Bladerunner_and_Frankenstein

Analyse how Frankenstein and Blade Runner imaginatively portray individuals who challenge the established values of their time. (Comparison, content, context, values) Through the comparative study of Mary Shelly’s epistolary styled novel Frankenstein (1818/1831) and Ridley Scott’s cult classic film Bladerunner (1982/1992) we are better able to appreciate the way in which the post-industrial and postmodern context has influenced the representation of values within both texts. The characterisation in both texts has allowed for the composers to challenge the values of their time. In both Frankenstein and Bladerunner the concern of the ever increasing consumerism and thus the loss of value of human relationships with others and nature is represented though key characters. It is both the disparities and similarities between the representation of these values that amplify the importance and deepened understanding of the texts when studied together. Frankenstein emerged at a time of great social and political change. The industrial revolution had seen a shift towards mass production as opposed to individual labour. This development saw a shift in values, towards an open appraisal of technology that applauded consumerism, away from a traditional reverence of nature. The perpetual descriptions of nature throughout Frankenstein are most certainly influenced by Mary Shelly’s marriage with the romantic poet Percy Shelly and the influence of Lord Byron. Mary Shelly ensured that the key individuals in her novel such as the creature, Elizabeth, Victor and Walter all had a great appreciation for nature. The descriptive language typical of the era of romantic literature, a response to the reason and rationality of the enlightenment, is demonstrated primarily by Victor. “The very winds whispered in soothing accents” Victor’s personification of nature creates an atmosphere of intimacy and respect of nature. It is the exaggerated infatuation with nature by characters in the novel that challenges the value of excessive consumption and greed. The evident valuing of humans relationship with nature throughout Frankenstein is emphasised when juxtaposed to the heinous environment of a neo-noir setting and the dystopia of a world where nature has been eradicated and severely compromised as represented throughout Bladerunner. Bladerunner was composed at a time when the implications of industry fuelled greed usurping nature where becoming evident. The use of the defoliant ‘Agent Orange’ during the Vietnam War had caused devastation not only to the environment but to thousands of people. Human induced global warming was also becoming an impeding threat as was pollution as a result of immense industrial waste. In the same way Shelly challenge the value of consumerism by emphasising what could be lost, Scott developed characters that demonstrated the loss of humans’ relationship with nature. In the same way Mary Shelly identified one character in particular to challenge the value of commerce over nature, Ridley Scott used Tyrell to represent an individual completely besotted with commerce to challenge this value. It is the scene in which Dekard is interviewing Rachel that the audience first sights the Tyrell cooperation. A low angle shot of Tyrell’s enormous building, appearing similar to a Mayan temple, in conjunction with ominous, non-diagetic music emphasises the importance of the scale of the building and the environmental degradation it would cause. On Dekard’s first meeting with Tyrell he remarks “commerce is our goal here at Tyrell” accentuating where his priorities lie. In the backgroun the only natural elements in the room are two bonsai trees, trees that, by their very nature have been manipulated and restrained in their growth process, symbolising man’s relationship with nature. Both composers, Mary Shelly and Ridley Scott valued human relationships, not only with nature but with others. In Frankenstein’s time the disregard for this value was also influenced by the industrial revolution that encouraged individuals to learn how to operate machinery in isolation as opposed to working together in production. This was represented primarily through the imaginative representation of the Creature, which was without human relations and thus suffered. The creatures own suffering is contrasted with the Delacey family, who thrived off their relationships with each other, creating resilience to misfortunate circumstances. The creatures observations of these relationships is described in first person are often as metaphors “of brother and sister and all the various relationships which bind one human being to another in mutual bonds” creating imagery that aid in the description of the strength of these bonds. The creatures yearning for this is expressed by a synecdoche “my heart yearned to be….loved by such amiable creatures”. The value of technology over human relationships is thus rejected by a character that is so clearly suffering from the sacrifice. BladeRunner rejected this shift in values and thus loss of human relationships primarily through the isolation and insular nature of the humans shown through low key lighting, shits of vast building and wide angle shots of busy streets where people are busily pushing past each other with their eyes on the pavement. The only relationships are those instigated by the replicants. Both composers challenge the established values of their time. This is done by masterfully constructing character s that communicate the implications of valuing what Shelly and Scott believe should not be valued so highly. By studying these texts together the audiences insights a personal understanding can be enhanced, as can an apprecia