Voight-Kampff machine
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Originating as a fictional tool in Philip K Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the Voight-Kampff machine or device (spelled Voigt-Kampff in the book) also appeared in the book's screen adaptation, the 1982 science fiction film Blade Runner.
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[edit] Operation
The Voight-Kampff is a polygraph-like machine used in the film by Blade Runner units to assist in the testing of an individual to see if he or she is a replicant. It measures bodily functions such as respiration, "blush response", heart rate and eye movement in response to emotionally provocative questions. In the film two replicants take the test: Leon (played by Brion James) and Rachael (played by Sean Young). In Blade Runner, Deckard tells Tyrell that it usually takes 20 to 30 cross-referenced questions to distinguish a replicant. With Rachael it takes more than a hundred.
"A very advanced form of lie detector that measures contractions of the iris muscle and the presence of invisible airborne particles emitted from the body. The bellows were designed for the latter function and give the machine the menacing air of a sinister insect. The VK is used primarily by Blade Runners to determine if a suspect is truly human by measuring the degree of his empathic response through carefully worded questions and statements."
– Description from the original 1982 Blade Runner presskit
The Voight-Kampff machine is perhaps analogous to (and may have been partly inspired by) Alan Turing's work which propounded an A.I. test – to see if a computer could convince a human (by answering set questions, etc.) that it was another human. The term Turing test was popularized by science fiction but was not used until years after Turing's death.
[edit] In popular culture
In the second episode of the tenth season of Stargate SG-1, the character Vala Mal Doran takes a psychological profile test. Before the test she was practicing and came across the tortoise question ("You're in the desert, you see a tortoise lying on its back, struggling, and you're not helping -- why is that?") which is originally from the film's Voight-Kampff test given to Leon. Her answer to the question would have been "Because I am also a tortoise".
[edit] In alternative journalism
In August 2003 an interviewer for The Wave Magazine, a biweekly Silicon Valley arts and entertainment publication, posed a series of Voight-Kampff questions to each of the San Francisco mayoral candidates and published a satirical analysis of their responses.[1] Only one of the six recognized the Blade Runner reference.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner by Paul Sammon (Orion, 2004) ISBN 0-7528-0740-4
- Retrofitting Blade Runner: Issues in Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" and Philip K. Dick's "Do Android's Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Judith Kerman (Popular Press, 2003) ISBN 0-87972-510-9
[edit] External links
- Voight-Kampff entry - Official Blade Runner online magazine
- Excerpt describing the machine from "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"
| The Blade Runner series | |
|---|---|
| Films | Blade Runner • Soldier |
| Novels | Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? • The Edge of Human • Replicant Night • Eye and Talon |
| Games/comics | The Blade Runner videogame • A Marvel Comics Super Special: Blade Runner |
| Characters | Rick Deckard • Eldon Tyrell • Gaff • Rachael • Roy Batty • Leon Kowalski • Pris • Zhora • J.F. Sebastian |
| Locations | Tyrell Corporation • Bradbury Building • Tannhauser Gate |
| Cast | Harrison Ford • Rutger Hauer • Sean Young • Edward James Olmos • Daryl Hannah |
| Crew | Ridley Scott • Hampton Fancher • Michael Deeley • David Peoples |
| Other topics | Philip K. Dick • Vangelis • Soundtrack • Themes • Replicants • Voight-Kampff machine • Spinner |
| Related articles | Postmodernism • Cyberpunk • Cult film |
