This political cartoon created in 2013 by Gary Varvel of the Indianapolis Star takes on another highly controversial issue in today’s society, global warming. There are two very polarizing sides to this debate. Individuals either believe that it does exist and is a very serious threat to society or that it doesn’t exist and everyone is simply overreacting. This cartoon takes on a humorous display of these differing opinions by showcasing Global Warming depicted as the Monster and the apathetic nature of society that dismisses it. This relates to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as many characters throughout the novel dismissed the Monster until it was too late to change what they had created as a result of their actions.

This political cartoon, created in August 2003 by David Horsey of the Seattle Pi, delves into a increasingly controversial topic of debate as technology and the video game industry become more popularized. Dr. Frankenstein, depicted as the Video Game Industry, advocates for the freedom of the industry, under the First Amendment Right, to create and distribute their products. The Monster, however, is depicted as a little boy fixated and attached through the screen playing video games. The message and issue this seeks to evoke is clear: increasingly violent and popularized video games are turning kids into little monsters.

This political cartoon, created by Patrick Chappatte of the International New York Times, displays the Monster in a unique and interesting way. Wearing an NSA shirt holding a pair of headphones with satellites behind him, it is certain the Monster represents the perceived over-invasion of privacy when dealing with the American people. As a result of heightened backlash during the time, the government was forced to review NSA rules and guideline and modify them in a way that would please the American people. This change is depicted in the cartoon as President Obama holds a “New Rules of Behavior” outline. This relates to Merry Shelley’s Frankenstein, as the Monster is often depicted as being this beast that invades individuals’ lives and cannot be tamed.

This political cartoon published by the Star Tribune in April of 2017 depicts Dr. Frankenstein as President Trump, Igor as Paul Ryan, and the Monster as a Trump-like symbol of Trump Care. This political cartoon aims at shedding a humorous light on the Republican Party’s inability to successfully convince the Senate to pass their bill. Much like Dr. Frankenstein creating the Monster, the Republican Party worked long and hard to create something to present to the public. However, high hopes and dreams for their creations were essentially crushed as the Plan and the Monster did not do what was intended by their creators.

This animated adaptation of Frankenstein entitled “Alvin and The Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein,” approaches the original plot of the story in a fun and interesting way. Catering to individuals of all ages, this movie is easily enjoyed by all and provides young kids with a chance to interpret the message evoked throughout Mary Shelley’s novel.

This universally acclaimed and revered illustrated edition of Frankenstein was created in 1983 by well-known comic book artist, Bernie Wrightson. His exceptional pairing of art and literature, 25 years after its creation, is still considered to be one of the greatest achievements within the field. Wrightson book includes the complete text of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, along with 47 original full-page illustrations that amazed the world with their uniqueness.

Maya CJ Alas

ARTIFACT 4: SMALL POX

PROMPT 1:

Since the beginning of time there have been a multitude of natural and man-induced occurrences that have changed the course of history. Among such natural occurrences, has been the introduction of small pox into societies throughout the world. With historical recollections and medical documents, historians and scientists alike have concluded that smallpox originated in East Asia due to increased human interaction with domesticated animals. As individuals began to settle and depend on agricultural farming, their interaction with tending and harvesting their livestock increased immensely. In some cases, such livestock would be riddled with pox-like diseases. Being that small pox is easily transferrable through face-to-face contact, contaminated objects, air, and body fluids/scabs, the introduction and infection of human-beings was inevitable.

Highly contagious and ideal for the advancements and way of life of individuals during the time, small pox was able to spread all throughout the world, killing hundreds of millions of people who came in contact with it. The trade routes between Asia and Europe introduced small pox within the European sphere and the crusades spread small pox all throughout Europe. Europeans in search of new and rich lands then spread small pox to the African continent and lastly to the Americas, where it would then become a fully global disease. In addition to trade and migration, the slave trade also played a huge part in contributing to the spread of the disease. With individuals in Africa being transported in horrible, disease-prone environments, the disease not only entered such slave ships, but festered on its journey to the Americas. Thus, creating the perfect environment to spread small pox to immunologically virgin communities.

For the case of the Amerindians and their native culture, the introduction of small pox was not kind to the survival of their lineage. Having not been exposed to outsiders and infectious diseases as deadly as small pox, its introduction was fatal. More than their interaction in war and the introduction of guns, new diseases was single-handedly the driver to the eradication of Amerindians and their native cultures. It is through studies and research, that historians were able to conclude that such introduction was not as accidental as it may have seemed at the time. In the case of Europeans, infecting the natives was intentional and would become the first instance of biological warfare used on a group of individuals. The use of small pox as warfare was initially documented in Fort Pitt in 1763. There, top British military officers would order, pay, sanction, and even conduct the spread of small pox among the indigenous populations. Often times, they would give what they called gifts, at the time, to Amerindian emissaries, in hopes to reach as many of the population as possible. In a quote that states “out of our regard to them [Amerindians] we [British military personnel] gave them two Blankets and an Handkerchief out of the Small Pox Hospital. I hope it will have the desired effect,” the blatant attempt to eradicate the indigenous population is as clear as it gets.

With such an effective and efficient way to get rid of those (Amerindians) individuals in the way of the European’s “right to expansion,” the slave trade was then accelerated ten-fold. As a result of killing the native labor force, Europeans turned to slave labor. This had a huge impact on the slave trade and the rapidity of slave imports and exports from Africa to the Americas. Being that small pox was introduced to African civilization well in advance of the beginning of the slave trade, many Africans were either infected or had developed some type of immunity to the disease. Thusly, as the transportation of such infected individuals increased to unaffected areas of the world, the spread of small pox increased mightily, leading to what we know of its epidemic sized impact.

Maya CJ Alas

ARTIFACT 3: ETHICS AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Throughout history, individuals within the field of science and medicine have conducted a countless number of trials and studies with aims of improving the lives and health of individuals throughout the world. However, with the lasting benefits of such monumental studies, there have been heartbreaking instances where moral and ethical boundaries have been crossed in the name of science and medicine. At the time, seeming quite necessary to the individual conducting said studies, the lasting effects and implications of abuse of power within these fields have been profound.

When dealing with the study of infectious diseases, it is necessary for individuals to use animals and humans to research effects of different types of medicine on humans. In addition, to better understand some infectious diseases it is also necessary for scientists to research the way in which said disease works throughout the body. Being that such research is vital to the advancement of medicine and knowledge, throughout history scientist have gone through great lengths to accumulate such data and information. The ethical issues that would arise when conducting such research would be instances like scientist targeting those of minority decent. Although, shaded with the guise that they’re helping the greater good, there have been countless instances throughout history, the most famous being the Tuskegee Experiment, of scientists thinking other races are inferior and expendable, and using them as collateral for their research. In addition to this, researchers, in the name of having no outside influence or interference within their study have withheld the purpose of their experiment, as to have subjects go through out it with ill-informed consent. In a lot of cases, subjects knew nothing of what scientist were reaching or doing to their bodies. Thus, exemplifying the utmost disregard for moral and ethical behavior within the field of research.

What would make an awful display of human kind even worse, are the justifications of the researchers in these trials throughout history. Many would justify their lack of ethical and moral behavior with the guise that they are doing what is essentially best for the majority of their respective countries and the world. In addition, researchers would justify their research with minorities or those incarcerated by making claims that those marginalized groups contribute little to society and would be doing a great service to their country if they did participate in said trials. The Tuskegee experiment is a perfect example of such disregards. Researchers purposefully targeted healthy African American men under the guise that they’d be providing military service to the United States under World War II and thereafter. In a study aimed to combat the effects of Syphilis and gauge its effects on the body as it would cycle through, researchers infected 600 individuals with the disease without informing them of what exactly they were injecting them with. Often times throughout the study, individuals died or would have life long damage done to their bodies. The study could have only been maintained with the subjects having no avenues of treatment done to their bodies. In some cases, doctors outside of the study that did give treatment to those infected would be reprimanded and threatened with jail time. Such are the lengths that scientists and researchers would go through during the Tuskegee Experiment to justify their actions and continue within their guise of unethical and low moral behavior.

The implications of such disregard for humanity throughout history within scientific and medical fields has been profound. With a history of an abuse of power and disregard for lives, individuals to this day are extremely distrusting of individuals within those fields. Vaccines that have been proven beneficial to the extension of human life through making individuals immune to different diseases, have been rejected by individuals within populations that do not trust the medical field. Such is not only detrimental to their health but of the validity of medicine in general. In response to the Tuskegee Experiment, there are still African Americans who have zero trust for medical professionals and refuse medicine that could save their lives, because of the immoral behavior of researchers in the past against those of their race. Although with laws and regulations that prohibit the abuse of power of researchers against subjects are abundant today, individuals are still distrusting of medicine and the government. Thus is why it is essential for those in professions that require the trust and support of the public to perform their jobs effectively, use the utmost ethical and moral behavior. When lives depend on the very ethics of your decisions, there is no question as to whether you uphold yourself to the highest of standards, you just do.