Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Bride of Frankenstein
In class, the comparison to Christianity was raised as the "monster" could be a Christ figure. In this scene there is more religious allusions. Are these comparisons valid or is it more valid to accuse director Whale as being anti-Christian? (The monster is created by man, not god; the "monster is resurrected from dead first, then crucified). Finally, how does Whale use mis-en-scene to communicate these ideas?
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I think there is more valid evidence that Whale was anti-Christian. The monster is being portrayed as the opposite of a Christ figure. The director uses mis-en-scene to communicate the hidden meaning through setting, acting and plot. The underlying meaning is that the monster is not accepted in the society because he is different and this is shown through costumes and make up. The monster is taller than everyone else and has a very gruesome appearance.
ReplyDeleteI feel like, religion plays a prominent role in the film, if not for the "crucification" of Frankenstein the last supper with the hermit of bread and wine gave it away, in that way, how the monster is portrayed its almost as if Whale is mocking religion.. plus its kind of backwards that because the belief of the death of Christ followed was by the resurrection but with Whales direction Frankenstein is raised from the dead and only then crucified. The mis-en-scene is the overall hidden meaning that the setting reveals ( such as the forest which is reflective of the monsters mood) and costume and such..
ReplyDeleteIf the monster was supposed to portray Christ I would have to say that specific message was not clear to me. Even though the monster was a misunderstood complex character I felt that he symbolized a minority in society, an like Anna said an anti- Christ. If he was a homosexual he would have been going against various different religions, and if he was a certain race or gender they are constantly prosecuted for being different. Like African Americans, throughout the 20th century they were killed for being different, like the monster. The setting and props are the main elements that Whale used in order to portray these ideas, the monster was running through a thick forest with no way to escape. When the monster was tied to the pole it symbolized the monster dying/ being trapped.
ReplyDeleteI think Whale wasn't anti-Christian. Actually I don't think he was even going for the PRO Christian. True there are indeed a lot of religous allegories in this film (and as Natalya had mention one the "whole three days to go to the other realm" and my notice of the hill in class). This is something you would have to understand if you're an nerdy fan of the realm of Frankenstein (like me), but he (Whale) is actually taking elements from the novel Frankenstein.
ReplyDeleteWhat I mean is that in the first film of the Universial series, it lacks a lot of important elements from the novel. In the novel, the monster can talk (perhaps more fluent than how he is depicted here) and the blind man being his only best friend. While I haven't read the book in a while, but I remember that they were given comparing him to Adam as some point in the novel they were toying the idea of an Eve. (Again I am not too sure since I haven't read it since two years ago). These elements only appeared in this sequel as Universial didn't expect the first being so grand to get a series of its own. And Whale as a director knew it can toy with the audience's mind of whether we should shun the creature or accept him with loving arms. And together these two films beautifully show the thing a lot of people don't realize and fail to see. Frankenstein (whether it is the film series or the novel) isn't just about some looney scientist that creates life and that life is a monster that kills as shown in the first Universial film. No, it is actually a cautionary tale of what science can do as this was coming from an era where people like Mary Shelly who were afraid that science will ruin people's emotions. Worse was the idea of playing God and the moral justifications it may come into play.
Yes I have compared him to Christ in class, but as I said in the begining of this post, he wasn't using the creature "Adam" to Christ or saying "Haha even a man-made organism is more in faith with God!" "Adam" is a tragic victim, the only member of his kind at that point that never knew love and only hatred until he met the blind man. The blind man is depicted as a sacred man which the lighting fulls apound him. Also the camera shots are in close up to express his feelings and notice how the violin is happy and sad? "Adam" he was covered in the darkness but then the fire reveal him more as something of creature with the heart of a lonely child. Close up of him being happy and crying as he is finally accepted.