Saturday, March 25, 2006

Frankenstein and Cyborg Relation

After viewing The Bride of Frankenstein and reading the article "Gender in Monstrosity, Cyborgosity and (Post)Humanity," I have finally been able to come to my own state of beleif that Frankenstein too is a cyborg. The article suggests that if Frankenstein would have been created by a woman than his life may have been different. However, I beleive the author is more correct when she states that Frankenstein was created and that procreation would have made a difference. Because Frankenstein was created, reguardless the fact of by a male or not he is still a created monster of the western culture due to his actions, which stemmed from the treatment that he received due to his appearance. He is turned into a fiend/monster of civilization that is due to the perversion of the actual creation as the article states. However, despite this monster is the softer side of Frankenstein where he does not master but rather dabbles in the arts of language and music. Due to this dabbling the article tells us that still visually he is a monster, but verbally he has become rather sympothetic and has developed feelings one of which just happens to be "hate" which he repeatedly proclaims throughout the movie and continues to drive the western personification of the monster. Therefore, Frankenstein the monster has actually been turned evil by the people that he encounters and the misery he experiences due to these encounters. Even the creation of a bride doesn't help, he is even despised by his own kind. He actually desires feelings of understanding, bonding, and connection. The article states that these feelings are the same ones that a cyborg would need as well.
Nonetheless Frankenstein is still a cyborg. He is a product of technology and science and his actions and personality are dictated by society and culture. However, he is just an embodiedment of man and not really human nor entirely machince therefore a cyborg. Both Frankenstein and cyborgs have no true origins and thier nature and culture are reworked due to thier surroundings. Both are truely a whole of parts as the article suggests and their behavior in Frankenstein's case especially are dictated by these parts one of which being the environment where they are created and live. Frankenstein much like ourselves is a "theorized and fabricated bybrid of machine and orgaism."

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