Blade Runner And Frankenstein Comparison Essay

Mary Shelley’s, ‘Frankenstein’ and Ridley Scott’s, ‘Blade Runner’ both take social fears and reflet them. They show aspects of Film Noir, Gothic literature, Romanticism, The impact of Science and natural philosophy, Crime fiction and Post modern literature. The two texts, although different in overall context, have many themes, ideas and values which closely link them to each other while still portraying differences. The image that I have chosen to portray these similarities and differences is a self composed drawing of a monster who ‘is’ destruction and a little girl reaching for the flower that destruction is holding out too her. This illustration, at first glance, shows death and destruction brought about by humanity, the darkness within humanity and possible reconciliation of peace.
It represents a connection with nature and purity and was conveyed in ‘Blade Runner’ when Roy released the dove from his hands as he was dying. The dove is being followed by the monster which makes us question, “Is the monster really as bad as what society has portrayed it too be?” This question can also be proposed by the fact that the monster is holding out a flower to the young girl. The ‘monsters’ in my image, ‘Blade Runner’, and ‘Frankenstein’, are not accepted within society as equals too humans but are instead perceived as a threat against humanity. Ironically, humanity is destroying itself without any doing of anything less than human. This is shown in my image by the smoke fumed industrialised buildings, the nuclear weapon, guns, bombs, sewerage, bullet wounds and arrows. All of these human made weapons represent a society which is destroying itself, and the idea that creations destroy the creator. How is it that we as humans can create nuclear weapons to kill one another and we are not perceived as monsters or threats against humanity? What is it that has made society recognise the ‘Monster’ in my image, the Replicant’s and Frankenstein’s creation as