Who wants to live forever? Would you? What if you had to die first and be reanimated? And how about if someone stuck someone else's brain in you, or, worse, put a zipper on your neck?
Would you even be you?
Mel Brooks sets out to ask these hard-hitting questions in Young Frankenstein. Okay, not really. He sets out to make us laugh, but in between chuckles, you just have to ponder the questions of consciousness and eternal life. It will be on the exam.
Questions about Immortality
- Now that the monster has been brought back to life, can he die again or will he live forever?
- Most older sci-fi forms of immortality involve reanimation from death—stitched-together monsters, vampires, zombies. Why do you think that is?
- In what ways does Victor Frankenstein's work live on through his grandson?
Chew on This
Take a peek at these thesis statements. Agree or disagree?
It's all in the brain! If a brain dies, the person is gone forever. Sorry, Hans Delbruck.
Mary Shelley's work lives on in immortality, albeit in altered form, through Young Frankenstein. This is all we can hope for, that our works live on.