Since the beginning of time, the idea of the creature being more human than the creator has been present. God created mankind and it is very clear to any Christian, that we, the creatures of God, are much more human than He. This idea is replicated in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein when the main character, Victor, attempts to play God and create a human himself. This creation goes wrong, however, and the Creature instead is “born” (Shelley). As creation stories go, the Creature is only one of many misunderstood characters; another being Dr. Sebastian Caine from the science fiction thriller “Hollowman.” At first interpretation, the film “Hollowman” in which Sebastian, a man of a governmental team of megalomaniacal molecular biologists, is made invisible may only be comparable to the novella The Invisible Man written by H.G. Wells; however, after a slow reading of the film, it may easily be more relatable to Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein.
When thinking of the concept of invisibility, one does not necessarily think of the process of becoming so. In the scene in “Hollowman” where Sebastian becomes invisible, this process is given a very interesting, yet scientific twist. The process of becoming invisible in “Hollowman” is just that, it is a process; it is not automatic. As Sebastian becomes invisible, he becomes invisible layer by layer. First his skin becomes invisible, then his muscles, followed by his nerves, and finally his bones (Hollowman). As a result of this process, the viewer is shown the different layers of human anatomy, all the time wondering: is this what I look like on the inside? At first, one does not realize the connection between this thought and the message of the movie but after a slow reading, the message is clear. In relating himself/herself, a human being, to Sebastian as he is becoming invisible, the viewer proves that although invisible, Sebastian is still a human being. He has not become a superhero or a monster. He is still human. In showing the different layers of the inside of Sebastian’s body, the viewer is reminded that they too have the same parts that he does and therefore Sebastian, like us viewers, is still completely human.
Like Sebastian, the Creature’s appearance is very different from that of a “normal” human being. Granted, the Creature was not created in a natural way but he has a heart, brain and an advanced thought process, so by definition, he is a human being. As Sebastian’s human characteristics are seen through the process of him becoming invisible, the Creature’s human characteristics can be seen through his narrative when he spends time watching and helping the family in the woods (Shelley). Both of these portrayals are necessary in order for the viewer to obtain the underlying message of both “Hollowman” and Frankenstein of the Creature being more human than the creator. Without first seeing the human characteristics that both the Creature and Sebastian, once turned invisible, possess, it would be impossible for this message to be conveyed.
In “Hollowman,” one of the severe side effects of being invisible is that you feel very intense emotions, emotions that are uncontrollable; if while invisible one feels rage, lust, sadness, or otherwise, the feeling cannot be contained or controlled and therefore it is acted upon. One night when Sebastian is at home, he sees through the window of his neighbor that she has just gotten out of the shower and is naked. Sebastian then feels such a lust towards her that he goes over to her apartment, invisibly, and rapes her. This reminds me of the Creature in Frankenstein because like the Creature, Sebastian is experiencing more human emotion than his creator. These emotions, however, are quite different. In Frankenstein, the Creature feels the same amount of emotion as a human feels while Frankenstein feels little for his creation at all; while in “Hollowman” the creators, or other scientists, feel relatively strong emotions towards Sebastian while Sebastian feels intensified emotions. These concepts are slightly different, but the message of “the creature being more human that the creator” is still relatively strong.
This scene is also interesting in terms of film because of the way that the scene is shot. This interesting shooting begins when Sebastian first sees the woman through her window. The scene is filmed so that you see a view of the city surrounding the window along with the window of the woman’s apartment; this gives the illusion that the viewer is watching her through another sort of movie screen. For the continuation of the scene, the viewer sees through “Sebastian’s eyes” in that the scene is an eye-level-shot from his point of view. This causes the viewer to actually feel as though you are him, which is actually a terrifying feeling because you can sense that he is about to rape her. The rape in itself is not shown; however, a reaction shot of the woman when he pushes her down is shown and it is obvious what is going to happen. The way that the viewer sees these events heightens the fear that is felt of this scene because it puts you into the eyes, and because of this the mind, of a rapist and that is not at all a comfortable position.
As human beings, we never quite take the time to decipher what it means to be “human,” we just know that we are; however, what if a critical change was to take place within our species? What if we suddenly were all twenty feet tall? What if we had three legs? What if we were actually invisible? Would we still be human? My answer to this question is yes and that is why I believe both the Creature and Sebastian, despite their physical appearance or means of creation, are very human. I believe that being human is not about your physical appearance but your capacity for thought and emotion, and that is why I believe that both the Creature and Sebastian are much more human than their creators.
