It's worth noting too that this film's primary question is not "are replicants people too?", but rather "how and why do people refuse to recognize them as such"? That Roy and his companions are human should be beyond debate. Why then does society refuse to accept this? Beware! Follow those answers too assiduously and you my find they have uncomfortable implications. As a result, however, even should technological progress make the setting seem quaint someday, I think Blade Runner will always feel relevant because its themes are so...human.