The Post-Modern Prometheus

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"The Post-Modern Prometheus" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of television series The X-Files.

[edit] Plot

Filmed in black-and-white, "The Post-Modern Prometheus" chronicles Mulder and Scully's investigation when a letter from a single mother leads them to a small mid-Western town where a modern-day version of Frankenstein's monster lives. (The episode title is an obvious play on the Frankenstein story, as the original book was subtitled The Modern Prometheus.) The two agents travel to Bloomington, Indiana to meet with the author of the letter. The creature who attacked her is similar to a comic book character her son created and named "The Great Mutato". Her son and his friends take the two agents to a wooded area where they lay a trap for the monster using peanut butter sandwiches. They see the creature from a distance and the group gives chase but they lose him in the darkness. Mulder meets an old man who claims the monster is his son, Dr Francis Pollidori, a renowned scientist whose research is in the area of genetic manipulation, possibly a tragic victim of his own genetic tampering. Mulder and Scully find themselves the centre of attention in the local community following a newspaper article quoting Mulder confirming the existence of the monster. The two agents endeavour to locate the creature and find themselves wondering who the real monsters are as wild hysteria and mob mentality takes control of the town.

[edit] References to Frankenstein

• The basic plot closely mirrors Mary Shelley's most famous novel, Frankenstein.
• The title is a reference to Frankenstein, which had the subtitle "The Modern Prometheus."
• As in the novel Frankenstein, in this episode Dr Pollidori at one point leaves for Ingolstadt. The University of Ingolstadt, where Dr Pollidori is to deliver his lecture, was disbanded in 1800. The university is frequently mentioned in The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson.
• Dr. Pollidori's wife is named Elizabeth, which may be a reference to Victor's wife from Shelley's "Frankenstein".
• The name of John O'Hurley's character, Dr. Pollidori, is an homage to Dr. John Polidori, one of the writers on vacation in Switzerland who challenged each other to a scary-story writing contest. Byron's tale was eventually abandoned, "The Vampyre", Polidori's story, is considered the foundation of the modern vampire tale, and, of course, Mary Shelley produced the most famous work of the three, Frankenstein, or, the Modern Prometheus.
• The mob scene of "villagers with torches" echoes that of many old Universal horror movies; similar mob scenes are seen in, for example, the 1931 version of Frankenstein.

[edit] References to The Elephant Man film

• This episode appears to be heavily influenced by The Elephant Man. The episode's "carnival music" score is similar to the music during the film's opening and closing credits, and The Great Mutato shares obvious characteristics with the film's title character.
• Like The Elephant Man, the episode was filmed in black and white.
• This episode contains a scene in a building overlooking the street below, mirroring a similar scene in the film.
• The mob psychology exhibited in this episode echoes a famous scene in The Elephant Man in which a mob chases after the film's title character.
• At least two lines of dialogue in "The Post-Modern Prometheus" are from The Elephant Man: "Do you think he understands?" "I hope not."

[edit] Awards

The episode was nominated for seven 1998 Emmy awards by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences:

• Outstanding Writing
• Directing
• Art Direction
• Cinematography
• Single-Picture Editing
• Makeup
• Music Composition

It won the award for Outstanding Art Direction.^[1][2].

[edit] Music

This episode features three Cher songs: "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore", "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves" and "Walking in Memphis" as The Great Mutato character is a big Cher fan.

[edit] References and external links

1. ^ The Post-Modern Prometheus -Awards, accessed October 16, 2007
2. ^ Emmy Awards History, accessed October 16, 2007

• "The Post-Modern Prometheus" at the Internet Movie Database
• "The Post-Modern Prometheus" at TV.com