Frankenstein and Bladerunner
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- Category: English
- Date Submitted: 08/01/2011 01:11 AM
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FRANKENSTEIN & BLADERUNNER – DIFFERENT CONTEXTS
Mary Shelley’s Gothic prose work 'Frankenstein' (1818) and Ridley Scott’s film noir 'Blade Runner' (1982) are two texts that engage with modern values and beliefs and explore similar issues in vastly different contexts. The two renowned texts both have a significance. The two creators, Tyrell and Victor Frankenstein are both men of power and intelligence. Though they may think they are untouchable, they don't realise that the creations of the creature and the Replicants only produce destruction and failure. In these two texts the following issues are established, but within a differen't context: nature, ethics of technology, the power of the creator and what is means to be human.
Nature is an important aspect that is represented in both texts. The book cover is both Victor Frankenstein and Tyrell, the two creators linked to the tree which symbolises nature. In Frankenstein, sublime nature is consistently expressed, which establishes the traditions of Romanticism and Gothic literature. In Frankenstein, nature is viewed as “.. nurturing the imagination”. Shelley's dramatic descriptions of the natural landscape convey a romantic appreciation of the attraction of nature, though the Gothic fusion brings terror. This can be seen when the monster murders William and the weather changes to a thundery night when Victor recognises the monster. Shelley also implies how nature can influence the mood of characters within the novel. This is expressed through the words of Victor to Walton; “when happy, inanimate nature had the power of bestowing on me the most delightful sensations.” By the end, as Victor chases the monster, nature, in the form of the Arctic desert, which functions simply as the symbolic backdrop for his primal struggle against the monster. In comparison to 'Frankenstein', 'Blade Runner' presents a post-modern sublime, in which the natural world has become virtually obsolete. Scott emphasises the absence...
Mary Shelley’s Gothic prose work 'Frankenstein' (1818) and Ridley Scott’s film noir 'Blade Runner' (1982) are two texts that engage with modern values and beliefs and explore similar issues in vastly different contexts. The two renowned texts both have a significance. The two creators, Tyrell and Victor Frankenstein are both men of power and intelligence. Though they may think they are untouchable, they don't realise that the creations of the creature and the Replicants only produce destruction and failure. In these two texts the following issues are established, but within a differen't context: nature, ethics of technology, the power of the creator and what is means to be human.
Nature is an important aspect that is represented in both texts. The book cover is both Victor Frankenstein and Tyrell, the two creators linked to the tree which symbolises nature. In Frankenstein, sublime nature is consistently expressed, which establishes the traditions of Romanticism and Gothic literature. In Frankenstein, nature is viewed as “.. nurturing the imagination”. Shelley's dramatic descriptions of the natural landscape convey a romantic appreciation of the attraction of nature, though the Gothic fusion brings terror. This can be seen when the monster murders William and the weather changes to a thundery night when Victor recognises the monster. Shelley also implies how nature can influence the mood of characters within the novel. This is expressed through the words of Victor to Walton; “when happy, inanimate nature had the power of bestowing on me the most delightful sensations.” By the end, as Victor chases the monster, nature, in the form of the Arctic desert, which functions simply as the symbolic backdrop for his primal struggle against the monster. In comparison to 'Frankenstein', 'Blade Runner' presents a post-modern sublime, in which the natural world has become virtually obsolete. Scott emphasises the absence...