Comparing Chinese and American Monster Cultures - Essay Example

Comparing Chinese and American Monster Cultures Paper Outline I. Introduction A. Ancient Belief in Monsters i. Monsters as creatures that are found mostly in legend and other horror films. ii. Monsters normally depict and connote something that is wrong, evil and negative iii. Monsters are most of the times psychologically and physically hideous B. Current Beliefs i. Various cultures have their own monsters and have different perceptions and understanding of the monsters. ii. They have become natural designs of a society or the world iii. Every culture and society reacts differently to the various monsters that are found in the society that they live in C. Common Tend in the Monster Forms i. Monsters normally have features that reflect the belief of the society ii. Some have features that resemble human characters iii. Some monsters take the form of the fauna and they have extraordinary powers iv. They can be either perceived to be good or bad II. Chinese Monster Culture i. Monsters have been always found in Chinese culture. ii. Some of the monsters are seen as heroes with a majority being associated with evil iii. The Chinese society and culture got the images of the monsters from different sources like the eagles, big cats and snakes. iv. Chinese monsters and beast have weird shapes, characteristics and features. v. Chinese people and society has gone ahead to invent cleaver mythical animals and monsters. III. American Monster Culture i. American monsters are humanoid and are found in allegorical tales that tell us how we behave. ii. Monsters characteristics and features are related to fear and other common taboos iii. The bodies of the monsters are sites for cultural representation of the various taboos in the society iv. The humanoid form of the American monsters show acceptable and unacceptable practices Comparing Chinese and American Monster Cultures The concept of monsters has been used in various ideological and historical contexts in order to dehumanize or even demonize things that are considered to be abject or marginal. While the names and specifics of the monsters vary their deviance in most of the cultures is. This treatise explores the monster culture in the Chinese and the American societies in order to have an insight into the similarities and the differences that exits in these two cultures with regards to the monsters. In understanding the monsters and the monster culture, it is very vital to consider the root of the Latin word from which the word monsters is derived from. Monster is a word that has been derived from the ancient Latin word monstrum. Momstrum refers to an occurrence that is biological and that depicts something bad or wrong in relation to natural orders. Such biological occurrences were taken to show that there is an anomaly with the order of nature and the result would always be something negative. Monsters are creatures that are found mostly in legend and other horror films (Said, 34). These characters are normally hideous and end up producing and generating fear when they appear. Monsters normally depict and connote something that is wrong, evil and negative. Monsters are most of the times psychologically and physically hideous. Said states that monsters are at times used figuratively when referring to people or persons that are deemed to have characters which are negative, horrible and bad (56). Various cultures have their own monsters and have different perceptions and understanding of the monsters (Gates, 43). This means that every culture and society reacts differently to the various social issues that are found in the society that they live in. Two of the societies that that have different monster cultures and varied opinion about monsters are the Americans and Chinese people. This is terms of the nature of the monsters, the way they are created and the perception that the members of these societies have concerning these monsters. In order to understand the monster culture in China and that in America, it is imperative to understand the characteristics and features of the monsters, the contexts in which they existed and the effect and implications of their existence. Monsters have been always found in Chinese culture. Among Chinese, the monsters are beasts that instill some form of fear among people. The monsters are always associated with darkness. Many Chinese who have a strong perception and belief in the monsters always think that the monsters normally creep in when lights are out (Copjec, 111). Chinese monsters are normally a creation of Chinese societies. Some of the monsters are seen as heroes with a majority being associated with evil. The monsters are taken to be creatures that endanger the lives of the common members of Chinese societies. In China, the beast and creatures that are taken to be monsters have their specific names and features. The creatures are found in stories. Some of these stories that have the monsters as characters are at times scary while at other times they are very weird. Monsters played an invaluable cultural role, aiding medieval Europeans in their quest to define themselves, the world around them, and their place within it. It seems to be the human condition to ponder what exactly makes us “human,” and medieval Europeans were by no means excluded from this quest. Monsters were utilized in forming man’s conception of his humanity by providing an example of what he was not. By acting as the anti-human, monsters allowed medieval mankind to better define itself. Monsters played very invaluable roles in the Chinese culture. The monsters aided the Chinese medieval in their quest and attempt to define themselves, the world that they lived in and the roles that they had within that particular world. This was caused by the constant state of pondering over what made them human. The Chinese therefore used the monsters to form their own conception of what they took as humanity and what was taken not to be humanity. This was a very imperative role of the monsters. Through the actions of the monsters as antihuman in most instances, the medieval Chinese were able to define who they were. The monsters have existed in different historical, ideological and historical contexts among the Chinese. People of China have always been imagining of the mythical creatures and monsters for years (Barbes, 90). These traditional creations continued to emerge. This is why it is still common to find present day Chinese people talking and imaging about these creatures. One of the greatest Chinese mythological beast or monsters is the dragon. Most Chinese people take the dragon as an auspicious sign and symbol of royalty among Chinese people. A picture and sculptures of the dragon has been seen in various royal houses and palaces among Chinese. The reason behind this is that the society views the dragon as a sign of royalty. The dragon among Chinese is taken to be a character that is not only a monster. Some people take it as a god that can protect them. This is coupled with its ability to copulate with every other animal that it comes into contact with. This makes the character of the dragon more and weirder. However, one of the clear things that come out about the dragon is that it is a creation of Chinese. Copjec says that the dragon is a character that Chinese created to show royalty and to show how supernatural creatures can perform unnatural things (87). Said states that when one considers the belief that Chinese people have on the ability of the dragon to copulate with any animal and the current biological trends and knowledge it is very clear that it may be a creation that does not exit (21). This is obliged to the point that it is not possible for any species or creature to copulate with all animals due to the difference in genetic makeup. According Barbes an insight into and analysis of the mythologies among Chinese people are not only limited to the dragons (56). Another famous monster is the Qulin, which is a dragon headed beast that looks like a horse. This beast or monster appears only in places that are ruled by people who are considered to be wise among Chinese people. The monster appears in such places to show support to the wise rulers and also punish those that are viewed to be wicked. So weird is the characters and features of this monster that it is said that it punishes people by breathing fire. Another famous Chinese monster is the Bashe. This is a gigantic snake that is believed by Chinese people to feed only on elephants. Cyclops birds that have only one eye and one wing have also been seen and viewed to be among the famous Chinese monsters. Chinese monsters and beast have weird shapes, characters and features and at times they take human forms. The features and the capabilities of these monsters always invoke fear among the member of the society. Some of these monsters have the capabilities of taking the shape of beautiful girls and at times take the shape and size of the small birds. The shifting of shape and size of the monsters is the reason why some Chinese people have viewed women especially the very beautiful ones to be devils and demons underneath the beautiful skin. Barbes states that the modern science and the emergence of foreign cultures among Chinese societies have not prevented the Chinese people from believing in these monsters (202). Science is very skeptical on the issue of the dragon and its existence as claimed by the Chinese people. Due to their deep belief in these monsters, Chinese people and society has gone ahead to invent cleaver mythical animals and monsters. They have gone ahead to widely use the internet to be able to spread and disseminate and popularize these new monsters and beast. As science and other people continue to doubt and be skeptical about the existence of the ancient Chinese monsters and beast such as the dragons, some of Chinese people have continued to reinvent new monsters. The monsters that are being created and the names that are being given are becoming more and scarier (Said, 67). The monster stories and folktales were there long time ago and they still exist now. However, one thing that comes out is that Chinese monsters and the mythologies are just creations of the society. An indicator to this is that even the current society is going ahead to create its own monsters that have almost similar features and weird characters like the ancient monsters. The monsters are used in the society to instill fear or to pass a certain aspect of Chinese culture. Chinese society and culture got the images of the monsters from different sources. One of the famous Chinese monsters, the dragon, had an image with elements that already existed in the primate brain. This made it become a pattern that could be easily passed genetically as well as culturally. According to (Gates, 73) the image of the dragon is one that could have been stored in the human brain for several years where it was dormant. It was only after the increasing human and communal anxiety that this image came out and was released from its state of dormancy. Chinese society creates the images of the monsters from samples that were taken from the normal predators in the society. These included the snakes, the paws of the big cats and the face and wings of an eagle. The form and character of the monster in a particular region was therefore a reflection of the fauna in that region. Irrespective of the form of these monsters, the main and primary function was to instill fear. This ended up capturing the dread that had been bred and harnessed by Chinese society for several years. Just like any other society also have its own monsters that come is various forms. The American monsters are found in fairytales and mythical stories. Unlike Chinese monsters that are normally associated with the features and capabilities of animals, the American monsters are humanoid. Most of the monsters have human features and capabilities (Friedman, 34). One of the most popular American monsters is the Bigfoot. The Bigfoot is a monster that is believed to have a foot with a size that is several times larger than a human foot. This creature has other human features such as the eyes, the legs and the hands. The only difference is that the most has features and body parts that are very huge when they are compared the human features. There has been an extensive credence that the Bigfoot actually exists among the American people. This has been seen through the various claims among the Americans of the creature being spotted or seen in various locations. The main reason why the American society has so much belief in the Bigfoot is due to the fact that the monster has several human like features like the hands, legs and eyes (Said, 56). This is some much unlike Chinese monsters that had futures that are found in other animals. Some features in Chinese monsters are those found in snakes, eagles and cats. The other common American monsters are the Vampires. The vampires have been so much widespread in the American tales and stories. So much is the belief in these vampires that they have been also featured in various American films. The vampires, just like the Bigfoot has most of the human features. The vampires have human like hands, legs and eyes. The only variance that they have is that they feed on the humans and have extraordinary teeth and strength. Due to this, they are normally capable of killing and even feeding on the humans. The dominant American culture has given the common monsters characteristics and features that are related and associated to fear and other common taboos in the American society. For example, the Dracula and the other vampires have been associated with feeding on human blood. This is something which is a taboo in the society. Giving such monsters these characteristics does not only instill fear but also show things that are not acceptable in the society. Among the Americans, the bodies of the monsters have greatly become sites for cultural representation of the various taboos in the society. The bodies of the monsters have generally instilled fear, uncertainty, anxiety and also fantasy. Friedman indicates that the monsters in the American culture cannot be contained and they end up disobeying their masters (61). In addition to this, the monsters overspill their margins. Despite the belief by some members of the American societies in the monsters and their actual existence, it is a common knowledge that all these creations are just made up by the society. The fear, anxiety and uncertainty that is created and caused by the monsters are as a result of the features and the characteristics that are given to the creations by the members of the society. They have therefore become a very effective way of transferring taboos and beliefs. The humanoid form of the American monsters tries to show and depict thing that are acceptable and those that are unacceptable in the society. Works Cited Said, Edward. Orientalism. New York: Pantheon, 2004.Print. Gates, Henry. The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of Afro- American Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.Print. Copjec, Joan. Vampires, Breastfeeding and Anxiety. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. Print. Barbes, Paul. Vampires, Burial and Death: Folklore and Reality. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007.Print. Friedman, John. The Monstrous Race in Medieval Art and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.Print. Read More