Upcoming Lecture: Frankenstein Unbound
I’m giving a lecture for Profs & Pints at Fait la Force in Nashville, TN on Wednesday, December 10th—when tickets go on sale, I’ll post a link here!
Here’s what the talk will cover:
Frankenstein Unbound
Most recently adapted as a hit Netflix film, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has haunted the cultural imagination for over two centuries, spawning countless iterations that have shaped how we understand science, creation, hubris, and monstrosity. This talk by Stephanie A. Graves, a scholar of horror and the Gothic, will explore why Shelley's 1818 novel continues to be endlessly reimagined and what these adaptations reveal about our evolving anxieties.
Beginning with the novel's remarkable origins—conceived by an eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley during a ghost story competition—we will consider how its biographical and historical context enriches our reading of this foundational Gothic text, with its themes of scientific hubris, blind ambition, and the construction of the Other. Turning to key adaptations across different media, Graves will offer a brief survey of differing approaches, including James Whale's iconic 1931 film, Kenneth Branagh's devoted 1994 interpretation, and even the spoofery of Mel Brooks’ 1974 Young Frankenstein. We will particularly focus on Guillermo del Toro's 2025 Netflix adaptation, which itself references many of these previous adaptations in its revivification of Shelly’s novel. His version asks audiences to reconsider who the real monster is—a question that resonates powerfully in our current moment.
Ultimately, we will examine Frankenstein's enduring legacy to answer key questions about its influence: what makes Frankenstein so adaptable? Why does this story about creation and responsibility continue to speak to contemporary audiences? How do these different adaptations reflect their historical moments? And what does our fascination with the story reveal about humanity's relationship with technology and Otherness?
