Why do we, as a culture, need monsters - Essay Example

21 July Assignment Monsters have been defined as imaginary, ugly characters that are usually created with a view to scare other people. They are frightening and have an evil nature. They might be of an extraordinary size, or even possess various kinds of powers which make them intimidating in the presence of a human being. Since times immemorial, the use of monsters has been rampant in popular fiction, novels as well as movies. Monsters had been created by people in order to scare others and create an element of mystery that cannot be explained. For a long time, the use of monsters within our culture was restricted only to scaring young children in order to discipline them. Most parents use excuses relating to imaginary monsters in order to straighten out their children and make them behave in a certain manner. This paper thus helps to provide an insight regarding the need of monsters in our culture with respect to monsters in popular culture. (Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen) Most human beings are scared of the unknown; they are afraid of chancing upon people that belong to or have extraordinary powers or are of the supernatural. People are used to living normal lives without such elements of mystery popping up in their lives. However, people worship God and regard him as the highest power or omnipotent and omnipresent being in everyone’s life. Just like there is God, people have also created monsters, just so they can be doubly sure of keeping each other in check. Scaring someone makes them think about the situation in a better manner and also helps people to get disciplined as they feel that they are being threatened. Thus, most people started mentioning the presence of monsters in everyday life in order to scare others and make them do certain things or carry out specific actions. (Asma, Stephen) Most parents had a habit of putting their children to sleep or making them do tasks only by talking about monsters and scaring them in order to ensure that the children are scared enough to follow through with the task perfectly. For example, most children are scared of the dark and that is only because parents tell their children that monsters come in the night. However, no one knows what exactly a ‘monster’ is, it simply has been defined as an abnormal ray of light in the form of a figure that lurks around in the dark and scares and messes around with people. Children thus are scared of what they do not know, i.e., they believe their parents and have this sense of fear inculcated within themselves right from the very beginning. When they grow up, they use the same measures on their children, so on and so forth. Some people even say that monsters have been created by people in order to answer questions that people have not yet been able to answer. For example, the use and creation of characters such as Dracula, vampires, werewolves and Frankenstein are names that have been given to extraordinary creatures that in reality may or may not even exist. Monsters are thus generally metaphors for things that people are not able to comprehend or relate to in their lives. They are thus a personification of the worst fears of mankind and exist on the planet just to be able to keep a man in check with respect to whatever he does in order to scare him as and when the need arises. This is how the spread of monsters has been possible in popular culture because with the help of such knowledge about monsters people have been able to express their views on the same subject matter of interest, in books, movies as well as song and dance. Culture has amalgamated the use and existence of “monsters” as an essential aspect of a human being’s life because as the years have progressed, people have found it increasingly important to have an element of fear in their lives which can further motivate and instigate them to do better in different fields. In reality, there have been rumours about monsters existing under the sea as well as in broken down and remote areas of the world. For example, the Loch Ness Monster in the Scottish moors and the creature has been compared to a race of long living plesiosaurs, or descendants of dinosaurs. It was brought to light in the year 1933; however, in today’s day and age most people do not believe the monster to be real. Thus, it is simply a figment of a person’s imagination which plays tricks on him and makes him see the Loch Ness Monster even though it has been reported as inexistent. (Facts about Nessie) As culture has become more and more liberal with the passing day and age, people have started to dramatize the image of a monster more and more in order to create a rage. Soon after, people begin to blame themselves for having reached a point of their imagination with the help of their created monsters which lead to intolerance among society. The only monsters that do exist in the world of a human being are evil and wrongdoing which turn a man bad eventually and lead him to a series of regrets on his death bed. (Donaghue, Dick) As Dr. Sigmund Freud began to uncover the inner works of a person’s sub conscious mind and helped to lay down the facts and figures, the creation of monsters were considered as “cathartic journeys” into the mind’s path by a man himself without even knowing it. In almost every tale written about monsters, right from the children’s book titled “Beauty and the Beast” to Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” and Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’, monsters do evil and treat the people around them in an inhuman manner, and then by some miracle or incident that they undergo, turn good and realise their mistakes. (Hoobler, Dorothy, and Thomas Hoobler) It is human nature to believe that everything happens for a reason and that in the end, everything turns out to be fine. Thus, these monster stories have also been portrayed with a pro side which helps people to tone down their levels of fear with respect to these non existence creatures. In modern day television, there are a number of cartoons like Scooby Doo where monsters have been created and have different powers. They control human beings to an extent after which they get overpowered by human thinking, skill and knowledge. This happens because since a monster has also been created by a person, the person inherently possesses the power to think of how to destroy whatever he has created on his own, even though he might feel as if he does not have the answer to that question. The monster is a fictional character which portrays a negative trait symbolizing it to cause destruction within the society he resides in. A monster is a social evil who manipulates his surroundings in order to create chaos in the society. It is hideous I nature and may produce mental harm or physical fear to the people in the society. A monster is a creature that is morally and socially not acceptable in a society as it is not able to live according to the rules of the society. It is a character which can threaten the existence of life and is very dangerous for the people. In popular culture, monsters have been used to the best of one’s imagination through cartoons and comics. In cartoons like the ‘Powerpuff Girls’ a vast array of monsters have been created by the directors of the show in order to help children understand the kind of crimes and ill faith that they possess over the rest of society. Most monsters have been portrayed in a rather evil manner, as villains in almost all works of fiction. Furthermore, an example of the Joker and Batman has been taken in order to depict monsters in adult comics and novels. (Jones, Gerard) The Joker vs. Bane: Both these characters are born out of the DC Universe where they fight the Batman in the Gotham city. These characters are epitomized definition of monsters and have the perfect thought process to display their traits as a monster. The Joker is considered to be the most dangerous and harmful villain in the DC Universe of Gotham city. He has an imbalanced frame of mind and that is what makes him so dangerous to both fight and outwit in battles. Bane on the other hand has born out of extreme physical aggression and is considered to be extremely strong and powerful. He has a very intelligent mind and can take quick decisions to outsmart the Batman. The Joker and Bane are both individuals who believe in the fact that chaos should rule over law and order. This thought process is so deeply rooted within their blood stream that they are not afraid of any counter attack and instead have made themselves stronger every time they fight Batman to cope up with his strength. (Scarecrow vs Joker) In the recent movie, ‘The Dark Knight’ the joker has again been portrayed as a sinister character or an evil monster that is set on creating havoc and spreading evil all around Gotham City. His image creates a sense of horror in whoever watches the same as he shows no mercy on anyone because of his personal issues with certain people. In conclusion, monsters are a mere figment of the imagination of a human being. Over the years, people have created monsters in the form of ugly frightening creatures that scare people and are threats to them. Monsters have been portrayed as supernatural creatures that exist in the world with a view to terrorize other people and get them to do things that they usually do not want to. They have been created as evil creatures that do not fit into society and have been depicted in a number of books, films as well as been expressed in various other forms of art by people. Traditional culture and rituals have also suggested the existence of monsters which can be eradicated from the dwelling areas of people by worshipping God and believing in the almighty. Mostly though, most rational elements suggest that monsters are only as existent in a person’s life as he himself makes it to be and that these ‘monsters’ are nothing but feelings and deeds that a man goes through, which turns him evil and makes him act wrongly in his actions. Works Cited "Anxiety, Fears, and Phobias." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. Web. 21 July 2011. . This provides a description of how parents insert anxiety and fear in the minds of their children and help them believe in monsters for the rest of their lives. This causes a negative effect in their mind and makes them grow up believing in fear that in reality, everyone knows, does not actually exist and has helped the paper by understanding the minds of children with respect to monsters in the modern culture. “Don't cater to fears, though. If your child doesn't like dogs, don't cross the street deliberately to avoid one.” Asma, Stephen. "Monsters and the Moral Imagination - The Chronicle Review - The Chronicle of Higher Education." Home - The Chronicle of Higher Education. 25 Oct. 2009. Web. 21 July 2011. . This source has helped in understanding the imagination that people have which makes them believe in modern day monsters. “The uses of monsters vary widely. In our liberal culture, we dramatize the rage of the monstrous creature—and Frankenstein's is a good example—then scold ourselves and our "intolerant society" for alienating the outcast in the first place.” Brazell, Karen, et al., eds. Traditional Japanese theater: an anthology of plays. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998. “Comprehending monsters and other creatures in Japanese culture and tradition; a feat well achieved by most fiction enthusiasts.” Calendar, Inez. "Villains Or Victims - Monsters in Popular Culture." Ezine Articles. Web. 3 Aug. 2011. . “People love the weird thrill that clutches their hearts at the mere suggestions of a monster. I'm not talking about real monsters like rampaging grizzly bears or psychotic killers but the strange creatures that haunt the periphery of reality.” This article talks about the difference between villains and victims; that are both recognised as monsters in popular culture. Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen. “Monster Theory (Seven Theses)” in Monster Theory: Reading Culture. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1996. 3-25 “The concept of the monster with respect to the moral imagination powers of a human being and the way monsters has been portrayed in modern day cinema as well as fiction.” This book helped because it gave a description about what a monster is and what exactly constitutes the same. Donaghue, Dick. "Why Do We Create Monsters?" Ezine Articles. Web. 21 July 2011. . This article talks about how man creates monsters and the reason for the same. It is very descriptive and contains information about how a person’s mind works with respect to fear and inculcating the thought of monsters within one’s head. “There is nothing to fear really except fear itself, the voice of wisdom says. And that fear is the greatest demon of them all. That is the foundation of all our problems. Topple it and the whole edifice of our demons and the shadows of our doubt come tumbling down.” Hoobler, Dorothy, and Thomas Hoobler. The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein. New York: Little, Brown, 2006. Print. “The form of the monster on who I had bestowed existence was forever before my eyes, and I raved incessantly concerning him.” A note about the monsters existing in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and whether or not this created monster actually exists in reality; it helped in the paper to understand an example of Frankenstein, one of the world’s most horrifying creatures. "If the Loch Ness Monster Exists, What Is It? Reptile, Invertebrate, Amphibian, Mammal, Delta Quadrant Shape Shifter, Fish or Nothing?" Loch Ness and Loch Ness Monster Information. Facts about Nessie, Loch Ness Research and Exploration. Web. 21 July 2011. . “If the Loch Ness Monster Exists, What Is It? Reptile, Invertebrate, Amphibian, Mammal, Delta Quadrant Shape Shifter, Fish or Nothing?” This helped to understand the example of a modern day monster that people fear because of tradition and mythology however do not know for a fact that it actually exists. Thus it provides a great deal of information regarding how a man creates a monster for himself in popular culture. Jones, Gerard. Killing Monsters: Why Children NEED Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-believe Violence. NY: Basic Books, 2002. This book has helped to comprehend why children need fantasy in their lives and why they inculcate feelings of mystery and aura which includes super heroes and make believe violence; they require thrill and get it with the help of monsters; and these same monsters haunt them for the rest of their lives as they realise that the world is a tough place to survive in and that monsters are in the form of negative emotions. “Killing monsters in the mind is important for a man to be able to survive otherwise when one has created a monster in his head, he will perish for a long time.” Mythological Monsters. Web. 21 July 2011. . This website helped to understand the significance of monsters in mythology and ancient texts and how they have been incorporated within our lives today because of the earlier generations; however “their impact remains the same and has created a constant sense of fear in the minds of the people.” "Scarecrow vs Joker." Comicvine.com. Web. 21 July 2011. . This talks about Batman vs Scarecrow, created by man with a view to understand the intensity of monsters in a real life situation and how they have affected the faith of morality within modern day society. “Fight in crime alley.  No henchmen, just them.  Who wins? Whoever it is, it is a monster.” Read More