Whatever you desire
This relationship is at once the most fascinating, deep, complex, and pathetic in the film.
Joi is essentially a piece of software designed to connect with and simulate a relationship with its owner. There is typical small talk:
K: “How was your day”?
Joi: “I’m getting cabin fever.”
Her entire existence is limited to a projector, installed on a rail on the ceiling. This statement therefore is at odds with the laws that govern her existence, indicating a scripted response. She is designed to feel spontaneous and alive, but her programming is at odds with her reality.
Tellingly, K continues this charade:
K: “I had an accident at work, think I ruined my shirt.”
This euphemistic language reveals that K is avoiding reality. He says nothing of Morton’s retirement or the tree (we later find that wood is extremely valuable, so this would certainly have been a talking point).
The interaction from this point onward is more akin to interaction with an NPC in a video game. Their discussion is a patchwork of empty statements, song facts and stretches of silence.
This is especially evident when Joi gives details on the Sinatra song. K doesn’t respond to this in any way. This highlights the artificiality of their relationship. It doesn’t connect to what they were discussing. (It comes across as forced, trite, and suggests a limited range of interaction).
Joi then jumps to another topic “Just putting on the finishing touches.” Her dialogue feels stilted and awkward. This is not simply the lexicon of someone who isn’t familiar with English. It feels more like a program with a limited ability to engage in human interaction.
Added to this denial of reality, there’s an off-kilter sense of Fifties America in this apartment – the music, decor, even his wife’s clothing. It’s a wonky emulation of the American dream – copying the appearance and motions of the idea, minus the spirit of the time.
So why does K sell his metaphorical soul to maintain this existence?
The answer is hidden within Joi’s details:
Visible only for a moment, Joi’s specifications reveal K’s preferences:
classic face
slender body type
olive skin
Cuban ethnicity
English language
Compare this model to the advertised version seen throughout the movie –
The advertised model looks noticeably different – more sexualized, and with a different voice. With the slogan “whatever you desire”, Joi is clearly a pleasure model akin to Pris. Further examination of K’s homely version shows why he continues this existence:
First of all, the language. Why English? Throughout the film, we see that K can understand other languages, including Japanese, Finnish and Ethiopian.
Secondly, the appearance. K chooses a slim body type with olive skin and Cuban ethnicity. With globalization in full swing in this future, ethnicity would be mixed to such an extent that it wouldn’t matter, so why the odd specifics?
Besides pleasure models, for Replicants, attraction is irrelevant. They are machines programmed to do what is needed in their role. In K’s case, the need is to hunt and retire other Replicants. Therefore, a sex drive would be unnecessary, and even dangerous if K had to hunt down a Replicant that he would be attracted to.
Conversely, if there was simply a need for companionship, then the specifications would not be changed, and K would have the same model as shown in the advertisements.
This leaves us with a more likely conclusion: This is K’s attempt at replicating the typical human relationship. He doesn’t actually love Joi, but this is his approximation of what a human would love in a woman. It’s an attempt to experience a real existence within the restrictions of his baseline test.
This existence is reflected in the humans that are left on the planet. Like K, they are also attempting to live, but are only able to create a vague emulation of the human experience.
This is exemplified by Joi’s request to read pale fire:
Joi: “Would you read to me? It’ll make you feel better.”
K: “You hate that book.”
Joi: “I don’t want to read either...”
This shows what Joi really is. A reverse search engine, looking for ways to connect and stimulate a response. Ironically, this echoes the earlier scene in which K tried to connect with Morton over his military background.
Both are grasping at something the other cannot provide, but they continue out of a need that they will never fulfill.
Joi: “What’s the occasion?”
K: “Let’s just say that its our anniversary.”
Joi: “Is it?”
K: “No, but let’s just say that it is.”
It’s here that we see one of the most thought-provoking aspects of their relationship.
K has a specific reason to own a Joi model, which is to simulate what it is to live in a human reality. She is programmed to echo that, but in acting out her programming, we can see that it has an effect on K:
Joi: “I’m so happy when I’m with you”
K: “you don’t need to say that.”
His reaction is one of irritation, annoyed at the fact that she must say it as part of her programming. In fulfilling her purpose, Joi reminds K of his fabricated reality. This echoes the behavior we saw earlier in humans. Humans are frustrated at Replicants, and K is frustrated at Joi, because in both cases they are reminded of the limitations to their existence.
The love theme which underscores this scene highlights this. It’s tender, but undercut with rage. K’s latent anger at the restrictions on his life can be felt bubbling beneath the surface. This is then further demonstrated by the call from his boss, which literally stops his relationship with Joi, further demonstrating the restrictions on his ability to live.
As a final point, there is one more element present within the scene, which hints at a deeper level to their relationship:
K: “Honey, you can go anywhere you want in the world now. Where do you want to go first?”
This line is reminiscent of a parent speaking to a child. As K watches her, we see a wry smile. He’s experiencing the moment through her reaction. This relationship then, is analogous to that of a parent and child. The way K looks at Joi as she experiences rain replicates that of a parent watching their child. The smile is a representation of the parent’s dilemma, a bittersweet mixture of pride and sadness. Pride in watching their child experience things for the first time, and sadness at knowing the reality of the world, and that this innocent view will be corrupted with age. It’s a doubling of perspective: re-experiencing the moment as the child, but the experience of adulthood is layered atop the moment.
This relationship is also echoed with Joshi and K when discussing souls. Joshi’s knowing half smile reveals the innocence of K’s understanding. It’s a double reflection – humans to Replicants to holograms. In each case, the apple doesn’t fall far from the dead tree.
The theme of parenting is made more complex with the discovery of a Replicant that gave birth.