In the text, the protagonist expresses feelings of shame and disgust towards his work, but is driven by an increasing eagerness to conclude it despite his aversion. The author, Shelley, warns of the consequences of unlimited scientific discovery by referencing the scientific discoveries of the time, such as Galvanism and electricity. He forewarns scientists of the dangers of seeking knowledge and wisdom unchecked. Similarly, Milton espouses "knowing to know no more," while Scott cautions against the depletion of society due to unbridled capitalism, consumerism, and globalization. The setting of Scott's warning includes massive corporate advertising (Coca-Cola and Budweiser), a PAN AM sign, and electronic billboards featuring Asian ads; this environment is devoid of nature except for artificial animals such as snakes and owls. Environmentalism is also emphasized through a riddle that vilifies Reggae's political inaction towards protectin
...g nature. In response to this setting, one character declares: "Is it artificial?"Rachel responds casually, affirming that everything that appears to be real is actually artificial, while stressing the importance of preserving the natural order and avoiding man's assumption of God's role. This echoes Chi's declaration that he will push boundaries, explore unknown powers, and unveil creation's deepest mysteries, which foreshadows the Pandora's Box situation faced by Frankenstein. During Shelley's time of discovery, the boundaries of nature were considered challenges to be overcome rather than limits. The use of biblical allusions highlights Frankenstein's challenge to God, with the Monster comparing himself to Adam in his rejection of Frankenstein's request for a partner. This raises questions of moral culpability: is Frankenstein being punished for assuming the role of God? The name Victor may reference Milton's Paradise Lost, where God is
frequently referred to as "the Victor." In retrospect, Victor considers the acquisition of knowledge dangerous. Meanwhile, the Monster develops his own sense of morality without religious teaching, expressing his ardor for virtue and abhorrence for vice. Despite his suffering, Victor never cries out to God for forgiveness or aid. The Monster even prays to Frankenstein - perhaps considering him a deity - swearing by the sun and sky to grant his request.The monster's treatment is reminiscent of the biblical story of Adam and Lucifer, as he is treated unfairly despite his innocence, leading to his transformation into a devilish character. Similarly, Frankincense is likened to Lucifer as he attempts to take on the role of God and constantly refers to the monster as a "demon". The blame for the monster's actions is placed on human beings during an era of increasing secularism, with Frankincense refusing to take responsibility for his own creation. Elizabeth is portrayed as an angelic figure, while Victor prioritizes his morality and seeks to prevent the creation of more monsters. His decision not to create a second monster is motivated by a desire to protect humanity from a potential future race of monsters.At the beginning of my life, I possessed a benevolent mindset and eagerly awaited the opportunity to act on it. Tersely, the main character of the depicted scene, resides within a pyramid structure located in Gujarat. The symbolic significance of this edifice represents Tersely's egotistical nature and his god-like status. The sole scene that features the sun is displayed and positioned above the clouds which creates the impression that Tersely is residing in Heaven, akin to God's position.
The modernized
depiction shows Tersely wearing thick glasses, emphasizing his eyes and establishing his intelligence and intellectual superiority. Through the character's costuming and characterization, it further showcases his myopic tendencies. Additionally, corporate advertising is portrayed as a religious script indicative of new consumer religion where the floating ships of an off-world colony periodically suppress all surrounding noise, similar to the call to prayer in Muslim countries.
The question of what it means to be human and possess humanity is raised, with the morality of the aerators being called into question. The theme of superiority amongst humanity is prevalent as it is deemed to lead to their loss of morality and ethical standards. Even though the creature is created without an inherent moral compass, it displays a sense of morality by acknowledging right from wrong without being taught via religious scripts. Frankincense's punishment for his lack of concern for his creation is drawn from Shelley's context. Shelley, who was raised with values such as family and compassion instilled within her, used the monster as a blank slate who was born innocent.The negative experiences with humanity led to the monster's self-loathing and a transformation into a villain. This is exemplified by Rousseau's idea of corruption through society and the degradation of moral integrity due to prejudice. However, De Lackey's blindness preserves his moral integrity as he cannot be superficial. When the monster is harshly rejected by the Delays, he seeks revenge, reflecting the human condition of relying on revenge when faced with rejection. Romanticism emphasizes harmony between man and nature and an appreciation for nature's wildness, a sentiment expressed by Walton, Victor, and the creature. Shelley positions us to sympathize
with the monster, as Victor's belief that it is moral to kill the monster but not fair for the monster to kill his family lacks balance. Despite this, the creature finds gratification in the beauty of nature, much like any other human would.Victor chose to exclude the monster instead of teaching it to integrate into society, even though he could have easily been kind. He felt that he had no right to socialize with humans. The replicates display more humanism than humans, who seem void of emotion, compassion, and love. Roy and Prism quote poetry to elicit our sympathy for the replicates. The romantic language of the replicates is contrasted with humans' colloquialisms and does not fit in with their cosmopolitan environment. Tests to prove the replicates lack empathy are required, but ironically, as the Blunderer's 'retire' the replicate, they abandon their empathy for it, putting themselves on the same level. Replicates (as well as replicate animals) are traded as a commodity without consideration for their feelings, making them a product for exploitation. Pronouns like "she's a replicate" and "how can it not know what it is?" dehumanize replicates.The presence of search lights throughout the scene creates an atmosphere of constant monitoring. As the camera zooms in for a close-up shot of Rachel and Decker's profiles, viewers can see the similarities between them. Switching to the other side, the shot emphasizes their interchangeability and equality. When Decker retires Chore Cut, a shot of his face emphasizes his loss of humanity. In slow motion, viewers witness Rachel's dying moments as she is shot among humans but lays resting among mannequins, highlighting her lack of humanity. Costuming
is used to demonstrate Rachel's lack of humanity as she wears a transparent poncho. She immediately turns to alcohol to cope with her emotions. When Batty kills Tersely out of passion, it contrasts with Decker's decision to retire replicants purely as a job, indicating that replicants have more emotion than humans. The final battle between Roy and Decker is filmed with downward shots on Decker and upward shots on Roy, underlining their differing positions. The central thesis is that an understanding of context enables readers to grasp a deeper meaning and align their interpretation with the composer's intention. Mary Shelley's 1818 gothic novel Frankincense warned about scientific advances at the time, and Ridley Scott's 1982 dystopian thriller Blunderer portrays the potential consequences of ignoring Shelley's warning.
Both literary works serve as a cautionary tale about the dangers of humans attempting to take on the role of God without considering the consequences on both the natural environment and humanity. They use the popular Gothic style of the time to express concerns about the unbridled scientific advancements and the lack of ethical considerations or fear of divine retribution. Mary Shelley's novel, inspired by Galvanism, was the first of its kind to directly address the impacts of scientific development. Victor, one of the Enlightenment scientists whose obsession with knowledge and reason the Romantics opposed, is portrayed as pouring a torrent of light into the dark world. The novel contains sublime and magnificent scenes that brought consolation to the author. As such, it can be seen as a precursor to the science fiction genre.
The Romantic style utilizes a sublimated natural background to symbolize human nature and indicate the stakes
at hand, harkening back to poets like Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Byron. Shelley's influence reveals that his warnings regarding the future were aimed at Enlightenment scientists.
Fast-forwarding 200 years, Scott's vision portrays a world where multinational corporations have triumphed in their pursuit of economic and social domination. Amidst perpetual urban decay stands the Amman-style temple, housing Tersely, the "God of bohemianism," who oversees a species traded like a commodity. This represents the outcome of early 1980s ecocide, Reagan-era overcompensation, and depletion of natural resources.
Scott utilizes miss en scene to strategically place billboards endorsing popular consumer culture, appealing to a highly "assigned" society. The loudspeaker echoes the Muslim call to prayer, making it clear that consumerism has become religion and marketing is now scripture. The panoramic shot of post-apocalyptic LA is devoid of nature and natural light, accompanied by ominous non-dietetic sounds, lightning, and flames that suggest hell. An understanding of Scott's influences allows for comprehension of the complexity behind his portrayal.
In their respective texts, the composers express a worry about the immoral and cruel nature of playing God without taking into account the possible repercussions from different perspectives. In Shelley's Romantic style, he uses a simile to compare Frankenstein to an uncontrollable natural disaster, indicating the recklessness of his profession. From the beginning, Frankenstein sought the power of life, a power that only belonged to God at the time, as indicated by the quote "I entered with the greatest diligence into the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life." The symbolism of Trestle's glasses highlights his short-sightedness, as he fails to consider the implications of the four-year life span given to replicates. Trestle's pure
profiteering rhetoric reflects the typical mindset of businessmen and corporate leaders. The influence of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in 1961, which started the environmental revolution, added to concerns about built-in obsolescence and excessive waste. These contextual influences enable the audience to understand how an obsession with science, coupled with ignoring moral responsibilities, results in a desalination of human values being promoted as "Commerce is our goal here at Tersely".
The comparison between human and monster, and in Blunderer's case, human and commodity, is reminiscent of Cartesian theory and prompts the audience to reconsider whether humanity requires being human. Decker's lack of a congratulatory tone and denunciation of God reveal his abandonment of spirituality and lack of remorse and empathy. The Romantic movement valued nature and sensuality, with Frankincense's loss of humanity embodied by his regret at becoming "insensible to the charms of nature". Using an epistolary structure, Shelley directly compares the narrative voice of Frankincense and the creature, revealing no discernible difference and implying that Frankincense's humanity has degraded. Coot's warning centers around the fear that consumerism will lead to humans being traded as a commodity. Scott employs parallelism to show that humans and replicates possess equal humanity, with Rachel demonstrating humanism that is equal to Declared's.Scott suggests that humans will become heavily dependent on technology, going further than Shelley's implication. The VS.test machine appears to breathe, indicating its humanity. The use of textual form is a crucial element in text composition as it impacts how the audience interprets the presented values. Both Shelley and Scott utilize the conventions of popular textual forms to make their audiences question the act of playing God and consider
whether humanity requires one to be human. While Scott employs visual cinema techniques, Shelley uses vivid linguistic imagery and rhetorical devices, both true to the styles of their contextual time for maximum impact on contemporary audiences. Embedded in Gothic genre focusing on horror, mystery, mortality, and the supernatural through melodrama, Shelley uses popular rhetorical devices to manipulate and reconcile audience's perceived meaning with her own. Additionally, The novel Frankenstein was the first of its kind that expressed direct concern for scientific advancements based on galvanism.Shelley's view was that life and death were restrictive limits, which he intended to surpass by introducing a torrent of light into the world, playing on the analogy of the Enlightenment. This idea became a precursor to science fiction. Shelley used a Romantic style to create a natural setting, which brings a sense of authenticity. Coot's manipulation of meaning through cinematic conventions is discussed in paragraph two. Trestle's Gujarat is contrasted with urban decay, and the characteristics of a god-like figure responsible for human commodity trading are identified. The mise-en-scene shows strategically placed billboards advertising popular culture, and neon signs are the only source of light in the constant darkness. Sounds from the city are drowned out by beakers, which mimics the call to prayer in Muslim countries. This suggests that consumerism has become like a religion, and marketing has replaced religious literature. A panoramic shot with an ominous non-diegetic sound, lightning, and flames depicts hell, making it seem highly realistic, implying that it may be a possibility. In paragraph three, the characterization is manipulated to emphasize the inhuman and unethical nature of creators who egoistically aim to overthrow natural order
without regard for divine retribution or ethical concerns.Shelley characterizes her obsessive pursuit as a natural disaster, likening it to a hurricane, emphasizing its recklessness through dialogue. Trollope exemplifies profiteering corporations that disregard the environment, with the replicates' four-year lifespan symbolizing inbuilt obsolescence. Scott's use of costuming accentuates short-sightedness, as evidenced by his character's big glasses. In paragraph 4, Shelley questions humanity's meaning by using Cartesian theory and an epistolary structure that showcases humanity's communication ability. The audience sees no discernible difference between the creature and humans' comfort derived from nature, thereby challenging Frankincense's denunciation of the "monster," which further impairs the audience's determination of who is human and who is a replicate in true tech noir style, through ambiguous lighting.The use of parallelism in Coot's Blade Runner highlights Rachel's capacity for displaying humanism, while also suggesting that humans may become unable to distinguish between humans and replicants due to their reliance on technology and corporate advertising. Additionally, the film explores themes such as the passion for knowledge and success, cautionary tales, the romantic ideal of nature's power and beauty, and challenges to pantheism. Through its values and textual form, Blade Runner questions the values presented by the respective composers. Examples include Shelley's portrayal of man, God, and nature living in harmony, and Scott's portrayal of bleak outcomes predicted by Shelley. Furthermore, the film's VS.test for replicability requires a machine that appears to breathe.
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