Technology
What technology did Josephine use to bring Akai back to life?
Josephine used nanobots as part of the process of bringing Akai back to life.
She drew inspiration from Victor Frankenstein's scientific work and used technology to help recreate Akai's heart.
Compare Victor and Josephine. How do their motivations for creating life differ.
Victor is driven by his fascination with science, ambition, and desire to gain knowledge and create life.
Josephine is also a talented scientist, but her attempt to bring Akai back is motivated by the grief of losing her son.
Why did Pliers attack the police officer who killed Akai, and was he justified?
Up to your interpretation
What events led to Akai's death?
Akai was walking home from a baseball game when he was shot by a police officer.
How does technology affect Pliers' humanity?
Pliers begins with a metal arm and eventually becomes fused with the Bride, making it impossible for him to remove the giant suit.
Compare the Creature in Frankenstein with how he is portrayed in Destroyer. What similarities and differences stand out in their experiences?
The Creature in Destroyer appears less intelligent or less reflective than the Creature in Shelley's novel.
Both Creatures use violence against people, including strangling or choking their victims.
Compare the director's relationship with her son to Josephine's relationship with Akai.
Both relationships raise questions about motherhood, power, protection, and the expectations placed on women.
How is racial solidarity portrayed in Destroyer?
An example would be
Pliers and Josephine shared experience as Black people in a predominantly white workplace, which helped them form a connection.
How does Josephine use fail-safes in her inventions? Would Victor have benefited from implementing similar safeguards?
Josephine creates commands that can override her technology if the director turns against her or the machines begin operating independently.
Victor could have benefited from safeguards because he loses control over the consequences of creating the Creature.
Compare Victor and Elizabeth's relationship in Frankenstein with Pliers and Josephine's relationship in Destroyer.
Both relationships involve love and separation, but the characters handle responsibility and communication differently.
What does Josephine mean when she says, "Must be nice to be a father. Mothers are weighed on a broken scale." (Lavalle 103).
Akai is happy to discover that Pliers is his father despite Pliers being absent for twelve years, while Josephine is angry about how easily those years of absence seem to be forgiven.
How do Josephine's experiences with racism and discrimination at school influence her actions later in life, particularly in the way she raises Akai?
Josephine is subjected to unfair treatment at school, these experiences shape her understanding of racism and the obstacles Black people face.
How does the creature's experience of learning about humanity through books differ from learning about it through technology?
In Frankenstein, the Creature learns about humanity by observing the De Lacey family and reading about human history and relationships. In Destroyer, he sees the wars and violence humans have committed through a tablet
How is grief expressed in Frankenstein compared with Destroyer? How does grief influence the characters' actions?
Josephine's grief and Victor's experiences can be interpreted as leading them toward losing control of themselves or compromising their humanity.
How do Victor and Plier's absence from their responsibilities affect their family and relationships with the creature and Akai?
Pliers appears to want his family back, while Victor initially avoids taking responsibility for the Creature.
What is the significance of the "race traitor" graffiti beneath Josephine's face on the Lincoln Memorial, and how does it connect her focus on technology to Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the backlash he faced from some white Americans?
Josephine believes humanity could view her as a traitor because her technological creations could threaten or replace human beings.
The Lincoln connection is that Lincoln's support for emancipation faced fierce opposition from some white Americans who opposed ending slavery.
Who is the best teacher at Morgan State University? How long have they taught at this institution?
Dr. Mekler
28 years