Free Essay About A Film Critique Of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Some actions, despite their initial good intentions, are hampered by its oftentimes poor executions. Although Victor Frankenstein expressed that his initial reason to cheat the cycle of life and death is to create a better world, his past and state of mind is actually mired with selfish intentions. Curiosity is something inherent in every human being, but there is a line that must never be crossed even by the most insatiable thirst for knowledge. There is a fine line that separates science and knowledge from madness and insanity, regardless of the age and reason.
Victor’s desire for knowledge is not for the benefit of the world, but rather to defy the natural order of things which robbed him of a loved one. Instead of his actions being governed by logic and reason, Victor gave no regard to the warnings of his professors. Victor was warned that there are subjects that must never be studied, like the creation of life and impediment of death. However, his desire to accomplish that which he thinks will make for a better world, has clouded his judgment of what is right and wrong.
One of the biggest implications of the story can be seen through Victor and his accomplices: Henry Clerval and Professor Waldman. Both of them openly showed their hesitation and opposition regarding the experiment, but has not acted accordingly to such sentiments. Professor Waldman for example, despite his statement that he has already abandoned his research, did not think to destroy his research notes in its entirety. Although it can be noted that he simply did not want invalidate his years of research, this led to Victor Frankenstein continuing the experiment in his stead. Henry, on the other hand, despite knowing about Victor’s intentions, did not bother to try and stop him from doing something that must never be done. This kind of behavior shows that there are people who are curious about taboo subjects, but are not willing to be the one to cross the line themselves. This is indicative of the hypocritical nature of human beings to satiate their curiosity regarding taboos.
The advancement of Science and Technology has continuously defied the impossibility of what was considered illogical in the past. This mindset of making the impossible possible has influenced both its researchers and the common people. This has the biggest implication in the field of Medicine simply because there are a lot of people who would like to cheat death. Death is a constant fear that every human being is subjected to but nonetheless should come into terms with. Due to the lower rate of mortality from diseases and illnesses, people’s extended longevity has instilled into them a false sense of security that Science is the answer and solution to cheating death. This is personified through Victor Frankenstein, who holds the same ideal and has succeeded to instill life within a dead body. He fears losing his loved ones and so he goes on to search the answer to no one ever dying. Despite his intellect, he did not comprehend the implications of what will happen if people stop dying but can still reproduce. If that happens, the world will be overpopulated, and slowly but surely, natural resources will not be able to accommodate each and every human being. This kind of thinking is very detrimental and will only lead to the destruction of the world.
As with today’s society, Technology is neither inherently good nor evil. Technology is subjected to the judgment and use of the people who holds it. Although that statement does not apply to every technology, it is applicable to almost any or everything that we see today. For example, torture devices were created with the intention of torture and will always be inherently evil. However, other examples, like a knife for example can be used as both a tool for cooking and as a tool for murder depending on the person who wields it. In the same way, some technologies and creations are simply misused by other people despite its originally intended use.
Frankenstein’s monster and creation, as with other forms of technology, is not inherently evil or good. Due to his appearance, he is considered as a monster even by the people who he has helped. Though the monster was initially good-natured, as exemplified in his helping of the farmer’s family, this changed when he felt betrayed and beaten by the very same people. The true nature of the monster was perceived only by the blind grandfather, who called the monster a poor man after “seeing” his face. Due to this betrayal, the monster needed something or someone to blame for his misfortune. He did not want to be created in such a manner, and he blames Victor for not thinking of the consequences of his actions. In the end, both the monster and Victor can neither be classified as good nor evil because of the actions they decided to take.
Through mankind’s pursuit of knowledge, he has inevitably altered the balance and natural order of things. Similarly, the consequences of such actions are only made apparent after their execution. In the same way, Victor Frankenstein did not think twice about the consequences and implications of his experiments. After his encounter with the reanimated monster after its hanging, he tries to go back to a life of happiness despite not giving chase to his creation. He states that his creation is dead even though he knew that it has escaped from his laboratory. In the same way, people disregard and turn a blind eye to the consequences of Science and Technology. People want to live their lives made better by Science despite not thinking of the possible implications that such technologies may have. In our society today, despite the call for campaigns to help save the world, people will most often ignore this and simply go about with their lives despite its severity.
Nowadays, we see advancements in Robotics which are starting to resemble a human’s likeness progressively more. Although its implications might not be as severe as when humans reach the ability to artificially create another human, the same tragedy that happened with Victor Frankenstein may happen in the future. Due to people’s curiosity and desire for knowledge, people want robots to become more humanoid not only in its appearance but also in its capacity to think for itself. Primarily fueled by science fiction, it is a subject that has fascinated both scientists and common people. However, if you think about the consequences of a robot that can think for itself, as with Frankenstein’s monster, the creation might turn on its creator instead.
Machines and other forms of technology exist to make the life of people better. However, this has made humans complacent and it is with this complacency that people forgot about the consequences of such existence. If technology should suddenly disappear or is absent, people are lost as to how to live their life without it. Despite the consequences, people still wish for more. They wish to make their dreams and wishes into reality, and so consumers’ demands are appropriated by the researchers. However, even though technology has advanced considerably, people should still not yield to the wishes of people to cheat death. Regardless of reason, it is a line that must never be crossed by anyone even if only to satisfy their curiosity.
On the actors’ portrayal of the characters, Kenneth Branagh did not an excellent job to convey the madness of Victor Frankenstein. Branagh was able to convey the Victor’s state of mind as his madness and confusion progresses throughout the story. Victor, who lost his mother when she gave birth to his brother, has become enamored with the idea of saving people’s lives by completely disregarding the notion of death. Branagh was able to show how Victor slowly crumbled and delved into the madness that he admitted was in him. Victor’s psychological nature was perfectly conveyed by Branagh in how he becomes sane and insane throughout the story. For example, after his subsequent success in his experiment, he calls it a failure and decides to turn a blind eye to this, giving in to the happiness that Elizabeth gave him.
Victor’s hypocrisy and insanity reaches a new pinnacle in the end when he refuses to keep his promise of creating a companion for his creation simply because the monster picked someone Victor knew. The monster’s demand was logical and would have been the most peaceful way to compensate for his existence. However, Victor’s refusal to honor the monster’s wishes led to Elizabeth’s death who Victor decides to reanimate out of grief and madness.
In the same way, Robert De Niro was able to show the complexity of the monster’s psyche as he contemplates on his very existence. During his initial reanimation, the monster was portrayed as violent and unthinking. However, De Niro was able to show how slowly but surely the monster was able to become more sentient through his ability to speak and read. De Niro was able to show the good nature of the monster as he helped the farmer’s family and the monster’s bad nature as his rage envelops him. Progressively, the monster slowly became more human in nature but did not comprehend how to act out his emotions. The monster shows more remorse compared to Victor, as the monster admits his wrongdoing, and simply wants to live in peace with a companion that will accept him. In the end, both Victor and his creation are allusions of each other. Both characters are victims of consequences and tragedies that gave birth to even more tragedies.