POSTHUMAN PROMETHEUS: MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN AND RIDLEY SCOTT’S BLADE RUNNER
Abstract
This paper will examine two influential works of science fiction, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s cult film Blade Runner. The film will be looked at as an interpretation of the story of Frankenstein, set in a future where artificial human beings are created using genetic engineering. As the novel’s subtitle suggests, the “modern Prometheus” is a key figure in Frankenstein and subsequently Blade Runner. Over time the figure of the mythical Titan Prometheus took on the form of the scientist who, like Victor Frankenstein and Eldon Tyrell, dares to create a human being using the power of science. This paper will analyse how the rapid development of science and technology influences our understanding of what it means to be human and the ways in which the characters of the Monster and the replicants undermine the limited humanistic view of the human. Interestingly, although their mere existence poses a threat to order, these creatures are considered inferior – why that is the case will be explained using posthuman theory.
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https://nardus.mpn.gov.rs/handle/123456789/8265
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