Frankenstein 2

I remember watching this film when I was younger, not understanding any jokes or innuendos, and laughing as either a result of the simple slapstick comedy (which is so abundant), or because my older siblings were laughing. Now, I am so glad that I have matured to the level at which I can understand and appreciate the humor in this film. Young Frankenstein has SO much to offer. From its slapstick jokes, of which I mentioned earlier, to its plethora of sexual innuendos (I had no idea what a "role in the hay" was when I was seven, thank goodness), this movie seems to never disappoint. One theme, however, that seemed to be constantly re-occurring was that of fear. Everyone in the film was always afraid of something, with exception to the generous blind man, of course. But no one seems to portray more fear for anything as much as Doctor Frankenstein himself.

We first get a good understanding of Frankenstein's past. Without too much thought, the viewer can easily conclude that this character is, or was, related to the infamous Dr. Frankenstein of old. From the movie, we are informed that the original Dr. Frankenstein is Gene Wilder's grandfather. Of course, new Dr. Frankenstein, or Frederick as I will refer to him for the rest of this blog, is asked about his grandfather non stop. This introduces us to his first fear. Frederick is terrified of his families past. The original creation of the monster has haunted Frederick for his entire life, for some reason. Perhaps it is because he knows that he can do the same.

On another note, we discover another fear when introduced to Frederick's first lover. As funny and odd as it sounds, the audience can tell that Frederick is horrified by this woman. And who wouldn't be?

However, the fears do not yield here. Frederick travels to his grandfathers castle, and ultimately creates a duplicate of his elder's creation, losing a bit of his mind in the process. Why does his make his monster? I don't really know! He's terrified of it! This demonstrates how obsession can lead to demise, I suppose, but I would rather not change subjects. The creation of the monster marks a new beginning for Frederick. It is after the creation that he starts to conquer his fears, the first being the beast. Completely against his common sense, he decides to lock himself in a room with the creature, in hopes of... I dunno. Getting mauled to death apparently. However, he does manage to relate to the "man," and after a while, the fear is gone.

If only it would stay away. Once he exposes his creation to the world, a new fear arises. He is terribly afraid of the public’s view towards himself. So much so that he, instead of learning from it, teaches the monster to dance, in hopes of pleasing an audience. Somehow in the end, it seems that Frederick finally beats all of his fears, but at the same time, he cycles back to the man he was at the beginning of the film, as if the entire experience had no effect on his life. And I suppose a moral is in there somewhere. Perhaps you should not try and beat your fears, as much as try to live and cope with them. Conquering them may be, well, useless.