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Home > English > Advanced > Module A: Comparative Study of Texts and Context > Elective 2: Texts in Time > Frankenstein and Blade Runner
Frankenstein and Blade Runner
Peter Yorke, St Marys Senior High
Introduction
Frankenstein: Structure and genre
Background and context
Researching the context
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Characters and Ideas
From Frankenstein to Blade Runner
Blade Runner: an introduction
Background and context for the film
The futuristic setting
Characters
Summing up both texts
Writing topics
Resources for Blade Runner
Introduction
The elective Texts in Time involves the study of two texts. One pair of texts listed for study consists of the novel, Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus (1818) by Mary Shelley, and the film Blade Runner (1982),directed by Ridley Scott. Writing about this unit could involve the following:
- Comparative study of common features of both texts
- Discussion and understanding of the contexts in which both these texts were composed.
- Analysis of how language and other communication techniques contribute to the creation and reading of both texts.
- Discussion and research.
Compare the years in which the texts were produced, 1818 and 1982. What are the major changes in terms of industry, and society and technology over this period?
Frankenstein: Structure and Genre
The text of the novel Frankenstein and page numbers cited here are from both the Penguin Classic edition edited by Maurice Hindle and the prescribed Penguin Red Classic edition. The full text of the novel is also available online on several sites. For example:
http://www.guttenburg.org/ 
and www.literature.org .
Structure
The novel is structured as a ‘nest of stories’, one narrative inside another. Each narrative gives a different perspective on events.
- Who are the three narrators? How do their accounts of events fit together?
- At times the novel reads like a documentary text. Why might have Mary Shelley wanted to create this documentary effect in her narrative?
Writers and critics of the novel Frankenstein often refer to it as ‘gothic’ in style or tone. The works of popular novelist Stephen King could also be described in a similar way.
Research the meaning of this term ‘gothic’. Find examples of other novelists who wrote in this way and other novels. Explain their common features. See online http://www.jahsonic.com/GothicNovel.html and www.answers.com for brief definitions and examples.
Frankenstein is also described as one of the first examples of the ‘science fiction’ genre
- Explain why Frankenstein might be considered science fiction.
- Which characters have become stereotypical figures in other examples of the ‘science fiction’ genre?
Background and context
In a broad sense context relates to the time and circumstances under which a text is created. In the case of Mary Shelley, it refers to the personal life and attitudes of the author, the historical period in which the text was published, and the influence of contemporary ideas and events on the analysis of the text.
A brief chronology of events related to context.
| C1700-1800 | An historical era known as ‘The Enlightenment’. Thinkers championed the forces of reason and science over the forces of superstition, ignorance and religious dogma. |
| C1780s-1800s | A period of economic change in Europe with major countries like Britain becoming dominant in industry, in a period called the Industrial Revolution. |
| 1789 | Political revolution in France. Monarch overthrown and executed and replaced by Republican government in French Revolution. This provoked passionate response, for and against, from intellectuals. The Romantic Movement in poetry, as represented by Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Byron and Percy B Shelley (Mary’s husband) took inspiration from these events, and tended to be portrayed as strongly supportive of change. |
| 1798 | Coleridge published his ‘gothic’ poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner which is quoted by Victor Frankenstein in the novel. |
| 1816 | Mary Shelly begins to work on Frankenstein. |
| 1818 | Frankenstein is published. |
| 1910 | The first Frankenstein film is produced. The film strengthens the power and influence of the Frankenstein myth in public imagination. |
Researching the context
Chronology.
The Penguin Classic edition of the novel gives a more detailed chronology of Mary Shelley’s life on page liii. (53). Mary Shelley’s original introduction to the novel is on page 5. On page 7 she describes the circumstances in which she and her companions (the writers Polidori, Percy Shelley and Lord Byron) spent an evening together. ‘We will each write a ghost story,’ she quotes Byron as saying.
Discussion.
- To what extent is Frankenstein a ‘ghost story’? What evidence can you find in the text that more than a ‘scary story’ was intended?
- Check the web site www.FrankensteinFilms.com for another account of how Mary Shelley wrote the novel. It also contains a useful discussion of the novel’s historical context and its later film versions. Its links to other films such as Blade Runner are also discussed.
The Romantic Movement and the Enlightenment.
Even a superficial reading about Romanticism will reveal that this is a complicated issue to understand and discuss. It also derived from the attitudes of the era of The Enlightenment and yet was largely a reaction against the nationalism of the Englightenment.
For useful guides to Romanticism and The Enlightenment check the entries for both these terms in Wikipedia.
- Make brief notes that define the meaning of both these terms.
- Explain to what extent they are relevant to an understanding of Frankenstein.
Study guide to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
The subtitle: The New Prometheus.
In Greek mythology, Prometheus stole the fire from heaven. Shelley uses Prometheus as a metaphor in her title.
Research which character and events in the novel can be related to the myth at the following links. Continue searching the internet for further connections to the Promethean myth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein#.22Modern_Prometheus.22
Volume 1 p (13-86)
Captain’s Walcott‘s narrative (p14-15 Penguin Classic or p4 Penguin Red Classic).
The novel begins with a series of letters written by the captain.
‘I shall satiate my ardent curiosity with sight of a part of the world never before visited…:’
- Explain the reasons for Walcott’s seafaring life.
Walcott sees the Creature and meets Victor Frankenstein (p23-25 Penguin Classic or p15 Penguin Red Classic.)
‘… a being which had the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature…’
- What difficult circumstances is Walcott encountering when he meets Victor Frankenstein?
- How does Shelley emphasise the extreme isolation of the vessel?
Frankenstein begins his narrative (p28- 37 Penguin Classic or p15- Penguin Red Classic).
‘You may easily perceive Captain Walton, that I have suffered great and unparalleled misfortunes.’
- As he begins his tale, Victor Frankenstein suggests that he has something in common with the Captain. (p29Penguin Classic or p21 Penguin Red Classic). Explain.
- Describe Frankenstein’s childhood and family members.
Frankenstein describes his education and dreams (p38-41 Penguin Classic or p35-38 Penguin Red Classic).
‘The raising of ghosts or devils was a promise liberally accorded to by my favourite authors, the fulfilment of which I eagerly sought. ‘ See p40Penguin Classic or P37 Penguin Red Classic.
- Frankenstein mentions certain authors and philosophers that impressed him in his younger days. What does the statement above suggest about the scientific value of these authors?
Frankenstein leaves home for university at Ingerstoldt (p50-58 Penguin Classic or p4 Penguin Red Classic)
‘From this day natural philosophy particularly chemistry …became nearly my sole occupation’. See (p49Penguin Classic or p50 Penguin Red Classic)
- Explain the reaction of Frankenstein’s professors to his early reading and learning.
- In reading chapter 4 closely, what aspects of Victor Frankenstein’s language and actions suggest that he is becoming obsessive in his behaviour?
- What is the nature of his obsession?
Frankenstein brings his Creature to life - a key event in the novel (p56-60 Penguin Classic or p59-61 Penguin Red Classic)
‘It was on a dreary night in November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils’.
- Describe the Creature’s appearance. Check search engines on the internet for images of the creature. Which one is most appropriate for the description in the novel? ( Most images from early films do not necessarily fit the description)
- What words describe Frankenstein’s feelings about his creation?
- How does he react after the creature’s disappearance?
Frankenstein returns home and experiences family tragedy (p62-86 Penguin Classic or p68-101 Penguin Red Classic).
‘We passed a few sad hours, until eleven o clock, when the trial was to commence’ see p79Penguin Classic or p91 Penguin Red Classic.
.
- Who is on trial and why? What events during Frankenstein’s absence have occurred?
- In what way does Victor consider himself responsible?
Volume 2 (p87-144 Penguin Classic or p105-182 Penguin Red Classic)
Frankenstein recovers in the Alps and encounters his Creature (p87-98Penguin Classic or p4 Penguin Red Classic).
‘This state of mind preyed upon my health, which perhaps never entirely recovered from the first shock which it had sustained. ‘ p87 Penguin Classic or p105 Penguin Red Classic.
- Explain the reason for ‘his state of mind’.
- Under what circumstances does Victor encounter his Creature.
The Creature begins to narrate his version of events (p99-112 Penguin Classic or p125 Penguin Red Classic).
‘It is with considerable difficulty that I remember the original era of my being; all the events of that period remain confused and indistinct’ P121
- How does the Creature survive in this particular period?
The Creature watches and observes a family’s behaviour from his hiding place (p125-144 Penguin Classic or p154 Penguin Red Classic).
‘I now hasten to the most moving part of my story.’ p113Penguin Classic or p139 Penguin Red Classic.
- How does the understanding and knowledge of the Creature grow during his time with family?
- How does he acquire understanding of language?
- What happens when he comes out of hiding?
- In what way is this part of his narration ‘moving’?
- What does the Creature persuade Frankenstein that he must do?
Volume 3 (p145-215 Penguin Classic or p185-279 Penguin Red Classic)
Frankenstein retreats further into isolation and attempts to carry out his promise to the Creature (p145-178 Penguin Classic or p188-230 Penguin Red Classic).
‘Day after day, week after week, passed away on my return to Geneva, and I could not collect the courage to recommence my work. I feared the vengeance of the disappointed fiend…’ ( p145 Penguin Classic or p185 Penguin Red Classic).
- Why does Frankenstein effectively fail to carry out his promise to the Creature?
- What actions of the Creature force Frankenstein before a magistrate?
Frankenstein’s return home leads to the death of his beloved Elizabeth (p179-202 Penguin Classic or p231-242 Penguin Red Classic).
‘In about a week after the arrival of Elizabeth’s letter, we returned to Geneva. The sweet girl welcomed me with warm affection; yet tears were in my eyes as she perceived my emaciated frame and feverish cheeks’ (p183Penguin Classic or p237 Penguin Red Classic).
.
- Explain the circumstances leading to Elizabeth’s death.(p188-191Penguin Classic or p239-245 Penguin Red Classic).
- How did her death affect Frankenstein? ( p192- 202Penguin Classic or p244-252 Penguin Red Classic).
Walton narrates the end of the story with the death of Frankenstein and the disappearance of the Creature (p202-215 Penguin Classic or p262-278 Penguin Red Classic).
‘You have read this strange and terrific story, Margaret, and do you not feel your blood congeal with horror like which now curdles mine?’ p202Penguin Classic or p262 Penguin Red Classic.
- What dangers threaten Walton’s voyage? What decision does he make? (p206-207 Penguin Classic or p266-268 Penguin Red Classic).
- Why does the Creature make the decision to disappear on the raft of ice? (p214Penguin Classic or p278 Penguin Red Classic).
Characters and ideas
There are three main characters in the book:
Captain Walton
Walton is an ambitious sea captain, who wants to make his mark on the world. Unlike Victor Frankenstein he could be seen to be a ‘normal’ person who encounters extraordinary circumstances.
- What is Walton’s role in the narrative? Why is he needed in the story at all?
- In regard to his actions, what does he have in common with Victor Frankenstein?
- In terms of his life’s work, why is he more likely to survive when Frankenstein chooses suicide?
Victor Frankenstein.
At the beginning, he is portrayed as an ambitious and rational human being. His behaviour becomes more obsessive and, to other people, irrational as the story advances.
- What are the important influences on Frankenstein‘s behaviour?
- At what point does his view of the world begin to change?
- How does his changed view of the world affect his relationships with other people?
- Find three quotations from the text that describe his feelings towards the Creature. Explain their significance in the text.
The Creature
The Creature begins his life with a naïve view of humanity, and this gradually modifies as he gains a deeper understanding of human beings. In that sense, he wants to become human himself.
- What is the Creature’s reaction to his appearance?
- What turns the Creature against his creator?
- When the Creature explains himself in his own words (p99-144 Penguin Classic or p121 Penguin Red Classic), he has an extraordinarily eloquent command of language. Quote some examples of this
- Is there any point when the reader might be sympathetic towards the Creature, despite the fact that he is a murderer?
- Does Shelley want the reader to take sides over the Creature’s right to exist?
- In what way is the idea of ‘family’ important in the text? Consider its influence on Walton, Frankenstein and the Creature.
From Frankenstein to Blade Runner
The website http://www.frankensteinfilms.com/ highlights the power and influence of Shelley’s story through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Note the many film adaptations of the story with the first being produced in 1910. Apart from direct adaptations, there have been many variations and appropriations in a modern day context on the same idea, for example The X Files episode ‘The Post Modern Prometheus’ and later comic parodies, such as Young Frankenstein. A key element in Shelley’s text - the scientist ‘playing god’ in a laboratory - is a common theme in many science fiction texts. The film Blade Runner is a text with direct connections to Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Key questions:
- Explain which character or characters in Blade Runner have similarities to the Creature in Frankenstein.
- What key actions and events in the film are similar to those in the novel Frankenstein?
- A characteristic of the Creature, ignored in most film adaptations, is the Creature’s skill with language. Do any of the replicants (artificial humans) in the film Blade Runner share the creature’s eloquence?
- Shelley’s text confronts and challenges some ideas about science in the context of her society. How does Blade Runner do the same thing in a late twentieth century context?
Blade Runner: an introduction
Blade Runner is a film set in a futuristic Los Angeles of 2019. There are two parallel narratives. At the centre is the pursuit by Deckard, a so called ‘Blade Runner’, of a violent group of artificial human beings called replicants. As Deckard hunts them down, one by one, and attempts to eliminate them, the replicants themselves conduct their own quest to find and confront their creator before Deckard destroys them. As the replicants themselves appear more human as the film goes on, Deckard himself is challenged by the thought that he might be a replicant himself.
- Read the lengthy synopsis on the screen after the main title. Explain why it is important for understanding key events in the film.
Background and context for the film
A brief chronology.
| 1940s- 2000 | The computer age. By 1990s the role of computers moves from being a tool used exclusively by scientists and technicians in laboratories to a household consumer item. |
| 1960s | Authors such as Rachel Carson and Alvin Toffler predict the negative effects of climate change and overpopulation on humanity’s future. |
| 1962-1968 | Science fiction writer, Phillip K Dick writes Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the source of the film Blade Runner. |
| 1969 | Man lands on the moon. |
| 1982 | The original version of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is released. The term Blade Runner, not used in the original novel, is appropriated from the works of avant-garde American writer, William Burroughs. Apart from Deckard’s pursuit of the replicants, the action of the film is substantially different in detail from the novel. |
| 1992 | A new director’s cut of Blade Runner is released. Deckard’s voiceover narration is eliminated, the optimistic ending of the original is cut, and the enigmatic image of the unicorn is inserted into images of Deckard’s thoughts. The 2007 DVD release of the director’s ‘final cut’, has no substantial variations on the 1992 version, but as Ridley Scott states, he has had a ‘few tweaks’ made in the editing of certain of the violent scenes, and has a much sharper image from restoration of the original negative. |
Research and reflection on the context.
- Discuss which elements of the historical context above are relevant to an understanding of the film.
The futuristic setting
‘I wanted to create a futuristic urban film noir’. Director Ridley Scott in the documentary Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner’ directed by Charles de Lauzirika (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1080585/ ).
Director Ridley Scott established himself as a successful film maker by the late 1970s. At the time of directing Blade Runner, he was most well known for his direction of Alien, a science fiction horror film. He has built on his reputation further since Blade Runner in 1982, by directing films in a variety of genres, such as his feminist road movie, Thelma and Louise, and historical epics such as Gladiator, and Kingdom of Heaven.
His reference to ‘film noir’ in the above quotation is an important comment on the visual style of the film.
- Refer to Blade Runner at http://www.filmeducation.org/pdf/film/Blade_Runner.pdf for a concise definition of the meaning of ‘film-noir’. Explain its relevance to Blade Runner.
- Is there any link between the term ‘gothic’ and ‘film-noir’?
Dialogue
The final shooting script of Blade Runner can be found at several different sites on the internet.
Write a glossary of the following terms used in the dialogue and script:
- blade runner
- replicant
- skin jobs
- Voight Kampf test
- Nexus VI
- implanted memories
- retirement
- spinner
Explain why an understanding of this jargon and terminology is essential for understanding key narrative points?
Choose two characters such as Deckard and Batty and highlight two scenes where their dialogue is important for establishing their characters.
Visual Techniques
More significant for understanding the futuristic setting is Scott’s use of different camera movements and shots. A lot of significant information is conveyed visually, through use of mise-en-scene. This term, derived from French, refers to the placement of objects and arrangement of people within a shot. A precise definition can be found in www.imdb.com in a glossary of film terms.
Mise-en-scene actvities.
The mise-en-scene establishes what this imaginary future society is like.
- The opening long shots convey a vision of a future Los Angeles. List the key features of this city.
- The next sequence begins with a giant close-up of an eye. Close-ups are used to highlight or emphasise objects of faces that are important to the narrative. Whose eye is being filmed, and why has Scott chosen to emphasise it in this scene?
- The next scene is a street scene, in which a series of medium or mid-shots, along with close ups of Deckard on the streets are shown to the audience. List the key features of the city that can be seen in these shots.
- Lighting of these scenes for the camera is another important element for creating a mood or atmosphere. Describe the effect of the lighting in the scene involving Deckard at the noodle bar.
- Give an example of another scene in the film where these elements of mise- en-scene are used again.
- Is Scott asking the audience to be critical of what they see in this future city? Discuss.
- Some critics have suggested that Scott has sacrificed a coherent story line and characterisation for the sake of excessive detail in his multi- layered setting. Discuss whether this is true.
Characters
Deckard
Deckard is a ‘blade runner’ whose job is to track down ‘non-humans’ or replicants. His relentless pursuit is responsible for the deaths of four replicants and he spares the life of a fifth, Rachel. During his hunt, there is evidence to suggest he might be a replicant himself. At the end, he is attempting to flee the city with the replicant, Rachel, towards to an uncertain future.
- What do the opening scenes in the film establish about Deckard’s role and status in society?
- Despite his reluctance, what compels Deckard to carry out his Chief’s instructions to track down the replicants?
- What clues does he have to establish their whereabouts and how are these clues highlighted visually?
- What is the importance of Deckard’s image of the unicorn during the night in his apartment?
- As Deckard’s pursuit of the Replicants becomes more vicious and violent, what is revealed that he has in common with the Replicants?
- Why does he spare Rachel?
- Why do they choose to flee at the end?
- How does the film visually imply that Deckard is actually a replicant himself?
The replicants
The five replicants are actually androids – artificial human beings designed to function on planets beyond Earth. Their sudden return to Earth causes alarm and fear because of their superhuman strength and violent tendencies.
- Name the four replicants apart from Rachel.
- What do their profiles, revealed to Deckard by his Chief at the beginning of the film, tell us about them?
- How are their strengths revealed to us in the course of the film?
- What are their limitations and weaknesses?
Significant sequences
(1) Deckard meets Rachel in Tyrell’s apartment.
‘The hunter falls in love with the hunted.’ Ridley Scott in the documentary Dangerous Days.
- How is Tyrell’s power and importance conveyed visually in this scene?
- What is highlighted about Rachel’s differences?
- What is the purpose of Deckard’s interview?
- What does Rachel not know about herself, at this point?
- At what stage later in the film does Rachel understanding of herself become clear?
(2) Pris meets Sebastian in the street and spends the night in his apartment.
- How does Pris appear to be weak and vulnerable in this scene?
- How is Sebastian’s treatment of Pris different from that of the other characters in the film?
- Contrast Sebastian’s apartment with Tyrell’s apartment. What important differences in the characters of both these men are suggested visually?
- What is the previous connection between the replicants, Sebastian and Tyrell?
- Under what circumstances later in the film is Pris revealed to be as violent and vicious as the others?
(3) Batty confronts Tyrell in his apartment and kills him.
- How does Batty locate Tyrell?
- What does he want Tyrell to do?
- Why does he murder Tyrell?
- Why does he treat Sebastian differently?
(4) Batty and Deckard fight to the death on the rooftops, and Batty, although about to die himself, chooses to spare Deckard’s life.
- Explain the sequence of events that leave Deckard on the point of death on the edge of the building.
- What is the significance of Batty’s choice of words to Deckard during the fight?
- What is the purpose of Batty’s speech at the moment before his death?
- Why does Batty save Deckard’s life? Is it believable in terms of what we know of his character?
Summing up both texts
Both texts, Frankenstein and Blade Runner share a common premise. If scientists were capable of creating such life then the relationship between the creations and the rest of humanity would be an uneasy and tense one.
The creators would come to loathe their creations, and seek to destroy them. The creatures themselves would react with similar violence when faced with destruction.
- In the nineteenth century, the scientist as represented by Victor Frankenstein was the enemy of the Creature. In the twentieth first century the enemy of the replicant is the Tyrell Corporation. Is the behaviour of Victor Frankenstein different from that of the Tyrell Corporation?
- To what extent are Ridley Scott’s views on society similar to those of Mary Shelley?
Writing topics
- Context affects our perceptions of how the texts are received over time. How has your understanding of Frankenstein and Blade Runner been influenced by knowledge of context?
- Technology has affected society in both positive and negative ways over time. How is this demonstrated in the texts Blade Runner and Frankenstein?
- How has the twentieth century transformed Mary Shelley’s original premise related to science and creation? Discuss this in relation to both texts.
Resources for Blade Runner
The internet has a range of resources of varying degrees of reliability related to Blade Runner. Among the more useful from those referred to above, see www.filmeducation.org/secondary .
A useful reference book Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner by Paul M.Sammon published by Orion Media Great Britain in 1996. The book was re-issued in a revised edition in 2008.
A documentary, Dangerous Days a behind-the-scenes documentary describing the making of the film is available on Blade Runner, the final cut, the DVD version of the film released in 2007. It contains a range of useful comments on the context to the making of the film.
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