Frankenstein: o monstro verde do cinema e sua origem literária

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.3872404076

• Palavras-chave: Cinema, Literatura, Frankenstein, Monstro, Transcodificação Semiótica.

• Keywords: Cinema, Literature, Frankenstein, Monster, Semiotic Transcoding.

• Abstract: This article reflects on the semiotic transcoding of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein's Monster onto cinema screens after more than a century of the novel's publication in the United Kingdom. In addition to Anglophone literature, the analyses include the film adaptation produced by Universal Studios, directed by James Whale in 1931, and other representations inspired by the monster’s images, both in cinema and literature. To recall the creature introduced to the public by 19th-century science fiction literature, the article aims to establish a dialogue with its cinematic representation. The goal is to study the contexts in which these adaptations were embedded, the processes of creating and portraying the monsters, public reception, and the impact on societies across different eras. This exploration helps understand how Shelley's creature has significantly distanced itself from its initial complexity and psychological nuances over the years, evolving primarily into a caricatured symbol of terror and fear. This transformation bears little resemblance to the character envisioned by the young writer in the 19th century. Despite an attempt to revive this literary creature in 1994 by filmmaker Kenneth Branagh, by Tristar Pictures, the fundamental shift in its portrayal remains evident.