Frankenstein Media Coursework Essay

Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus was Mary Shelley’s own Prodigy and one of the greatest novels known in literature; some claim it was the first science fiction novel of any type which blends gothic horror and romance and reveals the terrifying consequences of playing God. It all began in the summer of 1816 at the famed Villa Diodati on the shores of Lake Geneva where Lord Byron had challenged Mary Shelley to write a ghost story which would later become precursor of science fiction ‘Frankenstein’. She completed the novel in 1817 and the first edition was published in 1818. The novel was written in the ‘Romanticism Period’ which was an artistic intellectual movement which used strong emotion, imagination and freedom within. Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ is undoubtedly one of the most literary triumphs of this period. While a prisoner of war the director James Whale learned to write stage plays and that is how his talent first became known to him. This talent eventually led him to Hollywood in the 1930’s along with the play ‘Journeys End’. One of the best horror movies James Whale directed was ‘Frankenstein’ aspects of him being socially different (him being a homosexual) were detected in this film for example the rejection of the monster could reflect him being rejected in society. The 1920’s and 30’s saw ‘The Great Depression’ and ‘The Golden Age of Hollywood’. The Great Depression A. K. A The Wall Street Crash happened in October 1929. The debts of Hollywood tripled to $410 million dollars due to The Depression. The kind of movies that Hollywood produce during The Depression changed due to the public mood, more cynical characters were created to reflect a sense of despair e. g. gangsters and prostitutes. Public pressure disallowed pre-martial sex, immoral and criminal activity to be shown this was the reason why scenes from the Frankenstein film were cut due to public pressure and the risk of boycotting from the public. Kenneth Branagh was born on 10th December and is the best known Shakespeare interpreter of the 20th century and is an icon as he could direct and act, this led him to win 2 Baftas and 1 Emmy. Many ideas could have triggered the idea for Branagh’s ‘Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein’. One of these ideas was the science breakthrough cloning: In 1997 on 22nd February the first ever cell was created and claimed life. The fighting of other countries carried on and many innocent lives were lost, this could have encouraged Branagh making a film with the idea of bringing people back from the dead and being able to play god. ‘Media Products of their time’ are innovations which may adapt people’s lives, society, politics, culture, religion, moral and philosophical ideas within their time. For me to analyse whether or not the films are ‘Media Products of their time’ I will look at the techniques they use and whether or not they reflect the society, law, censorship, technology, morals and politics etc. of their time.