One theme that is consistent with
the constant improvement of technology in society is the fear of the unknown.
What can we accomplish, and when/where do we draw the line with the things that
we deem appropriate to bring into reality? A great example of this conflict is
present in James Whale’s 1935 film “The Bride of Frankenstein,” based off of
Mary Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein.”
I believe
that the main moral of both the book and the film is that there should always
be a code of ethics applied in scientific processes that goes hand-in-hand with
the wisdom to foresee the possible ramifications of one’s creations. The
scientist Frankenstein carried out several morally questionable actions in his
pursuit of a scientific breakthrough. The very fact that the main test subject
in the experiment was made from a collection of dead bodies, from which
consents of the families or the subjects themselves were never even taken,
makes one question if such an experiment should even be considered in the first
place.
The
invention of creating life from dead matter, in this case, is equally blind as
it is immoral, as the scientists did not take into the consideration the kind
of harm creating an undead 8-foot creature would bring. They did not take into
account the fact that its unstable mental processes, paired with its size and
strength, could cause it to hurt people, as was the case in the film.
The
monster’s inability to converse with others in the movie, as opposite to the
case in the book, leaves viewers with little room to actually connect with the
character of Frankenstein’s monster in the film. It highlights its role as a bane,
rather than an actual figure to find humanity in. He is completely a monster,
not a man. This guides the notion that an invention reflects the process by
which it was made; he was made monstrously and without foresight, and therefore
he is a monster himself and he is dumb.
Redd Claudio
2013-59776
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