Blade Runner And Frankenstein Comparison

Victor becomes addicted to the science of life after his mother dies, and learns the secret of reanimation He succeeds in creating life, but the creature he creates ends up killing the ones he loves most. An example of Victor’s obsession over life is, when he is reading the works of Cornelius Agrippa, Albertus Magnus, and Parcelsus who were all famous alchemists. He states that “there attempts were futile,

Frankenstein’s creation was lost in the world with no one who could have understood him . It felt sorrowful and unfulfilled emotions as seen in this quote. Betrayal by Victor leaves a large impact the monster carried, which, turned into a monster full of hate and dissatisfaction. Victor’s creation was not a monster , but new born baby in a grown horrific body that was not to be called his own . It becomes a monster both mentally and physically, who will be feared by all . Victor not giving him the love he needed gets the monster enraged, which leads the monster to cause series of events that affects Victor unforgivably. .

Victor Frankenstein in the book Frankenstein faces many terrible situations and has to face many consequences for trying to play God’s role in creating life. Victor seen and dealt with many situations as a young boy that will lead to his madness and obsession with science. Victor has always been intrigued with science and life ever since he was a boy. He studied natural science endlessly trying to master how to create a creature that could sustained life. When Victor finally creates his creature, he becomes disgusted with how it turns out. Victor runs from his creation failing to teach him any social or moral qualities. The creature haunts Victor killing many of his family and friends. Victor will try to run from the many problems he has caused. This causes Victor’s misery throughout the book. Victor becomes the true murderer in the book for trying to play God and create life with science.

Shelley’s Romantic novel Frankenstein (1818) compares and reflects values of humanity and the consequences of our Promethean ambition against the futuristic, industrialized world of Blade Runner (1992) by Ridley Scott. The notions of unbridled scientific advancement and technological progress resonate with our desire to elevate humanity’s state of being, mirrored amongst the destructive ambition to overtake and disrupt nature and its processes. The disastrous implications of overreaching the boundary between progressive and destructive power and knowledge are heeded through the ultimate and inevitable loss of self and identity, transforming humanity into a form of monstrosity.

Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner reflects some of the key themes seen in Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein. For one, both the sources touch on the necessity of creators taking responsibility for their creations. Another key theme established in both works is the idea that emotional complexity and knowledge, over memory and appearance, allow people to be defined as human beings.

Explore the way in which different contexts affects the representation of similar content in the texts Frankenstein and Blade Runner.

When man decides to assume the role of God, consequences are bound to plague such an ambition. In the case of Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the product of such an ambition is a creature born of the dead. Despite the frightening process of his creation, the creature wakes into the world as a benevolent being. He simply longs for acceptance and friendship, but due to his unsightly features, the world is quick to condemn him as the monster he appears to be. With an unbearable sense of rejection in his heart, the monster begins to turn wicked. Soon enough he is responsible for multiple deaths in the name of revenge. Although many treat him unfairly, the monster is fully aware of his actions

Frankenstein and Blade Runner both explore ideas that are universally alike, however are impacted by their form, context and values. The texts explore similar ideas about man’s place in nature and progression of society, but do so within the conventions and context of their creation. Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ and Ridley Scott’s ‘Blade Runner’ both draw ideas from their rapidly changing periods to contextually explore and analyse mankind’s thirst for forbidden knowledge which destroys one’s morality. With the progress of man, many aspire to achieve power, and morality is devalued.

Both creators are faced with limited tools in which to create their new lifeforms, "...but my imagination was too much exalted by my first success to permit me to doubt of my ability to give life to an animal as complex and wonderful as man. The materials at present within my command hardly appeared adequate to so arduous an undertaking..." (pg 53). This lack of materials causes both creations to suffer with characteristics that make them very different from the rest of humanity. Frankenstein's monster's image was very disgusting, "...and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! -Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; ...only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shriveled complexion and black lips" (pg 57), while Tyrell's replicants are without the ability to feel empathy, and have a four year life span. These differences force the creatures to confront those that created them.

Cursed, be the hands that formed you! You have made me wretched beyond expression. You have left me no power to consider whether I am just to you or not. Begone! Relieve me from the sight of your detested form” (115-116 Shelley). Here Victor has totally changed his opinion on creating life. He states that whoever created him, Victor, should be cursed. “I had hitherto supposed him to be the murder of my brother, and I eagerly sought a confirmation or denial of this opinion. For the first time, also, I felt what duties of a creator towards his creature were and I ought to render him happy before I complained of his wickedness” (116 Shelley). After all that has happened it is not unclear who the dominant of the relationship is. Frankenstein is a cautionary tale warning mankind of the consequences of unbridled ambition triggered out of one man emulating God (Wood). Because Victor did not set himself as the parent of god figure in the beginning the creature has now taken control of Victor and is now ordering him around. It has also led to the killing of many people, which could have been avoided if Victor had realized that humans and gods are not equal. This is a clear reason as to why humans can not be God, because for people to be god they must be all

The question of what makes something truly alive and human has been hotly disputed for an incredibly long time. Different viewpoints have different criteria, but all roads eventually lead to the same conclusion. Humanism is, at it’s most basic form, the ability to objectively think and make decisions based upon one’s past experiences and moral compass. Blade Runner and Frankenstein both confront the issue of non-humans displaying human characteristics. Replicants and the Monster both are on the very outskirts of humanity, but they are capable of rational thought and compassion, along with the pursuit of happiness. This has created a sort of creepy feeling, with our modern perspective of humanism encroaching on the progressive views of the two stories in question. Blade Runner and Frankenstein have a warped concept of “human” life in the way of the place of science in the creation of life, the prejudice of xenophobia, and an uncomfortableness with one’s values of true humanism.

Taking God’s role into your own hands proves too much for someone to take on and Victor could not escape the negative repercussions of his actions. Victor Frankenstein is the protagonist in the 1831 novel Frankenstein. Victor unnaturally creates a monster from the bodies of the deceased. This creation would haunt and torture him for the rest of his life. Victor Frankenstein foolishly assumed that he could take the role of God into his own hands and create life from death. Victor shows the negative effects of playing God through Victor’s mental state, his negligence of the creature, and the behavior of the creature.

The monster believed that Victor would accept him, but after he realized that not only did Victor not want to assume his position in the monster’s life, but society also rejected him, it became a transitory thought, and instead became replaced with his bloodthirst towards Victor and his loved ones, which he knew would hurt way worse than just killing him; making him lonely like himself. Both Victor and the monster partook in horrid acts, in which held horrendous actions; the main one being Victor creating the monster in the first place which in result caused the both of them heartbreak, loneliness, and pain. If Victor wouldn’t have created the monster, then his life would not be filled with so much grief and emptiness; Victor is the true monster, although they are both the primal protagonists as much as they are the antagonists because of the display of the emotions they both portray as lamenting humans/monsters, and the power they give to nature in order to destroy one another. Victor used nature to his advantage, although it was wrong; Victor used nature to create and destroy the monster; he used the

Both Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein and the Ridley Scott's 1982 movie Blade Runner depict a bleak future about the fallen dreams of science. Blade Runner is based on a novel called Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick. Although Frankenstein was written a century and a half before Dick's book, the two stories share a similar dystopic vision of humanity's future. They also use similarly structured storytelling to explain the impetus towards self-mastery and mastery over the universe. Shelley depicts a doctor and mad scientist who creates a "modern Prometheus," referring to the Greek Titan who steals fire from the gods in order to bestow the gift to humanity. The symbolism of Shelley's subtitle "modern Prometheus" sets the stage for the novel's thematic development. Frankenstein's "monster" commits acts of sacrifice just as the Titan does in Greek mythology. Like Prometheus, Frankenstein's creation becomes a thorn in the side of the creator. The creator punishes the creation by completely isolating him from humanity, causing tremendous suffering due to social isolation. Shelley's theme is replicated again and again in science fiction literature, taking various forms as a story of a creator abandoning his or her creation. Blade Runner is one of those science fiction stories that draws from Frankenstein's message of the poignant existential suffering that comes from being alienated socially and spiritually.