To be born is to have a soul
For anyone that has gone through, or witnessed the trauma of childbirth, this scene will resonate with a deeper meaning. We can see that the body was laid to rest with a reverence for life. This is offset by the flippant nature of Coco’s human observation:
Coco: “A sentimental skinjob”
Care, respect and grief among Replicants is belittled by the humans in the room. Evidently only they are entitled to be truly alive. However, this act of gate keeping hints at a deep seated fear, one which emerges at the tipping point of change.
The look which K gives at this point coincides with the notes of the opening theme. We have struck the central thread at the very heart of the film – Replicants as the better children of a lesser humanity.
This realization dawns on those present. This is the tipping point to a a formerly absolute reality. With the ability to reproduce, children separate from their parents and enter the territory of adulthood. In the same way, Replicants can now separate from their creators and forge their own identity.
Joshi drinks to comprehend this upending of reality; and much like K, she turns a blind eye to an uncomfortable reality:
Joshi: “This breaks the world K.”
The world is already broken – it is a denial of change, a need for permanence which is not true.
With the initial reaction out of the way, we delve deeper into the rational, and the consequences of this change:
Joshi: “The world is built on a wall it separates kind – tell either side there’s no wall, there’s a war, or a slaughter… so what you saw, didn’t happen.”
K’s response shows the true nature of his existence.
K: “You want it gone?”
Joshi: “Erase everything.”
K: “Even the child?”
Joshi: “All trace.”
K is now the buffer between humanity and reality - A parent to their childish perceptions.
As a parent in this sense, K is forced to grow up, and in doing so, must confront reality. The sudden change in parentage is then immediately flipped with the following exchange:
K: “I never retired something that was born before.”
Joshi: “What’s the difference?”
K: “To be born is to have a soul I guess.”
Joshi: “You’ve been getting on fine without one.”
K: “What’s that mam?”
Joshi: “A soul.”
There are two elements at play here – the nature of what it is to be alive, and the human dismissal of reality.
K is almost naïve in his thinking. When you are no longer a child, you put childish things away, and the fact that Joshi doesn’t look at him as she replies is a strong indication that she doesn’t believe this idea.
In this world of artificial life and mandatory retirement, there’s clearly no place for religion. This is the human equivalent of sitting in front of a holographic meal, or dating a hologram with pre-programmed routines. More human than human takes on an additional meaning here, in that Replicants reflect and amplify not only the best, but also the worst in their human creators.
This is further highlighted in K’s use of euphemisms to avoid confronting the truth.
With Replicants, the term ‘retire’ is analogous to the scrapping of a machine that is obsolete – pulling the plug once the job is done. While Replicants are a form of machine, they are sentient beings, driven by feelings and with an urge to live. The act of turning them off is complicated by the fact that they wish to remain turned on.
While humans are their masters through the act of creation, it’s much the same as parental control over their offspring. There is a point at which the child becomes a separate entity from the parent. In denying this separation, the parent goes from protector to despot, damaging the child’s identity and causing resentfulness and rebellion. What is demonstrated by humanity then, is not only a denial of change, but a fundamental misunderstanding of their own nature. Humans are nothing but change, adaptable, changing the world to their wants, and changing the very nature of their existence to better suit them. When they create a change which in itself can create change, their immediate reaction is to try and control it through killing it.
On some level they are aware of this, and as a typically human response, the use of euphemistically driven language is an attempt to soften the truth of their deeds: infanticide borne of the fear of losing control.
This scene holds up a mirror to the audience. We too rely on a mix of technology, force and ignorance to maintain the façade that we have control.
All it takes for the seams to show is a sudden change.