From the creature in the closet, or beneath your bed, to the whispers in the darkness in a forest, to the rumblings of ugliness in our own heads, what are the monsters?
Monsters are popular in Hollywood movies. Annabelle. Werewolves. Pennywise. The Predator. What are some monsters you know from movies?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What are the function of Monsters in stories?
· Monsters are not simply villains, they are set apart from human understanding in motive and/or in form (physicality)
· Monsters are set outside of human society in one way or another either overtly or in secret
· Sometimes monsters will be obstacles, and other times they can be an antagonist. (In The Walking Dead the zombies aren’t truly the antagonists of the story. The real antagonists are the human beings. They are truly the walking dead (in their hearts and souls)
· They inspire awe and terror in those who are in their presence
· Their very presence change people who experience them. As Friedrich Nietzsche says: "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that he does not become a monster himself. And when you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you."
· Monsters wake us up to an important (and often buried truth)
The Three Kinds of Monsters
While monsters come in all kinds of sizes and forms- dragons, ghosts, demons, aliens, ancient species, serial killers. All can roughly fit in three types and sometimes are a mix.
TYPE | Description |
| The Shadow |
|
Facing the Monster
Monsters in story have a unique position. They can be forces of nature like a tsunami. They can be the person next door who is a cannibal. They could be the antagonist in the story. Or they could be an effect of a character’s actions. Regardless, Monsters can be faced by:
· Understanding the purpose of why the monster exists
· Understanding the monster’s goal or raison d’etre
· Seeing the reflection of the monster in a character’s personality or actions
· Understanding that a monster is both indestructible and fragile at the same time
· “Giving in” or “overcoming” the Fear and Terror the monster represents
Ancient Language
The term "Monster" is as old as English itself, and remained the preferred name for freaks from the time of Chaucer to that of Shakespeare and beyond. The etymology of the word is obscure; but whether it derives from moneo, meaning to warn, or monstro, meaning to show forth, the implication is the same: human abnormalities are the products not by accident, but by design.
|