MovieChat Forums > The Prestige (2006) Discussion > Borden vs Angier - Tesla vs Edison

Borden vs Angier - Tesla vs Edison

posted 8 years ago by morbidmunkees
8 replies | jump to latest

Borden = Bad Discipline/Good Creativity

Borden is selfish and only cares about making himself happy. This makes him interesting to other people, but without discipline, he will eventually take things too far and end up in prison.

Angier = Good Discipline/Bad Creativity

Angier wants to help people and make them happy, but he is so concerned with others, that he sacrifices his own happiness. People find him boring and predictable, and despite everything that he does for others, he ends up alone and unloved.

Tesla = Good Discipline/Good Creativity

People like Tesla are the problem solvers of the world. They make life easier for themselves and everyone else, but for one person to be so productive, they end up as a target for those at the top of the pyramid.

Edison = Bad Discipline/Bad Creativity

Edison is at the top of the food chain. There are no limits to what he will do to get what he wants. He will lie, cheat, steal, torture, enslave - whatever it takes. He is the puppet master pulling the strings and that is why he does not appear in the film.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 7 years ago

This is actually one of the best takes that I have ever seen on what I think is Christopher Nolan's best picture to date; and Nolan is currently my favorite working director.

[–] eYeDEF (5050) 7 years ago

Interesting.

I don't disagree with your descriptions of Tesla and Edison but I do on your interpretation of where they fall on the creativity/discipline spectrum based on my understanding of those two men.

I'd put:

Tesla = Bad Discipline/Good Creativity

Tesla was just a raw genius with a short attention span who would move from one project to another as they seized his immediate interest. As he devoured each subject his creative genius naturally engendered new revolutionary ideas that would inevitably advance the scientific field of his momentary focus. He'd invent experiments and create inventions that would confirm his theories, but inevitably get bored and move on to his next subject of interest.

Focusing on the tedium and details of making money and building wealth by seeing his ideas through to market couldn't hold the sustained interest of Tesla's genius.

Edison = Good Discipline/Bad Creativity

This is where Edison cleaned up and it's why he's typically thought of as the guy who invented electricity even though that credit should entirely be Tesla's. Edison had the discipline to refine Tesla's discoveries and inventions into practical market application, patents, and mass production to turn them into a source of fantastical personal wealth.

It's true that captain of industry pioneering alpha males like Edison were driven by pathology to succeed at any cost, and recognizing the limits of his own ingenuity DEMANDED his ruthless capital exploitation of others to achieve his ambitions.

But it's hard for me to conceptualize Edison as not being disciplined, because as a force of nature he absolutely had to be systemically disciplined to exploit at his scale. The singularly focused ambition of bastards like Edison and Hearst meant they were nothing if not persistently disciplined.

[–] KD637 (488) 7 years ago

Definitely disagree about Tesla's discipline. Here's a quote from the man himself:

“When I was a boy of seven or eight I read a novel untitled "Abafi"—The Son of Aba—a Servian translation from the Hungarian of Josika, a writer of renown . ... The possibilities of will-power and self-control appealed tremendously to my vivid imagination, and I began to discipline myself. Had I a sweet cake or a juicy apple which I was dying to eat I would give it to another boy and go through the tortures of Tantalus, pained but satisfied. Had I some difficult task before me which was exhausting I would attack it again and again until it was done. So I practiced day by day from morning till night. At first it called for a vigorous mental effort directed against disposition and desire, but as years went by the conflict lessened and finally my will and wish became identical.”

Sure, he did posses a raw genius as well, but his enormous amounts of self-discipline were perhaps equally important for his work.

[–] eYeDEF (5050) 7 years ago

Nice catch on the quote and great point.

I'll have to reassess my understanding of Nikolai Tesla.

He didn't seem to have much of a nose for sustained business success though, as his fortunes would vacillate between periods of extreme wealth reaping from his numerous inventions and poverty as he'd lose it all from turns of the market or poor partnerships. It could be he just wasn't the ruthless bastard Edison was in his business acumen or he was simply unlucky.

[–] PaladinNJ (21772) 6 years ago

Tesla - Humanitarian
Edison - Capitalist

[–] DracTarashV2 (4497) 6 years ago

Nice assessment. Fascinating characters.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 6 years ago

Well, goodness, the whole movie’s ABOUT discipline, isn’t it, or what Cutter keeps calling “getting your hands dirty”? The theme is personified in the Chinese magician that Cutter sends the two acolytes to see. “This [his practiced and false “disability” when off-stage but in public] IS the trick.” Angrier, willing to die repeatedly in return for acclaim. “Borden” (both of them) willing to settle for half-lifes and sacrificed body parts for the same reason; contrasted with his wife, who was UNWILLING to settle. Sactrifice requires iron discipline, and true discipline absolutely cannot be imposed from without. Punishment/reward can be imposed from without. True discipline can only come from within oneself. Only. I repeat, only.

Great movie.

[–] Ace_Spade (9658) 4 years ago

That's a really good take on the movie.

Although, I think that maybe Borden might mirror Tesla more? He's less well-known, dislikes the "posers", and is often outdone in terms of spectacle. Edison stomped all over Tesla, not because of the inventions, but because of his tactics and willingness to slog it out. Angiers is sort of Edison, in a way, because his ideas aren't as good (he has to go to external sources for his illusions), but he has the showmanship.

Of course, both magicians in the film are prepared to go to twisted lengths to "win" their petty duel of illusions.

Actually, weirdly enough, there's an irony here in that, by the end of the film, we find out that they aren't actually performing tricks and illusions at all. They're just good at keeping secrets.