Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein,' an epistolary Romantic novel inspired by elements of the Promethean myth, and Ridley Scott's 'Blade Runner,' a science fiction film known for its promotion of film/tech noir elements are two texts which have come to challenge the dominant paradigms of their time. Through the study of these texts, the reflection
Here's why science fiction has its roots in philosophy, and why it's the genre of thought experiments about the universe. Philosophical Thought Experiments As Science Fiction Science fiction is a genre that uses strange worlds and inventions to illuminate our reality — sort of the opposite of a lot of other writing, which uses the familiar to build a portrait that cumulatively shows how insane our world actually is. People, especially early twenty-first century people, live in a world where strangeness lurks just beyond our frame of vision — but we can't see it by looking straight at it. When we try to turn and confront the weird and unthinkable that's always in the corner of our eye, it vanishes. In a sense, science fiction is like a prosthetic sense of peripheral vision.
i William O’Neil Dr. James Nutter ENGL 102—Honors 24 February 2015 Romanticism Unshackled: a Study of the Modern Prometheus Thesis: Frankenstein should bear the title of Romantic literature because the novel embodies trademark Romantic ideas, situations, and characteristics throughout the text. I. In an attempt to categorize any novel as Romantic, however, one must first attempt to identify what, exactly, makes a work Romantic. a. A group of poets, including the likes of William Blake, Samuel Coleridge, William Wordsworth, John Keats, Lord Byron and—Mary’s husband—Percy Shelley, who are commonly credited as being the ground-breaking authors of the Romantic movement b. Lyrical Ballads moved poetry away from the times of the mythical and fantastical,
This pursuit of knowledge and progress is not unlike that of the Nazi regime. Composed post WWII, the film also holds totalitarian overtones represented through Tyrell’s creation of a creature “more human than human” and Chew’s blindness to the ethical ramifications and moral obligations of his work (“I only do eyes”) in creating the eyes of the new human race (i.e. the future). Furthermore, Scott hints at the regressive nature of science through the interwoven elements of film noir and science fiction. The film also shows façades of twinkling, awe-inspiring lights with corrupt, dirty
Freud is well known for his theory on a mother and her son, or the Oedipus Complex. Huxley ties this theory into the relationship Linda has with her son. Aldous Huxley’s ability to grab the audience’s attention with his outrageous, yet shockingly true allegations of a fictitious world, created a vision of a futuristic lifestyle unthought-of prior to Brave New World. With the use of symbolism the audience is able to make a connection between the world they are accustomed to, and the frightful reality of the future. Huxley’s
In pursuit of knowledge and technology, society begins to lose a sense of humanity. The 1818 gothic novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and 1982 science fiction film, Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott although composed over one hundred years apart contain the same concepts on the nature of humanity. Through context and a variety of film and literary techniques both composers were able to convey their purpose of a cautionary warning about the consequences of playing God. This was achieved through the dislocation of the natural world and mans attempt to play God. The texts present a view that questions the ethics of science which progress is unchecked.
Although sharing little in setting or premise, the texts Frankenstein and Blade Runner share many of the same concerns as they both challenge the values and morals of the societies in which they were set, most notably the notion of what it means to be human, as well as articulating the composers' critique of the advancement in science and technology. Both texts also exhibit the consequences of imprudent creation and the hubris of an individual to rise above and disrupt the natural order. Written in the eighteen hundreds by aggrieved writer Mary Shelley, the novel Frankenstein presents readers with a Romanticist perspective of technology ‘dehumanizing’ mankind as society was not made clear of their indistinct boundaries. Through Victor’s regression, “I, the true murderer, felt the never dying worm alive in my bosom”, the symbols of the ‘worm’ explore the downfall in
DATE \@ "MMMM d, y" April 20, 2015 Dear Editor, Im writing to express my belief in why the short story “Bloodchild” by Octavia Butler should be published. Butler creates a dystopian society in which humans form together to build a little agency. “Dystopian is the complete opposite of utopian because it describes an imaginary society that is as dehumanizing and unpleasant (vocabulary.com)”. The humans ( who are referred to as Terran) are detached from earth and placed in this far away world that they have to share with Tlic ( referred to as the aliens) . The science fiction elements play a big role throughout the story because the fact that it is located in a far away world it gives this mystery that keeps you on your toes .
Shelley, influenced by the philosophical enquiry into human creation evident within the Romantic Movement, has shaped Frankenstein to directly explore the notion of human beings usurping the role of creator, to therefore acquire glory. Similarly, Scott draws from the role of the creator, to depict a world existing with the consequences of human beings assuming the role of creator. Shelley alludes to the biblical creation story, “…I began the creation of a human being”, to demonstrate how Victor has attempted to appropriate God’s legitimate role as creator, in order to receive glory; “a new species would bless me as its creator...”. Shelley, with the gothic elements of an irrepressible creation, biblically alludes to Adam in the creation story, “…I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel…” to present the notion that the creator has the responsibility of their creation, yet become ignorant to this because of the value placed on glory. Similarly, Blade Runner explores the notion of the creator to acquire glory, through presenting the audience with a catastrophic environment; the result of neglected responsibilities for the creation of relpicants.
Citing Watchmen as the point where the comic book medium "came of age", Iain Thomson wrote in his essay "Deconstructing the Hero" that the story accomplished this by "developing its heroes precisely in order to deconstruct the very idea of the hero and so encouraging us to reflect upon its significance from the many different angles of the shards left lying on the ground". [38] Thomson stated that the heroes in Watchmen almost all share a nihilistic outlook, and that Moore presents this outlook "as the simple, unvarnished truth" to "deconstruct the would-be hero's ultimate motivation, namely, to provide a secular salvation and so attain a mortal immortality". [39] He wrote that the story "develops its heroes precisely in order to ask us if we would not in fact be better off without heroes". [40] Thomson added that the story's deconstruction of the hero concept "suggests that perhaps the time for heroes has passed", which he feels distinguishes "this postmodern work" from the deconstructions of the hero in the existentialism movement. [41] Richard Reynolds states that without any supervillains in the story, the superheroes of Watchmen are forced to confront "more intangible social and moral concerns", adding that this removes the superhero concept from the normal narrative expectations of the genre.