Gothic elements in "Young Frankenstein"

The movie we saw in class was a satirical parody of the story of Mary Shelly: Frankenstein. Despite the humorous aspect of the film, we can see that the producer is really involved in producing the gothic style of the story. In order to obtain this result, they had to use elements that put us in the dark atmosphere. This essay will first show the visual elements that were done in the gothic style, followed by the psychological and non-visual elements of the gothic aspect in the movie.

First off, the film takes place in a remote stone castle with dungeons, which is a well-known feature of gothic stories. We can also see a cemetery and a strange laboratory where Frederick shows his weird experience in the film. In a same way most actions take place at night, with the occasional rain or thunderstorm, which creates a heavy atmosphere. The fact that the film is in black and white also makes this gender gain strength because it brings us into a dark world and removes much more of the human aspect of the characters, due to the non-color of the skin and the general body parts or the non-pigmentation of the decorative items. Otherwise, Frederik's macabre experimentation successes show the supernatural power in the film.

Secondly, without considering the humoristic aspect of the film, we can see the dark atmosphere of secret, death and mental trouble. In addition, the only process process of developing a monster and raising the dead extracted from the original story is one of the most important elements of the gothic aspect of the film. Moreover, from the beginning of the movie we can observe in Frederik's behavior that he is desperate and feels guilt over his grandfather's action. Also, the family curses are introduced by the students. Personally, I almost think that the way others look at his history and the remarks he may have heard is very important to Frederik's torturous personality development.

All in all, the gothic aspect is the main part of this Frankenstein parody. It shows through visual effects and deeper ideas like character behavior.

Manon .

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