Tesla-Edison Rivalry in The Prestige

While watching The Prestige movie, have you ever wondered why Angier’s machine had to be built by Nikola Tesla himself? Couldn’t that be any other scientist? Why specifically Tesla? And why on earth did they show a glimpse of the clash between Nikola Tesla and Tomas Edison? While you have these  questions, let me ask you this: “Are you watching closely?”

For starters, the conflict between Robert Angier and Alfred Borden was inspired by the rivalry between Nikola Tesla and Thomas Alva Edison. In the movie, when all the Borden and Angier stuff was going on, it was somewhere in the 1890s. At the same time, our world was witnessing a fight between two scientists called “The War of Current.”According to the storyline (based on moral status and characteristics), Alfred Borden represents Nikola Tesla, and Robert Angier, a.k.a. The Great Daton, portrays Thomas Alva Edison. So, there are some parallels between the characters of Angier/Borden and Tesla/Edison, and we are about to find them in this article.

Nature and Work Ethics

Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige is about the ongoing competition between two English magicians. Alfred Borden (played by Christian Bale) seems to be more talented, passionate, and creative, while Robert Angier (played by Hugh Jackman) is a magician with better appearance and selling capabilities.

In the movie, Borden discovers the secret method of a great magician by looking for the first time, which shows his natural talents. Also, he wants to create something new in the magic, something innovative, something unique. The same goes for Nikola Tesla as well. A young, prominent Serbian scientist who was full of enthusiasm, a grand vision for humanity and overflowing talent. He wanted to implement the World Wireless System, allowing people to use electricity without wires! However, that project never saw the light of success because of the need for proper funding.

Angier and Edison share similarities as well. For instance, a materialistic mindset or doing whatever it takes to win. In the movie, Angier focuses on attractively showcasing the magic so that it sells better. And we have seen him get his hands dirty to get power over his competition, Borden. For Thomas Edison, it was when he was working on his Direct Current (DC) project. From spreading rumours to the electrocution of animals, what didn’t he do to get more clients for DC electricity? (We will learn more about his “noble” works later in this article.)

Working Together and the Separation

At the movie’s beginning, we see Angier and Borden working together in a magic theatre. One day, Angier’s wife dies while performing a magic trick, and Borden is considered responsible for the death (you know why). So, a conflict arose, and Borden left the team and formed a new magic show on his own. And that’s where the rivalry between Robert Angier and Alfred Borden began.

In 1984, Nikola Tesla came to New York for the first time and met Thomas Alva Edison, the most famous and popular scientist. Tesla started working for Thomas Alva Edison. Edison was working on Direct Current (DC) at that moment. But there were some problems with DC electricity. All the generators he had weren’t powerful enough. Again, since DC electricity flows in one direction, this electricity transmission used to cost a lot of System Loss. So, Thomas assigned Tesla to upgrade his DC generators. In return, he’d give Tesla 50,000$. Nikola Tesla worked hard for a month and eventually succeeded in that upgrade project and asked for the money he was promised. Edison refused to give him that money, saying it was the part of American Humor he didn’t understand. Being betrayed, Tesla got pissed and left there. Later, he started his project, which he began working on, Alternating Current (AC).  And from that moment, they became each other’s competitor.

Vision and Objective

Tesla was a visionary Scientist, and so was Alfred Borden (as a magician). In The Prestige, Sarah Borden asked Alfred if the “Bullet Catch” magic was the masterpiece or the most remarkable magic trick. But Borden said, “NO, no, no, the world is not ready for that yet.” I know that’s a dramatic way to say something about your greatest trick. But the world was not ready to accept that trick for real.

Now, think about Tesla. His inventions are pretty remarkable to the present day. But if we talk about his dream project, the World Wireless System (WWS), we have never seen the light of implementation. The objective of this project was to secure wireless transmission of electricity and make electricity free for everyone to use. As part of his project, he built Wardenclyffe Tower. However, it didn’t see the light of implementation because of the lack of proper funding, as no one saw its potential to invest. Or, should I say, the world wasn’t ready?

Getting Hands Dirty

In the movie, Robert Angier is told multiple times to learn to get his hands dirty when necessary in the field of magic. He eventually realised it, but not because of the magic. It was for taking down his competition. We see Angier kidnap Fallone and bury him alive just to get Borden’s secret magic trick. But he didn’t stop there, did he? Later, he framed Borden guilty of the murder of Angier himself! A guy who didn’t wanna kill a bird for a magic trick ruins one’s life out of a vengeful mind. All of that started after Borden and Angier became rivals.

Let’s see what we find familiar in the Edison and Tesla situation. After Tesla left Edison’s company, he started working on Alternating Current (AC) while Edison was working on DC electricity. And there, a war began known as “The War of Current”. The winner gets the power to lighten the world. Tesla seemed to win the war, having Gorge Westinghouse as the investor of his project. (There is much to discuss about why AC power is better than DC. Let’s not go into the details). And that’s when Sir Thomas Alva Edison began to get his hands dirty.

He started spreading rumours that AC power is dangerous for animals and humans. He electrocuted stray dogs (purchased for twenty-five cents each), a circus elephant (Topsy), and a convicted murderer to show how dangerous the alternating current could be. See how cruel he became when he needed to take down Tesla.

You get to watch some of these characteristics in the movie as well. Edison’s men followed Tesla to Colorado Springs, burning down his scientific experimentations.

So, in that sense, Edison and Angier got their hands dirty to drag down the opponent.

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