Introduction
With the release of “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” there are several insights into the hidden biases in Hollywood and television shows. It tells the story of a scientist who attempts to create a hybrid animal that can cross human and animal DNA. The theme is genetic experimentation and its implications for society. The movie’s main characters are Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and a side character, Edward Hyde, who is the creature that becomes known as Dr. Moreau (Kurniawan & Suhadi, 2021). The setting of the film is an island in the Caribbean Sea. The island is inhabited by people who have been experimenting with genetic modification by Dr.Jekyll. “The Island of Dr. Moreau” has been criticized for portraying the Caribbean and its people.
The theme of the film is to show that experiments on humans and animals are unethical. Scientists should be aware of ethics when doing science. It covers a wide range of topics, ideas, and writing techniques that, even if they were relevant in 1986, remain so now. The main concern of the film is how to define the moral or ethical principles that might serve as a defining characteristic of a person. It should be mentioned that the book addresses this issue in quite a precise way. It is particularly interesting how the island of Dr. Moreau becomes the worst place on Earth not because it is home to deadly wild animals but rather because of the terrible intent and unbridled imagination of the locals. This essay addresses the unfair depiction of Caribbean people.
Dystopia as an Example of Bias in the Film
The primary character of the story suggests that there will always be a clear line between humans and animals, despite Dr. Moreau’s best efforts to imbue animals with human traits. The animals may be born with a physical human body, but they might not inherit all of humanity’s other qualities. The only aspect of humanity present in the creatures Dr. Moreau produced is their constant awareness of their own shortcomings. Doctor Moreau also stands for several fundamental concerns on the function of science and human accountability. He embodies the stereotypical crazy scientist, who creates without sufficient consideration or any apparent regard for the effects of his work, and who is as repulsive as the creatures he tampers with. In the movie, characters were also portraying stereotypes about Caribbean people, showing them as dishonest and violent.
One example of the Caribbean people being dishonest is when the doctor asks one of the workers to bring him some rum. The worker instead brings him a bottle of French wine (Breedlove, 2021). When the doctor finds out, he gets angry and tells the worker that he will not pay for anything if he cannot trust his employees. This depicts Caribbeans as not trustworthy people who only look for their selfish interests. Another example of depicting stereotypes is when Dr. Moreau experiments on animals, and they start to transform into monsters. He mistreats them by beating them and making them work hard. This shows how the Caribbean people treat Dr. Moreau like a king, not a doctor, which is dishonest.
The movie’s portrayal of the protagonists as dishonest merchants eager to do anything to obtain Dr. Moreau’s next creation is the basis for the criticism. One instance is when Dr. Moreau is trying to find a way to get his specimens from the island. He approaches several people and asks them for help, but they all refuse. Eventually, he gets one man to agree to help him by offering money. However, once the man gets close enough to see what is happening, he runs away, screaming. Another example occurs when the sailors are trying to leave the island. They are told they need a government permit to leave, but the businessmen refuse to give them one. They are only willing to give it to Dr. Moreau and his crew, who they know will not be able to get back home. These examples show that Caribbean people look out for themselves and do not care about anyone else. This demonstrates how the Caribbean people are viewed as being untrustworthy and dishonest.
In the film, Dr. Moreau creates a race of beings that he calls “anthropomorphic,” which are half human and half animal. The anthropomorphic animals are depicted as being violent and bloodthirsty (Bishop, 2021). One scene in the film shows an anthropomorphic lion attacking and killing a human. This scene is particularly disturbing because it reinforces the stereotype that Caribbean people are violent and savage. In addition, other scenes in the film depict violence between humans and anthropomorphic animals. For example, one scene shows a group of anthropomorphic gorillas fighting (Breedlove, 2021). Another scene shows a group of anthropomorphic chimpanzees attacking and injuring a human. Above mentioned scenes create an impression that violence is normal and acceptable behavior among Caribbean people.
Literary Criticism
The negative portrayal of the Caribbean people in “The Island of Dr. Moreau” is harmful because it is likely to cause unfair treatment of those people. There can be discrimination against Caribbean businesses based on stereotypes depicted in the movie. There are a few reasons why the negative portrayal of the Caribbean people in “The Island of Dr. Moreau” is likely to cause unfair treatment against those people. The movie portrays the Caribbean as a place where animals and humans have been fused, which implies that these people are not human.
The film’s characters behave in stereotypical ways of how people from the Caribbean are often portrayed: greedy, promiscuous, and violent. One example is when Dr. Moreau explains to the island’s governor why he needs their land. He says that the island’s animals have evolved and need more land to continue evolving. The governor does not believe him, as such Dr. Moreau shows him a picture of an animal that has been turned into a human-like creature. The governor is horrified and asks how this could happen. Dr. Moreau replies by saying that it happened because of greed and promiscuity. He says that the island’s animals are now mating with each other, which is why they have become human-like creatures. The governor is horrified by this and asks Dr. Moreau to leave the island immediately.
Many things that happen to the characters in the film are based on real-life events that have happened to people from the Caribbean, such as violence and disease. For example, there is an incident based on real life where a man from the Caribbean was attacked and killed by an animal while hunting. Similarly, another character in the film contracts vampirism from a woman who has recently arrived from the Caribbean. This event is based on an infection known as leptospirosis that has become increasingly common in the Caribbean due to overcrowding and lack of sanitation. In both cases, the events serve as examples of how the characters from the Caribbean are often portrayed in society- as violent, promiscuous, and disease-ridden. Consequently, many viewers will see these events and conclude that all people from the Caribbean are evil.
Conclusion
“The Island of Dr. Moreau” shows the false assumption of Dr. Moreau about the perfect world. As the existence of man constitutes a significant portion of the globe, if the world were occupied by perfect individuals, it would exhibit perfection and be vastly improved. Moreau attempts to transform everyone else into a copy of himself by manifesting as a deity, believing himself to be flawless. After people learned what Moreau had done, he was compelled to withdraw from society and became a pariah. Although Moreau certainly had the best of intentions, he was so preoccupied with his vision of perfection that he was oblivious to the moral and ethical implications.
The film is a negative portrayal of the Caribbean people that is likely to cause racism and discrimination against businesses in the Caribbean. It is an interesting and suspenseful movie, but it should not be viewed as an accurate depiction of the people living in the Caribbean. The film portrays the characters from the Caribbean as violent, promiscuous, and disease-ridden. As a result, people from the Caribbean can be treated negatively. This discrimination will lead to further incidents of prejudice against people from the Caribbean, eventually leading to their downfall. The film shows how society treats people from the Caribbean, revealing unfair treatment.
References
Bishop, A. (2021). Making sympathy “vicious” on The Island of Dr. Moreau. Nineteenth-Century Contexts, 43(2), 205–220. Web.
Breedlove, B. (2021). Revisiting the Island of Doctor Moreau. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 27(10), 2747.
Kurniawan, Y., & Suhadi, M. F. (2021). Struggle in H. G. Wells’ novel the Island of Doctor Moreau. Journal of Language, 3(2), 232–240. Web.