As times and technology change, so too do the people. Nevertheless stories, through the generations, have remained relatively the same. Werewolf stories have been in existence for hundreds of years. In the very beginning the scary stories were told by word of mouth, creating fear in the listener, and then through written word, creating fear in the reader. At the time, these terror-inducing monsters were complete figments of the imagination. Something never fully seen, only suspected. The whisper in the trees might as well have been the werewolf knocking at your door.
However, with the advent of the moving picture, our monsters became more tangible creatures. Still though, with the absence of the computer graphics we have today, monsters in the films couldn’t be fully realized, still leaving much to the imagination. In the 1941 ‘The Wolf Man’, we never see Lon Chaney Jr.’s entire transformation from Larry Talbot to the Wolf Man. Much of what this character is going through, is left to our imaginations as an audience, often times supposing the worst of scenarios. In contrast, the 2010 version of ‘The Wolfman’, shows the complete and painful transformation of Lawrence Talbot, leaving very little, if anything, to our imaginations. As an audience, we have changed because of this, rather than exercising our own minds, some computer geek in Hollywood has done it for us.
All the same, the basic story has remained the same. There is an innate evil in all of us, and it is our duty to face and conquer our monsters, whether it successful or not.
However, with the advent of the moving picture, our monsters became more tangible creatures. Still though, with the absence of the computer graphics we have today, monsters in the films couldn’t be fully realized, still leaving much to the imagination. In the 1941 ‘The Wolf Man’, we never see Lon Chaney Jr.’s entire transformation from Larry Talbot to the Wolf Man. Much of what this character is going through, is left to our imaginations as an audience, often times supposing the worst of scenarios. In contrast, the 2010 version of ‘The Wolfman’, shows the complete and painful transformation of Lawrence Talbot, leaving very little, if anything, to our imaginations. As an audience, we have changed because of this, rather than exercising our own minds, some computer geek in Hollywood has done it for us.
All the same, the basic story has remained the same. There is an innate evil in all of us, and it is our duty to face and conquer our monsters, whether it successful or not.
Excellent introduction, but you might do a bit more with the actual wolfman films. Talk a little more about the actually films and look at some of the other effects that the earlier film uses to make up for the lack of technology in the transformation. You write very well, but I already knew that.
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