bestselling book it was based on, or it sent too much of a mixed message. I haven’t read this book, but I do plan to this summer, and my opinion of the movie’s way of presenting this story will probably change. It was interesting that the movie seemed to make the point of showing how much you have to look forward to after you die and almost make it look more appealing than living on Earth with all of the problems that it entails.

All and all, though I can’t say I thoroughly enjoyed this movie because the story truly did leave me feeling fearful, I thought it was well done and the actors did a fantastic job in their roles. The visual effects were a needed letup from the intense suspense happening in the present and brought a whole new feature to this film to help make it a touch lighter. I’m not sure that I’d watch it again, but I would definitely recommend it at least for the scenes where she is in limbo.

The Notebook: Movie vs. Book

I saw the movie before I read the book, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie. I actually liked that I saw the film before I read this book because I was able to picture the characters in my head as I read the story. I didn’t remember specific differences from the movie after I read the book, so I wasn’t expecting anything drastically different to happen. For the most part the movie follows the book pretty well. This might be one of my favorite movies that started out as a book (that I’ve read). The story is heartwarming, yet terribly sad. Noah Calhoun is the narrator in both the book and movie. It flips back and forth between present and past as Noah tells the story of how he met his wife and fell in love after the magical summer they shared together. In the present, Noah comes in everyday to see his wife, Allie Nelson, who suffers from a severe case of dementia and he reads this story of their lives to her. Sometimes a miracle will happen and she’ll remember who she is and who Noah is, but it never lasts very long. Even though they are short remembrances of her old life the doctors can’t seem to figure out how it’s possible with the level of her dementia. Noah and some of the nurses at the assisted living believe that there is no science to why she can remember her past life, it’s because of the undying love the couple share and it has the strength to pull her through sometimes.

There were a few details that changed in the making of the movie, but one wouldn’t pick up on them unless they read the book only a few days before. A character was left out which in turn changed a few events for the movie. The biggest difference I noticed was the added conflicts to bring more drama into the film. After they share a wonderful summer together, Allie’s family doesn’t think Noah is suitable for their upper class daughter to be seeing. When Allie is out late with Noah, her family calls the police to find her because she hadn’t come home yet. Her parents take Allie into the other room while Noah sits waiting for her, but what he hears doesn’t make him feel very wanted. Her parents scream at her saying he isn’t good enough for you; he’ll never amount to anything. At this point he walks out of the house, she runs after him once she pulls away from her parents. After this fight they break up because it seems their lives are on different paths. In the book there isn’t a huge fight scene where they both blow up at each other. It’s much calmer in the book, but the director had to add some drama to spice it up. Besides added fights like this one the relationship between Allie and Noah is a rockier one. They fight over everything “but the one thing they had in common was, they were crazy for each other”. In the book they didn’t fight, and the reader is made to think they have a seemingly perfect relationship, which in essence they do since they are so madly in love with each other.

Allie came to visit Noah after seeing his photograph in the newspaper next to his finished house and they fall in love with each other all over again. The second time she comes to see him he brings her out on a boat to see the swans, a huge thunderstorm begins and once they are on the dock she’s asking him why he never wrote and he explains that he wrote everyday for a year (two according to the book), and after a little bit more dialogue, he kisses her passionately. This classic kiss in the rain never happens in the book, but it needs to be in the movie because that’s what the audience wants to see. Movies today are bolder and more in-your-face rather than slower paced film, it doesn’t sell as well. In the movie Noah is the one who initiates the kiss in the rain and then one things leads to another and they spend the day laying in front of the fireplace. It’s interesting that he was one to lead the kiss, because in the movie after they come inside and put on dry clothes Allie kisses him. A possible reason why the movie makers have Noah lead this is because Allie is engaged and supposed to be getting married in a few weeks (this doesn’t happen since she ends up marring Noah). Even though she didn’t initiate this scene she didn’t back away from it either. That scene was pretty different from the book, but I think it was justified.
In the book Nicholas Sparks is able to describe events in great detail, which I loved. For example, when Allie goes over to see Noah for the first time Sparks depicts everything that happens and talks about the lobsters he’s making and the fresh vegetables so the reader can picture it perfectly. In the movie this scene was much shorter and didn’t show him preparing the decadent meal, instead it was just them finishing up. I loved the very beginning of the movie when Noah and Allie first met at the fair and he asked her out on the Ferris wheel. The first encounter with Noah showed off his bold and flirty side. The movie was able to take liberties when presenting what happened during the summer. The outfits were colorful, fun music was playing and it flashed upon the different scene with the couple and their friends. There isn’t any way the book would have been able to do the same thing.

It’s hard to choose which one I liked better because they both have different strong points: the movie has actors, music and visuals, whereas the book has more details and lets the imagination do more work. All things considered, I liked the movie better than the book partly because of being able to put a name to a face with the actors (who did a wonderful job playing their roles) and also the whole movie experience. In most cases I usually like the book better because in a movie it’s impossible to incorporate everything the author does in the novel, but I thought the director, Nick Cassavetes, did a great job sticking to the storyline and didn’t add too much extra drama to the film. I liked being able to see the house Noah works on, the sunrises and the inlet full of gorgeous white swans. It brings a little extra to the story. Both were very well done, and it will continue to remain one of my favorite movies.

AVATAR

Avatar was one of the most visually captivating films I’ve ever seen. I didn’t expect to be o blown away by the 3D effects, but this movie actually made it worth wearing the goofy 3D glasses for close to 3 hours. Like most of Director James Cameron’s other films, it is epic in size and scale, and will go down on record as being one of the most expensive to make. It took four years to make, but it was worth the wait. The main character, Jake Sully is a paraplegic and he’s come Pandora to take part in the Avatar program because his twin brother died. The scientists believe that his DNA/genes would be similar enough that he would be able to get into the avatar body that originally belonged to his brother. It did work, and Jake was able to walk again, at least as a Na’vi. The goal was to befriend the Na’vi people, learn their ways and basically enforce our ways on them. Schools were built, and it really looked like the humans were doing a good thing by being there. The only thing the humans were there for was a precious mineral which would bring in ridiculous amounts of money. Once the diplomatic negotiations seemed to be failing, the violence loving Colonel Quaritch announced it was time for fire power. The greedy corporate leader, Parker Selfridge gave him the okay to move the Na’vi people and blow up Hometree, which is where the largest deposit of the minerals are located.

Many people have compared this movie to Dances with Wolves, but I would say it’s incredibly similar to the story of Pocahontas. The European’s are coming in to rape and destroy the land for “gold” without a concern of how it may affect the native people. Jake Sully is John Smith (the even have the same JS initials), and Neytiri is Pocahontas. They are both daughters of the leaders of the tribes and the European’s/Human’s main explorers fall in love with them. Pocahontas and Neytiri are both tuned into Mother Nature and want to see it preserved rather than destroyed. The women both teach their men about Nature, explain her secrets so they can begin to see and love Nature as both Pocahontas and Neytiri do. In the end it works and John and Jake realize they shouldn’t be there demolishing their homeland.

Once these men have fallen in love with both their ladies and the land, they have to make an important choice of what to do. Both try to stop the one in command from coming in and wiping everything out, but it doesn’t do much so they fight against their original side to try to save the land and the native people. Pocahontas and Neytiri get angry when they find out why they came here in the first place, but eventually forgive them since in the end they tried to help. Jake chooses to stay in his avatar form to be with Neytiri and not return to Earth.

This tried and true story is found in many places, and will probably be continued to be used. There is also a bit of colonialism interlaced in these stories; a group of people (usually from a country, or in this case, humans from Earth) come over to help the other “inferior” people by introducing them to a new religion and culture. The religion of the explorers is then forced upon the native people. I couldn’t help but think of the novella The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad as the perfect example of colonialism taking over. That’s essentially what’s happening in the planet Pandora where the Na’vi live, the humans are using whatever means necessary to move the people and harvest the precious materials.

The story may be cliché, but this movie is incredible to watch, from the intense 3-D to the bright, neon colors and dramatic creatures, it’s quite a spectacle. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie, and thought it was very cool that Jake was able to get his legs back. I would give it thumbs up.

The Blind Side

The Blind Side is based on the true story of Michael Oher’s (Quinton Aaron) life and also on the book, “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” by Michael Lewis. It’s a touching film about how Oher’s life is changed and the impact he has on Leigh Anne Touhy (Sandra Bullock) and the rest of her family. Leigh Anne is a hardworking interior decorator who lives in her Memphis McMansion with her loving husband and two children. When Leigh Anne sees Oher walking home alone on a rainy night she invites him to stay with them.

Sandra Bullock does an outstanding job playing the tough loving Leigh Anne. After a few days Leigh Anne sets up a room for Oher to stay in and she finds out that this is the first time he’s ever had a bed. She quickly ducks into her room to save face. It’s obvious that as much as she is doing for this boy, he is changing her too. One example of this is on Thanksgiving Day, Oher takes his food into the dining room as the rest of the family gathers round the television to watch football, Leigh Anne seeing this calls the family into to join Michael. In essence, Michael who has spent much of his life alone brings the family closer together. All of the family members undergo a change by the time he goes off to college. Leigh Anne’s daughter Collins at first doesn’t want to be seen in school with Michael, but later in the movie she leaves her friends to go study with him at the other table. The father (Tim McGraw) signed off as an emergency contact on the school forms. And their son, SJ, is almost like Oher’s personal trainer. SJ get’s him working out so when he joins the football team he’ll be in shape. He helps to teach him the game and more importantly, SJ is filming Oher’s playing all the time. SJ creates a DVD of Oher’s superb playing and sends it to the big colleges around that area, which is how Oher gets his scholarship. SJ is probably my favorite character in this movie. He sort of steals the stage. He is an incredibly funny kid with huge love for attention.

Quinton Aaron, who plays Oher, may not have many lines in this movie but it doesn’t seem to matter. His facial expressions are more meaningful then any words. When he’s walking home alone and Leigh Anne stops him, the sadness in his eyes is excruciatingly real. He was able to make the audience believe what they were seeing. It takes real talent to make these fake feelings come through that well and seem so genuine. The lines that he does have are well chosen. For instance, when the family is thinking of becoming his legal guardians and they ask Oher if he wants to be a part of this family he simply replies: “I thought I already was.” The movie is full of great lines like that, and it helps to keep it light and funny. Oher is a gentle giant whose main goal is to protect his family at all costs. This really holds true when Oher gets in a crash with SJ sitting in the passenger seat next to him. Oher puts his arm in front of SJ’s little body and saved him from the air bag. This was a very intense scene and it shows how strong his instincts really are.

The scene that stuck with me and still bothers me is when Leigh Anne is having her 18$ salad with her haughty girlfriends and she tells them about how she’s thinking of adopting Oher. Their reactions are shameful. One of the ladies asked, “Aren’t you worried about Collins, having a black boy living in your house?” (not exact quote). Leigh Anne is appalled at their thoughts on her becoming the legal guardian of this boy. It unfortunately didn’t surprise me much, especially with it taking place in the south. I’m glad this scene was in the movie though because it shows how big of a problem racism still is. On the flip side though, when Oher goes back to where he used to live, one of the first questions he is asked is if he had “gotten some mother/daughter action”. Oher get’s extremely angry at that comment and a fight breaks out. They were both powerful scenes and even though Michael’s old neighbors and Leigh Anne’s circle of socialites are polar opposites, their prejudices are surprisingly similar.

The end of this movie is a little bittersweet. It’s great because Oher goes off to college and eventually goes to play for the NFL. Then a newspaper article flashes on the screen that talks about the death of an athletic African American teenager who lived in the same neighborhood as Oher did. That man could have just as easily been Oher if Leigh Anne hadn’t picked him up that night. It’s truly amazing how one event can cause a domino effect and change the outcome of a young person’s life.

Conclusion of Heart of Darkness

In the end of Heart of Darkness Marlow does finally meet Kurtz, just before he dies from an unknown disease. Marlow believed that Kurtz was the answer to all the madness surrounding them in Africa because he was living with the natives and actually accomplishing tasks, Marlow also wanted to journey to Africa to get away from England and from the bureaucracy where everyone is only thinking about themselves. Marlow was hoping it would be different here, but it wasn't. The managers are really only looking out for themselves rather than the others and definitely not for the natives. It seems that Marlow comes to the realization that if one wants to get anything done they might have to use force or coerce people into doing things.

When Kurtz was dying and tried to escape from the Station Marlow went out to find him and dragged him back in. Marlow was there when Kurtz died and heard his last words, "The horror! The horror!" Kurtz had been in Africa for a long time collecting as much ivory as he possibly could and suffered from diseases while he there also. Marlow later says that Kurtz's last words summed up the state of Africa, from the killings to the diseases to the destroying of the land, it was a horrible place to be during that time.

A year later Marlow is back in England and goes to see Kurtz's wife. She is still in mourning and has to know what Kurtz's last words were. Throughout this novella it's clear that Marlow hates lying and claims that one of the many problems in this world we live in. Everyone is telling people what they want to hear or they're telling them something to help themselves. Marlow is looking for truth, but in ends up lying himself. It's arguable that what he lied about was justifiable because he was trying to keep up Kurtz's reputation in England since they don't know that he had a mistress and killed anyone who got in his way. When she asks what his last words were, Marlow tells her that it was her name he said right before he died. The reader of course knows this isn't true and that his last words were about Africa and the horror. Marlow changes over this journey to and from Africa. In the beginning of this story I don't think Marlow would have lied to her since it would have gone against everything he believed in. Now that he had experienced all of these different things he can see some lies as justifiable.

SAM SPADE

Spade has the qualities of a very capable detective and does quite well at his job. He takes in everything around him and is constantly thinking. Many times when Spade is talking with someone, especially when he is trying to extract information, he repeats either their response and occasionally some of his own statements.By restating them it gives him more time to process the information he just received and figure out how to get the information he wants. He is very talented at getting what he wants and twisting a situation so it meets his needs.
When Spade gets back home after going out to see Miles's body the police come to question him. Spade doesn't give them many answers, but they give him some. After his outburst at them he calms down and apologizes then begins to ask them questions. "I'll be reasonable Tom," he [Spade] promised. "How did I kill this Thursby? I've forgotten'" (pg 22). The police proceeds to divulge how Miles had been killed. Spade asks his question in a bit of a joking form, but he assumes they will give him the answer he's looking for. Spade sarcastically asks how he killed Thursby since the murderer remains a mystery at present. Yet when he asks this ridiculous he doesn't get a response that would match this question. Both of the police officers give him facts that will eventually help him pull his case together.
Another one of Spade's talents at being a qualified detective is being a good listener without making it look like he's interested in what's being discussed. While Brigid and Cairo are conversing Spade doesn't miss anything. "Spade, propped on an elbow on the sofa, looked at and listened to them impartially . In the comfortable slackness of his body, in the easy stillness of his features, there was no indication of either curiosity or impatience" (pg 68). Spade feigns the appearance of only half listening to what the two were talking about probably in the hopes that they would feel more relaxed and reveal more information. Not only is his face void of any emotion, his body also gives off an air of not paying full attention.
Spade picks up on minute details that most people wouldn't see or be able to piece together. With his ability to take the power in a situation and get more information than he gives out, along with being able to pretend he is uninterested in a conversation while not missing a word of what has been exchanged are only two of the components that make him a worthy detective.

Resolution of Blade Runner

The movie Blade Runner was extremely different from the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. I didn't really like the movie Blade Runner. I think I was expecting something that was closer to the ideas in the book, rather than just using some of the same characters and the concept of androids. Most of the time it's dark and raining giving the movie an overall grim feeling. In this movie Deckard isn't married which changes his relationship with Rachael a lot. In the novel Deckard goes back to his wife and finds out about his goat being killed by Rachael. Instead it's implied that he runs away with Rachael. Since I read the book before I saw the movie it's hard for me to trust Rachael. It seems like she may have just been going along with him to avoid being killed. There doesn't seem to be a way to figure out if Rachael actually fell in love with him or is only looking out for herself. In the book she was a very devious character and used him. It's up to the viewer to decide whether they trust her or not though.


Another interesting event that takes place in the final scene is Rachael stepping on the silver unicorn and Deckard goes back over and picks it up. It seemed like a sign or a clue from the director about him being an android or a human. It's still quite unclear whether he's an android or not. The origami unicorn did seem like a prominent sign. Ghaff had been making origami animals throughout film and he also works with the company. Earlier in the movie Deckard had a dream about unicorns. It seems like it was more than just a coincidence of the unicorn paper animal. Maybe it was Ghaff's way of letting Deckard know that he is an android (assuming he is one).
I'm not sure I completely believe it. If he was an android, why wasn't he as strong as the others? He could have been an old android. It still leaves me with another question, how is he still alive and been living for quite a while. Scott, I'm sure, does this on purpose to make his viewers question it, and come up with their own ideas on what he is. I like it when books and movies really make you think and leaves you pondering the ending.

An Element of Film

In the movie Blade Runner Ridely Scott uses different ways of filming to enhance the film. During a chase scene between Deckard and Szhora (a Nexus-6 android)in the movie the way this scene was filmed made the viewer feel more like they were a part of the scene. The camera was shaky and jumped back and forth between the two people. Instead of shooting a regular view of Deckard, it would be shot through the crowd, as if Szhora was seeing him. It gave the viewer a sense almost that the camera was also looking for the other person. There were also different views of the extremely crowded street with cars stuck in gridlock and people standing in tight groups making it difficult to maneuver one's way through the street also producing a feeling of panic. When Deckard finally gets close enough to the android to be in shooting range the cameras flip back and forth between them quickly to show the building tension. Then when he does shoot her she moves in slow motion and Deckard in normal time to make it seem more intense. It slows down even more as she begins to crash through the the glass and fake snow, eventually landing on the hard floor of the store showing that she was definitely dead.

Another scene that the filming technique intensifies is Deckard looking at the photo on his television and blowing it up to scrutinize the details in it. Every time he zooms in on the picture the camera also gets closer to his face. There is no music playing at all, the only sound is the clicking each time he enlarges the image. By flashing back and forth it gives a feeling of apprehension. The viewer doesn't really know what Deckard is searching for in this photo, but the way he's looking at it makes it seem extremely important. Camera angles and different shots can change a scene drastically. Filming is only one small part of creating a scene and eventually a movie. Music in my opinion is just as important, a movie wouldn't be the same without the scary music or joyous music to set the mood. There is also lighting, and the actors (can't forget about them) and the setting. A film needs all of these factors for it to be good.

A theme from DADOES

There are many different themes in this novel written by Philip K. Dick. One of them is the blurred line between humans and androids. Throughout the story some of the androids seem to take on human-like traits. It is extremely difficult to tell the difference between an android and a human as the androids become more advanced. If a human isn't specifically looking for an android or administering an empathy test, such as the Voigt-Kampff, it’s nearly impossible to tell them apart. As androids become more developed they blend in with society, and eventually they may not be recognizable, which will further blur the line separating humans and androids.

In the beginning of the book Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter, traveled to the Rosen Association to test his Voigt-Kampff machine and met Rachael Rosen, a Nexus-6 android. After Rick administered the test to her he came to the conclusion she was an android; at first Eldon Rosen, head of Rosen Association, denied it explaining that she had only spent four years on Earth which was why some of her answers were non-human. Rick still wasn't sold and decided to ask her one more question. One question was all it took and the tip off by Rachael referring to their owl as an "it" which they were trying to coerce him with. Rick asked Eldon Rosen, “‘Does she know?' Sometimes they didn't; false memories had been tried various times, generally in the mistaken idea that through them, reactions to testing would be altered." (pg 59) Rachael didn't know she was an android, she assumed that she was human because she had no reason to think otherwise. It seemed to come as a shock to her. The fact that they are implanting fake memories in their "brains" is blurring the line of humans and androids. If androids wholeheartedly believe that they are human it will make it easier for them to blend in with the human population. The Rosen Association was beginning to create new and better ways to implant memories that would probably be even more convincing to the android and people around it. With more realistic memories the androids become more humanized making it increasingly difficult for Earth to remain android free. With each new model the Association creates the more humanized the androids become. The goal of the Association is eventually the bounty hunters’ tests won’t be able to pin point the androids anymore. If they are successful in this, Earth’s goal of keeping androids off the planet won’t last long at all.

Later on that morning Rick met Phil Resch, another bounty hunter for a different police agency, after Rick was being removed from Luba Luft's dressing room in the opera house. He also met Phil's boss, Garland, who happened to be an android. While Phil was out of the office retrieving his empathy test equipment Garland pulled out his laser and positioned it at Rick. Garland told Rick that he is an android, but so is Phil. After testing Phil, Rick figures out he isn't an android even though Garland declared he was not human. The androids were getting more cunning, trying to turn the two bounty hunters against each other so it would be easier to eliminate them.
Phil had no idea that he had been working for an android. From a reader’s point of view it was hard to guess who was an android and who wasn’t. I assumed that Garland had been telling the truth about Phil and found it difficult to believe he wasn’t an android since many of them didn’t know themselves. At some point the real Garland had been killed and the android Garland took over without much question. "I can't get over it," Phil Resch said. "It doesn't seem possible. For three years I've been working under the direction of androids. Why didn't I suspect-I mean, enough to do something?" (pg 127) The Nexus 6 androids are more intelligent and are finding it easier to appear human. Garland had figured out how to blend in and not seem awkwardly out of place at his job. It was scary to find out Phil didn’t have the slightest idea about Garland; the Nexus-6’s hid the fact that they were androids well enough that average humans were having more trouble identifying them, but this was a bounty hunter, whos job it was to identify and track down androids. This is an immense problem for planet Earth because they were trying to keep androids illegal, but if they can successfully disguise as humans the bounty hunters’ jobs will become trickery.

Another example of this theme was when Phil retired Luba and Rick having second thoughts about why they had to kill her. He had developed feelings for her, either because of her beauty or his love for the Magic Flute opera and her phenomenal singing voice, better than any human he knew. "She was really a superb singer, he said to himself as he hung up the receiver, his call completed. I don't get it; how can a talent like that be a liability to our society? But it wasn't talent, he told himself; it was she herself." (pg 137) Rick had a hard time swallowing the fact that she had to be retired because of wonderful talent. It is challenging to keep oneself from developing feelings for an android that looks exactly like a human and behave similarly to them, for the most part. It's a basic human characteristic to immediately have some type of feeling when one sees someone of great beauty or talent. The Rosen Association are becoming craftier by creating the androids with incredible talents now, which as Rick had proved, made it harder to kill them and gave them a more human like feel.

Rick tested himself using the Voigt-Kampff to see what his reaction was to the statement of someone suddenly killing an android he had just captured, and then specified its sex as a female. The machine made it clear that he was empathetic towards some female androids, Luba Luft for example. Rick’s other encounter with a female android was with Rachael. His feelings for her were stronger, strong enough that he slept with her. Rick was very confused during that entire section of the book because he thought he had fallen in love with her. An emotion like that definitely blurs the line more. These emotions normally reserved only for humans are now being shared with androids because they have become so human like.

The Rosen Association is working hard to produce an android that is almost identical to humans. Bone marrow tests would be the only way to test whether or not it’s an android. If the Association is able to get to that point, the differences between humans and androids will be almost entirely erased, and the human race, as we now know it, we will be altered forever.

Predictions

Rick and Isidore are going to have to meet in the near future, because PKD can't have two separate stories going on and not have them intersect at some point. They already have in a way since Isidore is friends with Pris who is actually Rachael Rosen. It will be a huge deal when Isidore and Rick finally meet because Rick will see Rachael again. He never ended up calling her back after she had offered her help to catch and retire the androids.

When Rick and Pris finally meet again he will be faced with a problem of whether or not to "retire" Pris and her two friends. He's already beginning to feel empathy towards female androids so it makes sense that the author will throw in a curve ball for Rick.

The empathy that he is feeling towards some androids follows the theme of the line between humans and andys is being blurred even further. He feels the same way about Luba as if she was a normal human female. Resch seems to think that it's normal and okay for Rick to feel this way about female androids and his advice to Rick was to sleep with "it" then "retire it". Rick questions his ability as a bounty hunter. I think he will continue to question this about himself as the book goes on.

Chapter1-6

The theme presented in this book seems to be technology v. humans, and if androids should be legal. The constant struggle is to keep Earth android free. Earth kind of shies away from the technology of the androids, but still tries to keep up. For example the use of the mood organ plays a large part in the first chapter at least. Rick and his wife Iran have a fight over why she had set hers to be depressed for the day. Rick couldn't understand why she would ever want to be depressed. She tried to explain herself to him, saying that it made her feel more "human". It wasn't "normal" to be happy all the time, especially in the world they are living in. She still uses the mood organ to feel more regular emotions, but she gets angry at her husband for retiring the androids. Rick doesn't see them as humans but more as robots and has no problem with killing them. His wife is unhappy with it yet spends the money he gets from catching them. Shes a typical hypocritical human.
On Mars and the other planets that they have begun to inhabit the lure is that they will get an android to work as a slave/servant. With more and more advancements in the technology the androids are becoming even more similar to humans, and the strangest part is the newer androids (Nexus 6) don't know that they are androids. I guess they just assume they are human because their creator tells them they are?
It always seems to go back to the question of human v. android.