Comparison of Blade Runner and Frankenstein free essay sample

When looking at two or more forms of narratives we need to establish the similarities and differences in a number of areas. All literature has much in common, yet it may differ in outward forms depending on when it was written and the text type or genre used to create meaning. Areas of comparison include: Context and Background  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ How do Historical and biographical situations influence the text. Style:  how the composer shapes the text or expresses their message. Theme, values, issues or concerns  that may have relevance to us or have  universal implications.Techniques; these will vary according to text types and the author’s style. Language or linguistic features; how the meaning is conveyed. Evaluation: We are all, especially examiners interested in your opinions; how you related and responded to the text. It is important to be honest and yet to support all your assertions and judgments with supporting evidence. As a  dystopia  (dark future) it uses the glazed cinematic techniques of  film noir  that tends to distance us from the characters and actions. More @  Cinematic Techniques:  Ã‚  Ã‚  | This is a Gothic Novel. Mary claims the inspiration for her story came from a vision she had during a dream. Her story was the only one completed and has become one of the most famous Gothic novels of all time. Mary Shelley uses the  narrative  device of a Ship’s Captain retelling a tale through epistemology (letters to his sister) he has heard from an obsessed distraught Scientist he has rescued from an ice floe in the remote Arctic Ocean. If Ecosystems are repeatedly defeated, human life will be diminished and likely extinguished. The bleak vision portrayed illustrates a chaotic nuclear holocaust, ecological fragility through soil depletion and acid rain. In BR. man has not only subdued the earth but conquered and utterly defeated it. As a Canadian Indian Chief queried; â€Å"When we kill the last fish, what will we eat – money? The sixties and seventies were times of great social, cultural and historical changes with changes in attitudes in s*xual relations, racial integration and political upheaval. As Europe moved away from a world dominated by superstition and religious faith to one of empirical scientific research and logical deductive reasoning, the Romantics helped to retain some of the personal and emotional compassion that makes us fully human. The swing towards a more humanistic attitude towards fellow mankind and the reverence for the natural over the man made is clearly depicted in Frankenstein. Shelley questions the eighteenth-century scientific rationalists optimism about, and trust in, knowledge as a pure good.There isnt much dignity left today, a point beautifully made in an  essay  by David Brooks in The New York Times. The dignity code, as Brooks calls it, has been completely oblite rated by the pressures of modern life. | Frankenstein is a gothic horror novel that explores what makes us human. What are the attributes of a human being and how do we become integrated into society. Are we born with human nature or are we conditioned and constructed to value each other. The old nature/nurture argument. When his creation turns against him, who is at fault;   the creature or the society that rejects him?We know from a study of social customs that many people who feel rejected by society often turn into mass killers. Repeated negative experiences of social outcasts can lead to anti-social behaviour and the best way to socialise people is to include and value them as fellow human beings. There are many examples of people who areAltruistic – caring   kind to each other throughout the novel including the Monster’s many initial acts of kindness; cutting wood for Felix’s family, saving a young girl from drowning   all not appreciated.Shelley is obviously contrasting mankind’s ability for civility and amity with its capacity for callous barbarity. | * The rise of Cybernetics (use of implants to make robots or cyborgs – humans with computer chip grafts , implants or biological brains) is a growing field of technical development and increases the threat of Artificial Intelligence taking control over humans as portrayed in  Space Odyssey, Terminator or The Matrix. Computers double their capacity every 18 months and they could acquire a billion times more intelligence than the human brain.It is possible this Artificial Intelligence could develop into a malign force and eliminate all humans from the face of the earth. Alternatively by merging with the technology we create, we become more like it and we could become less human and more mechanical in our outlook. Blade Runner Blade Runner1  is a Ridley Scott adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel  Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. It is perhaps one of the most popular cult films ever, covering territory from film noir to cyberpunk. Commissioned by Hollywood in the early 1980’s,Ridley Scott had many conflicts with the producers and felt he was compromising his integrity. The film was not a box office success and so eventually Scott released his own version, a director’s cut on DVD in 1992. This director’s cut received acclaim from his followers and has gained the stature of a cult classic with great financial success and a dedicated following. The director’s Cut version differs from the Hollywood original in many critical ways. The removal of Deckard’s voice over helps us to identify and engage more fully with the characters in the narrative; it draws us in.The unicorn sequences add an ambiguity and enigmatic possibility to the plot while the changed ending, cutting the forest scene, driving into the sunset and replacing it with them in a lift with Gaff’s disembodied voice warning about Rachael’s imminent death leaves us without much hope for the future. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, the film has survived close scrutiny and is considered one of the most  effective futuristic, cautionary and visionary statements  of the past fifty years. As a  dystopia  (dark future) it uses the glazed cinematic techniques of  film noir  that tends to distance us from the characters and actions. We become deeply disturbed both emotionally and rationally at what our future could become unless we are prepared to curb our excessive technological advances and our conspicuous consumption of unnecessary goods. The Hollywood version ended optimistically with Deckard and Rachael riding through a forest into the sunset while the Director’s Cut has Gaff giving an ominous, enigmatic warning about Rachael’s doubtful future.   a term borrowed from William S. Burroughs, 1979,  Ã‚  referred to a smuggler of medical supplies, e. g. scalpels. Guy Rundle on  Avatar  as the new  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Blade-Runner† It occurs to me that en route to see the presents latest version of the future, I am rushing through the opening scenes of Blade Runner the pasts most recent version of the future, now itself surpassed. The ruined rain-drenched city a post-social world of street survival, the layers of rich and poor literally concretised in different levels is here now.And as with all dystopias, its coming-to-pass is so mundane that one almost longs for the full horror. So, no replicants, no live mutant snacks, no sexy Tankgirl types, snake entwined. Just hawkers squeezed between the overpass outlets, selling nasi goreng from Tupperware containers. Blade Runner Blade Runner, an adaptation of Phillip K. Dick’s  Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was  commissioned by Hollywood in the early 1980’s. Ridley Scott had many conflicts with the producers and felt he was compromising his integrity.The film was not a box office success and so eventually Scott released his own version, a director’s cut on DVD in 1992. This director’s cut received acclaim from his followers and has gained the stature of a cult classic with great financial success and a dedicated following. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, the film has survived close scrutiny and is considered one of the most effective futuristic cautionary visionary statements of the past fifty years. As a dystopia (dark future) it uses the cinematic techniques of  film noir  that tends to distance us from the characters and actions.We become deeply disturbed both emotionally and rationally at what our future could become unless we are prepared to curb our excessive technological advances and our conspicuous consumption of unnecessary goods. Cinematic Technique:   Mise en Scene Blade Runner receiv ed an Academy award nomination for special glaze effects. Film gives its message via text and subtext; language plus visual and sound images. Language is secondary so the sounds of the voices are difficult to distinguish. In Novels subtexts include symbols, tone and settings.It is possible this Artificial Intelligence could develop into a malign force and eliminate all humans from the face of the earth. Alternatively by merging with the technology we create, we become more like it and we could become less human and more mechanical in our outlook and robotic in character. 4. Of greater concern is the  craven attitude  of the masses. The resigned compliance and fatalism was evident in their supine passivity and expressions of futility for achieving justice in dealing with the bureaucracy. It is just bad luck and there is nothing anyone can do about it!No hope, no escape from an overpowering totalitarian state. 5. The  lack of Civility  is another major concern. Bryant has a confrontationalist manner of speaking. First he tries to be slimily ingratiating to Deckard but when this doesn’t work he resorts to abusive threats and bullying to get Deckard to come out of retirement. (â€Å"You’ll become a little person†) In contrast the replicants appear to be courteous and respectful of each other indicating that they care for each other. There isnt much dignity left today, a point beautifully made in an  essay  by David Brooks in  The New York Times.The dignity code, as Brooks calls it, has been completely obliterated by the pressures of modern life. 6. The earth has been so scorched and depleted  so people’s greatest aspiration is for off world colonisation. 7. The  disparity between rich and poor, the powerful and the powerless is symbolised by how many storeys above ground level they live. Tyrell lives 700 storeys above ground level. Sebastian lives on the 15th  floor of an empty derelict flat. Many of the masses appear to live on the street.