The worlds of Frankenstein and Blade Runner are effective representations of their context and the values which were catalysts for their composition. How has your study supported this?

Throughout time, literature has served well as a window into the schools of thought and social concerns of any given era of human history. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (Director’s cut), 1986, continue this trend. Frankenstein is a typical example of Gothic literature that engages with issues commonly raised during the Enlightenment and Romantic Movement. Blade Runner was composed in the early 1980’s, a time of radical change and development in areas of science and business. Despite their differing social contexts, both texts question similarly ethically driven issues.

The question over man’s right to push the boundaries of science in the creation of life has transcended time, growing increasingly relevant with recent advancements in technology. The contentious issue was predominant throughout the Enlightenment period, an era characterised by significant change where reason was valued over religious faith. This contextual significance is mirrored in Shelly’s condemnation of Frankenstein’s experiment through the loathing tone of “now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.” She furthers her argument through the monster’s description of Frankenstein as an “unfeeling, heartless creator!”, reflective of the Romantic Period as middle-class workers began to demand equality from their oppressive masters. Shelley creates a juxtaposition of Frankenstein’s arrogance against the character of Walton, similar in their pursuit for knowledge, and yet Walton’s compassion is evident in his rhetorical question “How can I see so noble a creature destroyed by misery, without feeling the moist poignant grief.” Throughout her text, Shelley’s criticism of Frankenstein’s character conveys both her personal views on the moral limitations of science as well as the predominant streams of thought of her contemporary society. Scott similarly challenges and questions his society’s accepted ethical boundaries in his cult classic film Blade Runner through his ominous depiction of the rampant capitalism and intrusive advertising of multi-national corporations in his futuristic setting. In the nineteen eighties, the effects of globalization were becoming increasingly apparent, especially in the rapid growth in international trade and investment between the European countries. This burgeoning growth noticeably influences Scott’s work. His grimly exaggerated portrayal of the multitude of Asian restaurants crammed throughout the streets of Los Angeles serves as warning about the possible consequences of unregulated globalization. Scott also critiques the increasing role of advertising and his use of the sharp fluorescent colours as the sole source of lighting exemplifies its harsh and invasive nature. This criticism of the increasingly significant role of technology within our lives strongly reflects the concerns of his contemporary society.

The relationship between man and nature is often a focus question in Gothic literature, and Shelley’s Frankenstein is no exception. Shelley employs the recurring motif of nature as a regenerative force, evident in Clerval’s reactions as “(Clerval) pointed out to (Frankenstein) the shifting colours of the landscape, and the appearance of the sky. “This is what it is to live,” he cried; “Now I enjoy existence!”” However, Shelley also chooses to examine this relationship alternatively from the converse perspective, using a dark simile to depict Frankenstein’s exploitation of the land, as he “began to collect the materials necessary for (his) new creation”, likening it to “the torture of single drops of water continuously falling on the head.” Shelley continues to juxtapose contrasting characters in order to capture her personal interpretation of the zeitgeist of the times regarding the conservation of nature.

Environmental concerns have been an increasing concern for the public of the nineteen eighties who have a heightened awareness of the threat of global warming. Scott engages with this focus, examining the degradation of nature through the overpopulated and polluted 2019 Los Angeles setting in Blade Runner. Similar to Shelley’s depiction of the selfish exploit of the land for Frankenstein’s creation, Scott portrays a future that disregards the value of the environment, instead abusing land as mere space for the commercial construction of high-rise flats and skyscrapers. Nature is virtually non-existent in Scott’s dystopian world; a grim warning against man’s selfish exploitation. Scott furthers this idea through the panning opening shot of the great jets of fire; an allusion to hell, and an ominous hint at the future of the planet. In addition, the use of metallic greys and blacks of the cityscape illustrates the dependence of humanity on machinery and technology, heightened through the vivid contrast against harsh neon lighting. Scott chooses to use a visually intense setting as a medium through which he can critique the constant destruction of nature by the human race rather than nature being a regenerative force as it is seen in Frankenstein.

The essence and nature of humanity was a prominent talking point of the early nineteenth century, following the works of philosophers, such as Rousseau, who proposed that the blame of humanity’s corrupt sense of empathy lied squarely on society and its profound influence on the individual. Shelley explores this perspective through portraying the monster’s discrimination and forced isolation in the face of Frankenstein’s superficial society. Through the juxtaposition of the monster’s compassion against the cruelty of Frankenstein and his society, she embodies her critique in the shooting of the monster after his rescue of the drowning girl. Shelley encapsulates the cruel injustice against the monster in the irate tone of his exclamatory statement “this was then the reward for my benevolence!”, and in doing so voices her support of Rousseau’s condemnation of the socially driven corruption of his era. Shelley furthers her comment through the similarly unjust condemnation of the monster by the De Lacey family, prompting the pained declaration from the “wretched” creature of “everlasting war against the species, and more than all, him who had formed [the creature] and sent [him] forth to this insupportable misery." Rousseau’s perspective on society’s influence on humanity surfaces in Shelley’s work repeatedly; a reflection of the contemporary paradigms regarding the innate human character.

Comparable to Shelley’s portrayal of the superficially driven segregation of the monster, the replicants in Blade Runner are similarly unjustly rejected by the futuristic society for being having been created. Major scientific advancements in stem cell research in the sixties and seventies fuelled powerful debates over man’s right to create life throughout the 1980’s. Scott embodies this ethical debate in the creation of the replicants, as the futuristic society ostracises the replicant population for not being human. Scott visually depicts this social separation through the contrast of Roy’s bright blonde hair and Pris’ white makeup against the dull tertiary colours prominent throughout the city. The considerate nature of the replicants parallels that of the monster, and is contrasted against the cold and detached figure of Deckard. Scott creates a contrast of his futuristic society’s treatment towards humans and replicants as a means of making comment on his perspective of humanity.
CONCLUSION