Frankenstein, Blade Runner and the Myth of Prometheus
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- Date Submitted: 10/16/2010 05:37 PM
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Question 1- Texts in Time
How do you see Shelley’s Frankenstein as The Modern Prometheus? Does this myth have any correlation to Blade Runner?
Once acquainted with the myth of Prometheus, it’s easy to see why Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was subtitled ‘The Modern Prometheus’ and how Ridley Scott’s science- thriller Blade Runner is effortlessly linked to the subject. All three texts were based around the dream, the creation, the disregard of limits and their consequences. As the texts were all set in different contexts, their expectations and motivation differed, which emphasises the modern aspects, consequences and reactions. The similarity of the main characters brings together the three texts and shows the correlation between Blade Runner, Frankenstein and the Myth of Prometheus. Prometheus had more noble intentions, with no motive other than to instil life and protect what he had created, but in more modern times, Frankenstein had slightly more selfish intentions with recognition desired but the selfishness reached a new low in Blade Runner with the creation of life motivated by indescribable greed with no thought to the creatures they have made.
Just as Prometheus made the clay figures and gave them fire with no regard to rules and boundaries, it was apparent in both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner through the characters of Victor Frankenstein and Tyrell. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein and his newly made acquaintance, Walton, had complete faith that their actions were to better humanity. They had dreams of knowledge, fame and glory which is apparent when Frankenstein confessed “A new species would bless me as its creator” and that they would “owe their belonging” to him. In Blade Runner, the Tyrell Corporation had created the most realistic robot, which were ‘more human than human’ but had the ultimate motivation- “Commerce is our goal”. Their motivation helps reveal the context in which the two separate texts were...
How do you see Shelley’s Frankenstein as The Modern Prometheus? Does this myth have any correlation to Blade Runner?
Once acquainted with the myth of Prometheus, it’s easy to see why Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was subtitled ‘The Modern Prometheus’ and how Ridley Scott’s science- thriller Blade Runner is effortlessly linked to the subject. All three texts were based around the dream, the creation, the disregard of limits and their consequences. As the texts were all set in different contexts, their expectations and motivation differed, which emphasises the modern aspects, consequences and reactions. The similarity of the main characters brings together the three texts and shows the correlation between Blade Runner, Frankenstein and the Myth of Prometheus. Prometheus had more noble intentions, with no motive other than to instil life and protect what he had created, but in more modern times, Frankenstein had slightly more selfish intentions with recognition desired but the selfishness reached a new low in Blade Runner with the creation of life motivated by indescribable greed with no thought to the creatures they have made.
Just as Prometheus made the clay figures and gave them fire with no regard to rules and boundaries, it was apparent in both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner through the characters of Victor Frankenstein and Tyrell. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein and his newly made acquaintance, Walton, had complete faith that their actions were to better humanity. They had dreams of knowledge, fame and glory which is apparent when Frankenstein confessed “A new species would bless me as its creator” and that they would “owe their belonging” to him. In Blade Runner, the Tyrell Corporation had created the most realistic robot, which were ‘more human than human’ but had the ultimate motivation- “Commerce is our goal”. Their motivation helps reveal the context in which the two separate texts were...