Review of Bride of Frankenstein

Review of the Bride of Frankenstein

The bride of Frankenstein is very interesting in that the underlying themes contained within the film are ahead of their time. It has been argued that there are strong religions, sexual orientation, sexism, and racial undertones in this film. You can learn a lot about the time period in which the time film was shot and the culture of that day by watching the Bride of Frakenstein. The director, James Whale, was homosexual, perhaps this plays a part in the themes of discrimination in the film. Being openly homosexual could cause him to be more aware of the prejudices that were existent during that day and age.

One theme that ran throughout the entire film was the theme of gender roles and laws of attraction. This can be seen in the male on male relationships between Pretorius and Henry. They devise a women specifically for the monster, to be his bride but even she, though designed for him, is scared by his outward appearance. Also, another place where gender roles come into play is when Mary Shelly is mocked in the beginning for being the writer of such a horrific tale. It is also important to note that the same lady who played Mary Shelly, also played the Bride. This is very important cause it could perhaps suggest that Mary Shelly feels like she is married to a monster, and society has been molded and made into what society thinks she should be.