ABSTRACT
Of all the visual elements presented by Denis Villeneuve’s cinematic spectacle, none is perhaps more significant than the eye motif. Eyes play an important role in each of the Blade Runner movies. This chapter examines three issues, two of which have as their locus the character of Niander Wallace. One of the things that makes Wallace interesting as a character is his eyes. Wallace is biologically blind, but he is able to see thanks to a prosthetic vision system consisting of six artificial drone “eyes.” The second issue concerns the surveillance capabilities of new technologies. Wallace is unable to produce a convincing replica of Rachael because the things that made Rachael unique, including the moments she shared with Deckard, are lost in the mists of time. As is indicated by Deckard’s response to the Rachael facsimile, the mists in question are ones that not even the eyes of God can penetrate.
