I’m not terrified of them, I’m not alarmed by them, I’m not worried about them. I do not see them through the lens of sci-fi / horror B-movies. I do not panic at the thought of people deliberately manipulating my food, because we’ve been doing that ever since the dawn of civilization. And I certainly think that ‘Frankenfood’ is a silly neologism that demonstrates that the user has neither a good understanding of genetics, or any real sense for the plot and/or message of Frankenstein*.
That is all.
Moe Lane
*The movies – many of which I love; don’t get me wrong – are probably to blame for that. The book was trying to make a different kind of point. Not to English literature geek out too much, but in my opinion the primary difference here is that the movies generally took the position that Victor Frankenstein’s mistake was in thinking that he could create a new man from dead parts, while the book’s position is that his mistake lay in thinking that he should do it. Because, please note: Frankenstein in the book did create a thinking, reasoning entity with the capacity to learn; he just also created one that did not have, for lack of another term, a soul. Which suggests, amusingly, that Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein does an excellent job at bridging the cap between the conventional movies, and the book.
>while the book’s position is that his mistake lay in thinking that he should do it.
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Shelley was the touchstone (and best quote of the film) in Jurassic Park too. To wit, Goldblum’s character, Dr. Ian Malcolm: “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
OK, not the same but a similar vein. Because you and Moe sent me there…
Mitch: Yeah, let the engineers figure out a use for it. That’s not our concern.
Laslo: Maybe somebody already has a use for it. One for which it is specifically designed.
Real Genius 1985
Adam’s Sin
Frankenstein
Terminator
The story’s pretty old.
I dunno. I [seem to] remember the Frank movie that DeNiro was in was pretty good and cleaved well to the spirit of the book.
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But on the topic of GMO paranoia, my guess is that many of those who freak out over GMOs own a “pure breed” pooch or cat; gleefully munch on macintosh, granny smith, or yellow delicious apples; or have some sort of veggy garden that does not consist solely of maize and tubers – because each of these things are GMOs.