Why Study Monsters?
The study of monsters and horror in films and other media has proved over the years to be an intriguing and useful way to dissect the subconscious of American society. Monsters, and the monstrous, have been noted by many to be reflections of the issues and struggles of the time period during which the film was released. Monsters are often seen as random, horrifying creatures, but they are not, in fact, as randomly created as one may think. Monsters exist as a physical, tangible, present representation of the ideas, thoughts, doubts, struggles, and general negativity of the human mind as well as the specific time in history. By analyzing monsters in relation to the era in which they first came forth as well as the times in which they grew or changed in any way, one can begin to understand the true meaning and reason for the monstrous. The monster is a projection of human emotion, and the way that the viewers react to monster films also plays a role in the understanding of history or its effects on society. One must study monsters as a sort of gateway between worlds; the monster acts as a vessel for the true emotional aspects of the time period in which it was given life. Some monsters, such as the undead, or zombies, which can be found in movies such as “ Night of the Living Dead”(1968) by George Romero, resonate with society strongly. Zombies are monsters that have greatly resonated with me from a young age, as well as American society, and people’s connections with monsters like zombies are truly interesting and useful.
The monstrous undead as monsters in media were a subject of historical and personal connection for society, especially in the film “Night of the Living Dead”. The film was created around the time of the Vietnam War, and it touched on subjects that were relatable and horrific for the time. Sumiko Higashi states that the film, at one point, “refers to a ‘search and destroy operation’ against the ghouls (zombies) to be carried out…an unmistakable reference to the search and destroy missions in Vietnam,” (Higashi). The movie featured zombies as a gateway into indirectly recognizing the terrors of the war and the emotional buildup resulting from the stress of the times. The movie could act as an indirect method to digest the horrific realities of the war in a more fictional aspect; using monsters as the vessel for true emotion allows the audience to paint a picture of fiction and adjust their reality to their comfort level.
Higashi later writes that, “Ultimately, neither the New Left nor the counterculture could effect changes to end individual powerlessness in a postindustrial society…perhaps the most appealing aspect of dissidence during the 1960’s and 70’s…had been a sense of shared purpose absent in a society characterized by excessive individualism and atomization,” (Higashi). Individuality was blossoming within society, and with it the fear of that newfound quality of self being stripped away. Zombies, as monstrous creatures, emanate that loss of individuality. One could argue the idea that the undead are the most human of the creatures in the monstrous world, as they were originally human and technically still are once they are evolve to the zombie beings, although they lose all ability to speak and act more as a mob than an individual. Due to this loss of self-identity and personality in the undead, the argument that they are almost the least amount human compared to other monsters in horror can be well- supported. To possess a sense of self and individuality is one of the identifying features of humanity, and a loss of that personality as is represented by the zombies creates the unsettling effect of a human that is so lost as a being that they become monstrous by definition.
I was homeschooled from the first grade to the end of eighth grade, and it is this fact that I believe created many of my defining qualities in my personality as well as many important factors of my overall life experience. The opportunity was given to me from a young age to learn at my own pace, with whomever I chose as my peers, as well as the ability to research and learn about anything I was interested in and to what extent I wished to explore it. I was given responsibility over my own learning process and social life, and a sense of power over myself that I credit with my stable sense of individuality and self. With the benefits of this, there also came negative aspects.
Once I was expected to make the transition into high school, it became apparent to me that it is not the norm to flaunt individuality and a sense of uniqueness at that unsure age. Public high school was an entirely new experience for me, and It reminded me in a sense of the monstrous undead. My peers striving for popularity or oneness, attempting to purge their differences and stick together in a clique of safety; they all seemed to be drained of their individuality and fed the desire to be the same and encourage a mob-mentality. Much like zombies, they were void of their own voice and weak to the harshness of difference. This realization brought to my attention my fear of losing my sense of self, and how that has been created within me through my personal experiences in life, greatly pertaining to my schooling and its social and intellectual advantages for me, and well-represented in the monstrous undead.
The monstrous undead came to be as terrifying representations of a loss of individuality and humanity. For many people, the movie in which the monsters appeared in, “Night of the Living Dead”, had references (whether they were obvious or subconscious) to the Vietnam war. The zombies were rotted and decaying, and some were missing limbs or pieces of flesh. This was an image that reminded many all too much of the injuries that befell the soldiers that served in the war. I believe that for me, the undead scare me because of their lack of control over their own minds. The idea of insanity or being trapped in one’s own mind without an escape or sense of control, scares me to no end. I believe that this concept, this fear that I harbor of losing myself or losing the perceived control that I cling to, is worth exploring. I think that the idea of control and a sense of self is comforting and important, and the representation of such qualities fading away in the form of the undead is the reason that the monster resonates with me. Further analyzing of the fear, itself and the emotions that such creatures bring forth for me could help me not only to better digest and understand my fear, but to recognize and study it in order to become educated about myself as a person.
The study of monsters can be used as a tool to better understand American society and culture. Additionally, the lens with which one chooses to study the monstrous through may also heavily impact the way one views society. Instead of dissecting the monster itself only and using it as a physical representation of the features that people find frightening, one should treat monstrous figures in media as a threshold between comfortable, fictional representations of fear and the reality of life and emotional reactions. A monster can act as a physical form of fear, and its features may be dissected in ways that connect ideas to physical features, however, the true understanding of society’s reactions to difficult situations stems from the idea that monsters are a comfortable way of viewing one’s fears outright in the form of something that cannot possibly be faced in the real world, but that still encapsulates the issues of life in reality. Treating monsters as such allows for people to create a boundary within their minds, and enables humans to cope with negativity and fear by projecting it onto something much less tangible and easier to face, knowing that it in itself is not real – thus it is, in a way, already dealt with in one’s mind; it simply does not exist in the viewer’s tangible world.
The zombie itself, as well as society’s reactions to it, can allow one to view the effects of such a dehumanized creature - that still upholds the physical illusion of humanity - on society. The zombie is not the most terrifying of monsters to appear on screen, as it barely looks monstrous in many aspects due to its human form. However, it is quite obviously no longer qualified to be classified as human, no matter how much it looks to be so. Further studying of society’s reactions to a monster that so clearly represents a loss of self and individuality could allow one to understand the norms and ideas of society currently, as well as the boundaries that people set for what is classified as human. Taking this approach could also uncover how scared people truly are about losing themselves in a day and age in which so many people attempt to blend in with their peers and mask their differences.
The study of zombies, and monsters in general, greatly contributes to the understanding of American society, and it is important to analyze the fictional creatures with the history of the time considered. Monsters are a gateway between reality and comfortable factionary representation and dissecting them as such allows one to view the human reaction to different situations and fear around different subjects with relative ease. Human emotion, specifically fear, while many attempts to oppress it within themselves, is greatly exemplified in the media and subject material that we choose to create and intake. People form personal connections with their work, and often pour their experiences and emotions into their creations in an attempt to communicate or express themselves indirectly. Monstrous creatures and characters are, in this way, no different than a love song or a sad poem; they exist to provide a subtle window into the human experience, and when inspected they allow a deeper understanding of not only the creator, but also those that choose to intake the material and harbor emotional reactions to it. It is in this way that the study of monsters in American culture may truly aid our understanding of the culture and American society.
Sources
1. Higashi, Sumiko. “From Hanoi to Hollywood| The Vietnam War In American Film.” Rutgers University Press, Newspaper, 1990, Downloads/Sumiko%20Higashi%20-%20Night%20of%20the%20Living%20Dead%20(1).pdf.
2. Poole, W. Scott. Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting. Baylor University Press, 2018.
3. Romero, George A., et al. Night of the Living Dead. Night of the Living Dead, www.imdb.com/title/tt0063350/.
