Chelsea’s Blog

Chelsea Simpson
Meehan
Final Writing Project

The Evolving Modern Day Frankenstein

Mary Shelly’s 1817 novel Frankenstein has many interpretations that have evolved in unison with technology.  Though society has grown to see many film productions emerge over the years that are based on the original Frankenstein, adaptations of Frankenstein include a diverse spectrum of media. In Kenneth Branagh’s 1994 film titled, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Branagh makes a statement by introducing a new theme of rebirth which diverts from the recreation theme seen in the novel. However, the hypertext Patchwork Girl, by Shelly Jackson, an adaptation of  Frankenstein, there is a different underlying purpose as it introduces a new medium through which audiences can receive the story of Frankenstein.  Jackson shows that there are different ways in which one can read.  Instead of the traditional front to back reading with pages, Jackson uses a computer as the medium of delivery. Both Branagh and Jackson create personal twists off of  the original work of Frankenstein with two different purposes for the reader/audience. Technology has enabled both Branagh and Shelley to recreate a more modern version of Frankenstein.

One of the first and most prominent scenes from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the birthing scene when Caroline, Victor’s mother, is giving birth to Victor’s younger brother, William.  This scene is not present in the original novel, but nonetheless as an addition it works to set the audience up for the theme of creation in the form of reproduction.  In this bloody and somewhat frightening scene, Caroline appears to be bleeding to death  in the room, while the few people in the room act frantically as Caroline screams in pain and horror. Although the baby lives, Caroline does not survive the act of giving birth to William.

When analyzing this scene, one may feel that Branagh is not only trying to make a statement that creation comes in the form of reproduction, but also that life and death go hand in hand. This pertains both to the film as well as the novel.  The monster which Victor creates takes many lives that would not have been lost had he never been created. When reflecting on this novel, it appears that Caroline died  from catching the scarlet fever from Elizabeth. Branagh must have felt this was an important scene as he added it into the film. This is an effective way of setting the audience up for the scenes to follow.

Technological advancements enabled Branagh to create a thrilling and suspenseful scene which shows the monster “being born.”  The scene starts off with very loud intense  music and Victor anxiously running around the laboratory. The background music proves to be an effective tool that one would miss out on in the book. The music can be perceived as having a purpose as it helps to lead the audience to idea of the process of birthing. Childbirth, especially in the time period when the novel was published, was considered to be quite dangerous. The loud music before the monster was born corresponds with  the commotion and violence of birth scene. When the monster finally comes to life, the music gets  louder and louder, almost like the rising cries right after a baby is born. The tub from which Victor pulls the monster can be perceived as a symbol for the womb, and the music completely shuts off.  Silence takes over as the monster grasps for air. One could compare the silence to the moment a child is first born before they cry. Not only does the tone of the music indicate the monster’s creation, but the visuals in the scene help portray the process of natural reproduction. The film version adds an extra dimension to the story of Frankenstein that is absent in the pages of the original book.

I expected to hear music when I opened Patchwork Girl, as I thought it would be a blend between the traditional book and a film. Music may have been very effective in transforming the reader into the storyline, but Jackson found other ways in which to engage the reader. Although it did not have music, it used an unorthodox plot line to challenge the reader’s mind, which allows the reader to participate interactively in the story. This dimension allows the reader to become more engaged and focused. Patchwork Girl, requires an initial process of downloading the text to a computer before it could be read. When it opens on the screen, the reader may expect to hear music and see the presence of page numbers.  Instead, the computer screen confronts one with a picture of a woman. After clicking on it the woman it forwards the page to what appears to be the title page. Initially overwhelming was  the fact that the work has no set direction or path in which to read. Readers click on what interests them and keep choosing their own paths as the story progresses. After a bit of exploring Patchwork Girl, the story map comes to the screen.  It appears in the form of a web, giving a visual depiction of the different paths in novel. This seems odd as the book does not have a set direction and is also quite hard to determine if there is a beginning. After completion of the reading it can be concluded that Patchwork Girl has neither beginning nor end to they story. This leads me to believe that Patchwork Girl challenges the reader’s mind in different ways: it makes you put the pieces together and use your imagination to an extent that the traditional book would not.

In the Film Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Branagh’s purpose is to introduce a new theme distinct from that of the novel. Whereas Shelley Jackson’s purpose for Patchwork Girl was to create a piece that challenges the mind to a new extent.  Still, one may wonder what kind of the statement they are trying to make?  First, look  to where creation is portrayed as a process of birth.  Branagh could potentially have highlighted natural reproduction because he wanted to take a stance and make a strong point of anti-feminism in the film. Looking back on the film, because of the suggested process of creation in the form of birth, one could relate this to a woman’s “job.” For the creation of the monster, one may wonder if he is making a statement that women are incapable of creating life that is perfect. Feminism prevails in both the film as well as the novel as the significant underlying theme. Branagh may have wanted to show that reproduction, a woman’s job will, never be perfect. However, in the  hypertext Patchwork Girl, Jackson’s purpose was challenge the reader’s mind. But what is her statement in doing this?  I believe that she wants to show that as technology advances the mind can as well, and introducing hypertext is a new an innovative way to read and challenge the mind.  Instead of having a set path or direction, Patchwork Girl allows the reader freedom to choose what they want to read and when they want to do so.  Every time that  I opened Patchwork Girl I was challenged.  I found that when reading I would often find something new and have to go back and “piece” the story together, kind of like patchwork.  As technology progresses it would not be surprising to see more hypertext works available to the people. Hypertext may only be the beginning of a media revolution in novels and other written works.

Kenneth Branagh’s film production and Shelley Jackson’s hypertext are two prime examples of how technology has an influence on the way we perceive works of literature.  Some may try to argue the fact that technology is negatively impacting our society as a whole – that we depend too heavily upon it.  Take for example, Sven Birkerts, the author of The Gutenberg Elegies.  He believes that society is living in too much of an electronic culture which is having a negative effect on out literary world. Birkerts points out that technology is influencing printed works, but in reality it is the print that is influencing technology. Films like the one mentioned would not have been made had their not been a literary work before it from which to build upon. Patchwork Girl may never have been produced had the original Frankenstein book never been published.

Technology is ever changing and there are certain aspects of it that may take away from the literary world of yesterday. But books and written works need to correspond with changing technology if they wish to continue to be a part of this evolving world of today. The human race has always been an innovative one, books have already evolved through so much, through the copying of books by monks, to changes acquired by the invention of the printing press, to today’s mass production of books in factories. Technology has brought written works that far and it seems that it will continue to influence the way in which we perceive them.

Reflection:

When I first started thinking about the final project, I honestly had no idea what I was going to write about.  I kept going back to my four writing projects that I had completed  over this semester and thinking how can I construct them into better essays.   I also went back and looked at the suggestions Professor Meehan gave me which I found to be very helpful.  He pointed out key points and new ideas on how to develop a stronger and more thorough essay.  I finally, decided to go back to my third writing project and expand on it. This was one of my more recent project and it was sill fairly fresh in my mind.  I had a lot of new ideas to bring into the paper to after reading the hypertext Patchwork Girl.  I also incorporated parts of my last essay into this final project as well. I like the fact that both Patchwork Girl and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein are two new media which are based around the original novelFrankenstein. I began to make a connection between technology and print material and how a writer can convey a certain message.

In this final project I wanted to analyze the authors purpose of creating a different medium other than print in order to tell a modern day Frankenstein.  This writing project was very challenging because I had to not only revise an essay but further my thinking and reading.  With this final project, I attempted to combine two essay and construct them into even stronger  pieces of writing.  I also expanded on Birkerts and Jackson purpose on taking the original Frankenstein and put it into a new medium. I think that this essay turned out very well and one can see an improvement from my first essay to this last final project, which was one of my major goals for this semester.

After this final writing project, I feel very confident and positive that my writing has improved since the beginning of the fall semester.  This final project made me go back and re-read my writing projects and I could tell my writing has improved with each essay. I think that this English class has guided me and helped me tackle some problems I had when writing a paper. Two major points of emphasis that I tried to improve on this semester was the flow of my writing and building a strong thesis.  I noticed that in my first essay my thesis was somewhat unclear and I feel like the flow caused the reader to have some questions; though looking back on my last writing project I think I had a strong interesting thesis and the paper flowed nicely. Overall I really enjoyed this course which has made me look at influence of technology on the print world.  I hope to only become a stronger writer and take what I have learned in this class and use it in other classes and writing assignments.

Chelsea Simpson
April 20, 2009
English 101

“words are words, get over it…”

There is no question that we live in a technologically advanced world, so much so that new advancements are now allowing for readers to access written works on the internet or via a CD-rom in replace of the traditional bound novel. This has called into question, the affect that the reader will get from reading off the new medium. For example, does a reader get the same effect when reading words through a computer screen than from a print book. Although preferences may change from person to person, “words are still words- on page or screen” (Birkerts 154). Birkerts feels strongly against this notion of sameness. Sven Birkerts, the author of The Gutenberg Elegies, claims that there is a distinct difference between reading a book and reading words off of a computer screen. Birkerts argues that “because the order of print is linear” it allows the reader to stay both focused and engaged in the material. Whereas reading a hypertext lacks the physical aspects associated with a book. In Birkerts eyes this makes it less likely for a reader to concentrate and pay attention to the material. But is that really the case?  After reading, the hypertext, Patchwork Girl, created by Shelley Jackson, being engaged was not an issue.  In fact, the opposite occurred even though it was not linear or organized, it was fairly easy to comprehend and follow. Although, Birkerts would disagree with the fact that Shelly’s hypertext Patchwork Girl is a novel because it is not in traditional print form, my experience with Patchwork Girl has lead to the conclusion that this could be classified as a novel.  Not only does this work challenge the mind but it makes the reader to work to piece the story together.
Sven Birkerts, the author of The Gutenberg Elegies, believes that reading a work through a computer screen is not as effective as reading from a book or print.   Birkerts suggests that  a “screen and book may exhibit the same string of words, but the assumptions that underlie their significance are entirely different depending on whether we are reading from a book or a circuit generated text” (Birkerts 128 ). In other words, he believes that reading on the computer does not produce the same effect as reading from a book. The author of The Gutenberg Elegies points to electronic hypertext as the easy way out.  He believes that the modern day reader may prefer this nontraditional way of reading because of its ease and availability. He brings up the fact that because books are linear and have pages they allow for time management which in turn allows for “the active engagement of the readers attention” (Birkerts 122).  The aspect of  turning from page to page is lost when reading from an electronic device such as a computer and “detail and linear sequentially are sacrificed” (Birkerts 122).  In fact the linear aspect of a book actually is the easy way out; reading a hypertext challenges the mind as well as gives the reader freedom to choose what and when they want to read. This actually allows the reader to be engaged in the hypertext because it is constantly challenging you to pay attention to the text.
Birkerts point of view that when reading a work it must be linear and have a set path; however, from my own personal experience I found this assumption to be otherwise. An electronic hypertext is capable of doing something that a regular book cannot. Books often lead to boredom and distraction.  However, when reading a hypertext by means of the internet or computer screen  the reader can actually become more engaged and focused. The convenience of being able to look up the definition of unknown words with the ease of the internet keeps one reading without hesitation.  Although Birkert’s argues that you need pages to get through a reading, my experience has found this to be false.  Page numbers are not necessary to keep track of time and duration of reading time.  The story plot can serve the same purpose in determining the duration of ones reading time, in low points a break could be taken.
Patchwork Girl, the hypertext by Shelley Jackson, is unlike any print book of I have experienced.  This work is an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; it allows for and challenges the reader to be very “hands on.”  This notion of hands on allows the reader to become engaged in the reading. Patchwork Girl, required an initial process of downloading the text to a computer before it could be read. When it opened on the screen, the expectation of  music or the presence page numbers filled my mind.  Instead, the computer screen confronted me with a of a picture of a woman. After clicking on it the woman forwarded pages to what appeared to be the title page. Initially overwhelming was  the fact that the work had no set direction or path in which to read.  Instead the reader clicks on what interests them and the reader keeps choosing their own path as the story progresses. After a bit of exploring of the Patchwork Girl the story map came to the screen.  It appeared in the form of a web, this gave a visual depiction of the different paths in novel. This seemed odd as the book did not have a set direction and it was hard to determine if there was a beginning. After completion of the reading it can be concluded that Patchwork Girl does not have a beginning nor  an end. This lead to the belief that this media form of novels is far from easy to understand.  But I came to the conclusion that Patchwork Girl challenges the readers mind in different ways, it makes you put the pieces together and use your imagination to an extent that a traditional book would not. Shelley Jackson’s purpose of creating this piece may have been to challenge the mind to new extents, which challenges readers who are  accustomed of reading print pieces to struggle through and become accustomed to hypertext works like Patchwork Girl.  The fact that this piece does not have a set direction allows the reader to have freedom that isn’t present in a traditional novel.
Overall, the hypertext Patchwork Girl served as a challenge for the reader, which I believe may have been Shelly Jackson’s purpose for creating this media. She strove to show that there are different ways in which to read, as opposed to the traditional front to back reading with pages  Although Birkerts suggests the technology or more specifically hypertext is the “easy way out,” Patchwork Girl was far from easy to read. Instead of having a set path or direction  Patchwork Girl allows the reader to have freedom to choose what and when they want to read.  Every time that I opened Patchwork Girl I was challenged, I found something new and would have to go back and “piece” the story together. Hypertext may not be the traditional form in which one reads a novel, but it is still a written work and should be considered a novel regardless of its medium. As technology progresses it would not be surprising to see more hypertext works available to the people. Hypertext may only be the beginning of a media revolution in novels and other written works.

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English 101
“that was than this is now…”

Today, there is no question that we live in the technologically advanced world.  The question is however, is technology having a negative impact on society and more specifically the world of print. Take for example, a computer.  Computer’s are becoming so advanced and popular author’s are starting to create novels on a disk(s) which allows the reader to access the material through a monitor instead of by pages. Although some readers believe that the physical sense of a book is more effective than a CD-rom, it depends on the reader to determine which style is more effective for them. Sven Birkerts, the author of The Gutenburg Ellegies, believes that although we are stepping forward with technology, society is becoming technologically dependent and technology has greatly influenced the world of print.

Sven Birkerts, believes that reading something through a computer screen is nowhere as effective as reading from a book or print.  Birkerts points out that, “screen and book may exhibit the same string of words, but the assumptions that underlie their significance are entirely different depending on whether we are staring at a book or a circuit generated text” (Birkerts 128 ).  In other words, one could read the same piece, one on a printed page and the other by following the words on a  computer screen, and

One of the biggest arguments that I believe that Birkerts tries to make is that electronic hypertext is the easy way out.  He believes that the modern day reader may prefer this untraditional way of reading because it is much easier to use. But is that really the case? He touches on the fact that

I have to say that I strongly disagree with Birkerts point of view that.. I think that he misses something in his argument.

When comparing a book to an electronic hypertext, one of the main differences between the two is the interface. Before I even opened Patchwork Girl, I did have to go through a process of downloading it to my computer before I even could start reading.  Even though downloading the disk to my computer may seem like a process, it only took a minute to open so I did not let that bother me.  When Patchwork Girl opened on the screen, I was confronted with a of a picture of a woman. When I clicked on and the woman it than  took me to what looks to be the title page. I was very overwhelmed that there was no set direction or path to read this piece. Instead the reader clicks on what interests them and the reader keeps choosing their own path. After exploring Patchwork Girl I came across the story map.  This looks like a web, which gives a visual depiction of the different paths in novel. I began to wonder, is their an beginning? As far I know Patchwork Girl does not have a beginning let alone an end that I found, which was my first instinct that this media is far from easy.  Patchwork girl challenges the readers mind to put the pieces together, almost like the process of putting a body together. I believe that Shelley Jackson’s purpose of creating this piece was to challenge the mind. She wants readers who are  accustomed of reading a print pieces to have trouble and struggle when first reading Patchwork Girl.

Compost

Writing Project 4

“that was than and this is now..”

A novel can be defined as something new and not resembling something formerly known or used and or something original or striking especially in conception or style. Today, the more traditional novel, one that is bound with pages in-between and a summary on the back is no longer the only form of a novel. Today, one can read a novel via the computer or internet. However the question here is, is reading something on the computer or online as successful as reading it with the physical properties most reader die for such as such as the pages, smell of a new book, and being able to put a book mark in the book and walk away and come back to it whenever you want. Sven Birkerts, the author of the Gutenburg Elegies, would strongly disagree in saying that one can not get the same experience from a monitor than reading from a book. Is technology making society dumber? A novel does not have to be linear.

In the Gutenberg Elegies, Sven Birkerts makes focus on the topic of the technology and his concerns with stepping forward into the new electronic millennium. For Birkerts, he believes that “screen and book may exhibit the same string of words, but the assumptions that underlie their significance are entirely different depending on whether we are staring at a book or a circuit generated text.” Focus on section with unfinished mess page 157 and 158

messy.

Computer processing the difference between process and product

Random add ins:

Summarize:

His opinion:

Coda

Technology is the easy way out-making pact with the devil

We don’t want to work

Advancements are shallow

“lateral connections”

Easy

World wide

Social/collective

Unfinished mess-pw body parts

We are all going to be stupid because of technology

If we don’t have books we don’t have intelligence

Shelley Jackson

: Messy writer -once you learn, with PW girl you don’t know when to stop

Glog: 3/10/2009

FML

Society, as a whole, depends too heavily upon technology. There are times at which it can be useful; however, other times prove it to be nothing more than a large burden.  Sven Birkerts, author of The Gutenberg Elegies, believes that today’s society, especially the baby boomers, are living in too much of an electronic culture and I must agree. Birkerts pointed out that years ago, he and his friend co-managed a used and rare book store in Ann, Arbor Michigan.  One day they received a call from an English professor that was not much older than them, and said he was “selling everything,” meaning his entire collection of books. The professor had a remarkable collection of wall to wall books, and sold the collection to them for hardly anything. Both Birkerts and his partner were very curious to why this man wanted to get rid of such as collection.  They soon found out that he was switching his life style.  The professor was leaving books behind and stepping into the electronic future with the help of one device, a computer. Birkerts later quotes that, “A change is upon us-nothing could be clearer…The shift is happening throughout our culture, away from patterns and exhibits of the printed page and towards a new world distinguished by its reliance on electronic communications.” This is a very valid statement about society moving towards an electronic culture.  Moreover, I believe we cannot abandon or forget about the purpose as well as the importance traditional ways of life before the technology “boom.”  I am not in any way trying to “dis” technology; for I would be the first to admit I am a techno geek. However, I do think that as a society, we relay too much on something that does have many flaws.  Take for example the computer. Much of society has their “life” on their computer/laptop.   Yet in a second a computer could crash and one’s stress level would be astronomical. 

            You may be wondering why the title of my paper is called FML.  If you do not know what this acronym, I am sorry; you need to “get in on” the texting abbreviations. The term is used when one is having a really bad day.  But I can even say F-M-L is NOT only used when texting. The acronym has become very popular.  I can say with confidence that I hear someone say FML at least three times a day.  Ironically, this just goes to show how abbreviating words to make texting easier has carried on to everyday English.

Today I had a very FML kind of day.  I can say that I wrote this very Glog about two days ago on a totally different topic. However, I foolishly did not post it to Compost and instead saved it to my computer.  I told myself I will read over the day before it was due and send it in.  As one can see I am posting this at 2:40 in the morning due to the fact my computer crashed and I had to re-do this assignment.  I couldn’t believe that the one tool I own which I 100% trusted died on me. Not only did my computer die, so did my pictures, addresses, saved assignments (not to mention a study guide I had just completed for economics that took me hours) music, videos ext. I looked to my computer to make my life a hell of a lot easier, and over the last couple of hours my computer has reversed the favor-making my life living hell. Technology is in no way shape or form perfect.   Thanks computer or should I say technology.     

Blog

Chelsea Simpson

April 3, 2009

Media not Perfect but is Patchwork Girl

Shelley Jackson hypertext titled Patchwork Girl could be looked at as a modern day sequel to the novel Frankenstein. Before I could even start reading Patchwork Girl, I began the process of trying to figure out how to download this software onto my computer, which for someone who is not a computer person is very hard. It was frustrating when I couldn’t figure out how to open it onto my computer after having already spent so much time into it. I finally gave up with trying to upload the software to my computer and used my roommates computer instead. With that said, because I was so aggravated I think that I went in to the reading with already having a negative perspective on the media.

When I finally opened up the reading, I found myself at what looks to be the title page, which was a female body. On this page one can decide what to read by clicking the different sections or chapters. I at first found myself fighting this media and not enjoying what I was reading but instead getting very frustrated. I was very overwhelmed and lost on how to go about reading this story because it is an electronic media and I have never read anything like this before. I am one that likes structure as well as having a set number of pages to read with a beginning and end to a novel. Patchwork girl is quit the opposite of a text that has “order.” As I began to read the experts, I started to somewhat understand what was going on. Patchwork Girl is a monster like Frankenstein who Shelley created so that Frankenstein would have a companion. For the first 10-15 minutes I didn’t really focus that much on reading per say, instead trying to figure out where I wanted to start reading. I still found myself fighting this media and not enjoying it; however, once I clicked on “the graveyard” section I started reading with a different mind set. I told myself I am not reading to get to a certain destination, rather I am just going to read and see where I end up. Once I did this I started having fun with it and actually started to enjoy what I was reading. In this section the reader is informed about the where the Patchwork Girl’s body parts came from as well as background information.

I really enjoyed being able to click on the name of a body part and be able to find where that body part came from. One thing that caught my eye is a first one may think that that Patchwork Girl has perfect body parts or finding something positive about each one. For example, Jackson quotes that the Patchwork Girls liver being, “[my liver is] modest, effect, shapely, and affectionate.” The reader later find out that her finger is from that of a robber, which shows that perfection in a sense is impossible. Ironically, I later found a quote on perfection which sates “The human, more than human resurrected body is a body restored to wholeness and perfection, even to a perfection it never achieved its original state.” I thought it was interesting perfection came up because as I was reading I was think the patchwork Girl is “perfect.”

All in all after reading I began to like how I could choose what I wanted to read or where I wanted to go. I really did enjoy the graveyard section. Unlike the novel Frankenstein, I like how you found out who body parts where used to assemble the Patchwork Girl. As I read I was thinking in my head, this “monster” seems perfect. After every body part the Patchwork Girl tells a positive of the body part; for example, when she sated “[my liver is] modest, effect, shapely, and affectionate.” After reading more I saw that her finger came from a robber which I found to be like a “curve ball,” in the midst of all these perfect body parts. Later on I read I section on perfection. I thought that this was very ironic because I was thinking about that very topic as I was reading the graveyard.

Therefore, I am still not a total fan of “Patchwork Girl” but it is growing on me. If I had to ask Jackson any questions I would ask her how she came up with the set up for her media. When looking at some of the sections I almost see a body, and I wonder if she did that intentionally or not. When looking at the lines connecting the boxes I think of veins which could be an effective way to engage the reader and get them in the mind frame of the Patchwork Girl.

Chelsea Simpson

The “Birth” of Frankenstein in Film

Over the past several decades society has seen many film productions emerge that are based off Mary Shelley’s legendary 1817 novel, Frankenstein. Kenneth Branagh’s 1994 film titled, “Mary Shellys Frankenstein” is one of the only re-tellings’ of the novel that stays true to the novel’s original storyline. Although in the film, “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein,” Branagh does display the novel accurately, differences between the two are evident. Throughout the movie, scenes of creation and or birth are emphasized in order to obtain the reader’s attention. In the scenes, Branagh makes changes from the novel, which could be because he wants to show his interpretation of how he read Frankenstein; therefore, making his own statement. In these particular scenes, Branagh suggests that reproduction comes in the form of natural labor, which is a new interpretation of the novel, Frankenstein.

One of the fist scenes from “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein,” that may catch the viewer’s eye is that of the birthing scene when Caroline, Victor’s mother, is giving birth to his younger brother, William. Here is one scene that is not presented in the novel, but does in fact set the audience up for the interest of creation as in the form of reproduction. In this bloody and somewhat frightening scene, Caroline looks to be bleeding to death, as she is trying to give birth to William. The few people in the room seem to be frantic as Caroline screams in pain and horror. Although the baby survives, unfortunately Caroline fails to survive the labor. When analyzing this scene, one may feel that Branagh is not only trying to make a statement that creation comes in the form of reproduction, but also creation/life can cause death. This pertains to both the film as well as the novel, “Frankenstein” because the monster, which Victor creates takes many lives, which would not have happened unless he was created. When looking back on this novel, Caroline does pass away though from catching the scarlet fever from Elizabeth. Thus, Branagh had to feel this was a very important scene that should be added into the film, and I believe is an effective way to set the audience up for the scenes to follow.

The scene in the film where Caroline gives birth to William, sets the audience up for the “birthing” or creation of the monster. In this section of the film, Branagh again emphasizes a different portrayal of creation than in the novel. This scene of the movie differs greatly than the few lines Mary Shelley gives the reader in the novel Frankenstein. In chapter five of the novel, where the creation of the monster actually occurs, one may look at Victor as playing God by creating life though never look at Victor as a parent or father like figure towards the monster. However in the film, not only does Branagh suggest the process of natural reproduction but also the viewers may also feel that at first, Victor is very father like towards the monster. The film highlights on these new ideas, which are not in the novel, by using background music as a tool as well as a showing the audience the “birth” of the monster.

The creation scene in the film starts off with very loud suspenseful music while Victor anxiously runs around the laboratory. The background music proves to be a very effective tool that one reading Frankenstein misses out on. The music can in fact be perceived as very purposeful and may help lead the audience to think of the process of birthing. When thinking of labor especially in the time period when the novel was written, giving birth was considered quite dangerous. The loud music before the monster was born could be implying the commotion of birth. When the monster finally comes to life as he tapped on the enclose tub he was held in, the music began to get louder and louder, almost like the cries right before a baby is born. As Victor pulled the monster out of the tub, which can be perceived as a womb, music completely shut off and stayed very quiet as the monster grasped for air. One could compare the silence to when a child is finally born, there is normally silence until the newly born baby begins to cry. Not only does the tone of the music in the film indicate the monster creation, but also the visuals in the scene help portray the process of natural reproduction.

The creation scene in the film contrasts with what one reading Frankenstein may imagine to occur. In the novel Frankenstein, Victor quotes, “ I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet.” This is one of only a few lines Shelley uses to describe the creation of the monster. Based on the novel, one may feel that whether the monster comes to life is based on the how Victor put him together in the laboratory. However, in the creation scene of the film, Branagh uses vivid imagery to again emphasize his theme of natural reproduction. Branagh makes references to embryonic fluid, which is injected into the palms and feet of the monster before the monster comes to life. This is a key image that leads the audience to feel as though the monster is “being born.” Another visual of this scene that leads the audience to think of birth is when Victor first pulls the monster out of the tub structure full of water. Victor patiently helps the monster as they both slide around the slippery floor and as the monster desperately tries to stand up. Unlike in the novel, in the film, one may feel a connection between father, Victor and son, the monster. This bond exhibit’s a sense of peacefulness when the monster is first born as Victor is so happy the monster comes to life. Although the reader in Frankenstein most likely does not feel a sense of peacefulness or bond between father and son, both factors that are not in the novel help develop the Branagh’s point of reproduction.

Both the novel Frankenstein and the film, “Marry Shelley’s Frankenstein” both have the common theme of creation. However, in the film, creation is portrayed as a process of birth. Therefore, one may question why Branagh’s thought it was so important to suggest this process of birth in the film, which does follow so closely to Mary Shelley’s novel. Branagh could potentially have highlighted natural reproduction because he wants to state a strong point of anti-feminism in the film. Looking back on the film, because of the suggested process of creation in the form of birth, one could relate this to a woman’s “job.” For the creation of the monster, one may wonder if he is making a statement that women are incapable of creating life that is so perfect. Feminism prevails in both the film as well as the novel as significant theme. Branagh may have wanted to show that reproduction, which is a woman’s job will never be perfect; which could be his own vision of Frankenstein.

The “Birth” of Frankenstein

Over the past several decades society has seen many film productions emerge that are based off Mary Shelley’s legendary 1817 novel, “Frankenstein”. Many of these film productions have ignored the general themes of the novel and chose to incorporate their own interpretations of Shelly’s story. Kenneth Branagh’s 1994 film titled, “Mary Shellys Frankenstein” is one of the only re-tellings’ of the novel that stays true to the novel’s original storyline.

Although in the film, “Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein,” Branagh does display the novel accurately, differences between the two are evident. Throughout the movie, scenes of creation and or birth are emphasized in order to obtain the reader’s attention. In the scenes, Branagh makes changes from the novel, which could be because he wants to show his interpretation of how he read Frankenstein; therefore, making his own statement. In these particular scenes, Branagh suggests that reproduction comes in the form of natural labor, which is a new interpretation of the novel, Frankenstein.

One of the fist scenes from “Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein,” that may catch the viewer’s eye is that of the birthing scene when Caroline, Victor’s mother, is giving birth to his younger brother, William. There is one scene that is not presented in the novel, but does in fact set the audience up for the interest of creation as in the form of reproduction. In this bloody and somewhat frightening scene, Caroline looks to be bleeding to death, as she is trying to give birth to William. The few people in the room seem to be frantic as Caroline screams in pain and horror. Although the baby survives, unfortunately Caroline fails to survive the labor. When analyzing this scene, one may feel that Branagh is not only trying to make a statement that creation comes in the form of reproduction, but also creation/life can cause death. This pertains to both the film as well as the novel, “Frankenstein” because the monster, which Victor creates takes many lives, which would not have happened unless he was created. When looking back on this novel, Caroline does pass away though from catching the scarlet fever from Elizabeth. Thus, Branagh had to feel this was a very important scene that should be added into the film, and I believe is an effective way to set the audience up for the scenes to follow.

The scene in the film where Caroline gives birth to William, sets the audience up for the “birthing” or creation of the monster. In this section of the film, Branagh again emphasizes a different portrayal of creation than in the novel. This scene of the movie differs greatly than the few lines Mary Shelley gives the reader in the novel “Frankenstein.” In chapter five of the novel, where the creation of the monster actually occurs, one may look at Victor as playing God by creating life though never look at Victor as a parent or father like figure towards the monster. However in the film, not only does Branagh suggest the process of natural reproduction but also the viewers may also feel that at first, Victor is very father like towards the monster. The film highlights on these new ideas, which are not in the novel, by using background music as a tool as well as a showing the audience the “birth” of the monster.

The creation scene in the film starts off with very loud suspenseful music while Victor anxiously runs around the laboratory. The background music proves to be a very effective tool that one reading “Frankenstein” misses out on. The music can in fact be perceived as very purposeful and may help lead the audience to think of the process of birthing. When thinking of labor especially in the time period when the novel was written, giving birth was considered quite dangerous. The loud music before the monster was born could be implying the commotion of birth. When the monster finally comes to life as he tapped on the enclose tub he was held in, the music began to get louder and louder, almost like the cries right before a baby is born. As Victor pulled the monster out of the tub, which can be perceived as a womb, music completely shut off and stayed very quiet as the monster grasped for air. One could compare the silence to when a child is finally born, there is normally silence until the newly born baby begins to cry. Not only does the tone of the music in the film indicate the monster creation, but also the visuals in the scene help portray the process of natural reproduction.

The scene of creation in the film does contrast with what one reading Frankenstein may picture happening. In the scene where the monster comes to life, Branagh uses many graphics to again emphasize his theme of natural reproduction. Branagh makes references to embryonic fluid which is injected into the palms and feet of the monster before the monster comes to life. This is a key visual that leads the audience to feel like the monster is “being born,” since embryonic fluid is a part of labor. Another visual part of this scene that interprets birth is when Victor first pulls the monster out of the tub enclosure full of water. Victor patiently helps the monster as they both slide around the slippery floor as the monster desperately tries to stand up. Unlike the novel Frankenstein one may like this is a connection between father as son as well as a sense of peacefulness. Victor seems to be very happy that the monster lived, Both of factors that are not in the novel goes along with the theme reproduction in the form of birth

In conlcusion, What does brano get right or wrong, is element of reproduction that gets highlighted.\

Conclusion: reiderting larger of Frankenstein in terms of reproduction and birth..

Some other language maybe we need to rethink Frankenstein is sense of gender

Gender big ideaa in this movie..do you think branoa gets it right

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Film

Over the last couple of decades, society has grown to see many film productions which have been based on the legendary 1817 novel “Frankenstein,” by Mary Shelley. However, numerous of these film productions of Frankenstein have unfortunately ignored the general themes of the novel and not follow closely to Shelly’s original text. However, in the 1994 film titled “Mary Shellys Frankenstein” directed by Kenneth Branagh, is one of the only re-tellings’ of the novel that does stay true to the storyline.

Although in this film, “Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein,” Branagh does display the novel accurately, differences between the two are evident. From the beginning, middle, and end of the movie, scenes of creation and or birthing are emphasized to catch the reader’s attention. In these scenes, Branagh makes changes from the novel which may be because he want to show his interpretation of how he read Frankenstein; therefore, making his own statement. In these particular scenes, Branagh suggest the interest of creation as in the form of labor.

One of the fist scenes from “Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein,” that may catch the viewers eye is that of the birthing scene when Caroline, Victors mother is giving birth to his younger brother William. Here is one a scene that is not in the novel, but does in fact start to set the audience up for the interest of creation as in the form of reproduction. In this bloody and almost frightening scene, Caroline is bleeding to death, blood dispersed throughout the room, when giving birth to William. The few people around in the room seem to be frantic as Caroline is screaming in pain and horror. Although the baby survives, unfortunately Caroline fails to make it through the labor. When analyzing this scene, one may feel that Branagh is not only trying to make a statement that creation comes in the form of reproduction but also creation/life could cause death. This pertains to both the film as well as the novel “Frankenstein” because the monster which Victor created takes many lives. When looking back to the novel, Caroline does pass away though from catching the scarlet fever from Elisabeth. Thus, Branagh had to feel that this was a very important scene that should be added into the film and I believe is an effective way to set the audience up for the scenes to follow.

The birthing shown in the begging of the film leads the audience to another scene that is where the process of the creation of the monster is shown. In this part of the film, once again Branagh emphasizes a different portrayal of creation than in the novel which is creation comes the form of labor. This scene of the movie differs greatly in the film then in the reading. This is because in chapter five of the novel where the creation of the monster actually takes place, one may look at Victor as playing god by creating life though focus on the fact that the creation of the monster takes place because of this laboratory setting. In the film however, although the creation does take place in the laboratory one may look at the creation process of the monster as a form of birthing or labor. Branagh adds much more to the scene than the couple lines that the reader gets in the novel. Instead the film uses the background music as well as references to embryonic fluid to suggest Braaghs interpretation of creation.

The creation scene of the films starts off with very loud suspenseful music while Victor is anxiously running around the laboratory. The background music is a very effective tool that a reader of the novel Frankenstein cannot grasp. The music could in fact being very purposeful and helps may lead the audience to think of the process of birthing. When thinking of labor especially in the time period when the

This is because labor causes much Victor places the monster in a tub like enclosure and then shoots with needles embryonic fluids throughout his body. The embryonic fluid is of

Over the last couple of decades, society has grown to see many film productions which have been based on the legendary 1817 novel “Frankenstein,” by Mary Shelley. However, numerous of these film productions of Frankenstein have unfortunately ignored the general themes of the novel and not follow closely to Shelly’s original text. many Frankenstein spin-offs do not portray the monster accurately, and instead cause the audience to feel no sympathy for the monster. However, in the 1994 film production title “ Mary Shellys Frankenstein” stays true to the storyline and themes of the novel. In this re-telling of the novel, the film interprets the text by accurately displaying the good and bad qualities in monster as well as Victor Frankenstein.

What is the primary interpretation or “thesis” of this film in its re-telling or remediation of the Frankenstein story? No good could come out of playing the role of god

What does it emphasize in its version of Frankenstein? Good and bad in both monter and frankestein

What 1 or 2 aspects of this film (again, as a film, a different medium than a print novel) do you read as significant in how the film uses/interprets/remediates the novel?

Paragraph two: good in monster  (scene at cottage)

Paragraph three: bad in monster