The evolution of Blade Runner and Frankenstein are parallels. Both composers, Scott and Shelley warn the audience of the advancement of technology and the impact towards man. Scott denotes this idea in Blade Runner through the death of Tyrell. Tyrell’s pursuit of knowledge blinded him, overstepping the boundary of humanity. He revolts against nature, by artificially creating replicants in hopes to gain status and power in his society. “Rachael is an experiment, nothing more” This quote objectifies Rachael as an “experiment” displaying the lack of Tyrell’s patriarchal figure. Death; ah, well that’s a little out of my jurisdiction” – this discerns Tyrell’s own obsessive perception of himself and his vanity. Yet, his oblivion is portrayed through high angle shots during the confrontation of Leon and Tyrell. Because of the high angle shot, Leon appears more superior to Tyrell implying Tyrell’s inferiority. His death is metaphoric, and an allusion to King Lear as both men had their eyes gouged due to their hamartia. Scott’s didactic implications refer to the consequences of obstruction of nature due to man violating their own boundaries.
The rebellion against nature is encouraged by man’s pursue to exceed their limits. Shelley expresses this through the allusion of the Ancient Mariner in Frankenstein. The metaphor is seen within the monster, created by Frankenstein. The monster is associated with Adam, however is subverted to symbolise Satan once the monster is shunned by Frankenstein’s hubristic neglect. “Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded.
The Term Paper on A Family Study of Victor Frankenstein and his Monster
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is an exploration of the relationship between parent and child. Inspired in many ways by Mary Shelley’s own experiences as a motherless child and a grieving mother, Victor’s tale follows a linear trail of decline traceable to his mother’s death. Up until that point, though fascinated with alchemy and life science, Victor’s ideas retain a manner of scientific remove. His ...
I was benevolent and good — misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous” Frankenstein is blinded by his pursuit of knowledge as he wanted to give life “to an animal as complex and wonderful as man”. However, Shelley provides her didactic message of the progression of science and humanity through rhetorical questions. Through this, Frankenstein’s hubristic nature foreshadows the utter contempt and vengeance Frankenstein has brought upon the monster as the monster questions humanity. “Am I not shunned & hated by all mankind?
And tell me why I should pity man more than he pities me? ” Thus the rhetorical questions used by Shelley allow the audience to ponder about her didactic intentions – the dangers towards man posed by science. uncertain The decay in humanity is defined through their environment. In Blade Runner, this notion is exemplified through the portraits of Los Angeles. Scott implements long shots and panning of the city, showing cramped vicinities and the prevalence of capitalism such as the advertisements roaming in the sky. The vectors lead to the salient image of skyscrapers and buildings.
The backdrop is a bland, dull sky with no light. Scott is foreboding the futuristic decay of the environment reflecting upon the current environment (global warming) due to industrialism. The visual motif, nature, represents purity and virtue. However, due to the mid shots, which exaggerate the compacted frame and claustrophobia of Los Angeles in Blade Runner, it is discernible that the city lacks nature thus purity and also the inundated influence of corporations whereby Scott is inferring the corruption and decay of humanity due to science.
Devolution of man can be represented through the setting of the text. Shelley explores this idea in Frankenstein through the use of nature, denoting the Romanticism concept of the embracement of nature. Shelley refers to the rejuvenation of Geneva where Frankenstein “took refuge in the most perfect solitude” and “passed whole days on the lake alone in a little boat, watching the clouds, and listening to the rippling of the waves, silent and listless”. However, Shelley juxtaposes this euphoria as Frankenstein xpresses his poignant and sentimental emotions in Ingolstadt, where he had created the monster, to Walton, “These were wild and miserable thoughts; but I cannot describe to you how the eternal twinkling of the stars weighed upon me, and how I listened to every blast of wind as if it were a dull ugly siroc on its way to consume me. ” “I wept bitterly; and clasping my hands in agony …. Leave me in darkness” Frankenstein surpassed his pursuit of knowledge, however, he was blinded by what he had created.
The Term Paper on Galileo Galilei: Man of Science
Galileo Galilei was an Italian scientist born on February 15, 1564. He lived in a time when people perceived the earth as the center of the universe and when people interpreted the scriptures literally. He originally pursued the field of medicine, but later gained an inclination towards mathematics. He worked to develop the scientific method and to explain the world in mathematical terms. Today, ...
He was unable to accept his responsibilities and thus suffered the consequences – his annihilated mental capacity. Thus, due to Frankenstein’s cessation of blindly pursuing knowledge, Shelley evokes the reader of the degradation of man due to science. The virtue of humanity remains ambiguous as science surpasses mans’ lives. This notion is explored in Mary Shelley’s 1818 classic, Frankenstein, and Ridley Scott’s 1982 film, Blade Runner. These texts explore the circumvention of the natural order and the devolution of man due to its milieu.
