Kobe Bryant Or the Modern Prometheus
By: Vincent Cao
Throughout his coveted career, Kobe Bryant has stood out in
a variety of ways. He shoots. He wins. He garnishes respect. Yet, at the same,
time, many of his audience members are not satisfied; in one-way or another, many
of us criticize him.
The NBA has crafted Kobe Bryant; the organization has given
him life. Drafted right after high school, the NBA provided no special
mentorship or privileges. Instead, the league gave Kobe a ball, a court, and a
team. Nothing more. Within a league of more than 400 players, Kobe stands out.
Some may even say, “He’s a monster!” Dubbed as the “Black Mamba,” Kobe’s
physique, talents, and precocious career parallel something supernatural –
something not human.
Is there someway in which Kobe can be compared to
Frankenstein’s infamous daemon?
Frankenstein gave his creature an abnormal life. He crafted
the daemon from the deceased, just as Kobe crafted his skills based on retired
players such as Michael Jordan. Frankenstein’s daemon stood out in the world;
his enormous strength, physique, and acuteness have made him distinct.
In recent lighting, Kobe Bryant has been criticized for his
hefty $48.5 million contract extension. They say he is “Selfish.” Defending
himself, Kobe takes the issue up with the league –- the league that gave him
“life” – in a direct manner. He describes the hardships on the salary caps that
the NBA issues – salary caps that “ensure that players like him are always
underpaid.”
In my opinion, we can draw parallels from Kobe’s situation
to that of the daemon. The daemon too feels suppressed. Even if he doesn’t have
to deal with the issues on salaries, he believes that there are inherent limits
that restrict his happiness and freedom – restrictions that his creator (the
league) has established. Shelley allows the readers to determine whether the
daemon was truly selfish or not. As readers, some of us believe that his
ruthless murders cannot be forgiven. The daemon defends him by saying that he
was forced into this path of cruelty, which is similar to how Kobe defends
himself. In the end, we hear both sides of the arguments.
In the article, Kobe says, “he understands that it’s stupid
to gripe about what he’s “worth” when the system that’s setting his value is
rigged in the first place.”
As readers, we must wonder whether the daemon’s “value [was]
rigged in the first place,” and whether Kobe and the daemon were both truly “selfish.”
Nonetheless, both the NBA and Frankenstein have created a
monster. For better, or for worse…
