Shaped by their distinctly different contexts, Shelley and Scott strive to convey this notion, through bold cinematic and literary techniques, characterisation and themes, of the fatal path humanity has placed itself on. Mary Shelley’s seminal novel, Frankenstein 1818, is a moral fable combining conflicting paradigms of Romantic idealism and Enlightenment rationalism. Shelley delves into these ideologies in a classic gothic horror story that presents the unequivocal issues concerning the ethics and consequences of the pursuit of knowledge and scientific experimentation. Influenced by the increasing popularity of galvanism, Shelley effectively illustrates her apprehensions through the character development of Victor Frankenstein and his juxtaposition against nature. Victor admits his deep desire for ‘immortally and power’ through ‘penetrating the secrets of nature’, which is manifested in his technological innovation of the creature, highlighting the extreme yet realistic potential for technology to create human life.
These settings’ dark, grayish tones contribute to an overall mood of mystery and suspense, and focus the audience’s attention on the protagonist, Ofelia, whose white nightgown sets a huge contrast against the dully-coloured surroundings. Settings can also serve as metaphorical representations which support the main narrative action. Ofelia’s departure from her bedroom to the labyrinth and rotunda, taken on a subtler level, can be understood as her desire to escape reality and the harsh cruelties that exist in a post-civil war Spain (bedroom), to a fantasy world (labyrinth and rotunda) of mystical creatures that promise her liberation and freedom from the binds of
English Assessment Task- Module C- Representation and Text Distortion of the truth can alter the ways conflicting perspectives generate diverse and provocative insights. The ways that truth is altered is presented through the role reputation plays in The Justice Game’s chapter the Trials of Oz, by Geoffrey Robertson, and in The Crucible, a film by Nicholas Hytner, based upon the play of the same name by Arthur Miller. Another way distortion of truth arises is when deception prevails and triumphs, shown in the chapter Michael X on Death Row, by Geoffrey Robertson, and again in film version of The Crucible. The idea that Justice is a game also provides conflict and diversity that challenges perspectives of the truth. Finally, a cartoon about the Occupy Wall Street movement describes how the truth can mislead and warp meaning, thus creating perspectives that generate diverse and provocative insights.
It attempts to immerse the reader in an extraordinary world in which ordinary standards and moral judgments become meaningless and good and evil are seen as inextricably intertwined. (Hume 282) The genre’s ”fascination with physical and psychological excremity, supernatural elements, and purported status set the pattern of the texts.” (Schmitt 4) ”Terror is the author’s principle engine and serves to grip and affect the reader.” (Hume 282) Besides the representation of extreme circumstances of terror, oppression and persecution, darkness and obscurity of setting, and innocence betrayed are also prominent features. (Lloyd-Smith 3) Gothic fiction is marked by an obsession with the macabre focusing on the mysterious and ineffable. (Schmitt 5) What is more, Gothic works are often centered in smaller numbers of characters, ultimately to operate within the consciousness of just one character (Fisher 73) Starting with the setting of The Black Cat, we can state that Poe broke with the European tradition (which I did not include in the previous section) and he pushed the charnel house elements of literary Gothic toward a fascination of with horror for its own sake. Poe senses the possibilities of urban Gothic.
Her warning of the dangers of such actions is encapsulated within Victor’s concerning words of “how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge”, whilst Shelley’s use of a fragmented epistolatory narrative adds a disturbing sense of truth and realism, foreshadowing the dark consequences of Frankenstein’s actions. Shelley’s warning is evident throughout the novel which ultimately reflects her context through the concern of scientists within her era exploiting the advancements in science. It also reinforces the dangers of our humanity’s inherent yearning to play the role of the Creator. Such a warning also exists within Scott’s “Blade Runner” where the director echoes the rise of capitalist principles through the symbolic dominance of Tyrell’s towering dwelling, a reflection of both his desire for omnipotence and commercial power. Scott’s warning of the dangers of
What fascinates me is also how the more you think about the characters and details, the more you discover on a bigger scale. A common theme in Guillermo Del Toro films is the aspect of fantasy and a how reality does not always be as straightforward as we might seem. With Pan’s Labyrinth, it is, of course, no different, with a dark and grotesque take, leaving the audience with a fairytale for grown-ups. In my assignment I want to make a narrative and stylistic analysis of the movie, trying to figure out how the movie with managing to mix both reality and fiction, drags the audience into this beautiful, yet grotesque universe, and what meaning lies behind it. 2.
(Pan’s Labyrinth, 2006) To categorize this film we need to isolate the different features that represents, taken from genre conventions or even exceptions. However, it is not difficult to apprehend that the film derives elements from (science)-fiction and horror films. This is an arguably famous combination; as Grant (2007, p.24) quotes from Sobchack “the monster movie sits uneasily between the horror film and science fiction”. This is notable in several cases such as The Thing (1951), The Terror from the Beyond Space (1958) and Alien (1979). As Dick(2010, p.188) states about horror films: “The inanimate can be an object of transformation” for instance, “ a house can change from a dwelling place for men to a dwelling place for ghosts, as in the Uninvited(1944) or Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining(1980).
By locating its concern on the issues about morality and violence andexploring the limits of human cruelty Waiting for the Barbarians challenges humanityand imperialism in several ways. Presenting a psychoanalytic discussion of Waiting for the Barbarians this study focuses on the impact of fear in human psyche andimperialism’s self destructive power. How far fear and anxiety can go and how far members of society can follow a blind power is the main concern of this essay. AsCoetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians is an allegorical novel, this essay will try tointerpret the allegories created in relation to the tensions raised in the novel. The examination of the critiques raised in the book, may be broken down into thefollowing main components.
With his tale of corrupt patriarchy filled with mystery, romance, and tragedy, Horace Walpole bridged the gap between the wantonly romantic and the excessively realistic (Scott 11); filling the space with dark settings, stark characters and tangled narratives. It was the sum of all these parts that became the formula that is still followed today by writers of the genre. This essay will outline various elements of the typical gothic novel, and the way in which they are associated with excess in the themes, characterisation, and style of writing. In doing so, the differences in the techniques used in Walpole’s novel Castle of Otranto, and M.R James’s short story Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad, will be identified and discussed. The primary objective of Gothic novelists is to rouse the reader into eliciting emotional responses such as shock or fear (Hume 284).
Hamlet – Shakespeare’s use of the supernatural to enhance and shape the tragic world of Elsinore The supernatural is something of a keystone in directing the tragic events of the play; Shakespeare employs its over shadowing presence as a device to explore the terrifying world of the unseen, the untouchable and the unknowable. In Act 1 Scene 1, uncertainty and insecurity are crucial elements in the building of tension and the foreshadowing of disaster. The play even begins with a question: “Who’s there?” Bernardo’s terror of what he cannot see or touch, even in the most mundane sense, is deeply significant in this private environment (the battlements) where fears and uncertainties fester and grow without the need to present a picture of poise in the face of the comforting known; Shakespeare’s juxtapositioning of the inherently public court in the following scene serves to emphasise this and undermine the illusion of order presented in the court. The opening scene progresses until the source of the tension becomes evident: a “thing”, a “dreaded sight”, an “apparition”, an “illusion”, an “erring spirit”; Shakespeare’s use of tautology and refusal to call it ‘Ghost’ shapes our understanding of the supernatural: that we do not understand it and its definition is embedded in the perception of each character on stage. Shakespeare’s elusive language also relates to the issue of the morality of this ghost: J.A.