Comparing Star Trek And Handmaid's Tale

A dystopia is a common genre among many novels and all novels are able to capture the problems within the current society. These problems can vary and each different setting has different problems than the other. Margaret Atwood wrote The Handmaid’s Tale in an effort to capture problems going on in real life: abortion and women’s rights. Another author that captures a similar essence to Atwood’s is Suzanne Young in her novel series The Program. Although both authors emphasize different problems that are going on in society, they both have a correlative narrative style. While Young discusses the stigma around people who have a mental illness and how they should be separated from society, both authors use a similar voice in their writing.

In the article “Monsters and the Moral Imagination,” Stephen Asma, a professor of Philosophy and Distinguished Scholar at Columbia College Chicago, argues that the existence of monsters have a purpose in our lives. It is not only to reveal our deepest fears, but to question our moral instincts. Being attacked by fictional monsters seems impractical, however, chaos and disasters do happen and exist in the real world. The creation of monsters is due to our reaction of our fears and the inability to control the world we live in.

Influences from Frankenstein are evident in I,Robot, in the ways that humans respond when the power of the created becomes greater than that of the creator.

For as long as man has encompassed this world, the divisive enigma of humanity has prevailed. Seeping its way into each generation, while sparking heated conversations, it has become evident that there is much we do not know about what truly makes us human. Regardless of our genetic composition, philosophers often ponder the deeper meaning of humanity. We know that, biologically, recreating the genetic makeup of a human does not yield humanity, so what is the missing aspect? Humans -have the ability to contemplate their own existence in this world. Awareness of existence. This driving force enables us to analyze situations while placing ourselves within them. Our involuntary ability to understand the impact of our actions and the affect they have on others causes us to be inherently human. Our actions evoke strong emotions within us that allow us to learn through our experiences. We retain the resonated feelings of certain occurrences and apply them to others in order to deduce outcomes. Often this facet of mankind is taken for granted, yet we are reminded, through both literature and hypothetical scenarios, of its importance. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, constitutes as one of these profound reminders. Shelley develops a theoretical story in which the humanity of Frankenstein’s monster is questioned. Despite having the accurate organs and framework of a human, Shelley causes the reader to seek the missing aspect that is preventing the monster from being human. Likewise,

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.

of old world normalities. Citizens are divided into different social classes and are to conform to

Just as Eve is told that she will be a god if she partakes of the fruit of knowledge, Frankenstein works to create a being to worship him as a god. He says, “A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me” (55). The creation of the monster draws some parallels between Frankenstein and God in Paradise Lost. Frankenstein’s act of “bestowing animation upon lifeless matter”

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.

‘Blade Runner’, the film adaption, directed by Ridley Scott in 1982, of the 1968 novel ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’ by Philip K. Dick. This essay will explore the meaning of the Tyrell slogan “More human than human” by following Deckard on Earth in Los Angeles 2019 as a futuristic, dark and depressing industrial metropolis by looking into and discussing what is real and what is not, the good and the bad and why replicants are more appealing than humans. This essay will analyse and pull apart the “Blade Runner’ world, the condition of humanity and what it really means to be human.

Monsters have proven to be more than just the fiendish appearance or the evil within such creatures – their monstrosity symbolizes, more or less, the characteristics that define mankind and/or our innermost fears. Prior to this Exploration of the Humanities course, I have interpreted monsters for what they are: heartless and destructive creatures that generate fear. However, I never bothered what the true cause of such fear is – only associating the gruesome presence with a psychological reaction of horror. But taking this class allowed me to broaden my perspective on monsters and monstrosity: humans fear the “Other” because we as individuals have an “Other” within us (subconsciously) that we are not willing to show to those in our

Rebellion of an individual occurs when there is a difference of opinion. This conventional trait among society allows diverse ideas to be suggested and added upon for a better future and eventually an all around Utopia. Rebellious attitude is depicted throughout George Orwell’s novel 1984 and Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale in a subtle, yet powerful way. The faint, disobedient remarks made by their characters suggest their hope in the future generations opposed to the present one. When a rebellious mindset comes in contact with an oppressed society with strict rules and regulations, the outcome suggests a better future through the realization of mistakes and unity for a common goal.

“All the Chilling Parallels Between 'The Handmaid's Tale' and Life for Women in Trump's America” explores the idea that women’s roles in society are being limited in a way that provides a current analytical perspective of women’s oppression by the men involved in the government in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Women’s economic independence being controlled by the government, which consists of predominantly males, is strikingly similar to the way men regulate women’s economic autonomy in The Handmaid’s Tale. In today’s society, discrimination against women involved in the workforce is obvious considering “the median income of women working full-time, year-round in the U.S. was just 79 percent of what men earned” and the wage gap is

Throughout this semester our literary material dealt with themes of technology, modernization, the imponderable bloom, human nature, and truth to name a few of the most overarching. Each text has woven an impression of the possible near future for humanity if the patterns we are creating continue at an exponential rate. Patterns such as consumerism, neglecting unpleasurable emotions, using drugs, and controlling the environment for our short term benefits will write an unsavory and inevitable future. Science Fiction often reflects on society by exaggerating their negative characteristics and advancements to seem far-out, but often it is ironic how close many aspects of the fiction are a direct reflection of the present condition. Even now, the possibilities of utopias and dystopias forming are not so out of reach. The ability of our culture to control an entire population with a self-satisfied culture of vices outfitted with technology is less and less science fiction as the years pass.

The good thing about films is that we not only have the opportunity to choose from a wide selection of different genres, but also compare them and understand their purpose in the world. The Horror genre has used the basic principles throughout time, and as a result, films of this type have not proven to be as timeless as another genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy. At first, these two genres might at times seem similar as they have at several occasions been blended together, but their basic, common theme serves different meanings about humans. I shall compare and contrast these two genres and focus on both classic films and modern films. From the Horror genre perspective I shall discuss Psycho (1960) and The Mist (2007), while in the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre I will examine 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), and Serenity (2005). Although the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre and the Horror Genre share some similarities, the differences lie in their focus on human progress.

We The Animals by Justin Torres and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood are two very different books, however they both deal with two major similar themes, oppression and lack of control. They even use some of the same literary devices to deal with these themes and others. In We The Animals the protagonist and his siblings are oppressed by their parents neglect and abuse as well as the poverty and racism the entire family is stricken by. In contrast, in The Handmaid’s Tale the oppression is the new, controlling and intrusive government. Interestingly the two seem wildly similar in these ways, the children of We The Animals are helpless because they are children and are controlled by their parents and society, and Offred is given the freedom of a child, less than actually, with the strict society she lives in at the start of the novel. Both protagonists lack control and in some ways seem destined for ill-fate. Both these novels utilize literary devices such as first person narratives and cliffhangers, and use similar methods when it comes to structure and climax.