weekend campout

Last night i finally started (in earnest) to work on my HPSS review again. I looked at an old review of Dark Angel that i did like three years ago for inspiration: man, i miss being able to pound stuff like that out. Anyways, i'll be on a campout with family this weekend and as such be unable to work on it until Monday night at least. But expect updates: even if i get a summer job i'm hoping to do this in preparation for the HBP release that's coming up. Hard to believe that it's almost June!

Oh, btw, i've been giving Lumos Nox a facelift.

Being Frank about Frankenstein’s Fiend (due May 9th, 2005)

    Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein is one of the earliest examples of science fiction combined with fantasy (Abrash). Even so, I was originally dreading reading Frankenstein: my preconceived notion of what the book is about was skewed by Hollywood’s myriad of portrayals that greatly stray from the actual plot of the story. My perception of the Monster based on those cliched versions is that the Creature is a static character who is ugly, clumsy, and dumb. In reality the Creature of Shelley’s work was originally beautiful in the eyes of his creator (Shelley 41), possessed superior height and strength to that of humans (76), and was well read and educated despite his short childhood and innocence (101-104). Thus my response to Frankenstein as a reader is much different than I expected. I discovered that, though the message of Frankenstein has been hidden, the book continues to inspire science fiction like Dark Angel, which questions the possible consequences of aspirations of science such as cloning and genetic manipulation. Frankenstein’s unnamed everyman claimed that he was inherently good and tried to justify his violent actions as a reaction to what others have done to him, but from a Christian viewpoint this attitude is false: this story only proves the argument that every man is sinful and unable to define morality apart from God.

Recent scientific advances dealing with the origin and manipulation of life demonstrate that Shelley was prescient in concept but on the wrong track in detail–neither DNA wizardry, fertilization ingenuities nor cloning has anything to do with reanimating dead pieces of human anatomy. Yet Shelley brought the latter notion and its potential consequences into the area of rational discourse, where they have remained to this day. (Abrash)

    The short-lived television show Dark Angel is a good example of science fiction that was inspired by issues Frankenstein addresses and bringing them into the twenty-first century. Frankenstein’s daemon is a superhuman created by integrating the parts of corpses (Shelley 37, 39); Max, the show’s heroine, is a superhuman created by meshing DNA strands from innumerable sources (Dark Angel). She is a clone of many people, not just one (Dark Angel). Though the Monster was not created for a specific purpose as Max was (Dark Angel), the show amplifies the notion of the Creature’s desire to be loved and accepted and the hatred it receives (90, 109) by examining the conflict of not only one daimon, but many (Dark Angel). Like the Monster (113), these transgenics have been forced to hide (Dark Angel). People fear not only what violent acts they might commit (111, 114, 135-136, 159-160; Dark Angel) but that they might wish to procreate (135, Dark Angel). Other concerned citizens claim that these man-made beings don’t even have a soul (Dark Angel).

    But any reader of Frankenstein or viewer of Dark Angel is quickly convinced that these beings do have souls and consciences: even if they choose to ignore them. Both the Creature and Max have creators that refused to apologize or accept responsibility for their actions (180; Dark Angel), both superhumans are haunted by crimes they have committed (184-185; Dark Angel). The Monster claims that he pitied Frankenstein, hated himself, and “was the slave, not the master of an impulse, which I detested, yet could not disobey” (183). This is a perfect example of the sin that all men experience: “I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate (Romans 7:15). The Creature argues:

No sympathy may I ever find. When I first sought it, it was the love of virtue, the feelings of happiness and affection with which my whole being overflowed, that I wished to be participated. But now that virtue has become to me a shadow, and that happiness and affection are turned into bitter and lasting despair, in what should I seek for sympathy? (Shelley 184)

    Both Frankenstein and his Monster “. . .believe that we need not cast about for a Savior because we’re good enough to work out our own salvation. These people conclude (logically, if their assumption is correct) that they don’t need Jesus Christ to die for them. They can fix what’s wrong themselves” (Baldwin 24). This is evident in the Creature’s request that his creator make him a companion (Shelley 116-117). He claims: “I am malicious because I am miserable” and “If any being felt emotions of benevolence towards me, I should return them an hundred and an hundred fold; for that one creature’s sake, I would make peace with the whole kind!” (117). Despite the Monster’s excuses he confesses that he willingly chooses revenge (183): he does not apologize for this or acknowledge his sinful nature (Baldwin 25). His double-talk is confusing, but the Creature does make it clear that he doesn’t feel that he is responsible for his actions in the slightest (Shelley 184-185).

    The Bible, however, is clear that “all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Rom. 3:23). “. . .The trouble is not with the law but with me, but with me, because I am sold into slavery, with sin as my master” (7:14b). “You may be saying, ‘What terrible people you have been talking about!’ But you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you do these very same things” (2:1-2). The Creature claims that he will kill himself and then: “I shall no longer feel the agonies which now consume me, or be the prey of feelings unsatisfied, yet unquenched” (Shelley 185). The Monster may find comfort in the belief that death will bring relief, but alas, such is not the case (Rom. 2:5-9)! Only Jesus’ free gift can save us, and we must believe in Him before we can accept that gift (Hebrews 11:6).

    “Shelley’s accomplishment was to enable readers to think seriously about the creation of an artificial human being and consequent issues” (Abrash). Though I have seriously considered these issues while examining what the Bible says and watching and reading numerous forms of science fiction, I am still uncertain if cloning is moral. It seems clear to me that such creations will be just as fallible as man is, just as capable of compassion and feeling, and will eventually be created. Yet I still believe that every human being is responsible for his or her own actions regardless of what ill they have had to bear. We are all monsters in our own way, we are simply more adept at hiding it than the Creature. The Monster’s failing was that he did not realize why he was fallible and that he needed a Savior to be good and happy and accepted (Rom. 8:5-10). Unfortunately, a few centuries haven’t changed that in most of us humans, either.

Works CitedAbrash, Merritt. “Knowing the Unknowable: What Some Science Fiction Almost Does.” Extrapolation. Summer 2004: 123-129. Criticism & Reference. Literature Online. Tomlinson Library, ID. 24 April 2005. <http://0-lion.chadwyck.com.www.millennium.marmot.org/>.
Baldwin, J. F. The Deadliest Monster: A Christian Introduction to Worldviews. Eagle Creek, Coffee House Ink, 1998.
Dark Angel. “Freak Nation.” 3 May 2002. Dir. James Cameron. Perf. Jessica Alba, and Michael Weatherly. DVD. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 2003.
Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Metal Edition. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 1996.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. 1818. Ed. Susan J. Wolfson. A Longman Cultural Edition. New York: Longman Publishers, 2003

Christian Freaks ~ NSU post #15

I used to be the creator and moderator of a Yahoo group named Christian Freaks. I originally started it because i wanted to cling to my fandom of Dark Angel and build a support group with other Christians of like faith. The group never took off. I often found myself talking to myself.

I would still like to be the member of a message group or message board where i can be challenged in my faith as well as encouraged. I haven't been able to find a group where i click and where i seem to be on the same page as the other Christians. For instance the group must be pro-Harry Potter and that seems to be a high order for most Christian groups. If there is anyone who knows of such a group that i could join or would be interested in joining such a group (if i started one again) please e-mail me at luinel_anduril@yahoo.com.

Okay, so i'm working today and for some reason the music that we're playing doesn't agree with me. I've heard the album before and liked it, but today i'm just not in the mood. I want to put on Meredith Brooks, but someone has bought the used copy, so i get out Britney Spears instead. A little while later i'm singing "Overprotected" while i work and this guy says "Wow, we've found the next American Idol." Then my coworker said that he liked my voice better than Sheryl Crow's when i was singing "Soak Up the Sun."

I considered trying out for American Idol before the first one was on (this was way back when Dark Angel was still on the air). There was no way for me to feasibly get to an audition location so i didn't do it, nor did i really think about it again (it just wasn't meant to be). When i saw the show i hated it and i haven't watched it since (which makes sense considering the fact that i'm boycotting Fox right now). I wouldn't mind being a professional singer, but i really don't take Kelly Clarkson seriously: why would i want to get my start like that?

The point is, even though i'll probably never sing professionally, compliments like that don't come that often (at least, not ones that seem genuine... little old deaf ladies at church never really counted to me). It made me feel good to hear someone say something so nice. I had a good day.