Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? ...

Impatiently I waited for ‘Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep?’ and a number of days later my wait was over, the book plopped through the letter box and I tore open the packaging and began reading excitedly. Still on my Christmas holiday from university, time was in abundance, and I managed to read the book at a fair pace (largely due to the fact that I found it difficult to put down.).
Quickly I noticed a number of large differences between the book and the film, which is often the case. The book appeared to focus largely around Rick Deckard’s morals and his social standing, clearly not satisfied with his mundane life, social position and the façade of his ersatz pet he obsessively strives to achieve more. The interesting idea of relations between a human and an android is also played upon, generating questions about artificial beauty (and artificial life in general). The idea that Deckard may be an android is also played upon, which is especially interesting as the contemplation is voiced by an android. The bizarre religion of Mercism was also a key element within the novel, concluding the book in a reflective way, continuing its moral theme and Deckard’s conscience divide between ersatz and ‘real’ forms hinting at being resolved.

The film on the other hand, mostly focuses on the androids lives and how they are treated by society and Deckard’s quite ruthless (and action packed) hunting of them. Unlike the book the film focuses around humanoid androids, not predominantly animals. Like many American blockbuster movies, the ending is the exact opposite of the novel (Cujo springs to mind). The book and film are actually far more detached that I would have expected. Virtually two different stories, Dick’s characters and plot has clearly only been used as a loose basis for the film, although this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I thought both the film and the book were excellent, but do need to be appreciated separately.