Consequently, the nature of humanity and scientific progress are reflected through literary and filmic techniques, addressing the exploitation of mankind’s progress and ultimately questioning what it means to be human. By reflecting on their respective social and technological milieus, Shelley and Scott depict the detrimental repercussions of artificial construction through the parallels in ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Blade Runner.’ In particular, the turn of the 19th century saw the fascination with Galvanism, regarding the animation of animal tissue through electricity, inciting Shelley to confront this ideology based on a ‘life force’ that would infuse life in an inanimate object. Through the first person perspective, responders are exposed to Victor Frankenstein’s obsessive behaviour in overcoming the metaphysical boundaries of ‘life principles’. Thus, by metaphorically ‘pursuing nature in all her hiding places’, Shelley questions the implications of synthetic formation through her use of a contemplative tone in acknowledging the ‘astonishing power placed within [his] hands…and the manner in which I should employ it’. She answers this through her
To what extent does a comparative study accentuate the influence of context on Frankenstein and Blade Runner? While issues change throughout history, values are often similar but presented from the perspective of an era. Mary Shelley's 1800's Frankenstein and Ridley Scott's 1982 Director's cut of Blade Runner essentially explore the same themes. The messages of ambition and science to usurp God and the loss of humanity reflect the time and contexts of the texts. Frankenstein depicts the ambition to use science to usurp God, influenced by the eighteenth century Enlightenment movement (encouraging reasoning to understand the universe), advancements in science in the nineteenth century and the concept of restoration of life through electricity, known as 'galvanism'.
Perhaps it is true and applies to this “double” situation when they say “you are who you marry.” This brings meaning and relates to Frankenstein in the sense that unconsciously, Frankenstein creates a creature that possesses and resembles Frankenstein’s most deep and inner thoughts and desires. He is able to mimic himself through his own creation and therefore cannot grasp to lose the connection he shares with the monster. Subtly and indefinitely, Frankenstein is depicted to share a bond with the monster by exhibiting the uncanny, raw and, monster-like characteristics, while the creature shares both the emotional and unrefined aspect of his creator. Throughout the novel, there are constant references to elements of the non-living and/or the re-creation of man and/or human form. Victor Frankenstein proves to posses an uncanny passion for the dark and paranormal.
yThroughout the exploration of the module “Texts in Time”, we observe the connections between texts and their reflections of the constancy in human nature, whilst shifting contextual perspectives are maintained. Such a connection is demonstrated in Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel “Frankenstein” (F/stein) and Scott Ridley’s 1991 film “Bladerunner”, where both composers present a cautionary tale, warning us of the implications of science and technological advances on humanity and thus reflecting their own fears in their respective contextual eras. It is through the analysis of such values and implications that we can see the constancy of human nature throughout time. Frankenstein is a gothic inspired, fragmented epistolary, reflecting the rebellion of the Romantic Movement, which advocated the power of imagination, and ones relationship to nature. The gothic convention of sublime nature is represented thematically, through forces of good and evil leading to vengeance and murder, as well as macabre settings of graveyards and charnel houses.
Although changes in context lead to changed values being reflected in texts, common concerns resonate over time and between texts. Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein (1818) and the film Bladerunner (1992), directed by Ridley Scott, both explore the consequences of an unrestrained pursuit of science and knowledge and the nature of humanity. Although both composers raise similar ideas and concerns, they are presented to the audience differently due to the differing contexts in which the two texts were composed. Mary Shelley composed her novel in the midst of the industrial revolution and during the Age of Enlightenment, while Ridley Scott developed his film at a time of unfettered capitalism and consumerism alongside technological advances in computing and genetic modification. In Frankenstein, Shelley displays the dire consequences that accompany the unrestrained pursuit of knowledge.
When Frankenstein collects the ‘instruments of life’ around him it would have shocked the readers of the time; this suggests that he had body parts in his home - this would certainly create suspense and tension. What will he do with them parts? Why has he got human parts to begin with? The general genre which the opening is suggesting, so far is horror. She also cleverly uses the weather and surrounding to mould the correct atmosphere, which influences our views on whatever aspect she concentrates on.
When one thinks of the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the concepts of knowledge and science are deeply inscribed in the mind. In her work, Mary Shelley tells the story of how one man attempted to emulate the knowledge of his day. Burning with a passion to invent the science of life, Victor Frankenstein soon realizes that such a desire to go beyond current knowledge will backfire and torment the remainder of his life. In the Gothic novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley conveys her attitudes towards science by portraying it as having the capability to exceed the bounds of human restraint. The overwhelming theme of science that is expressed in Frankenstein is that knowledge has the potential to go beyond the boundaries of human control.
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.
The Blade Runner context is the science-fiction dystopic future of Los-Angeles in 2019. Frankenstein and Blade Runner may be divided by nearly 200 years, be conveyed in different forms, and develop their ideas in very different settings, but there are distinct issues that are shown throughout both texts. In both texts the natural world has been disrupted by the creation of artificial beings, with the monster in Frankenstein and the Replicants in Blade Runner which is one major similarity shown in both texts. Within Frankenstein, Mary Shelley illustrates the significance of the natural world and the connection that man has to nature. She depicts nature as a place for both Victor and The monster to be solace and let their emotions be confessed.
"The accomplishment of his toils" is the creature, created from human body parts Frankenstein harvested from graveyards (34). Frankenstein’s motivation for creating this abomination is his desire to play God: "It was the secrets of heaven and earth that [he] desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied [him]" (22). As Frankenstein becomes consumed in his