Engl201
Spring 2012
Paper #1
Paper #1 is an interpretive/opinion paper on the ethics of Frankenstein's creation and treatment of his creature/monster (and the Tyrell Corporation's creation and "retirement" of replicants if you write on Blade Runner). Begin the paper with a detailed description and analysis of how the issue is presented in the novel and and then go on to the film(s). You should discuss Mary Shelley's novel and at least one of the following films: James Whale's Frankenstein (1931) and/or Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982). After setting out what you see as the novel's and at least one film's position on the dangers and ethics of creating "human" life, take a position of your own on the ethics of what Dr. Frankenstein, Tyrell and/or Deckard did. Provide detailed examples--and at least two quotes--to back up your claims about the novel/film(s) and fully explain the reasoning behind your own position. One way of setting up and organizing the paper is to ask whether Dr. Frankenstein (and Dr. Tyrell and his Corporation if you write on Blade Runner) should have made the monster/replicants and what their responsibilities were to their creations once made.
Since the 1931 film frames the issue more in terms of divine prohibitions and Mary Shelley more in terms of family responsibility, if you include the Whale/Karloff film, make sure to address this shift. If you take this approach, you could begin with an account of how the issue(s) are set out in Mary Shelley’s novel and the 1931 film (dir. James Whale perf. Boris Karloff). Then take a position on the ethics of what Dr. Frankenstein did that addresses both approaches. Whether you discuss the 1931 film or not, you could then move on to Blade Runner, the Tyrell Corp, and the replicants and address the related issues. If you write on Blade Runner, you should talk about what happens when the "machines" scientists and engineers create appear to have consciousness, including an awareness of their own mortality. Given Roy Batty's apparently human qualities--his awareness of his own mortality and attachment to Pris, for example--is a four year life span or "retirement" appropriate?
Make sure to provide reasons and evidence for your position and cite the films and any other sources you use. The default citation format for the course is MLA but you can use APA or Chicago if you have been trained in their use. You can see sample papers and check your citations by studying the companion website to your ENGH101 writing handbook. For my students last semester, that would be Diana Hacker's Research and Documentation Online. We will go over in-text citations and look at sample papers in class. (NOTE 1: you listened to selections from Mary Shelley's novel in class; I used an audible.com recording narrated by George Guidall. An electronic text of the novel is available as is a free audio book. You are not required to use these sources but must cite the novel and the movie(s). You can also draw on your notes from class as well as your own ideas.)
You should initially stick close to the issue as defined in the novel, the Frankenstein film(s), and/or Blade Runner. You may branch out after that to more recent issues like bio-technology (recombinant DNA, cloning, machines that appear to have consciousness, etc). One option we will discuss in class is to argue that it was acceptable for Dr. Frankenstein/Dr. Tyrell to create the monster/replicants but each should have taken more personal responsibility for their creation, been a proper parent, etc. (here you could cite my lecture). The larger implication of this reading of the novel and films that you might want to explore is the importance of professional responsibility for those working in science and technology. If you do want to bring in more recent developments, make sure to review Susan Lederer on the Frankenstein myth and modern science. An abridged version of her talk is available from the University of Maryland; the complete video is at http://video.whyy.org/video/1475831010 I also suggest reviewing Ridley Scott's Prophets of Science Fiction segment on Mary Shelley available from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0065K6PJO. You watched both of these videos at the end of January. See the Hacker online site for how to cite online videos in MLA and APA.
A 1-2 page draft the paper is due at the beginning of class on Thurs Feb 23rd. That day, you will read your papers to one another in class and use an editing sheet to guide your discussion and make suggestions for improving what you have done. If you go over a substantial draft with one of the LLC tutors, the revised version of your paper will be due on Thurs March 8th or in my box in the English Dept on the 4th floor of Robinson Hall A by 5pm on Fri March 9th. Otherwise, the revised paper is due on Tues Feb 28th at the beginning of class. In either case, the paper should be 3-4 pages, typed and double spaced with in-text citations (or footnotes/endnotes for Chicago) and a Works Cited page (MLA) or References page (APA).
Our tutors--Brian and Dylan--have been specially trained to help you with your writing as well as to work with you on peer review. You will need to have a signed form from the tutors and hand it in with your paper to receive credit for your visit. You are also required to hand in a typed statement of what you went over in your session and what you changed as you revised the paper based on the feedback you received. If you missed a tutoring session for paper #1, you are required to see a tutor twice over the course of the semester.
I will hand out a sign up sheet for tutoring appointments in class the week of Feb 21st. Make sure to bring a print copy of your assignment, paper/draft and other materials you want to work on with you when you visit Brian and Dylan in Fenwick (or other Writing Center tutors in Robinson if the LLC tutors are not available).
NOTE 2: You may also want to consult some of the other material we covered in class. On Jan 26th we reviewed Alan Turing's ideas about computers as universal machines and famous thought experiment the Turing Test using The Machine That Changed the World Part I (43:40-54:30). You can see a more recent exploration of some of these issues in a presentation of Milo, the virtual boy, by Peter Molyneux, the head of Microsoft's European games division. In class on Thurs Feb 16th, we watched the following clips to set up our Cinema and Supper showing of Blade Runner:
NOTE 3: see the syllabus for a list of the current online availability of several Frankenstein films. The JC library will obviously be a more reliable, though possibly less convenient location, for reviewing the 1931 and other films. Frankenstein (1931) currently available in 7 parts on You Tube, as is its sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein in 8 parts (1935). The 1931 film is also available for DVD rental through Netflix and in VOD format on Amazon. Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) is available in video-on-demand (VOD) format on Amazon and for DVD rental from Netflix. The Final Cut and Director's Cut of Blade Runner is available in VOD format from Amazon.
NOTE
4: The version of Mary Shelley's novel we listened to in class is listed on
the audible.com website as follows:
Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus
Unabridged
By Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Narrated
by George Guidall
This link should take you to this
edition: