Frankenstein Essay Two

For this essay we were tasked with analyzing Frankenstein’s impact in modern popular culture.  This essay take’s a look at how the creature from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is perceived as in today’s culture, and compares the themes of the novel with the themes of the commercials.  The creature has changed drastically throughout the years, so looking at how different he is now compared to Shelley’s 1818 version of the story.

 

 

Michael Bertram

Lt. Col. Ticen

ERH-421: Frankenstein

21 October 2018

Help Received: View References, Class Discussions

Frankenstein Themes in Modern Culture

One of the most alluded to and referenced stories in all of time is Mary Shelley’s 1818 Frankenstein.  It is a story of creation and horror themes while the characters introduce and face moral and ethical battles.  While the tale of Frankenstein is often skewed and presented differently from the original novel, many of the story’s plotlines and themes are referenced and reproduced in various films and story renditions.  One rendition in particular that changed the course of how Frankenstein is viewed was the 1931 film edition of Frankenstein.  This film glorified the creature in Frankenstein as the large, green, bolts-on-neck, character that he is often portrayed as today.  While many of the original Frankenstein’s themes and ideas are still seen in modern culture, the 1931 rendition of the film is what most people know Frankenstein as today.  The green, illiterate creature is how the monster is almost always depicted as and what many people think that the original Frankenstein represented as well.  Modern America culture has fed off the movie portrayal of the creature in Frankenstein to advertise to a widespread audience, knowing they will recognize the popular figure.  As the commercial industry is on the rise, Frankenstein’s creature has been seen in a multitude of advertisements for businesses such as cell phone companies and medicine.  The film adaptation of Frankenstein is recognizable and intriguing, making viewers at home really have an interest as to what the Frankenstein creature could have to say.

This commercial was created by T-Mobile in 2013 in advertisement against rival company AT&T in order to promote the company’s improved bandwidth and better service, opposed to AT&Ts.

            The first thing one notices when watch this commercial is the evident elements of the 1931 film adaptation of the novel.  The two actors, one appears to be the creature in Victor, seem to be standing in Victor’s lab.  The character standing to the creature’s right is wearing a laboratory type coat, giving us reason to believe that he is the scientist we know as Victory.  The creature is seen as large and green with a scarred face and bolts in his neck.  This is very much like the creature is seen in the films throughout history, and I believe the reason T-Mobile chose to portray him this way is because it is a more recognizable figure for all ages.  The dialogue between the two characters varies as to which edition of the story that the commercial is referencing.  Victor’s character talks down to the monster like he is uneducated and does not understand him.  He shows signs of ownership over the creature and feels as if he is unequal to humans.  These are all elements of the film adaptations to the novel.  Contradictory to the way Victor is talking in the commercial, the creature is extremely literate, and questions why Victor keeps perceiving him as illiterate.  The original novel depicts a creature that comprehends the English language and is far beyond his years in terms of basic knowledge and communication.  Lastly, Victor’s character in the commercial references the creature as the “monster,” which is an element from the novel, as the creature goes on a killing rampage and the villagers are terrified of him.  T-Mobile does a nice job of combing film rendition elements of the story with story elements from Shelley’s novel to make for a recognizable creature and an accurate portrayal of the creature’s comprehension.

This commercial was created in 2004 by the company Osteo-BiFlex, a joint relief medicine.  It had success on the air for a short period of time, but ended up working its way off the air as it was not shown very often. 

Viewers took a liking to this commercial when originally aired in 2004.  The creature from the story of Frankenstein is easily recognized early in the commercial and shows a very light-hearted twist to what is supposed to be a dark and horrendous story.  Adults of all ages, suffering from joint paint, recognize the figure of the creature from Frankenstein and know about his stiff rigid movements depicted in the film rendition of Frankenstein.  This was an element that the producers of the commercial used from the film to relate to the viewing audience.  The creature in the movie moves with a rigid, upright motion, who looks uncomfortable doing so.  The point of the commercial is to tell viewers is that if they take the medicine they can end up moving with ease just like the creature does in the latter parts of the commercial.  Even though the commercial is supposed to be light-hearted and humorous, the idea of the creature acting as a normal human being doing everyday activities is an elements seen very much so throughout Marry Shelley’s version of the story.   The creature in the original story, when initially created, was a kind and thoughtful man, something we see the post-medicine creature act as in the commercial.  The creature in Shelley’s story could have very easily been doing the activities that the commercial creature does, with as much pleasure and contentment that he has.  In the original novel, the creature turns unpleasant and violent once he is rejected by the townspeople.  The commercial creature is angry in the advertisement before he takes his medicine, possibly referencing the creature that is rejected by the townspeople.

This ad was aired during the holiday season in 2016 by Apple.  The actor Brad Garrett portrays Frankenstein’s creature in a village during Christmas time.  A light-hearted twist on a typically dreary and horrific story.

Initially when viewing this ad, it may take the viewer a little longer to recognize the main character of the commercial.  The creature is not shown with his green skin as seen in almost all on-screen portrayals.  Rather he is seen more like the novel’s version, with pale, stitched skin; the only difference being is that he still has the bolts in his neck and seems to be displayed much larger than the average villager.  Other than the bolts in his neck and his jagged walking, the advertisement utilizes mostly themes from Marry Shelley’s novel.  This version of the creature truly highlights his complexity as a horror-fiction character.  While offering the idea of being a horrific and terrifying being, the creature actually has a caring personality and a big heart, seen in the commercial.  He wants to do something for the village so he makes a recording of a Christmas song to sing and takes it into the town.  While initially shocked at his presence, the people accept him.  One thing that differed from the story is that the creature saves a little girl in the novel; however, in the commercial, the creature is saved by the little girl when she fixes the light bulb in his neck.  This idea that the creature is simply misunderstood and has trouble voicing his thoughts to the townspeople is displayed in Apple’s commercial.  The commercial offers a what-if portrayal of the creature.  What if Victor hadn’t made him go violent?  He could have very easily blended in with the townspeople and lived a semi-normal life.

References

2004. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W40AfbhYv8.

2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FVETgTsE0Y

2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1kl7qJDmw4