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.
Main Body
1931 Version
During the opening scenes of Frankenstein a sectarian burial wages on as Doctor Frankenstein lingers impetuously behind a gravestone biding to dig up the lifeless corpse that lay in its final resting place.
Religious iconography is portrayed throughout the graveyard; Stone crucifixes were placed in every shot of the cemetery, most of these were tilted and a portion of these had rusting and decaying fences around them. This may have been put there deliberately by James Whale in order to question the Christian religion and the inhumation ceremony this could also be reflected by the graveyard being an isolated wasteland or even the mourners’ appearances as the audience might assume they live in poverty.
However the tilted crucifixes may reflect James Whales ideas on the religion as homosexuality is forbidden in the religion and he being a homosexual could have caused him to make the religion and its sacraments to have a bad image. These actions may have traumatised the audience as it was immoral and religion was compulsory everyone went to church and for these images of bad solemnity to be shown may have possibly shocked the audience and may well have caused an uproar.
Another use of theological iconography was the man hung from the gallows. This reminds us of Christ as his posture is similar; this is also a religious symbol and may also be questioning the stability of the religion on the other hand it could be used to remind ourselves that Dr. Frankenstein is going against the religion by committing blasphemy and immoral sins. This use of technique would create a grim atmosphere as the image of Jesus Christ is being destroyed and this use of technique would maybe question their faith.
Another sinister effect on the audience was the use of sound/music. At the opening subtitles loud malevolent music to keep the viewer agitated and on the edge of their seats. This is multiplied when a ‘?’ is used for the actor’s name playing the monster, this would make us want to find out who is playing the monster so this develops an unfathomable atmosphere.
The bells in the background are use to reflect emotion from the mourners and to create a confounded effect among the audience as a sense of sorrow ness and maybe remembrance to their loved ones who died in World War One. The use of sound in the film suggests it’s a ‘Media Product of its time’ as music and sound from the picture had never been used and especially to create baffling effect which may have astounded the audience.
Main body
1994 Version
A ship gets caught up in a malicious storm and then eventually clashes into an iceberg. Shipwrecked and stranded they have no choice but to stay and repair the damage to their ship when all of a sudden, Dr. Frankenstein emerges out of the mist t tell his grim and abominable tale.
The iconography used in the opening scenes is used to reflect the darkness as if warning us to see more despair and bereavement. The icon I will be analysing is that of the ‘bloody hand’ of the creature.
The bloody hand of the monster suggests that blood has already been silt and that this gory hand may link to Macbeth and Kenneth Branagh being part of The Royal Shakespeare Company and best known Shakespeare interpreter of the 20th century may have triggered to use an enigmatic symbol.
This obviously reflected Lady Macbeth’s guilt and so this could also interpret that the creature has committed homicide and even more treacherous sins. This use of technique could put the audience in a trance of scepticism and question ‘where did that blood come from’?
Lighting had an astounding affect as this technique reflects the darkness and grim affect by using lanterns in the storm, this effect might signal that lanterns were a small chance reaching the north pole and the storm being eternal darkness and despair maybe this was setting the genre of the film(horror).
Doctor Frankenstein emerges form the midst looking like a monster this could reflect his image and for what he has created.
As he has betrayed and tried to overpower nature by creating lie after death, this backfires as the monster is a symbolic example of nature getting out of hand. So this use of technique was used to make the audience aware of who Victor Frankenstein and that he may have another side to him which makes the audience even more suspicious and makes us ask ourselves ‘who is Victor Frankenstein’?