Movie Remakes and Adaptations: Frankenstein, Superman and Other Superheroes

After watching a couple of different film remakes and adaptations of Frankenstein years ago I thought I was over it. That was until the arrival of The Rocky Horror Picture Show; there's nothing like a parody to revive a story when you think it's been done to death. I loved it; it was so visual with a few extra themes thrown in to keep us all returning multiple times to the same cinema.

Reading the reviews on the different movie adaptations over the years I realised there are always many ways to tell the same story. What stood out for me though was the reason why some worked while others failed. For example those that relied too much on producing a faithful adaptation of the original novel, such as Calvin Floyd's Terror of Frankenstein, weren't successful. The translating of the novel page by page resulted in a movie lacking in the expected tension and horror because the pace, dialogue and impact were not adapted according to cinematic requirements.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein directed by Kenneth Branagh, by contrast, was more successful even though it adhered reasonably closely to the novel. It worked because they made some changes in order to appeal to the audience in a way that would make the experience more 'real' for them by including scenes with themes to which they could connect in their modern lives.

The reason this novel has been so popular is due to the themes contained within such as strong emotion (fear), curiosity about futuristic possibilities, and the idea of 'nightmares' turning into reality. I liked the relationship between the creations of Frankenstein's monster to other powerful yet potentially dangerous forces in the world. Pearson explains that finding a theme to express the deep beliefs and understandings of humans in order to make a connection with the audience is what makes a film absorbing. Things that horrify us are attractive; too afraid to watch, yet too afraid not to.

Other popular themes include superhuman powers. Superhuman characters have been created throughout history in biblical as well as mythical stories. We generate these types of stories to help society accept events that at the time may have been impossible to explain, or sometimes to cover up truths. They are usually portrayed as either heroes or villains. We can see similarities of these two forms of superpowers in various world leaders. Common themes of good and bad forces in the world form the basis of the fictional characters. We have always looked for a saviour to protect us from evil. It's one of the first things we are taught as children; how to distinguish good from bad. Which leads us into adult stories of power and politics, and these are also commonly adapted to film.

Superman could be considered transhuman since he also exists in normal human form. When this character was created early last century we had already been introduced to the idea of the existence of extraterrestrial life and the potential threats for our planet. This then led on to theories of robotic domination.

The modern equivalent of the superhuman includes characters such as the Transformers which are essentially nonhuman robots, or Posthuman. The Posthuman Condition hypothesises that "In the Posthuman era machines will be Gods." Therefore in the future we should see more nonhuman superhero stories emerging and being adapted to film to suit the new generation audience. Until then, I await the next adaptation or movie remake of Frankenstein.

Movie review that tells us about political powers and underlying themes in society.