Frankenstein and Blade Runner Essay

The texts, Frankenstein and Blade Runner reflect changing contextual values; however the treatment of content remains the same. Mary Shelley’s didactic Frankenstein published in 1818 centres on scientific advancement of the Industrial Revolution, as presented through a consolidation of Gothic and Romantic elements in response to the shifting paradigms of the Enlightenment Age. Similarly, Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott in 1982, transforms the notions of Frankenstein to position its postmodern audience to consider the negative ramifications of the Cold War and the rise of capitalism. These contextual ideas will be explored through the thematic concerns pertaining specifically to the destructive potential of abusing scientific power, the flawed responsibility of man as creator and the nature of humanity. Indeed, Blade Runner is a realisation of the sublime warnings highlighted by Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1818. Destructive potential of abusing scientific power Frankenstein highlights the destructive potential of abusing science through overpowering human morality and provoking irresponsibility. The 18th Century Age of Enlightenment was a social movement where logic and reason was advocated as the primary source of authority, characterised by scientific advancements such as Galvani’s concept of electricity as a reanimating force and theorists such as Erasmus Darwin. Hence, Walton’s metaphor, influenced by Age of Enlightenment, â€Å"What may not be expected in a country of eternal light? † is mantric for both Walton and Frankenstein who display a â€Å"thirst for knowledge† in their respective scientific quests. The metaphor and symbol of â€Å"eternal light† represents the mysteries the pair wish to uncover and accompanied with rhetorical question it reflects the optimism of society embracing the Age of Enlightenment. However, the irrevocable consequences of abusing scientific power is highlighted when Frankenstein says, â€Å"â€Å"All my speculations and hopes are as nothing, and like the archangel who aspired to omnipotence, I am chained to an eternal hell. † as he is tormented by the â€Å"filthy daemon† he creates; a monster â€Å"even Dante could not have conceived. The allusions to John Milton’s Paradise Lost and Dante Alighieri’s Inferno through metaphor and simile emphasises the destructive potential of abusing scientific power as Frankenstein’s environment decays into hell. This caution of the destructive potential of abusing science is realised in Blade Runner through Scott’s mise-en-scene of the dystopian urban wasteland of 2019 Los Angeles, emphasising the destruction of the natural environment as a result of the Cold War’s nuclear threat and rise of consumerism. In the opening sequence, the slow-panning panorama shot, under chiaroscuro lighting, captures a hellish megalopolis with huge smokestacks spewing fire into the atmosphere and large pagan corporate edifices towering over the city. This disorienting imagery is coalesced with violent, non-diegetic sounds and visuals of constant rain, symbolizing concerns of acidic rain and the burning of the environment. Hence, Scott’s utilization of futuristic â€Å"film noir† cinematography establishes a grim, claustrophobic environment that is completely devoid of the natural world. By depicting such dystopia and understanding contextual concerns such as the capitalist deregulation and the ‘trickle down’ theory of Reagan’s era, Scott applies Shelley’s â€Å"Promethean† motif to caution viewers about the potential environmental dangers of abusing modern technology and nuclear warfare, which were widespread social concerns at the time due to the climax of the Cold War. Flawed responsibility of men as creator Frankenstein highlights how unrestrained science undermines man’s responsibility as creator. Shelley’s era was a time of religious revival where philosophers such as Kierkegaard asserted spirituality was more than â€Å"objective appearance† and demanded engagement. In both texts, several biblical allusions are made to the image of man usurping the title of â€Å"creator† and creation becoming the forsaken â€Å"fallen angel. † Hence Victor’s Godly damnation reflects man as illegitimate to play the role of God: â€Å"Wretched devil! You reproach me with your creation; come on, then, may I extinguish the spark which I so negligently bestowed. Through the emotive biblical language and poetic allusion to â€Å"Milton’s Paradise Lost†, Shelley evokes the retelling of Satan’s fall from grace, where the monster’s likeness to the â€Å"fallen angel,† exacerbates the notion that man, corrupted by the moral insensitivity of science, is flawed as creator. Moreover, the â€Å"spark† alludes to the â€Å"eternal light† which irresponsibly leads to the immoral creation of a monster that is both extravagant and aberrant. This is illustrated by the graphic imagery of the monster’s impurity such as â€Å"skin arely covered† and â€Å"yellow eye† alongside the creature’s painful personal recollections through direct use of the first person, â€Å"I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch. I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides. † Hence, Shelley highlights to readers in the Enlightenment period that innate selfishness of men corrupts the moral grounding of scientific pursuit rendering man as illegitimate to play the role of God. The issue of mankind as selfish creators, disengaged from institutionalized structures such as Christendom, is extended in Blade Runner in the â€Å"meeting of the maker’ scene. Tyrell ruthlessly exploits his economic power by separating himself from the decaying dystopia of Los Angeles. Tyrell’s fundamentally flawed intentions are personified in the Tyrell Corporation’s edifice of a Grandiose, Mayan style pyramid physically exerting a powerful dominance over the city. It is presented through an upward panning low angle shot, spliced with close up shots to reinforce the dominance of consumerist progress in dystopia. The pyramid’s historical association with Egyptian royalty links them with the divine, typifying Tyrell’s ‘God-like’ role as creator. This is reinforced in Tyrell’s costuming of white clothing amidst long shots of a candle-lit church atmosphere, typifying his glorified religious status. Moreover the low-angle shots of the ‘artificial owl’ with dark shadows emphasises the extent to which the natural environment has been artificially remodeled due to the rise of consumerism in the 1980s. Hence, the dehumanised portray of Victor Frankenstein and Tyrell demonstrates that despite differering contexts, science leads to an abandonment of moral responsibility and man is flawed as creator. What constitutes humanity in an individual Frankenstein highlights the true nature of humanity as influenced by the 18th Century Romantic Movement. The 18th Century Romantic Movement was a social reaction against the 18th Century Age of Enlightenment, characterised by stressing the beauty of the natural world and emotional feeling. The natural world’s splendour is highlighted as Frankenstein flees to Mont Blanc for conciliatory peace away from his torment. â€Å"The unstained snowy mountain-top, the glittering pinnacle †¦ the eagle soaring amidst the clouds. † The Romantic and emotive language, imagery and allusion to Edmund Burke’s On the Sublime and the Beautiful portrays the beauty of the natural world, free from destructive science. Further humanity’s emotions are romanticised through the benevolent portrayal of the Monster. â€Å"No father had watched my infant days; no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses†¦ What was I? † Through the combination of emotive language, a personal tone created through the personal pronoun â€Å"I† and a rhetorical question to question what constitutes humanity within a being, Shelley transcends the Gothic stereotype typically bestowed upon a monster to emphasise the monster’s human longings for parental love and companionship. Hence, as the Romantic Movement and its fascination with the sublimity of nature, was being overcome by the strict rationality of the Age of Enlightenment, Shelley foreworns of the destruction of the magnificence of humanity, both in the natural world and in human emotions, as a result of rampant science and irresponsibility. Similarly, the â€Å"more human than human† portrayal of Roy in Blade Runner also highlights our mistreatment of scientific creations as artificial commodities, blurring the distinction between humans and products of artificial intelligence. In the final scene, Scott uses a close-up shot at Roy’s nailed hands, literally portraying him as a Christ-like figure, as he is enslaved and morally detached from humanity from the goals of â€Å"commerce†. The condescending aphorism in Tyrell’s comment at Roy’s desperate cry for life, â€Å"the light that burns half as long, burns twice as bright† alludes to the â€Å"eternal light† in Frankenstein’s Age of Reason and its effects on humanity’s disregard for the human consequences of its actions. Hence Roy asserts â€Å"I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe†, which reflects about his personal, human pain and suffering as a result of the commoditised world. Furthermore, a close up of Roy, alongside the pure white background creates a cathartic moment as Roy becomes ‘the fallen angel’, magnanimously giving life to Deckard and instilling human qualities within him. It is through illustrating Roy’s sensitivity that Scott ‘appropriates’ Shelley’s dilemma of what constitutes humanity within any being, questioning the morality of the technology-dependent audience of the 1980s; as they take scientific creations for granted. Hence after suffering and succumbing to brutal dehumanisation, both Replicant and Beast have emotively evoked pathos and senses of profound solemnity. Ultimately, both Frankenstein and Blade Runner are products of their cultural milieu and forewarn us of the destructive potential of abusing science, illegitimately playing the role of God and the values of humanity that degrade our morality and responsibility. More subliminally, however, each text embodies the moral limitations of being human through the oppressive nature of scientific and technological advancement.