Bladerunner and Frankenstein
- Submitted by: leah725
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- Category: English
- Date Submitted: 10/09/2011 06:43 PM
- Pages: 4
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Analyse how Frankenstein and Blade Runner imaginatively portray individuals who challenge the established values of their time.
(Comparison, content, context, values)
Through the comparative study of Mary Shelly’s epistolary styled novel Frankenstein (1818/1831) and Ridley Scott’s cult classic film Bladerunner (1982/1992) we are better able to appreciate the way in which the post-industrial and postmodern context has influenced the representation of values within both texts. The characterisation in both texts has allowed for the composers to challenge the values of their time. In both Frankenstein and Bladerunner the concern of the ever increasing consumerism and thus the loss of value of human relationships with others and nature is represented though key characters. It is both the disparities and similarities between the representation of these values that amplify the importance and deepened understanding of the texts when studied together.
Frankenstein emerged at a time of great social and political change. The industrial revolution had seen a shift towards mass production as opposed to individual labour. This development saw a shift in values, towards an open appraisal of technology that applauded consumerism, away from a traditional reverence of nature. The perpetual descriptions of nature throughout Frankenstein are most certainly influenced by Mary Shelly’s marriage with the romantic poet Percy Shelly and the influence of Lord Byron. Mary Shelly ensured that the key individuals in her novel such as the creature, Elizabeth, Victor and Walter all had a great appreciation for nature. The descriptive language typical of the era of romantic literature, a response to the reason and rationality of the enlightenment, is demonstrated primarily by Victor. “The very winds whispered in soothing accents” Victor’s personification of nature creates an atmosphere of intimacy and respect of nature. It is the exaggerated infatuation with nature by characters in the...
(Comparison, content, context, values)
Through the comparative study of Mary Shelly’s epistolary styled novel Frankenstein (1818/1831) and Ridley Scott’s cult classic film Bladerunner (1982/1992) we are better able to appreciate the way in which the post-industrial and postmodern context has influenced the representation of values within both texts. The characterisation in both texts has allowed for the composers to challenge the values of their time. In both Frankenstein and Bladerunner the concern of the ever increasing consumerism and thus the loss of value of human relationships with others and nature is represented though key characters. It is both the disparities and similarities between the representation of these values that amplify the importance and deepened understanding of the texts when studied together.
Frankenstein emerged at a time of great social and political change. The industrial revolution had seen a shift towards mass production as opposed to individual labour. This development saw a shift in values, towards an open appraisal of technology that applauded consumerism, away from a traditional reverence of nature. The perpetual descriptions of nature throughout Frankenstein are most certainly influenced by Mary Shelly’s marriage with the romantic poet Percy Shelly and the influence of Lord Byron. Mary Shelly ensured that the key individuals in her novel such as the creature, Elizabeth, Victor and Walter all had a great appreciation for nature. The descriptive language typical of the era of romantic literature, a response to the reason and rationality of the enlightenment, is demonstrated primarily by Victor. “The very winds whispered in soothing accents” Victor’s personification of nature creates an atmosphere of intimacy and respect of nature. It is the exaggerated infatuation with nature by characters in the...