Preview

Comparative Studies of Bladerunner and Frankenstein Essay Example

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1172 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparative Studies of Bladerunner and Frankenstein Essay Example
Compare the ways in which texts offer insights into the human experience.
Every text is a product of its time. In Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, she uses the gothic horror genre to explore some of the concerns of her time relating to the use of science and technology and its impact on humanity. Similar concerns are also present in Ridley Scott’s “Bladerunner”, a futuristic text which combines science fiction and film noir to present a bleak view of a future world overrun by technology and consumerism, but devoid of human emotion. Both these texts offer insights into the human experience namely between man and science and man and nature.
In both these texts, the main concerns of their time was that the nature and effect on scientific research when divorced from ethical and moral responsibilities. Mary Shelley wrote her book when Romanticism was in full bloom, and this was also conveyed in the majestic beauty of Swiss Alps, Mont Blanc & the changing seasons, in an essentially pre – Industrial Revolution era. Shelley and other Romantic writers believed in the close connections between the health of humanity and Mother Nature’ whilst Victor used “profane fingers” to construct his “filthy creation” he thus cannot connect with or enjoy the fecundity of nature.
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein detaches himself from ethical and moral responsibilities when he creates this monster. He is so emotionally detached from his work that when he finishes creating the monster, he then realises his creation was an abomination. “Beautiful! – Great God!” and “But now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” shows Victor’s change of heart. Here Victor uses science to play god. The biblical allusion to the book of Genesis – “I pursued nature... to animate the lifeless clay?” illustrates this. Likewise his obsession with science and pursuit to create life separates Victor from the beauty and majesty

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner are texts that explore the same underlying anxieties and values in humanity. Even though they are constructed nearly 200 years apart, the same feelings exist. At the time of composition, and, through their literary work, the authors examine their place in the world. With the proliferation of scientific technology, economic and sociological concerns, these texts reconsider and teach in their didactic styles about man’s preoccupation with advancement, without respecting nature.…

    • 3115 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The context of the time of writing is an integral part of a text’s composition and ideas. This notion is evident in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) and Ridley Scott’s 1982 science fiction film, Blade Runner. They both address ideas contemporary at the time, but are both interconnected through a common questioning of what may happen if humans attempt to play god. As a romanticist, Shelley condemns Frankenstein’s intrusive attempt to play the creator. Scott spurns man’s ruthless ambition through a dystopian environment created through ruthless quest for profit by commercially dominant, greedy corporations. Both texts employ techniques such as allusion and characterisation to depict similar dystopian visions ensuing from man’s dereliction of nature.…

    • 626 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Shelly and Scott reflect, nature and the natural world in the texts they create, Frankenstein and Blade Runner using literary devices and societal context. In Blade Runner, Scott uses the aspects of the 20th century tradition of dystopias and film noir as literary devices. Throughout Shelly's work of Frankenstein, the romantic and sublime themes of the era are examined as literary devices. The appreciation for the natural wonder of the world is evident throughout Frankenstein when Shelly emphasises to the reader, the sweeping landscapes that are stark, barren and majestic, nature therefore is used as a literary device to simulate the readers sense of emotions, an example of this is when Victor walks through the Alps to relieve himself from…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Composed nearly 200 years apart with differing contexts, the Romanticist, Mary Shelly composed a gothic novel ‘Frankenstein’, in the Industrial Revolution era and the Age of Enlightenment which draws upon the rise of Galvanism. As well as the post modern, post apocalyptic film noir composed by Ridley Scott ‘Blade Runner’ reflects upon the increasing computing industry which changed the natural process of life. Hence, an analysis of both texts in light of their differing contexts reveal how Shelley and Scott warn us of the dire consequences of our desire for supremacy and unrestrained scientific progress, concepts which link the two texts through time.…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Frankenstein a major context of the time was Romanticism, a view that saw nature as a force to be in awe of as it had the power to both heal and destroy. it is obvious that Mary Shelly was heavily influenced by the romantics of her time from her book, when it come to the way that she describes the landscape in her world with great detail and the affect it has on victor “These sublime and magnificent scenes afforded me the greatest consolation that I was capable of receiving” (referring to the natural environment around him, the mountains.)…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although perspectives and values change with time, ideas and concepts can transcend. The gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and the science fiction film Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott although composed over one hundred years apart contain the same perennial concepts on the nature of humanity. This is portrayed through notions of dehumanization, monstrosity and redemption, of the “indistinguishable” creator and creature relationship. The romanticist Shelly wrote her gothic novel the enlightenment era which posed questions concerning the mystery of life and nature of humanity. Scott on the other hand composed in the post-industrial age, where technology and morality played a dominant role in society. The composers explore their contextual values while upholding transcendent concepts of humanity incorporating morality and creation though unique techniques in accordance…

    • 1237 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    * Prometheus represents on who has defied and challenged the natural order; one who has transgressed on forbidden territory. His actions are not couched in connotations of courage or heroism but recognised as reckless and without any thought to the possible consequences.…

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 1818 Gothic Novel 'Frankenstein' written by Mary Shelley and the 1982 science fiction film 'Blade Runner' by Ridley Scott both challenge the values of the societies in which they have been set, expressing the composers' critique of the advancement in science and technology, the consequences of irresponsible creation and the hubris of an individual to overcome nature's power. It is through these common themes that the texts have the ability to represent and evoke fear, anxiety and…

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The contexts in which the texts are composed have a strong influence over the worlds they depict. This is clearly resembled in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s noir film “Blade Runner.” The importance of the relationship between science and nature is demonstrated through the texts, as both explore the essence of what it means to be human although the texts were composed over a hundred years apart. The texts represent the potential danger of ambition and knowledge in respect to the advancements of technology and as a result we begin to witness the line between human and non-human become increasingly blurred. As a responder we are forced to ask the question what is the value of life?…

    • 1488 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The novel Frankenstein has a main character that uses science to play God. Victor Frankenstein becomes God, and his creation recognizes that, and calls himself Adam. Victor is too smart for his own good, since his own creation ruins his life. He goes to college at seventeen, and creates the monster by himself. His intelligence is his downfall, so it would have been better if the monster had never been created, since the monster is shunned…

    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shelley’s novel enlightens the reader to the changing values and perspectives of her era following the concept of Galvanism. Shelley’s didactic approach forms themes of obsession and “dangerous knowledge” that exist as Victor attempts to surge beyond accepted human limits and access the secret of life in an attempt to create it. Victor recognises the power he holds with his knowledge, and considers the dangers, saying, "when I found so astonishing a power placed within my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I should employ it". This displays Victor's conscience and his willingness to disregard it, leading to the destruction of his morals and ethics for the utilitarian greater…

    • 1116 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Despite being created in different political, social and cultural paradigms, a comparative study of Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s sci-fi cult film, ‘Blade Runner the Directors Cut’ reveals similar concerns and issues which are still relevant to a modern audience. Both Blade Runner and Frankenstein were written centuries apart, both being passed on Milton’s four century old epic poem, Milton’s Paradise Lost. This continuum of consideration highlights the continued significance of literature that examines ideas such as disruption and identity. By considering the commonalities and differences between the two texts, responders are able to gain an insight into the consequences of man overreaching, thus disrupting the chain of being and how technological progress and scientific development leads to a loss of identity and a collapse in the moral nature of humanity.…

    • 1036 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The two texts ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Blade Runner’ both embody themes of science, creation and nature that are reflected in the author’s life and what was happening in the world around them.…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Frankenstein Blade Runnar

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Although the comparative study of texts in time offers insight into humanity’s changing values, it is the portrayal of common, contextually resonating concerns which continue to engage us timelessly. Despite their divergent media and compositional milieus, Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein (1818) and Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner (1982) share ongoing anxieties regarding unrestricted technological growth and social decay. By examining these texts together as social commentaries which are shaped by their Regency and contemporary contexts, we come to a heightened understanding of human nature and its flaws.…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Texts provide us with a gateway to the values and ideals of a given time, as it is difficult, if not impossible, for any author to compose in isolation of their cultural, political and historical contexts. They shape the ideas, themes and relationships explored within a text and enable us to better understand the concerns and values of the author. In particular, texts often focus on individuals that contest the traditional concerns and values of their time, and implement an original, innovative approach to an otherwise out-dated manner of thinking. Both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), a gothic cautionary tale, and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1992), a futuristic science fiction film, creatively use the enduring themes of the nature of humanity and the dangers of the challenging the natural order to portray individuals who contest the conventional values of their time.…

    • 1464 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays