# Villains with a point **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-books-manga\ **Created:** [September 5, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885 "2020-09-05T16:17:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/141 "2020-09-12T22:16:54Z")
Yes, and? How does that make humans a virus. Smith says: > It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you’re not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not\< This is silly. Humans are mammals. Other mammals don’t instinctively develop a natural equilibrium. They try to expand as much as possible. They just aren’t as good at it as we are. . ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/142 "2020-09-12T22:20:36Z")
Homo Sapiens Sapiens Exceptionalism. Man, this thread as made me giggle in the most geekiest way so many times. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/143 "2020-09-12T23:35:42Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > the only one caused by a single species. Maybe. The Great Oxygenation Event was caused by cyanobacteria. Even today, one species of cyanobacteria accounts for half the ocean’s photosynthesis. It might have been even more back then. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/144 "2020-09-13T00:08:53Z")
Ok, so we can at least agree that when Agent Smith says, “Human beings are a disease, a cancer on this planet. You’re a plague and we…are the cure”, he has a point at least with reguard to biodiversity. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/145 "2020-09-13T03:26:05Z")
In his world we also intentionally ‘scorched the skies’ turning Earth into a moonscape. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/146 "2020-09-13T03:34:35Z")
what did Oliver Platt say that was right? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/147 "2020-09-13T03:37:03Z")
That is just in the Films, They just had one Good Witch, rather than two as in the books. But the Wicked Witch was really evil. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/148 "2020-09-13T03:41:33Z")
“Rabbit fwiccasie” ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/149 "2020-09-13T03:44:16Z")
“Cook! Where’s my hasenpfeffer?” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/150 "2020-09-13T03:48:27Z")
If Deckard is a replicant, the whole point of the movie is gone. Which the Director doesnt understand, either. The Point is- the replicant were just as human as the humans were. That whole point is missed if Deckard is a replicant. And if Deckard is a replicant, why isnt he super powered like they are? Why make a weak bladerunner? ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/151 "2020-09-13T04:00:38Z")
_A Man for all Seasons_ or _Wolf Hall_: choose your villain, choose your hero. FWIW, I think “the villain” in _A Man for all Seasons_ had a point. Which is to say I prefer _Wolf Hall_’s rendition of events surrounding the just and proper execution of the traitor Thomas More. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/152 "2020-09-13T05:12:09Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Who shoots a talking rabbit, though? there have been people that … uh, nevermind ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/153 "2020-09-13T13:37:08Z")
Of course, Agent Smith’s point, if any, is severely blunted when he then goes on to… reproduce out of control and take over his entire ecosystem. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/154 "2020-09-13T16:31:34Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Even today, one species of cyanobacteria accounts for half the ocean’s photosynthesis. What species might that be? If you mean _Prochlorococcus marinus_, it’s not quite that clear-cut. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/155 "2020-09-13T17:19:57Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > That is just in the Films, They just had one Good Witch, rather than two as in the books. Psst. [Post 59](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/59) . ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/156 "2020-09-13T18:07:57Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > If Deckard is a replicant, the whole point of the movie is gone. Which the Director doesnt understand, either. The Point is- the replicant were just as human as the humans were. That whole point is missed if Deckard is a replicant. > > And if Deckard is a replicant, why isnt he super powered like they are? Why make a weak bladerunner? I disagree with everything you just said, but after 38 years neither side in the Deckard Debate is going to sway the other. The intensity of the disagreement indicates what a powerful film BR is. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/157 "2020-09-13T18:50:33Z")
Well, I read DADoES, which some say solidifies the position that Deckard was a replicant. I did not see it. (They were not replicants in the book, they were androids.) Deckard schtupped Rachael in the book an found it a disappointing experience. I do not think a construct would express that sort of opinion (though a replicant might behave differently). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/158 "2020-09-13T20:32:19Z")
In classic _Doctor Who_ the Meddling Monk did nothing wrong. He wanted to change history to help advance modern technology to the point where Shakespeare would premiere his plays on live television. The Doctor’s argument was, basically, “you shouldn’t alter time,” which is not only lame but also describes exactly what the Doctor does all the time. (The same argument was put to the Fourth Doctor later, and he said that he could do it because he was a professional.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2020, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/159 "2020-09-14T02:39:12Z")
Not in the least, in fact the author specifically said otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2020, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885/160 "2020-09-14T02:46:57Z")
wiki _An official named Garland accuses Deckard himself of being an android with implanted memories. After a series of mysterious revelations at the station, Deckard ponders the ethical and philosophical questions his line of work raises regarding android intelligence, empathy, and what it means to be human. Garland, pointing a laser gun at Deckard, then reveals that the entire station is a sham, claiming that both he and Phil Resch, the station’s resident bounty hunter, are androids. Resch shoots Garland in the head, escaping with Deckard back to the opera singer, whom Resch brutally kills in cold blood when she alludes that he may be an android. Desperate to know the truth, Resch asks Deckard to use the empathy test on him, which confirms that he is actually human, and then Deckard tests himself,_ See- that is the whole point- _Deckard ponders the ethical and philosophical questions his line of work raises regarding android intelligence, empathy, and what it means to be human._ > 28 _Philip K. Dick stated in an interview (per [Quora.com](https://www.quora.com/Was-Deckard-a-replicant-in-Blade-Runner)) that Dick created Deckard as a human character who is gradually dehumanized through his violence towards replicants. In the book, we learn that replicants are becoming more human._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/villains-with-a-point/919885.md?page=9)