Frankenstein and Pop Culture

What first pops into your mind when you hear Frankenstein? How about a big, green, ugly, scary monster with bolts sticking out of his neck? Frankenstein always walked very stiff with his arms held out straight in front of him. He had scars all over his face, his head was flat, and there were weird things sticking out of his head and face. I think this is what most people think of when picturing Frankenstein. He is associated with scary stuff; Halloween, horror movies and books. He is also portrayed as a more comical creature in comic books and movies.

Every year at Halloween we see stores put out costumes that are supposed to look like the real Frankenstein, but the things we see are not even close to what the author portrayed. Shelley wrote about a creature that was more grayish such as in the color of death, not green. We all see many different images of Frankenstein, but in reality it was Dr. Frankenstein that created the monster. Dr. Frankenstein could still be considered a monster for creating such a horrendous creature but he was not really a monster. He did not have a short creepy little assistant, even though that is what we all picture in our minds.

It is amazing what effect pop culture can have on something like this. Most cultures picture the same thing when thinking about Frankenstein. Frankenstein is a creature known worldwide, but he is thought of incorrectly. The monster Dr. Frankenstein created was capable of learning a language and having a range of emotions, but we as a culture never see that with what we have made Frankenstein become. So think about this; next time you think to just go with the flow on something, check it out and draw your own opinions.

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Email: rvineyard@ucok.edu