When the Monster Became a Movement
From Delhi’s street markets to Instagram reels, the pop culture phenomenon of Frankenstein’s monster is inescapable. Green skin, bolts, and stitched foreheads have transformed into a pop culture symbol of rebellion and regret. Be it a Gen Z tote bag or a meme that says, “When your creation ghosts you,” Mary Shelley’s monster transcended the Gothic tale and became a pop culture emblem.
Frankenstein is a cultural phenomenon that began with a ghost story in 1816. The tale now transcends literature and the Gothic world to touch on politics, fashion, social interactions, and even the realm of dating apps. Conversations and social interactions are deeply embedded with the essence of Frankenstein. The tale is a story of a society that is fragmented and in disarray.
From Gothic Lab to Meme Machine
Frankenstein is perhaps the most powerful tale of a monster and the loneliness that succeeds creation. Mary Shelley was only 18 years old when she conceived writing this powerful Gothic tale. The gothic tale was created as she spent time with great literary figures, Lord Byron and Percy Shelley, and it was no coincidence that she created a tale of a man who became obsessed with the creation of life.
Long after the initial response has cooled down, the themes of ambition, creation, and loneliness remain resonant, albeit within the seeming emptiness of the internet. The internet is filled with jokes about ‘Franken-projects’ and ‘Frankenfoods’ to criticize the inflated interdisciplinary collaboration of ideas, out of which grotesque monstrous versions spawn and DNA manipulation turns food into a science. The monstrous creation of Frankenstein has become a meme to mock failed and grotesque political experiments, toxic relationships, and destructive relationships.
It is the universal appeal of that simple and direct URL cry that keeps resurfacing. Frankenstein’s monster has become the misunderstood outsider and that resonance makes the character as modern as the influencer meltdowns or the ongoing AI debates raging on X.
Real People Behind the Legend
Boris Karloff was the first actor to star as Frankenstein’s monster in the horror classic of 1931. He dealt with the complicated nature of fame while poorly admitting he was typecast. The frightening visage of a monster while Karloff was a horror was still a soft spoken English actor with a special fear of a the creature. Decades later, he embraced it, calling the monster “the most human role I ever played.”
That, in essence, is Frankenstein’s paradox — a monster who feels more human than the humans around him.
And then there’s Mary Shelley herself. The daughter of two radical thinkers, she faced loss, scandal, and the death of her children before she turned 25. Her pain seeped into her story — the fear of creation, the guilt of rejection, and the question of what it means to play God. In many ways, she was Victor and the creature both — the creator longing for understanding.
In contemporary interpretations of Frankenstein, the focus has extended beyond the narrative of failed scientific endeavor to encompass loss, love, and the question of self. For readers immersed in Indian sociocultural contexts, the novel resonates with experiences of estrangement and the burden of social expectations — the sense of belonging nowhere, and being an outsider within one’s own society. This is especially relevant in discussions of caste, class, and cultural diversity.
The Plot We Think We Know
An ambitious scientist scrapes together the bits and pieces of the dead and assembles a “man.” Like an excited new parent, he brings Victor Frankenstein’s creature to life. Soon, however, he is horrified by the “baby” he has fashioned. The abandoned creature, having been destined to be a pariah, learns human language, and masters complex feelings, but is unable to fully comprehend or attain love. The creature closes in on Victor and, out of love, spurs him relentlessly on a revenge cycle.
It is a simple tale on the outside, but in reality, it is a tragedy of the highest order. The creature is not evil; he is merely a being without love and Victor is not a villain; he is flawed. The bond between the two is reminiscent of a parent and child, or, in some interpretations, of a divine being and man — with love that is eternal and hermetically sealed within bitterness.
The Monster in politics and pop Culture
With the passage of time, many ungovernable entities have been likened to “Frankenstein” — from nuclear power to Artificial Intelligence and to messy coalition governments. Political news reports describe fragile political arrangements as “Frankenstein alliances” or “Frankenstein bills.”
Filmmakers and artists in India have repeatedly used Frankenstein’s metaphors to examine contemporary issues. Some time back, a beauty and surgery obsession critique in a Malayalam film particularly focused on this. In Mumbai, street artists have depicted the monster in a hoodie with the slogan “Made by you, hated by you.” In a rapidly developing country, the concept of a creation rebelling against its maker speaks to the struggles of modernity and the dissonance of self.
The fashion world is no exception to the trend. Urban youth fashion embraced the green and black color combinations, lightning motifs, and stitched designs. A designer from Mumbai took inspiration from the monster’s alienation and named her collection “The Outsiders’ Club.”
How the Craze Came Back
While Frankenstein’s first version was published over two centuries ago, its reception was not immediate. It was first adapted for the stage and then, in 1931, went on to become a film, creating a Hollywood legend. The film’s iconic “It’s alive!” scene spawned countless remakes and received endless applause, creating a legacy Hollywood would profit from for generations.
Every generation creates its own version of Frankenstein, whether it be campy comedies, retellings from a feminist perspective, futuristic adaptations, or even ballet interpretations. In the digital age, YouTubers recreate lab scenes with homemade props, and AI artists create beautiful, haunting reimaginings of the monster’s face.
In the early 2020s, with the rise of AI and gene editing, Frankenstein became even more relevant. Scientists began using the term “Frankenstein syndrome” to describe society’s fears of god-like power with machines. Once more, Shelley’s 19th century imagination bore prophetic visions.
The Monster Who Never Dies
Why does the story still walk among us? Because at its heart, Frankenstein is not about monsters or lightning. It is about belonging. It is the ache of the misunderstood, the terror of our own creations, and the longing to be seen.
In Indian classrooms, students often describe the monster as “every outsider’s reflection.” On Reddit and film forums, fans debate who is more human, Victor or his creation. Of course, there is no right answer; it depends on where you see yourself in the story.
Frankenstein survives perhaps because it reflects something different for every generation. For some, it is a cautionary tale. For others, it is a tragic love story. For fashionistas, it is a source of inspiration. For meme creators, it is something to make jokes about. For philosophers, it is a testament to the fact that creation without empathy is chaos.
Frankenstein, more than just a monster.
It is the story of Mary Shelley’s candle-lit imagination that has made it to the LED-lit runways of today, and it is nothing short of legendary. It is a tale that has endured, reinvents itself, and will always be alive.
A Delhi teenager displaying the monster on his t-shirt, a Hollywood actor reclaiming Shelley’s monster, , and a scientist quoting Shelley in a debate about the ethics of AI is all living proof that the monster is remembered with fascination.
Every generation needs to create a monster that will question its makers, and in that sense, Frankenstein will always live on because every generation is free to create him all over again.
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