Blade_Runner_vs_Frankenstein

Frankenstein VS Blade Runner A comparative study of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner reveals a shared focus on the problems in scientific development of humanity in its tendency to fear aspects of the unknown and ‘the other’, even within its own creations. Each text is depicted around the context of the author and their own fears of the ultimate destination of civilization when nature is dislocated by mankind. In Frankenstein, Shelley presents an emotional, obsessive scientific experiment in the form of the creature, made from human flesh and body parts, who is ignored by his creator Victor Frankenstein due to his horrifying aesthetic appearance. The fear of what he has created tends to haunt Victor throughout the story which is shown through Victor’s travels. Despite his outward unattractive experience, the creature is actually a being of integrity and goodwill, driven to acts of violence by a lack of acceptance and compassion from society and his creator. Victor, being scared of the product of his own hands, blocks out all notions of guilt and responsibility for what he has done and instead focuses on his creation as the embodiment of all evil. The difference between the two is evident - while Victor truly fears the creature, the creature is disgusted by him and resents Victor for his rejection: “You cannot despise me more than I despise myself”. This scene reveals the creature as an intelligent and emotional being, and represents the contrast between the two characters, where the monster shows human senses and compassion while Victor, being the actual human, conceals all characteristics which define him as a human, heightening the loss of identity in society. Shelly explores the problems in scientific development portrayed around the responsibilities of mankind and their creations which describe several aspects of fear in the creator’s mind. The full value of Frankenstein in a modern, Western context is realised when comparisons are drawn between the novel and the film Blade Runner. In the film, Scott presents a futuristic dystopian society where poverty and wealth exist side-by-side. The environment has degraded to the point where Los Angeles faces incessant rain and a neon haze. The genetically-engineered ‘replicants’ are forced into slave labour and hunted down on earth, heightening the industrial based city where nature has been buried behind all the machines and the scientific development of technology. As in Frankenstein, arguably the most significant scene in the film is the encounter between the creator, Tyrell and his creation, replicant, Roy Batty. High at the summit of the towering Tyrell Corporation building, which dominates the dilapidated landscape, Batty replicates his counterpart creature in Frankenstein. Just as the creature demanded a mate from Victor, Batty requests an extension on his limited four-year lifespan: “Can the maker repair what he makes'” This is a prevailing scene, as it is the only time in the film where we actually see Batty showing anger, human emotions, in this case at Tyrell’s refusal to help him, and he restates his question as a demand, in passionate dialogue: “I want more life, fucker!” Tyrell’s continuing refusal eventually leads to his death at Batty’s hands, just as Frankenstein was eventually intended to death by the actions and influence of his creation. Hence, this relates to the one thing which Batty fears, the inevitable end of death, allowing him to face the fear of the human experience. The notion of fear that the unknown creates in society and his creator is directly addressed towards the end of the text where the ‘other’ has found an overall satisfaction. When Batty saves the Blade Runner Deckard despite almost being killed by him, it is because he recognises him as a ‘brother’ creation and feels pity for him in his hour of need. His dialogue gives a deep insight into the sense of shared humanity the two share, and reveals a lot about the state of fear and the unknown in this condition: “It’s a terrible thing to live in fear, isn’t it'” This dialogue is highly significant because it creates a link between two enemies, and reveals the fear of ‘the other’ and the unknown, as a common fear of all living creatures, which is often unfounded. The irony in the scientific exploration in Blade Runner is the fact that the replicant Batty, supposedly a lesser being by design than his human counterpart Deckard, is able to recognise their shared state of humanity and fear before Deckard can. This corresponds with the relationship between the creature and Victor in Frankenstein who, even as he approaches the end of his life, maintains his belief in the monster’s guilt over his own, despite recognizing that he took his obsession with scientific advancement too far: “Have you too drunk from this draught of madness' Here my unhappy tale, and you will dash the cup from your lips!” Through this, we see that humanity is determined to maintain its own notions of morality and disassociation with the unknown and the things it fears, which forms one of the key links between the two texts leading to a heightened understanding and appreciation of the text for readers. Both Frankenstein and Blade Runner explore notions of fear of the unknown and the perils of mankind playing with the laws of nature, however it is only with a comparison of the two texts that one can come to truly appreciate their message and recognize the notions of fear it explores as part of the human condition.