...

The question Blade Runner 2049 asks about love

Blade Runner 2049 asks us to draw an even finer and more blurry line for what makes a human. Just like the 1st movie it does this in an exhilarating and bittersweet way. But the question it asked us about love was even more captivating to me.

What is fake love?

A story about a fake human, his fake girlfriend, and their speculative love is constantly spiked with doubts about its authenticity. One could easily say that of course the love was real, it was just between two robots/ AIs.

But this carries a condescending connotation. Like when one refers to puppy love. Sure it feels real, seems real, or maybe has some aspects that are real. But the suggestion is that this isnt the true, complete, truly human love that only whole person's can experience.

But during the movie, it suggests that K is actually human (born not made), he may have a soul. So if he is really human, could the love be real?

But Joi is just an AI still right?

Joi has had her own unique experience, she has made her own opinions, and she goes her own way when deleting herself from K's house. Maybe she is special. The first Blade Runner challenges that the human experience is the line between man and machine. But if a machine has experiences that a human can only dream of, then how can that not be human?

But we go back and forth. K isnt the born replicant. Joi isnt all that special, even a billboard called K "Joe". But I argue that as we think this, we are asking a similar question about love that the first Blade Runner asks about humanity. Does being human really matter? Is the experience enough? How could we even gatekeep the experience of love if we wanted to? We can never experience K and Joi's love, so how can we be 100% sure of its composition?

As much as Blade Runner 2049 broke my heart, it gave it an entire new concept of what being a human in love could be.