Movie Review- Frankenstein

Movie Review of Frankenstein

Importance of Movie Screening:

Audio and video materials can be used to enhance learning resources by showing real life scenarios, explaining concepts, observing social groups, and acting as triggers for discussion. They are also able to bring experts and viewpoints to the student learning experience and are excellent at bringing subjects ‘to life’ to engage discussion and inspire learning.

Our brains respond to visuals quickly, much faster than reading words or other abilities we use to consume information. Also, images in motion ignite human senses. As a result, viewers find it easier to pay attention, focus, and remember information they consume from videos.

Click here to Reach Blog()Task1) on Frankenstein

At the Department of English we had a movie screening of Frankenstein. The Frankenstein novel by Mary Shelley is a part of our syllabus. Screening of movies is also part of our learning.

Movies on Frankenstein:

• Frankenstein (1994) 

This version is close to the original work.

Based on Mary Shelley’s novel, “Frankenstein” tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a promising young doctor who, devastated by the death of his mother during childbirth, becomes obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. His experiments lead to the creation of a monster, which Frankenstein has put together with the remains of corpses. It’s not long before Frankenstein regrets his actions.

• The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957)
• Frankenweenie (2012)
• Young Frankenstein (1974)
• Frankenstein (1931)

Frankenstein tells the story of gifted scientist Victor Frankenstein who succeeds in giving life to a being of his own creation. However, this is not the perfect specimen he imagines that it will be, but rather a hideous creature who is rejected by Victor and mankind in general.

Biblical effect in Frankenstein:

The film references the creation story from the Bible; God created man in his image and in the film, Henry Frankenstein creates the creature in his image. Frankenstein obsesses over creating life, and the film in a way addresses the socially unethical nineteenth century practice of body snatching.

The theme that fits Frankenstein best is that humans should not play God.

Genres:

Drama,Horror,Romance,Sci-Fi

It's R rated movie R (restricted, no children under 17 allowed without parents or adult guardians)

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA):

Rated R for horrific images

Violence :

This movie got rated R because of several scenes.

A dissected human body is shown, and several scenes of doctors cutting into bodies, just barely off-screen. The list of body parts includes a severed monkey arm which is re-animated and a human brain. There are close-ups of hypodermic needles entering a body, and body parts being stitched together with a needle. The creature steals a corpse from a grave and rips the heart out of the chest of a living person. A young boy is murdered off-screen, and the act is described in sadistic detail. Two characters set themselves afire. A woman dies in childbirth. A man is stabbed to death and his bloody body is shown. There are two hangings. People are shown to be dying from cholera, and the creature evades a mob by riding atop a cart filled with dead bodies. The creature is beaten with clubs. A sailor is tossed overboard into frigid water, and another is crushed by a falling mast.

Slip:

During the movie, the scars on the monster's chin and lip change. First his lip is split, later it's healed, but now he has other wounds on his chin. Then his lip and chin are healed, with no scars. But later we see big scars on both his chin and lip.

Is Frankenstein relevant today!?

A framework for examining morality and ethics. Frankenstein is not only the first creation story to use scientific experimentation as its method, but it also presents a framework for narratively examining the morality and ethics of the experiment and experimenter.

Real monster:

Victor is the true monster through his actions and personality throughout the book. Victor's hostility towards the creature, obsession with creating life, and the yearning for a God-like status and power all reveal the inner monster Victor possesses.

The monster, played by Robert De Niro, is abandoned by Frankenstein and forced to retreat into the wilderness. He yearns to share the emotions of a peasant family he watches in an isolated cottage but is unable to do so. When this ugly creature meets his creator, he asks, "You gave me these emotions but you didn't tell me how to use them." The monster's feeling function is wounded and so is Frankenstein's. Mirroring each other, they both turn to violence.

The early scenes have suspense and verve. When Victor Frankenstein (Branagh), the young scion of a wealthy Geneva family, arrives in Germany to study medicine, the movie draws us into his upstart idealism, his brash desire to break through the boundaries of conventional medical science.

Victor has everything going for him: passion, rebellious curiosity, a beautiful and devoted fiancée (Helena Bonham Carter). Yet he also has a demon in his closet. Even when he creates a creature and himself he treats him to a monster.

Film is also one part of Literature and it gives us a clear sight and a new way of seeing the world. Some educational films make learning easy.

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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Creation of Creature Frankenstein 

This blog is in response to questions that were assigned by Yesha Ma'am. (Task 2)

[ Tast 1 Click here for Movie Review of Frankenstein ]

Source of image : iStock 

• Why was Victor not able to accept his dream experiment and its results ?

In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the dangers involved with blind ambition and the craving to surpass former limitations are depicted through the actions of the protagonist, Victor Frankenstein, and his inability to remain responsible and in control of the monster that he creates. These dangers are shown, first when Frankenstein, in his ignorance, creates the monster, and again later on, when the monster kills his brother and Frankenstein fails to act accordingly. 

Victor creates the monster in hopes of achieving glory and remembrance through his contributions to scientific advancement.

However, he does not ever consider the many implications

involved with the creation of life. In his endeavours to create the monster, he takes on the role of a God, but fails as a creator of life in being accountable and managing his creations. 

In Christianity, God is said to remain responsible to those who he creates, such as Adam, Eve and Satan, who resemble Frankenstein’s creation.

• What made Creature a Monster ?

Victor does not think about possible results of his experiments. He does not think what will happen when he finally succeeds and creates a living creature. He is severely punished by his attitude when the creature created by him turns into a monster. The author illustrates that the guilt for murders can not be put only on Frankenstein’s creation. Society and social norms finally result in feelings of loneliness and estrangement.

 “The monster complains that his maker and mankind are moving his nature from goodness and benevolence to wrath and violence. He attempts the company of men and is rejected with horror, fear and abuse”

Victor Frankenstein is driven by his ambition when he creates his monster. He does not think about the consequences but rather experiments: “One of the phenomena which had peculiarly attracted my attention was the structure of the human frame, and, indeed, any animal endued with life”.

Victor does not think about the feelings of the creature he produces. He is concerned only with scientific tools which give him control and power. “Frankenstein so beautifully explores the consequences of living and working in isolation. After cloistering himself to bring dead flesh to life, Victor Frankenstein condemns his creature to loneliness. The creature does the same to him in revenge. Solitude makes monsters of both”.

Victor creates a monster but he doesn't understand the true meaning of his actions.

Loneliness and alienation is one of the main themes of the novel. It is notable that all main characters of the novel experience feelings of loneliness and alienation. 

The Monster, Victor and Walton experience these feelings. Victor Frankenstein does not have good relations with his family. He does not keep in touch with his father and sister despite they really want to have good relations with him. The author describes in great detail good relations in Victor’s family and their desire to keep in touch with Victor. 

Despite this fact Victor does not make any attempt to support any relations with his family. He dedicates all time and effort to science but it does not bring him enough moral satisfaction. Victor can not find the way out for his negative feelings and uses since and experiment as a way to entertain himself and to get rid of loneliness. The author uses the old theme of Faust when the search for technical progress and scientific advances results in the loss of humanity. Victor does not possess feelings of love and compassion.

The creature created by Victor turns into a monster because it can not find understanding and compassion in the society. People do not give the creature any chances only because it looks terrible to them.

• Who is suffering from Deformity in the novel ?

The concept  of  deformity  in Mary   Shelley's Novel, by analysing its link to malice in the book and in history, aiming to deny it. 

When he tries to approach people, everyone rejects him. His terrible  look is the first thing people see when they meet him and that is what provokes fear in them. The monster hopes that he can have a better life with the DeLacey family, the people who live in the house near where he  hides. The  creature, aware of  their possible rejection,  analyses the situation and thinks that he can introduce himself to the old blind man. He is considered the link between the monster’s loneliness and a possible long-lasting friendship full of love. Mistrusts its communicative skills, because the only thing the monster can do with the oldman is to talk. For these reasons, he waits until the man remains alone.As the monster had thought, the old man cannot judge him for his appearance.

They start a conversation that could have led to what the monster wanted. Unfortunately, when the other family members return home, they have the same reaction that other people have when they see him.   Necessarily he escapes and decides that there is no future for him in this human world. He knows that he cannot share his life with a normal woman.

He needs someone in his same situation, with a similar deformed body. In fact, he asks Victor to create a female-monster. This is not just a solution the monster is asking for his sadness, but also the consequence of his experience and knowledge of human beings.

• Who decides what beauty is ? Is it for real or Superficial ?

If you ask most people what they find beautiful about a person, many of them will probably begin to describe someone's physical characteristics. It usually goes something like this: "I like big eyes, long hair, muscles, and etc.

Rarely do you hear someone reply, "What makes someone beautiful to me is their generosity, courage, kindness, and sense of humour."

It's also important to point out that beauty ideals have changed throughout time.

wildly different every era's gender ideals have been for women. For example, during the Italian Renaissance and Victorian England, the perfect woman was slightly overweight and had very pale skin.

it's all what a culture socially agrees upon as the perfect definition of "beauty." There are even many different beauty standards across the world today.

'Beauty Lies in the eyes of the Beholder’

What this quote is trying to say is that unless you are considered beautiful by the people/society looking at you, you will not be considered beautiful. This is because society has set certain standards of beauty that are followed by most of the population.

Inner Beauty doesn’t have an expiry date :

Unlike external beauty that is dependent on your biological appearance, inner beauty has the potential to keep getting better with age.

“Sometimes people are beautiful. Not in looks. Not in what they say. Just in what they are.”

― Markus Zusak

Not many know beauty isn’t about having a perfect face. It’s about having a pretty mind, a pretty heart and most importantly a beautiful soul. Even the imperfections have beauty that is not in looks but in what they do.

• Villain in Frankenstein:

At first glance, the monster in Frankenstein is a symbol of evil, whose only desire is to ruin lives. He has been called "A creature that wreaks havoc by destroying innocent lives often without remorse. He can be viewed as the antagonist, the element Victor must overcome to restore balance and tranquillity to the world." But after the novel is looked at on different levels, one becomes aware that the creature wasn't responsible for his actions, and was just a victim of circumstance. The real villain of Frankenstein isn't the creature, but rather his creator, Victor.

When Victor created the creature, he didn't take responsibility for it. He abandoned it, and left it to fend for itself. It is unfair to bring something into the world, and then not teach it how to survive.

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, society continually regards Victor's creation as a monster, both physically and psychologically.  Though the being has the physical characteristics of a monster, it is only after he is repeatedly rejected by society that he adopts the personality and behaviour of a monster. Thus, society plays a large role in shaping the monster's personality and behaviour.  Because society expects him to act like a monster, he inevitably becomes one.  The being is clearly a victim of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

From the very beginning the being was misjudged, because of his appearance.

The monster confesses,"My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy; and, when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change, without torture such as you cannot imagine".

The danger of a self-fulfilling prophecy is that people become that which they originally were not. As a result, they are unable to live with the person that they have become. The being was not a monster on the inside initially. As the monster says, "I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend".

Creature repeated rejections and his intense loneliness lead him to commit acts which he never thought himself capable of committing. Society's expectations are fulfilled, but at the expense of the creature's soul.

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