Frankenstein Paper

670 Words2 Pages

Science fiction writing began in the early 1800’s as a reaction to the growth in science and technology. The genre is characterized by its intellectual excitement, high adventure, and its making of the fantastic possible. Due to the nature of science fiction, film has become an essential piece to its popularity. Science fiction films have been popular since the earliest silent clips because of the outlandish visuals and creative fictional story lines that capture an audience’s attention. Under the guise of this popular platform writers relay political, social and philosophical messages to their audience. The popular 1931 version of Frankenstein, based on Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, depicts an anti-exploration and anti-intellectual philosophy. In Frankenstein there is criticisms for the immoral behavior that is involved with progresses, the natural tendency for humanity to attempt to be greater than God and the pursuit of knowledge.
Frankenstein, the doctor, aims to create a man in his own image. His personal ambitions drove him mad and into isolation. He leaves school in pursuit of better facilities and free rein to test, create and revision life. He becomes obsessed with the idea of reanimation of flesh and is ultimately successful. However, the project is beyond the boundaries of what is thought possible and acceptable, and the actions taken to create the monster are unethical. In the opening scenes Frankenstein and his assistant, Fritz, are seen wandering through the graveyard taking bodies, and stealing experimental parts for their creature. In comparison to the novel, the opening scenes of the film display a different perspective which changes the imagery of the actions taking place and the audience’s connection with the c...

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... became a disaster creating unnecessary chaos. The results of his intelligence gave rise to harm.
The 1931 version of Frankenstein was very similar to the novel and kept the essence of Shelly’s message. Although Shelly herself grew up in an affluent society and came from a family of intellectuals, she sees danger in excess knowledge and the advancement. Her anti-intellectualism and anti- exploration stem from her fear of the results. She doesn’t see many benefits or feel that the positives of advancement will outweigh the bad. The movie version of the novel changed the perspective of the story and added its own creative details. The movie enhances the actions being done by both the monster and Frankenstein which emphasized the dangers that arose from intellectual exploration. Both the novel and movie serve as a warning for advancement based on Shelly’s principals.

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