One can infer that there are a multitude of reasons, but topping the list would have to be curiosity. The thirst for knowledge is what drives people to try and create something new and unseen. This inquisitiveness is seen in history, but it is also carried into fiction. Examples of this officiousness are demonstrated twice in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, by both Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein. Another real-life example can be seen in the settlers during the colonization of America.
Blade Runner Essay Question: In what ways does a comparative study accentuate the distinctive contexts of Frankenstein and Blade Runner? Answer: Through texts composers have been able to highlight and examine key ideas relative to their specific context. A text has the ability to bring to the forefront its contextual ideas in a engaging manner. In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein the context is highlighted through 19th century ideas of Gothicism and Romanticism in an entertaining but concerning manner. Additionally, Ridley Scott’s feature film Blade Runner depicts a dystopian world devastated by capitalism, greed and technology which were primary concerns in the context of the 1980’s.
Mary Shelley’s gothic promethean novel, Frankenstein (1818), was released during the industrial revolution as romanticism was thriving, while Ridley Scott’s futuristic sci-fi Blade runner (1992) grew with the dawning of a capitalistic increasingly globalised and technologically driven society. The comparative study of these texts encompasses themes of humanity and playing God through a tone of moral warning and allows the responder to explore how similar content in different contexts will reflect changing, but also constant values. Through the use of filmic techniques, Scott demonstrates how nature and religion are absent in a world overrun by consumerism and technology. Due to her context, Shelley alternatively uses imagery and allusions to hint at the consequences humanity will suffer if they try to better God through the misuse of science and the corruption of nature. Both of these texts reflect the distinctive contexts in which they were written; although separated by over 100 years of history, they still present similar issues and dilemmas which affected the form and features of the individual texts.
Common thematic concerns that run throughout both texts include science, retribution and monstrosity. Scientific advancement is an ethical problem that has been conferred through literature over centuries, shown in Frankenstein, written by Shelley in 1818, and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner released
Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, has used a framing narrative in the opening letters of the novel, to help set up the major premise of the novel. Through the epistolary form it eases the reader into the story and adds a subplot that gives the main story texture and richness. This technique also focuses on the character parallels between Walton and Frankenstein, and how Walton foreshadows Frankenstein’s story. Many writers of the time wrote in the traditional romantic genre, however Shelley challenges this by writing in the gothic genre through the epistolary form and negative message she conveys through Victor of the dangers of romanticism. To force the reader to actively engage in the text, Shelley uses a fallible narrator unlike the traditional novel.
Advanced English Exam Essay Question In what ways is your appreciation of both texts enhanced by a comparative study of ambition in Frankenstein and Blade Runner? Ridley Scott’s 1982 film Blade Runner and Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein explore similar concepts of ambition that can be further valued by comparing and contrasting the forms and features of both texts. This can be enhanced through an analysis of the context in which each text originates, and how the changing values and perspectives of the time are reflected in each text. In the film, Ridley Scott has portrayed the consequences of overreaching ambition and how a desire for knowledge can have a negative impact on society. His use of majestic trumpet music, in conjunction with the gradual zoom and panning low angle camera shot during Deckard and Gaff’s approach to Tyrell Corp. to enhance the pyramidal and soaring temple like structure of the building.
Compare how the treatment of similar content in a pair of texts composed in different times and contexts may reflect changing values and perceptives. Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley and Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott, both reflect the period industrially, socially and the technological revolution surrounding the time composition. Frankenstein and Blade Runner are products of their time with the values and ideas they represent and are understood within the historical context in which they were composed. Both texts explore and question various aspects of humanity, creation, nature, science and technology via a wide range of techniques characteristic to their medium of production. Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley in 1818,
For both Frankenstein and Bladerunner, the texts clearly convey both the time in which they were produced and illuminate why their composers chose the format through which they convey their concerns of the dangers of scientific knowledge and the inherit goodness of humans and the impact of life experience that provokes change. These two ideas continued as paramount concerns during both periods of time in which these texts were written and still resonate with society to this modern day. Shelley’s novel ‘Frankenstein’ is an exemplar of the texts popular in her time. It was known that both romantic and gothic texts had come to influence the literary scene of the late 18th century, a period of revolutionary political and social reform. However,
As time goes by, society changes; new discoveries are made, new inventions come about and knowledge of the world around us increases. All this notably influences society’s perception of themselves, people around them and life in general. Through the study of texts from various time periods, it is safe to say that any literature or media reflects the context in which it was produced. The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, released in 1818, echoes the intricate mindsets, ideas, values and criticisms of Shelly’s society. Similarly, Blade Runner (the director’s cut) by Ridley Scott released in 1992 mirrors the society of his time.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1981) are both a representation of their composer’s contextual anxieties. By developing a deeper understanding of the composer’s context, the (underlying messages in the text is met.) The comparison also shows that despite being separated by over a century, the interpretations of the authors on the paradigms of nature, science and humanity (meet on similar lines, creating a timeless effect). Frankenstein, composed during the 19th century, a period of revolt, the French Revolution being an iconic event heavily influenced the theme of ‘usurpation of power’ that (frolics in the novel). The 19th century also saw a time of great scientific breaches such as Galvani and his Galvanism,