On Nature and the Tactility of the Senses in Blade Runner 2049

Abstract We explore Blade Runner 2049 through a series of subtle filmic moments. These moments contribute to an implicit narrative about the role of the senses, particularly tactility, in the development of human consciousness. This is navigated through the trajectory of the main character, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Agent K, from replicant to a state of open-ended awareness. K (Ryan Gosling) as an evolving entity goes from existing as a synthetic being to experiencing the fragility and volatility of “being human”; in doing so, he encounters barriers within a wider, all-encompassing nature. The film is linked to Nabokov’s Pale Fire, in which we identify pivotal moments in K’s consciousness that are aligned with poetic concepts in this text. We contend that Blade Runner 2049 is a form of metacinema and is structured as an interrupted game, a spatial journey composed of layers, ruptures, and bifurcations expressed through barriers. These concepts will be discussed in this article.