Frankenstein Pop Culture Media Review

Willoughby – Frankenstein

This song takes an interesting view on Frankenstein.  Instead of showing the emotions of the book, and describing fear and hatred, this song shows what the story should have gone like when Frankensteins monster disappeared.  In the song, Frankenstein loved his monster, and his heart was broke when the monster was gone, and he did everything he could to find his creation and bring it back to him.  The writers are trying to get across that Frankensteins actions after the “birth” of the monster was not the only path that could have been taken.

Frankensteins Wedding -The End – My Body is a Cage

This short clip of a musical is an interesting take on the relationship of the main characters in Frankenstein.  However, the most important part of this clip is the song.  The words of the song relate the the monsters character, they describe how the monster feels, with its brilliant mind trapped inside the hideous albeit super strong body.  The words “set my body, set my spirit free” are a strong reminder that Frankenstein only wanted to be loved, he only wanted the attention of a parent to dote on him, and that that was the one thing he could never have.

My Frankenstein song:

to the tune of My Wish by Rascal Flatts remade by Saxtribution

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmz8e2WRTUE

I hope your drive stays steady and your love stays true,

and youll oneday find somebody for you

and if you find yourself in the back of that shack

I hope someone’ll come and bring you back,

and if your father runs while another person stays,

I hope you love him just as much anyway,

But more than anything, more than anything,

My wish for you

Is that youll find someone who loves you,

your care stays strong and your hate stays small

and someone is always there to care for you

and while your finding this person that’ll care for you,

I hope youll find people that appreciate you

and that will fight for you

Yeah, this is my wish

 

Frankenstein was used in this song because he is the one “person” in the book that never felt love, never felt the gentle touch of a loving parent, or any other person in the world.  He needed care and love above all else, more than he needed food and water, he wanted someone that would like him.

Frankenstein pages 65-104 Review

Frankenstein automatically assumes his monster is evil, and acts that way from the instant he sees it’s ugly form.  Frankenstein is extremely fearful of the monster, but he is also afraid of himself, and losing his own sanity.  For example, when Justine went on trial for killing William, Frankenstein didn’t say that the monster had killed her, even though he knew that to be true.  His cowardice kept him from stating the truth, and Justine payed the price for his actions.

Frankenstein felt emotionally distressed at the pain his actions had caused to two members of his family and he contemplated suicide.  Frankenstein decides overall that he needed to live, though, for his wife and the rest of his family.  Instead, the Doctor goes out for a hike to the Alps in order to appreciate what was naturally on earth, rather than what he had created.  Upon getting to the Alps, Frankenstein finds the monster amongst all the natural beauty, and listens to the Monsters life story.

The very definition of sublime, something that has such beauty that it inspires awe, can be related to Frankenstein’s situation in the alps.  He is amongst all of this beauty and magnificence, and there is the monster, creating an aura of mystery, of the unknown, in this place of natural grandeur.  Frankenstein’s first reaction to the creature is fear, however the monster is eloquent, and constantly heaps the blame on the Doctor.

My first reaction to the monster is an automatic disliking of it.  The monster at this point is entirely the bad guy, and has killed and slaughtered its way to the point that we are at now.  However (from the first time I read the book) the eloquence the monster immediately displayed stopped what I was thinking, and I realized that the section I was reading was entirely from the perspective of Frankenstein, and as such, It would lean towards what he thought.  Had my opinion been swayed by the ramblings of a man that I had proclaimed mad earlier in the book?

The Creature asks Frankenstein listen to what the he has put the Monster through, to understand why the Monster took the actions he did.  I personally believe that Frankenstein owes the monster the telling of the story and much more.  Because Frankenstein abandoned his creation, it is his fault that the creature took the actions it did before it understood the world, and as such, Frankenstein owes it to the Creature to try to make its life right.

Frankestein quotes for essay

“The labours of men of genius, however erroneously directed, scarcely ever fail in ultimately turning to the solid advantage of mankind” (Shelly, 34)

This quote is a very interesting look at how Dr. Frankenstein thought of science before he completed his experiment.  I would use this quote in an essay to show the progression of Dr. Frankenstein as a character, from the extremely driven individual who wants nothing but the achievement of his goals, to the sorry man who regrets his lives work, and then again back to the driven individual who is trying to correct his wrongs.  This quote sums up Frankensteins entire philosophy before he created the monster.  Science is for the good of mankind, and there is very little that can be done in the name of science that is wrong.  By using this quote, I could also go into how little remorse Dr. Frankenstein had for his grave robbing and other immoral practices with the bodies he worked with.

“For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart”  (Shelly, 42)

This quote shows the immediate thoughts of Frankenstein upon observing the monster alive for the first time.  I would use this quote to show the immediate transgression of Frankenstein from the hard working albeit immoral character I displayed in the previos quote to the even less moral and sad man that is in the next section of the book.  This quote would show how Frankenstein didn’t think of what his actions would create before he started them, and how he didn’t hold up to what he owed this creation of his.  I could also use this quote to show the poor relationship between the monster and Dr. Frankenstein.  However, I believe I will end up using this quote to show how the book only progresses with the creation, and end, of life. (the little girl, the monster, Frankensteins wife and William)

Frankenstein Chapters 1-5 analysis

Frankenstein has an interesting relationship with his parents.  He loved his mother very much, and she supported him, and when she died, he was crushed.  Her death was one of the main reasons Frankenstein created the Monster.  He never wanted anyone to have to experience the horror of someone close to them dying again.  He is extremely fearful of death and wants to try to “fix” the human so that we never die.   Frankenstein becomes obsessed with this, and continuously works on his project, procuring body parts, and designing his machine.

Before his mother died, Frankenstein had a very strong curiosity about natural science, studying ancient philosophers and recreating there experiments.  Upon going to college shortly after his mother’s death, Frankenstein learned that all those years had been spent in vain.  Science had progressed to the point that all that he had studied was worthless.  Happy to have something new to learn, Frankenstein drove himself to learn all the new information possible, and eventually stumbles upon the secret of life.

Frankenstein then sets out upon trying to make a human being out of old dead body parts stolen out of mausoleums and graves.  He sets up a lab, and saying that he has surpassed the knowledge of the college that he attended, Frankenstein sets out to make the body come alive.  Eventually successful, Frankenstein falls asleep soon after the Monster comes back to life due to the large amount of stress he was under trying to make the experiment work.  He wakes up with the Monster standing over him, and runs from the building, afraid of the hideousness of what his hand had wrought.  We can surmise that Frankenstein is an extremely fearful man, afraid of dying himself, and afraid of others around him dying.  Although he is driven, intelligent, and well off, he puts himself to a task that would try to qualm his fears about the afterlife.

My own Frankenstein advertisement “Frankenspuds”

Buy your own Frankenspuds Soap today!!  Clean out your cuts and loosen up your joints with a warm shower combined with the freshest minty monstrous soap available.  Available in many different shapes and sizes, the soap can be bought in; Frankensteins head “Let the bubbles flow from the bolts”, Frankenstiens Bride “Lets the bubbles flow from the mouth”, and Igor “Where the bubbles always flow towards you”.  Each bar is guaranteed to last for 3 weeks, and produce millions of scary bubbles colored the same as the monsters, green.  Great for kids of all ages, Frankenspuds brings fun to the bathtub in a way that has never been seen before.  ”It’s Alive!!!!!”

The advertisement would be a tv commercial with Dr. Frankenstein as the host, trying to sell these “bars” of soap.  He would demonstrate the bubbles coming out of various places of the soap heads, and be extremely over-dramatic for the entire commercial.  As the Doctor demonstrated each of the soaps bubbles flowing out, he would say the quotes listed after the names of the characters the soap represents.    The location would be a mad-scientist’s lab, but it wouldn’t be the same as the one in the original movie, instead, it would be modernized with changing glowing lights on large panels, with a covered Frankenstein in the middle.  This product is intended for children to find interesting, and as such, it has to relate to them.  All people, and especially children, like shiny things.  By making the scenario more modern to the children, it would drive more interest in the product.

The use of Frankenstein in this situation is almost with a comedic sense, and is entirely based off the movie.  It plays off the large audience already taken by Frankenstein, and the  idea of a kindly, yet mad, person, that children could fall in love with.  The product appeals to adults because it plays on their intellect, drawing them to remember what they can of Frankenstein, and wonder what the symbolization of the bubbles can mean.

The Cemetery Skeleton

In the article “The Cemetery Skeleton” by Rondo Hatton, the author explained the strange metaphor of the skeleton located in the graveyard in the opening scene of “Frankenstein”.  The author depicts the skeleton as a common symbol of Death, and wonders at its presence, noting that type of skeleton  ”appeared as statuary alongside trumpeting angels and weeping stone maidens” often in this time period.   Upon relating the symbolism of the skeleton, Hatton moves towards the end of the scene where Dr. Frankenstein threw dirt on the skeleton. This action showed lack of appreciation or fear of the power of death; “As a symbolic gesture, it illustrates Frankenstein’s disrespect for Death itself.”

The cemetery scene was a short glimpse of foreshadowing, by showing Dr. Frankenstein’s disrespect for death, the author showed that something malicious was going to happen later in the movie that pertained to the lack of conscience of the doctor. Hatton relates this to us in the article by saying “the cemetery skeleton is the first hint of frights to come.” The symbolism of the skeleton combined with the importance of the main character in the movie creates a strong impression that lasts through the movie as you watch the foreshadowing come true.

The author continuously points out the ominous meaning of the skeleton, relating that Death was supposed to take that form, and because this movie is completely focused on death, this scene greatly symbolized the movie.  When Frankenstein tossed the dirt on death, that was a foreshadowing of when he cheated death by creating bringing the monster back to life.  The skeleton also appears in the “Bride of Frankenstein”, almost as a shout out that the foreshadowing in the original movie was true, and that death had had its price for being cheated.  The skeleton was a symbol of mystery, darkness, and death, and foreshadowed all that happened in the movie.

Classic-Horror.com Frankenstein Article Review

Frankenstein is a universal icon, one that has been replayed and reviewed over and over by popular media, and critics.  People always empathize with characters in the movie, whether it be the monster, the scientist, or the people of the town, the movie “Frankenstein” has many different attributes that build upon each other that the author of the article “Frankenstein (1931)” from Classic-horror.com recognizes and gladly puts on a pedestal.

The author of the article regales the reader with the great aspects of the movie, making very few criticisms of characters, and no mention at all of plot holes, or scene jumps.  Perhaps the movie received so much accreditation by critics over the years that it has passed these simple characteristics of modern day movies as unnecessary or not adding to the general plot, however, as a modern day viewer, I found these plot holes to be funny and lacking of a strong pull from the book which has almost no plot holes at all and is a generally strong piece of work.

I believe that people always want to see something new, while never completely separating from the old.  People are afraid of change, but they want to show that they are courageous.  As such, they welcome something like the movie Frankenstein which draws from the general idea of all movies, monster versus hero, even if the line is slightly clouded in the movie.  Just like the thriller “Psycho” by Alfred Hitchcock,  people wanted to see something new, that built upon the old.

As such, I disagree with the author of the article that the Frankenstein movie was an original piece of work because though it did redefined popular culture, it pulled from elements that had already been created hundreds of years before with books such as Tom Sawyer, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, To Kill a Mockingbird, and other works of literature.