{"id":427,"date":"2018-10-24T16:18:33","date_gmt":"2018-10-24T14:18:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogg.nord.no\/frankenreads\/?page_id=427"},"modified":"2021-12-23T12:01:53","modified_gmt":"2021-12-23T11:01:53","slug":"introduction-to-frankenstein-1931","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/introduction-to-frankenstein-1931\/","title":{"rendered":"Introduction to Frankenstein (1931)"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post reproduces the text of a talk that Dr Jamie Callison delivered to the Bod\u00f8 filmklubb on 23 October<\/em>:<\/p>\n

James Whale, Frankenstein (1931)<\/p>\n

As you\u2019ve heard, we\u2019re gathered here today to celebrate the two-hundredth birthday of Mary Shelley\u2019s novel, Frankenstein<\/em>. You may have come to these celebrations intentionally by signing up for one of the Frankenreads<\/a> events advertised at the university or inadvertently by virtue of being a regular member of the film club here. Whatever the reason you\u2019ve come, you\u2019re very welcome. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been asked to say a few words about James Whale\u2019s 1931 film, Frankenstein, which is an adaption of Mary Shelley\u2019s 1818 novel. I want to present this film, oddly perhaps, as a reflection on some processes of social and intellectual change associated with what is variously described as the modern, modernity or modernisation, and which, in one popular chronology, is linked to responses to the First World War. <\/p>\n

Now, chronologically this may appear to be a surprising move. What, you may think, has an adaption of a novel celebrating its two-hundredth anniversary got to do with the modern world? How can it reflect on the events of the twentieth century when the author of the text on which it was based died 150 years before Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated? I will run with your hypothetical objections for a moment here. <\/p>\n

In explaining your surprise, you might choose to emphasise aspects of the outdated science upon which both Shelley\u2019s novel and Whale\u2019s adaption rest. The early twentieth century saw, on the one hand, the birth of specialised biological sciences and, on the other, the growth of a popular interest in vitalism \u2013 or the idea that there was vital impulse that drove all life. In the popular mind, vitalism became associated with the French philosopher Henri Bergson\u2019s 1907 bestseller Creative Evolution. <\/p>\n

The scientific interests of Henry Frankenstein in the film we are about to watch concern galvanism. This is the study of the stimulation of muscles with electric shocks, and here, taken to the extreme, the idea that electricity could shock inert matter into life. Such a belief is an outlier at the turn of twentieth century. The film\u2019s interest in galvanism replicates that of Shelley\u2019s novel, and it is an interest that dates back to trends in scientific thought at the end of the 1700s rather than to the 1900s. Modern interests thus seem to be far removed from this consciously archaic scientific background. <\/p>\n

What is nevertheless entirely current about the film is the second scientific plot. Early on in the film, we see Frankenstein struggling to find a brain for his creation. He visits the gallows first and finds the neck of an executed criminal broken, which \u2013 he claims \u2013 renders the brain useless for his purposes. His next attempt is to send his assistant Fritz to the medical school of his former mentor, Dr Waldman. As Fritz approaches, Dr Waldman is giving a lecture using two props: the normal brain of a law-abiding citizen, and the abnormal brain of a criminal. After the lecture is over, Fritz breaks in and attempts to steal the normal brain but drops it, shattering its container and sending the brains tumbling out onto the floor. He then contents himself with the abnormal brain \u2013 an incident he doesn\u2019t mention to his master. <\/p>\n

In his lecture, Waldman not only links so-called deviant social behaviour to biological causes but also carefully classifies humanity accordingly. In this, he replicates twentieth-century scientific interest in eugenics or the study of the health and quality of the human gene pool. It was a scientific field of study that became closely linked to public policy through the first half of the twentieth century. Infamously, it provided a scientific justification for the Nazi\u2019s polices of racial cleansing against the Jews and the Roma and the involuntary euthanasia and sterilisation of those deemed unfit or degenerate. <\/p>\n

In the film, Fritz steals the abnormal brain for Frankenstein, but doesn\u2019t inform him of its status; Frankenstein only learns of its history from Waldman later and after he is brought his creation to life. The information is shared during a debate as to whether the creature should be protected or euthanized. The debate is cut short by events in the narrative, but the information shocks Frankenstein and leads to his becoming notably less willing to defend his creation. A creation with a criminal brain is evidently less worthy of protection. If \u2013 in the film \u2013 it is Mary Shelley\u2019s science that creates the creature, it is modernity\u2019s science that condemns him. Indeed, the final quarter of the film concerns a mob carrying flaming torches in pursuit of the monster. This part of the film affords a parallel with the lynching parties, themselves justified on eugenic grounds, of the then contemporary USA. <\/p>\n

The creature kills at least three people during the course of the film: the first two following provocation, and the second somewhat inadvertently. Yet Boris Karloff\u2019s sympathetic portrait of the creature sits oddly with the prominence the film affords the creature\u2019s criminal heritage. The creature shows his vulnerability in the way in which he winces and cringes on being confronted with fire, and a childish glee in being shown how to play. <\/p>\n

This characterisation runs against the well-known publicity for the film. For instance, the movie\u2019s advance teaser poster carried the tagline \u2018Warning! The Monster is loose\u2019. This leaves us in no doubt that it is the appearance of this hideous creature, unable to control himself, that is supposed to terrify and a shock the audience. Indeed, Frankenstein is one of the most famous monster movies of all time. <\/p>\n

Yet, for me, watching the film again in preparation for this talk, history intervened. It was difficult, if not impossible, to block out the innumerable twentieth-century attempts to classify minorities as others in order to better facilitate persecution. Viewed in this way, the horror lies not so much in the appearance of the monster as in the behaviour of his creator, namely Dr Frankenstein, and his hard-won efforts to compartmentalize; to separate, that is, his home and family life from the work he has done in bringing the creature to life. There are, for instance, notable visual juxtapositions in the film between the monster\u2019s murders and the luxury of Henry\u2019s home. It is possible to view the film today in a way that traces the horror generated by the movie to not so much the monster as to the behaviour of the Frankenstein family. <\/p>\n

I invite you to see for yourselves as we now watch the movie. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post reproduces the text of a talk that Dr Jamie Callison delivered to the Bod\u00f8 filmklubb on 23 October: James Whale, Frankenstein (1931) As you\u2019ve heard, we\u2019re gathered here today to celebrate the two-hundredth birthday of Mary Shelley\u2019s novel, Frankenstein. You may have come to these celebrations intentionally by signing up for one of … Continue reading Introduction to Frankenstein (1931)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"coauthors":[7],"class_list":["post-427","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PadC0F-6T","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6,"url":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/about-frankenreads\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":0},"title":"About Frankenreads","author":"Admin","date":"30\/08\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Nord University's English Department in Bod\u00f8, Norway is delighted to be affiliated with the international project Frankenreads, which is being organized by the Keats-Shelley Association of America. The goal of Frankenreads is to bring together scholars, students, and fans\u00a0from all over the world to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Mary\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10,"url":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/event-schedule\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":1},"title":"Event Schedule","author":"Admin","date":"30\/08\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"18 October: (Nord University room A13 Elias Blix, 8:15-11:30 a.m.): Public Lecture: Frankenstein and the Gothic Imagination, by\u00a0Dr. Jessica Allen Hanssen 22-31 October: (co-hosted by the Nord University Library) Online and In-Library\u00a0Frankenstein Exhibitions 22-31 October: Frankenstein and other horror books, including graphic novels, available for purchase at Akademika Bookstore 23\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/10\/00001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/10\/00001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/10\/00001.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/10\/00001.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/10\/00001.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/10\/00001.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":219,"url":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/read-a-thon-readings-for-download\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":2},"title":"Read-a-Thon Readings for Download","author":"Jessica","date":"23\/09\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"After you have signed up for the read-a-thon, you'll want to download and practice your reading. Here is where you can download your specific reading for the Frankenstein read-a-thon on October 31st. Please consult Frankenstein Readings for the specific beginning and end points of your reading (they're also highlighted in\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":215,"url":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/exhibition\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":3},"title":"Exhibition: Ice and Fire: Frankenstein in the Arctic","author":"Andrew McKendry","date":"16\/09\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This exhibition is hosted by the Nord University Library.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/09\/View-of-the-Racehorse-and-Carcass-July-31st-1773.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/09\/View-of-the-Racehorse-and-Carcass-July-31st-1773.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/09\/View-of-the-Racehorse-and-Carcass-July-31st-1773.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/09\/View-of-the-Racehorse-and-Carcass-July-31st-1773.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/09\/View-of-the-Racehorse-and-Carcass-July-31st-1773.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/09\/View-of-the-Racehorse-and-Carcass-July-31st-1773.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":348,"url":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/press-and-social-media-coverage\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":4},"title":"Press and Social Media Coverage","author":"Jessica","date":"11\/10\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"If you would like to write about Frankenreads at Nord University, please contact us at frankenstein200@nord.no September 8: Frankenreads Twitter September 13: Blog post by Bod\u00f8 filmklubb announcing their 15-year anniversary program (p\u00e5 norsk). September 28: Nord University Faculty of Education and Arts Facebook September 28: Nord University Faculty of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8,"url":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/frankenreads\/about-english-at-nord-university\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":5},"title":"About English at Nord University","author":"Admin","date":"30\/08\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Nord University offers a Bachelor of English, taught in Bod\u00f8; we also offer a Master of Education with a Specialization in English for grades 1-7 and 5-10, taught at our Bod\u00f8 campus, as well as at our campuses in Levanger and Nesna. 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