This blog is written as a task assigned by Prof. Dilip Barad (MKBU). The blog is about a novel 'Frankenstein' written by Mary Shelley and its effects on cultural studies. For further information you can visit following link.
Part 1: Revolutionary Births
How does the Creature’s paradoxical nature—simultaneously an innocent and a vengeful force—comment on societal fears of revolution and sympathy for the suffering masses?
Ans.
Society expects a certain type of behaviour that is generally done by everyone. When the monster is created he is seen as a monster who does not belong to the society. In look and behaviour vise too. So when he is different from the general accepted behaviour from the society, he is seen as a thread to the society. He seems a vengeance creature who only knows the violence.
But in postcolonialism the creature is seen as innocent because in his being as he was there is very little choice he has. He learns what he has seen in the world outside. His creator has abandoned him when he needed him the most. He can be also seen as a marginalised community, African community or slave community who are physically very strong and they are seen as Other and treated in different manner than the normal people. So the monster also represents that identity of the marginalised community.
In the political system it is always expected that the masses behave in a certain way that they get the benefit out of that but when any community or individual goes against it they are seen as a threat to society. The same also happens to the monster.
How does Shelley’s narrative engage with concepts of race and empire, and how might these issues be relevant today in global discourses on race and privilege?
Ans.
If it is looked into the colonial mindset then it can be read as a master who has made the monster that it can be depicted as a coloniser who is controlling the colonised. How the African community were treated during the colonial rule that they teach everything to them. And while making a monster and not teaching him anything can be read as the guilt of a coloniser.
For instance on the floor of Parliament on March 16,1824 George Canning has said that the abolition of the slave act is like freeing a monster in the reference to Mary Shelley’s Frannkeistein. This shows how the concept of Other and racism can be read through the monster narratives.
How do modern scientific advancements parallel the novel's cautionary tale of human hubris, and what lessons can we learn from it?
Ans.
Along with scientific advancement there has been a constant fear from the new creation that grew throughout human history. And scientific development that can be harmful to the people can be read in the context of Shelley' Frankenstein. In contemporary time there is scientific development in which the genes can be modified and the expected result of the babies can be produced. Through the growth of AI there is also a constant feat that Ai may take over the world and become harmful to human beings.
There is much literature produced on the similar concept. The new genes of the body can be harmful to the normal people or they would be harmful for the society that are seen by many. Movies on similar ideas also made that robots may take over the world. This gives a cautionary tale that if we create something that will have its own intelligence then it's our responsibility to do no harm to people and to the world. One has to make sure that at what capacity something new could be harmful to people.
Part 2: The Frankenpheme in Popular Culture
How have various retellings of Frankenstein reshaped its message for new audiences? How do these adaptations either retain or transform the novel’s original critique of scientific ambition and social exclusion?
Ans.
In the 18th century there was a great fear that if something like a monster or scientific development is made the life of the humans are in danger. But slowly and steadily we started living among these types of scientific development and the fear of scientific development decreased.
In many narratives still we find the same dreads to the new scientific world but then our stories started to change. Then we look at them with great care and find the fault in the narratives. In the new version these types of creatures started to become the protagonist of the tale. People started to see scientific development as their friend rather than enemy.
Discuss how the Creature’s literary education shapes his worldview and whether it empowers or alienates him further?
Ans.
When Creature reads ‘Sorrows of Young Werther’ by Goethe, and parts of ‘Plutarch's Lives’ and ‘Paradise Lost’ by Milton he becomes more and more aware about human nature. When started to feel as a human being he craves for his partner. He craves human affection. He tried to help people but all he got was hatred and disgust. So finds his master and says that's why he has done this with him. These are the human qualities that he gets from reading the literary text.
Research the historical and cultural context of these adaptations. How do they reflect societal fears and technology?
Ans.
Frankenstein films show how people’s fears changed over time by adding new ideas to the original story. Early movies, like the famous one with the creature made from a "criminal brain," reflect fears of dangerous science and ideas like eugenics, where people thought certain types of people shouldn’t be allowed to have children. Later, movies such as “Frankenstein vs. the Giant Devil Fish” added fears from World War II, like worries about radiation and powerful new weapons that could harm people.
In more recent films, like “Blade Runner” and “The 6th Day”, we see people’s worries about robots and cloning. In these stories, characters are sometimes made in labs and used for dangerous jobs, showing fears that technology could take over people’s lives. Each version of Frankenstein takes the original story and changes it to match the fears and ideas of its time.
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