"In the beginning...", Sam created a minipaper.

This picture is to get your attention. 

Some people like to think that Frankenstein's monster didn't disappear and achieve his own end. In fact, you can still feel his presence everywhere, from social media to cereal boxes and the musical stage. Similar to Frankenstein's monster, what we create and put on the internet can often take a life of it's own. The internet could be compared to a laboratory. Everyone in it is tinkering in the corners of the room, taking bits and pieces of each other's ideas and sometimes setting their creations loose to see what kind of response it receives. In artistic expression, even though someone might be certifiably insane, their creation can still be appreciated as art. The internet is being used as an outlet of expression in ways that no one had ever dreamed possible. How it is that we are supposed to appreciate those things created on the internet?

We can appreciate creations of others, especially on the internet by how relatable they are to ourselves, and through the creation's applicability to a greater audience.


Mary Shelley's creation of Frankenstein was not intended for broader audiences, at least in the beginning. It went from a horrific dream that would do the job as an intriguing story to distract from the awful weather, to a book that has been considered the first of its kind in the fields of science fiction and horror. In a similar, but opposite way, Frankenstein's creation was supposed to bring him glory, and would change the world. Instead, it essentially destroyed him, and was a secret that only one individual had the chance to hear the full account of. Both of these scenarios are possible with creations on the internet as well.

Applicability to a Greater Audience
The unique properties of the web lie in the empowering ability it gives to individuals. They can create with accessible tools and share what they have made with a broader scope of people than anyone could have ever dreamed. It allows for overnight superstardom, but creations often languish stagnant in the test vaults of our virtual laboratory. To be able to apply something to the greater world nowadays, social media must be used. Creations will rarely go outside narrow fields of people unless shared through social media.

Relatable to Self
"Mary Shelley's Frankenstein blurs divisions between master and slave, creator and created, human and monster (Devon Anderson, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Creation, Frustration, Fragmentation, Abomination)." The internet does this as well. Usually we appreciate something more when we know it is connected to a human being. A profile of a person connected to their silly YouTube video is much more powerful than the video would be standing alone. You probably aren't reading this blog unless you know me, or at least, a little bit about me. There will always be an undeniable and powerful force that lies in humans connecting with one another.


"The novel presents creation as inherently monstrous, as dissolving discrete boundaries between self and other even as it fragments any possible sense of social, psychological, or self-unity (Devon Anderson, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Creation, Frustration, Fragmentation, Abomination)." Creation can certainly have this effect on some. However, when it comes to creation in the context of social media, there is a special, unifying and collaborative force that takes over. Sure, not everything someone puts up is going to get a response. But many will. It all depends on how relateable it is to yourself, and how applicable it is to a greater audience that will take this creation and expand on it. Alistair Wood puts up content that is used by hundreds, if not thousands, of people who repurpose it for their own needs. He explained that he would rather have his content used than sit there on the computer. People are constantly seeking to harness the power of the internet. But this creation has become it's own being, and it's own master, and we can only try now to direct it for good.