Tag: Frankenstein

Olivia and Sammie’s Major Project: Beware for I am Fearless and therefore powerful

Our Website:

https://beware-for-i-am-fearless-and-therefore-powerful-com.webnode.com

Rational:

The goal of this project is to look at different Hollywood depictions of Frankenstein and see how it relates to disability. We decided to make this project in order to display the stereotypical Hollywood portrayals of Frankenstein.

Our process involved researching which tv shows and movies included Frankenstein. We had to make sure that there were both older and newer portrayals to see how Frankenstein differed between generations. We then watched the movies and tv shows while we took notes. We made a website and put together some clips to show how Victor Frankenstein and the Creation were depicted in each adaptation. Some of the clips were unavailable to us but we found many other clips that showed the full extent of representation. The process took about two and a half weeks in total.

There are many significant issues in both the tv shows and movies regarding disablity. In several films, there is signs of eugenics at work. Older media tends to portray the Creation as less intelligent and, in some cases, nonverbal. This aligns with the flawed stereotype that people with physical deformities are unintelligent. In most of the adaptations, people are cruel towards the Creation. At many points, the Creation is almost always kept in the background especially in the Addams family adaptation. This is connected to disability because, in some cases, individuals with disabilities are pushed to the side or ignored. By portraying the creation in what could be described as a slave-like state, the film is implying the creation is incapable of independent thought. Additionally, in the novel, the Creation is an intelligent individual who is capable of talking but, in contrast, this specific portrayal of the Creation takes away his voice and leaves him incapable of communicating with others. In doing so, the Creation loses his agency. This also falls in line with the stereotypical assumption that people with physical deformities lack intelligence; however, in the film, the Creation shows an understanding of their situation and experiences emotional responses to those situations. So while he may lack intelligence beyond his piano skills, he still shows signs of emotional intelligence.

While not all people with disabilities do this, there are a good amount of people who will put other people’s needs in front of theirs. Some individuals with disabilities do not want to inconvenience anyone and some may even try to make things harder for themselves in order to keep abled people comfortable. This is seen in the Addams family when Lurch is told to do certain chores and he has to do them without complaint. Another issue regarding disability arises in Once Upon A Time when Rumpelstiltskin reattaches Frankenstein’s arm. The presence of magic essentially makes disability non-existent which is problematic because it is a form of eugenics. Victor Frankenstein is an interesting character to look at under the lens of disability. In all variations of Frankenstein, Victor has obsessions and issues with addiction. Victor is obsessed with creating life and in other adaptations, he is also addicted to morphine and alcohol. As time progresses, these obsessions and addictions begin to affect his ability to function. This is an interesting aspect to look at with thinking about disability.

In the 2015 adaptation, the Creation has a mother-like figure in his life which is unique to this version. The 2015 adaptation is also the most accurate representation of the original novel out of all of the viewed adaptations. What’s interesting to note is most of the adaptations of the Creations portray him as suicidal, especially ones that are nonverbal. This indicates the societal belief that people with disabilities who are unable to communicate verbally are lesser than others and that their lives are pointless. In the 2015 adaptation, the Creation ceremoniously burns his “mother” and burns himself along with her. It isn’t until he is engulfed in flames that he transforms and rids himself of the impurities on his skin and evolves. This is problematic since this ending implies that individuals with physical deformities cannot fit into society unless they change everything about themselves and also encourages the unhealthy notion of “being cured”. This adaptation not only encourages transformations, but it also tries the idea of eugenics. In other words, experimenting with genes until the perfect specimen is born. It can also mean looking for specific genes that cause certain disabilities and figuring out ways to eradicate them or avoid them. Victor experiments with creating the perfect being by making the Creation in his lab; however, he has a backup specimen ready to go in case his first Creation isn’t good enough. In Sharon L. Snyder’s article, she talks about eugenics and says that “Cure-or-kill story endings frequently connect to logics of eugenics where disabled people represent a soon-to-be eradicated group whose promised erasure will better society” (181). In each one of these adaptations, the Creation either wants to kill themselves or has other people that want to kill them. People want to eradicate what they are unfamiliar with and disability is one of those things.

In all the adaptations, there are a few things that they have in common. Nearly every Creation portrayal is suicidal and nearly every one of them is taken advantage of or shown in freak shows. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein with Daniel Radcliffe, he is a hunchback and part of the circus. This is due to the cyst in his back. When Victor takes this cyst out, he is left with painful sclerosis but because his pain is now invisible, no one notices his disability. In other adaptations such as The Addams Family movie, the Creation is taken advantage of; the family tells Lurch to do certain chores and is in the background for most of the movie. It is as if he is left out of the family due to the assumption that he isn’t intelligent. Even the other older shows like the Munsters and Struck by Lightning joke about the Creation’s appearance. These adaptations make it seem like people’s differences are a punchline.

In conclusion, these adaptations show the subtleties of how the public views disability.

Alex Slaughter’s Major Project: Painting

For my major project, I decided to create a painting. I was inspired by many of the different books we have read throughout the semester and went through multiple ideas before deciding what I wanted to create. The book that ultimately inspired this painting was Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. There is so much imagery throughout the novel that evokes an assortment of the senses.

            Through this painting, I wanted to represent how Frankenstein’s creation, as a disabled character, views the world with rose colored glasses until that view is shattered by the harsh reality of who he is and what he is. One of the main reasons I decided to create this piece was based on how the creation was never truly given an actual name, and how he creates his identity through books he taught himself to read. I wanted to portray how people with disabilities often feels as if they have lost their identity or feel as if they have completely changed as a person due to their disability. In order to do this, the painting is split down the middle to create a reflection of two different worlds: one being the perfect world the creation lives in for part of the story where he sees the good in everything, and the other being the hellish world after the creation sees his reflection and he realizes what he looks like, as well as the isolation the creation later feels.

            During Frankenstein, the creation goes through many points where he is not completely sure as to why people run from him and scream at him in fear. He first experiences this reaction when he was created. Frankenstein, his creator, ran from him in fear. As the novel progresses, we  get to see the world through the creation’s point of view. Eventually, it is made known that the creation is teaching himself how to read through books he found in a bag. One of the books that the creation receives a lot of knowledge from is Paradise Lost by John Milton. After reading about Adam and Satan, the creation compares himself to both individuals and ultimately identifies as both. In order to portray this comparison, I wanted to represent how, as people, we have a mix of both good and bad in each one of us. The creation had the right idea to compare himself to both Adam and Satan. I created a silhouette of a man whose proportions are slightly off, as if he was pieced together with different parts like the creation was, and I centered him on the canvas to make him the focal point of the painting. Along with silhouette of the creation, I painted an angel wing on one side to represent the part of him that identifies as Adam, and I painted a demonic wing on the other side to illustrate the part of him that identifies with Satan.

            On the heavenly side that illustrated Adam’s half of the painting, the canvas is filled with bright colors that bring a lightness to the world. The other main thing I reflected was the cabin that the creation spends a lot of time near. I felt like the time the creation spent near the cabin was a defining time for him. The creation can see how happy the family is living in the cabin, which is why I painted the cabin to look bright, new, and full of life and happiness. The creation only wants a family that will love and accept him, which he never truly receives. However, he makes progress at reaching this goal as he makes contact with the older gentleman at the cabin. We come to find out that the old man is blind, which allows the creation to build a sense of community and belonging because the old man listens and does not judge him for what he looks like.

            This sense of belonging is disrupted by the able-bodied man who arrives and begins yelling at the creation to get away and out of the cabin. The events that follow are portrayed on the hellish side of the painting. After staying away for a little while, the creation returns to find that the cabin is empty, dark, and decrepit. He realizes that the family is gone, as well as his only friend. He bonds with the old man, who understands him, and then it is taken and ripped away from him. On the left side of the painting, the cabin is reflected, but looks the way the creation sees it after the people have left. The cabin is in a sense dying due to the lack of life and happiness from the family.

            I wanted to represent how the creation views the world throughout the novel, and I feel as if I completed my goal of doing so.

Word Count: 807

I pledge. Alexandra Slaughter

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