EHS Students Explore 'Frankenstein' in Novel, Film

English film director James Whale’s 1931 version of Frankenstein may be nearly 100 years old, but there is still plenty to be learned from the motion picture—and the 1818 gothic horror novel by Mary Shelley that inspired it. 

On Tuesday evening, parents, students and educators filed into the Eastchester High School auditorium for a screening of the classic horror film, gaining valuable insight into the movie’s production, and also connecting the film to Shelley’s iconic novel, which is being read by Eastchester’s 10th Grade English students. 

Rich Gorey, a writer, illustrator, animator, and professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, was on hand to deliver a pre-film lecture and moderate the audience discussion after the credits rolled, offering context for both the film and the novel that spoke to the critical thinking that is an integral part of Eastchester’s educational experience. 

Teacher and Film Club Advisor Michael Goldstein said that Tuesday’s event challenged students to examine the novel’s original text and asked them to consider what differences they found in the re-telling of this story. 

“As teachers, we are always looking to find ways to tie things in with other courses,” said Goldstein.”So when I found out from [English teacher] Adam Benveniste that the students were reading Frankenstein, I immediately thought about Rich Gorey, who I knew does a fantastic lecture on the film.”

English department chair Bryan Johnson explained that critical examination of texts—regardless of the medium—is an important skill for students to acquire.

“In looking at the presentation of Frankenstein, this was very much like the Film Studies elective we offer at the high school. In that course, and in the presentation on Tuesday night, we explore how a director's vision for a text can differ from the original work,” said Johnson. “A few of the students there on Tuesday made that connection, which was a fun one for me to hear.  

“In fact, many of the novels and plays that we read in class have storylines which can be transferred from one setting to another while touching on similar themes,” he added. “Shakespeare, for example, was an author whose themes work in a variety of settings and periods and have had a lasting impact on our culture and society through their relevance.”

10th grader Mila Sulkowski, who is currently reading the Shelley novel in her English 10 Honors course, said one of the biggest takeaways from the film was its depiction of Frankenstein’s Monster—as played by Boris Karloff—and how it differed from the more emotionally complex monster found in the novel. 

“I think the film didn’t really portray the monster’s emotional depth in the same way the book does, and that’s something that I feel makes the movie monster much more difficult to root for.” said Sulkowski.

Eva Muzichenko, an 11th grader, concurred.

"The simpleness of the [film] monster seems to diminish his feelings, contrasting with the monster in the novel, who grew to be quite articulate,” she said. “However, the film isn’t intended to serve the exact same purpose of the novel, so of course there are compromises that have to be made.

“Whale’s style and the reference to German expressionism make a significant splash in the film,” added Muzichenko. “The ways in which the monster’s childlike innocence is conveyed more so through actions than words allow the audience to better understand the director’s vision and direction in the film." 

Johnson said he was thrilled with the student response to the event and hopes that the youngsters will continue to seek out the connective tissue between literature they are studying in the classroom and the larger media landscape.

“The students enjoyed Mr. Gorey's talk at the beginning of the night as much as they did the film,” he said. “Many were complimentary of the talk itself, finding that Gorey was engaging and informative as a viewer, and the fact that the students were able to access the film (one which many had not seen, or would not have picked up on their own) also made the night a great success.”