Bladerunner_and_Frankenstein

To what extent has your study of two comparative texts led to a greater understanding of the ways texts reflect the contexts in which they were composed whilst exploring universal concerns' Whilst texts may be fictitious constructs of composers’ imaginations, they also explore and address the societal issues of their eras. This is evident within Mary Shelley’s compelling novel Frankenstein (1818) and Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic film Blade Runner (1982 director’s cut). Although these two texts are from completely different centuries, they both share many of the same values, themes and issues. These consist of the ‘natural world,’ scientific advancement and man’s hubris in playing god. In addressing these main ideas, Scott and Shelley utilize allusions, imagery, mise-en-scene and irony to effectively put forward and explore the issues of their era’s. The period in which Shelley wrote her novel was an era in which Romanticism was developing, a time which focused on the wonders of nature and on the individual. This theme is evident throughout the novel and is used to emphasise the emotions of the characters and to suggest the power of nature for both beauty and destruction. Shelley often uses the astonishments of nature as an invigorating device for victor, “when happy, inanimate nature had the power of bestowing on me the most delightful sensations. A serene sky and verdant fields filled me with ecstasy.” Vivid imagery is utilized to illuminate the peacefulness and contemplation of the sublime nature that is constantly surrounding victor. During Scott’s time, there was a greater consciousness of the vulnerability of nature in the 20th century. Rather than being resilient in Frankenstein, nature in Blade Runner is fragile and vulnerable, and increasingly degraded when fundamental natural rhythms are ceaselessly destroyed by ruthless exploitation. The opening image of the film which displays the cityscape with belching fire provokes association with heavy industry and depicts a world where the instruments of manufacturing and mechanization have over-run the natural environments that may have existed. Scott’s use of mise-en-scene assists in illustrating a world lacking nature, full of smoke, acid rain and continual darkness. Written during the industrial revolution and a time of major scientific developments, including Galvani’s concept of electricity as a reanimating force, Shelley’s Frankenstein can be interpreted as a warning to the technologically curious. This curious world is personified throughout the protagonist Victor Frankenstein, who tragically falls victim to experimentation without boundaries. This was an attempt to foreshadow the potential dangers of unmonitored technological advancements. To reiterate this sentiment, Shelley also aimed to stress the divinity of nature in the face of technological dominance through elements of Romanticism. “The weight upon my shoulders was sensibly lightened as I plunged yet deeper into the ravine,” emotive imagery highlights the cleansing effect of the environment, juxtaposed against the oppressive nature of the technologically advanced city. This idea of negatively depicting technological dominance is similarly displayed by Scott. As technology was booming due to the introduction of computer industries such as Microsoft post Vietnam War, Scott was influenced greatly by this event. Scott utilizes the advertisements of the “off world” to suggest components of consumer persuasion. The sheer dimension of the ads (which dwarf the people) as well as the repetition and the parodied tone of voice, comment on the insidious nature of this particular mode of social control. Here, the film highlights how modern consumerism distracts humans from issues such as environment, attributing it a role in developing the ignorance that could lead to a world depicted in Blade Runner. The repetition of the ads emphasizes shallowness, sameness and a lack of spontaneity while the mentioning of the “golden land of opportunity” and “chance to begin again” alludes to the need for an alternative to earth due to it being ultimately unable to sustain quality life. Jean Baudrillard, a 1980’s philosopher, commented on some of the most salient cultural and sociological phenomena for the contemporary era, including the impact of new media, information and cybernetic technologies in the creation of qualitatively different social order which relates to the advertising blimps and separation of Tyrell with teeming masses below, the separation of off world and on world and also the separation of humans and replicants. Another idea present in Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is man’s hubris in playing god. Scott echoes the rise of capitalist ideals and the Wall Street mantra, “greed is good”, through the symbolic dominance of Tyrell’s towering ziggurat, a reflection of both his desire for control and commercial power. Tyrell’s egocentric nature is epitomized within the religious connotations of his residence, including his voluminous bed, modeled after that of Pope John Paul II, as well as his reference to Batty as “the prodigal son”. Such symbols are unnervingly subverted through both the foreboding contrasts of flickering candle-light with shadow and his violent death at the hands of his own creation. Scott’s warning of the dangers of such a desire is also evident within the expansive shots of 2019 LA, revealing a dark and gloomy world lit by the glow of corporate advertisements, a representation of a bleak future dominated by commercial dominance. Therefore, by drawing upon elements of his context, including the growth of capitalism and the ‘trickle-down theory’ of Reagan’s era, Scott positions us to reassess the consequences of overstepping our boundaries. Victor’s obsession with science and the search into the unknown leads to excessive pride with power manifesting in ambitious individuals who see themselves as godlike Shelley foreshadows Victor’s inevitable suffering through the irony of his own advice - “I seek for knowledge… I hope yours may not be a serpent as mine had been”. This alludes to the fall from Eden as Adam and Eve gained ‘forbidden knowledge’. It is a double metaphor that plays both the knowledge Victor gains, as well as the loss of innocence of the monster as it goes into the real world. Shelley was largely concerned with scientific progress and throughout her novel is responding to discussions with her husband and Lord Byron who were both passionate about the potential of scientific progress which has relevance to the context in which this novel was written. Shelley is directly questioning the scientists of her era, including evolutionary theorist Erasmus Darwin, to reinforce the dangers of our humanity’s inherent desire to play the role of the Creator. Victor’s intervention in natural processes, which, from a Christian point of view, usurps the power of creation reserved for God, is in Darwin’s terms a disruption of those processes. Ridley Scott’s 1980’s science fiction film Blade Runner and Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein are both deeply influenced by their context and universal concerns of their times. The important ideas explored throughout the duration of Scott’s film and Shelley’s novel including the impact of technological progress, mans hubris in playing god and the ideas of a ‘natural world’ all played an extremely important role in exploring relevant ideas in relation to their context. The utilization of irony, the use of allusions, imagery and mise-en-scene all effectively highlighted such values in addition to that of philosophers of their times comprising of Jean Baudrillard and Erasmus Darwin. A greater understanding of Blade Runner and Frankenstein has evidently emerged by studying the way these texts reflect heir contexts in which they were composed whilst exploring universal concerns identified within.