Absolute power corrupts absolutely. In Michael Bay’s 2005 film, The Island, Dr. Merrick discovers the secret to creating life and uses it to build a powerful life insurance corporation in which he creates clones of his clients as a way of allowing them to cheat death. But when one clone realizes that the world in which he is living is not real, he stages a daring escape and ultimately causes the collapse of Merrick’s insurance empire. This theme of creating life resulting in corruption and destruction is also conveyed in Mary Shelley’s 200 year-old novel, Frankenstein. After bringing to life this creature, Victor Frankenstein’s life spins out of control, comprised of a series of deaths, as the creature causes Frankenstein’s ultimate downfall. Altogether, The Island is an exemplary echo of Frankenstein as it incorporates the theme that creating life ultimately leads to corruption due to the creations’ ability to feel and think.

In Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor is an ambitious, overconfident young man. He is drawn to the power offered to him by science. Victor describes his incentive for creating life:

“Rather let me say such words of fate, announced to destroy me…So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein—more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation” (53).

Victor, like Dr. Merrick, is entranced by the limitless possibilities presented by modern science. He craves the ability to change the world through the creation of human life. Victor is seduced by science when he uncovers the secret to human life and becomes driven by his lust for power to create the marvel of the mind, life. Blind to all potentially negative consequences, both Merrick and Victor, through science, create the human life that leads to their corruption.

Dr. Merrick parallels Victor Frankenstein as he displays an overwhelming amount of aspiration and confidence in his endeavor to create life. Both lack foresight, as they do not fully consider the power of the substance that they conceive. This is emphasized when Mr. Laurent, the tracker hired to kill the escaped clone, enters Dr. Merrick’s office to receive reimbursement for his completed mission. The scene uses a steady tambourine-like beat to echo the looming intensity of the conversation. As Dr. Merrick is leaving, Mr. Laurent questions the moral standing of Dr. Merrick’s operation, 

Mr. Laurent: I’ve seen and done things I’m not proud of, but at some point you realize war… is a business. So when did killing become a business for you?

Dr. Merrick: Oh, it’s so much more than that. I have discovered the Holy Grail of science, Mr. Laurent. I give life. The agnates [clones], they’re simply tools, instruments. They have no souls. The possibilities are endless here. In two years’ time, I will be able to cure children’s leukemia. How many people on Earth can say that, Mr. Laurent?

Mr. Laurent: I guess just you and God…That’s the answer you’re looking for, isn’t it?

As Dr. Merrick passionately defends his efforts to Mr. Laurent, he forcefully throws his folder down onto the table and vehemently leans forward. The camera then moves in and tilts upward, implying a sense of superiority. His words are sharp and articulate. His eyes are piercing and his lip trembles slightly as he speaks. Subsequently, the music beats loudly as Mr. Laurent makes the comparison between Merrick and God. Then Merrick breathes deep, he bows and shakes his head as he laughs, as though to say, “you will never understand or appreciate my accomplishment.” Yet he is the one who has not fully comprehended his feat, as he has failed to calculate the consequences. By this time, the music has settled into a more dynamic instrumental piece with a deep, monotone male voice chanting. The dark music underscores the ominous fate that one faces when he attempts to mimic God. Merrick is not God. He, like Victor, has become prisoner to his own ambition and lust for power, unable to see that creating life, in all its greatness, will bring about eventual demise.

The birth scene in The Island reverberates the creation scene in Frankenstein. Both scenes are tinged with an anomalous air, as the creations are brought to life by machines. The process is similar to childbirth but in a bizarre scientific way. In Kenneth Branagh’s 1994 Frankenstein film, Victor’s laboratory is filled with strange scientific equipment and machinery that requires a lot of labor to operate. At the climax of the scene, Victor is sitting on top of a metal, coffin-like container filled with the embryonic fluid that surrounds the creature, and he shouts, “Live! Live! LIVE!” as the creature comes to life. In Bay’s The Island, the birthing space is extremely futuristic, slightly resembling a hospital surgical room. In the middle of the room is a table on which a clone is placed. The clone is in an egg-shaped bag filled with embryonic fluid and attached by a mechanical metal cord to a nutrient source. The music in the background is instrumental techno-esque, something man-made, manipulated, not natural, cold and heartless. It accentuates the artificial birth. Yet the life itself is real, thus the fate of its creator is inevitable demise. When it is time to bring the clone to life, the medics end the flow of oxygen, cut the umbilical cord and slice the bag open. The medic then removes the bag and uses an oxygen mask to make the clone breathe. As he does so he shouts, “Breathe! Come on, breathe! Breathe!” The director also patches together a series of camera shots with varying angles to fully capture the intensity of the scene. This montage of shots reflects the many complex aspects of giving life. The congruity between the scenes further emphasizes the remediation of Frankenstein in The Island.  The birth scene is key as it captures a vital moment in each text; with the creating of life comes the beginning of the end. Once a man reaches the top of the mountain, the only place left to go is down.

Once both beings are brought to life, the consequence, overlooked by the creators, is expressed. It is emotion that makes life complex and it is the beings’ capacity to feel and think that is unseen by Victor and Dr. Merrick and leads to their eventual demise. In Frankenstein, after the creature’s birth, Victor soon comes to realize the flawed outcome of his actions, “Mingled with this horror, I felt the bitterness of disappointment; dreams that had been my food and pleasant rest for so long in a space where now became a hell for me; the change was so rapid, the overthrow so complete!” (61). He expresses a sudden unexpected change in his environment. A place of peace and progress has now transformed into a living hell. Victor describes the change as an overthrow, implying his inferiority and lack of control in the situation. This creature is not something over which he can assert authority; rather, it is a living being with the ability to feel and think. 

Similarly, in The Island, when Dr. Merrick begins to notice the clone’s capacity for abstract thought and memory, he runs a synaptic scan of the clone’s brain. He later receives the results and comes to a parallel realization. He then goes on to address his colleagues:

Merrick: We predicated our entire system on predictability. Six Echo has displayed the one trait that undermines it…

Colleague: What are you suggesting?

Merrick: A recall.

The awakening is bitter, as Merrick proposes a recall in a desperate attempt to correct his mistake and avoid his fate. The music in this scene starts out subtle and gradually grows stronger into a steady heartbeat. It echoes the power of human nature and emotion. Merrick is now also fearful of his creation and becomes aware of the flaw in his accomplishment. Despite efforts to control and to create, there is an evil consequence looming over both Victor and Merrick. Both creators lose sight of their humanity as they conceive their creations and mistakenly assume that they maintain the ability to influence the future. The future is not something we can predict or manipulate as humans, solely because we have hearts. Hearts are extremely powerful instruments as they pulse passion through our veins. Our actions do not always reflect what we want them to be, but rather they are a result of the desires hidden in our hearts. Living beings such as the clone and the creature feel and think, and thus are not subject to any authority. Emotion is enjoyed and endured as it is every living being’s Achilles’ heal. It is the greatest weakness; something over which we have no control and ultimately it determines our fate. The similarity between the clone and the creation’s capacity to feel and think continues to highlight the reverberation of Frankenstein in The Island.

In the end, like Victor, Merrick faces his fate. In Frankenstein, the creature murders Victor’s bride on his wedding night, and Victor shouts out an oath “…And I call on you, spirits of the dead; and you, wandering ministers of vengeance, to aid and conduct me in my work. Let the cursed and hellish monster drink deep of agony; let him feel the despair that now torments me”(173). Victor is drowning in anguish as he suffers the loss of all those he loved. His fate is not of death but of eternal misery as he devotes himself to vengeance. The Island echoes this eventual demise as the escaped clone returns and destroys the holographic machine that is used to create the illusionary environment of the Merrick Corporation. Then, there is an explosion that brings Merrick face to face with the clone. Merrick threatens the clone: “I brought you into this world and I will take you out.” The fight takes place on the bridge that leads to the sole exit. Merrick attempts to strangle the clone, but the clone resists and leaves Merrick gasping for air as he tightens the cord around Merrick’s neck. The irony is emphasized, as it is Merrick’s creation, the body into which he breathed life, which kills him; by giving life, Merrick takes his own. Merrick’s death results in the collapse of the corporation and freedom for the other clones. Overall, both Victor and Dr. Merrick are subject to downfall; the inevitable consequence of creating life is corruption.

In accordance with both story lines, it is possible to create life, a being capable of thought, adaptation, and feeling a range of emotions, but what are the consequences of doing so? If a human made an anthropomorphic creature what would be the result? Are the creation of life and the repercussion of destruction eternally intertwined? The theme of creating life resulting in corruption and destruction is more than a fictional veracity; it is a moral reality. It has truly endured the test of time, as the publication of both works is over 200 years apart. This really does emphasize that The Island is an exemplary echo of Frankenstein, as it has accurately captured the same theme: giving life is a power beyond human comprehension. Thus, it is important to acknowledge the theme’s truly immense magnitude. It is clear that in the eyes of both authors, humans clearly should not attempt to create life. In fact, the novel, Frankenstein, and the film, The Island, serve as warnings against human ambition and overconfidence. If we try, we reflect our zeal and hunger for power, which is a hopeless flaw, as it blinds us to the creations’ power. And it is the creations’ capacity for thought and emotion that results in our demise. The ultimate scientific accomplishment is always met with the ultimate moral consequence.