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In the movie, Blade Runner 2049, when K goes back to his apartment complex, there is a sentence written on his door,

FUCK OFF SKINNER.

I am wondering what 'skinner' means in the Blade Runner universe.

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Per the Blade Runner Wiki

Replicants were sometimes referred to as "skin jobs" or "skinners," as they were indistinguishable from non-engineered humans, except for their empathetic abilities. These terms were considered slurs.

Mentioned in the original Blade Runner. Early replicants weren't especially human-like, but they did have convincing skin.

Bryant: You wouldn't have come if I just asked you to. Sit down pal. C'mon don't be an asshole Deckard. I've got four skin jobs walking the streets.

Deckard (voice-over): Skin jobs, that's what Bryant called replicant. In history books he was the kind of cop that used to call black men niggers.

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  • Do you think it's possible that 'skinner' actually refers to the fact that he's a blade runner, someone that harvests skins. Or both, someone who is both a replicant and a traitor to his own kind. Often traitors are badly treated, even by the side they serve.
    – iandotkelly
    Jul 4 at 22:43
  • @iandotkelly - It's possible, but not, I think, particularly likely
    – Valorum
    Jul 5 at 11:58
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    @iandotkelly - I think given context it almost certainly refers specifically to replicants; though I'm not very familiar with 2049, I'm a big PKD afficionado. Part of the complexity of the treatment of replicants is both that they are sympathetic, being persecuted and enslaved, and at the same time, being worthy of some skepticism and scorn, as they actually do subvert a great deal about what makes a human, well, human. While sympathetic, they're also dangerous and arguably psychotic. In-universe, there's no real reason for a "blade runner" to be persecuted. Jul 5 at 14:19

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