By Soumitra Banerji
I was watching a movie Frankenstein on OTT. The movie in itself was very well made; but what struck me the most was its resonance to the modern world and geopolitics.
Victor, the creator of Frankenstein, appeared to be akin to the electorate of a country; and the elected political leader to be Frankenstein’s Monster. And the entire movie seems to correlate to a specific type of Democratic Tragedy…A Creator (Electorate) using their power to bring something to life; only for that creation to grow beyond their control and eventually become a source of destruction for the very people who empowered it.
This phenomenon usually follows a predictable cycle where the mechanisms used to gain power are eventually used to dismantle the protections of the people.
The transition from a Representative to a Monster often involves three distinct phases:
- The ‘Spark of Life” (Populism) – The Electorate often “builds” these leaders out of a sense of frustration with the status quo. By granting a leader mandate through populist rhetoric, the voters often trade long-term institutional checks for short-term promises of radical change.
- Breaking the Chains (Institutional Erosion) – Once in power, the “Frankenstein” leaders begin to view the laws and norms that govern them as “shackles”.
- The Judiciary: Weakening courts that limit executive power.
- The Press: Labeling critical media as “enemies of the people”.
- The Bureaucracy: Replacing experts with loyalists.
- Turning on the Creator- The final stage occurs when the leader’s survival becomes more important than the electorate’s welfare. This can manifest as:
- Economic policies that favour a small elite over the general public.
- The suppression of protests or dissent from the same groups that originally voted for them.
- Changing the election laws to ensure they can never be “turned off” or voted out.
Why does this happen?
Psychologically and sociologically, this often stems from a “Saviour Complex”. Electorates in distress may look for a ‘Strongman” to fix complex systemic problems.
However, the very traits that make a leader “strong” enough to bypass red tape are the same traits that allow them to bypass the will of the people once they are in office.
As Mary Shelley’s novel suggests, the tragedy isn’t just in the monster’s action, but in the irresponsibility of the creator who failed to consider the consequences of the life they were bringing into the world.
The resonance I found in Frankenstein the movie, has many parallels, in the past as well as the present, which I am sure most of my readers would figure out…different leaders, in different geographies…yet the same trend in progression.
I have and would always like to be an apolitical author of thoughts, hence identifying faces behind the “Mask of Frankenstein” is outside the purview of this piece of resonance.
(Soumitra Banerji is an acclaimed Indian author and writer, best known for his thought provoking novel “Liminal Tides”.)
