Saturday, May 14, 2011

Event #5

For this event, I chose to attend the screening of The Bride of Frankenstein, a sequel to the movie Frankenstein, but not the novel, as the movie ended with Dr. Frankenstein alive as to allow the sequel to be produced. The movie follows the experiences of the monster as he desperately tries to find solace or shelter, yet is rebuked at every turn as a result of his appearance, while Dr. Frankenstein’s former mentor attempts to play God and craft the creature a bride. After speaking with Frankenstein’s mentor, the monster is on board with this plan, and even assists Dr. Pretorius in forcing Dr. Frankenstein to help him create the bride by kidnapping Elizabeth. The bride, however, is repulsed by the monster, and is a menace herself; seeing this, the monster urges Elizabeth and Dr. Frankenstein to escape while he sacrifices himself to make sure that the bride and Dr. Pretorius don’t cause trouble for anyone ever again. It is a moment of pure selflessness in which the monster realizes the abomination that has been created, and what needs to be done to prevent anything from progressing further.

This is similar to the novel Shane by Jack Schaefer; Frankenstein’s monster is a nomad, eventually settling with a kind blind man who teaches him the meaning of friendship, though he is eventually driven away from them. Shane is also a nomad who comes to live with Joe and his family, and also is driven away from them; when he is driven away, however, he makes the ultimate self-sacrifice and gets himself shot in a gunfight that was originally intended for Joe to battle. Both Shane and Frankenstein’s monster die protecting what they have come to cherish: a sense of friendship. Shane also is a loner like the monster, and though he loves Joe’s wife, does not get her in the end; the monster never gets his bride, either, though he deeply loves the idea of a companion and seeks one not only in the novel, but also in the film.

Both Shane and Frankenstein’s monster end up finding fulfillment in other people, though it is implied at the beginning of both pieces that people have hurt them before.

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