The movie “Frankenstein” talks about an intelligent scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who created a new life out of old body parts. The creature, called Frankenstein, was made with different body parts attached together. Upon seeing the horrifying sights of his latest creation, Victor runs out of the street. Victor sees his creation as a monster and therefore abandons it. Frankenstein then murders multiple people out of anger.
The movie can be analyzed through the disability studies theory. This theory looks at the way in which literature constructs images of disability and abnormality. In the movie, Frankenstein was considered a monster even in the eyes of his very own creator. However, an important question rises: what makes someone a monster, and what qualifies to be a monster? Ultimately, what is it that makes Frankenstein a monster? Some may argue that it is his horrifying physical appearance that makes him a monster. Although he is created through old body parts, we can still call him a human as he does have all the body parts of a human except he may look a little bit deformed and different from what a stereotypical “normal” human would look like. Others may say that it is his horrendous behavior that makes him a monster; killing numerous people.
I think that Frankenstein is misunderstood. He was brought into this world where he would be excluded by everyone and even his very own creator. Because of his looks, he is considered abnormal which puts him in isolation and no one really understands him. I think a lot of what he did was out of anger and isolation. If he was more understood, then he wouldn’t have done what he did. If Frankenstein was created to resemble more of a “normal” human, I think he would’ve been considered as less of a monster. At the same time, I think it is very crucial to treat everyone the same because excluding someone based on something they can’t control, such as their physical appearance or disabilities will have a very tremendous impact on the individual.
I think horror films are popular because of the thrill that it gives the audience. In horror movies, there are a lot of jumpscares and gory scenes and to a lot of people, watching such scenes gives them a sense of thrill. Being scared gives people adrenaline that they enjoy. It stimulates their emotion in a way just like how when they are put into life-threatening experiences. In addition, being exposed to fear will ultimately allow you to handle such emotion in a better way.
I have also watch Frankenstein. After reading your literary criticism, I have completely agreed with the things you have said because this movie has created a realization that there are movie characters or even humans that are defined based on their looks. Frankenstein was a character that was seen as scary monster due to his deformities from other characters.
I have yet to watch Frankenstein and I found your analysis to be quite intriguing. Reading makes a compelled to watch this film for myself and see the examples you described firsthand.
Interesting how your analysis of why the Frankenstein creature is the way he is, ties into the nurture part of the “nature vs. nurture” debate. His environment (being put in isolation), and the way people treated him, shaped how he saw the world, and therefore acted. So this raises the question of whether it is fair to call the creature a monster.
I have yet to watch the original Frankenstein however I’ve seen many appearances of the character in recent modern movies, one would be Hotel Transylvania