What Are The Similarities Between Frankenstein And Bladerunner

Frankenstein and Bladerunner
Comparatively, Frankenstein and Bladerunner both engage in a discussion of ethics which are deduced from the contextual ideals of each text. In Mary Shelley’s Gothic novella, Frankenstein (1818), Shelley explores 19th century concerns of the hubris of scientific knowledge exceeding nature’s boundaries, as well as man’s failure to accept moral obligations of the creator. Similarly, Ridley Scott’s noir film, Bladerunner: The Director’s Cut (1992), explores 20th century concerns in the exploitation of science for personal satisfaction, as well as the ethical predicament concerning the dehumanization of the Replicants.
Shelley’s didactic, nested story discusses the ethical conundrum behind the hubris of scientific knowledge

In the 20th century context, Scott portrays concerns about technological evolutionism, overpopulation, bioengineering, ecological destruction and commercialism, which is depicted in the opening panning shot of the mega polis. This implies a strong argument against man’s flawed moral values in the abuse of science and technology for commerce through dismal music and pathetic phallacy. Along with this, man’s flawed moral values can be viewed through Scott’s characterisation of Tyrell, as shown in the visualisation of a frail man with thick-rimmed glasses – his physical flaws foreshadowing his moral flaws. This is also later shown through his objectification of Rachel, his Replicant, as an “experiment, nothing more”. In essence Scott presents a futuristic world foreshadowing the over utilization of science and technology; the emblems of the natural world in Blade runner have been turned into man-made objects. Alike Shelley, he cautions his audience about a civilisation which has been corrupted by science and technology – however, while Shelley’s text results from the contradictions in ethics of her context in Romanticism and Rationalism, Scott deduces the late 20th century conundrum of scientific knowledge as a commercial product. Thus, Bladerunner and Shelley’s Frankenstein both result in a discussion of contextual ethical dilemmas involving the exploitation of science for personal