Professor James Slama

Marisa Teng

English 100s

Professor James Slama

11/18/13

Staples Versus Monster

By definition, monsters can be real or merely figments of an individual’s imagination. However, the common characteristic for monsters in the Monsters text is that they areentitiesthat bring fear and uncertainty to innocent and unprepared victims. They can be very real. Serial killers, rapists, and other violet criminals are typically given the label “monster” for their real world actions that harm and minimization of their prey. They show the darkest side of human nature. Monsters can also be mythical or imagined characters as well. Pop culture has developed many images to portray monsters. In the movies, monster characters have ranged from vampires and witches such as Dracula or the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz to mass killers such as Freddy Krugger in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. The common element between the real and imagined monster is the creation of fear in the participant and the observer.

In the Staples’ essay, the author paints a picture of imagined fear. Ironically, he fears the world around him as he causes fear in his world. Despite his relatively passive nature, his physical characteristics instills fear in the individuals he encounters even though he has not provided any reason for such reactions. Stereotyping or profiling is part of human nature. Acts of violence are repeatedly reported in the media and the public develops an image of the perpetrator or monster in the real world. Skin color, gender, physical size, and age are all part of the image of fear. Staples describes a girl’s reaction to seeing a “big, black man” and her immediate response is fear and she physically reacts to his presence even though he has not provoked such a response. L. Andrew Cooper uses a human characteristic to discussa monster by using a metaphor that “MONSTER = HOMOSEXUAL” in his article Gothic Realities: The Impact of Horror Fiction on Modern Culture. In the past, the label “homosexual” or “gay” described an individual that must be feared; not because of the physical size or skin color but because of the sexual preference that was different than the mainstream public. Even though an individual was a contributing member to society, the label of “homosexual” would provoke fear and loathing because existing cultural values were different. Pop culture took advantage of such images by casting movie villains as homosexuals similar to the lesbian killer in the movie Basic Instinct or the eccentric Dorian Gray in the 1945 movie, The Picture of Dorian Gray (adapted from the 1890 novel from Oscar Wilde). The creation of fear develops over time. The general public’s perception of a “monster” evolves from social influences and reported events as well as what is portrayed in pop culture. As the imagery that creates fear evolves, the identification of a monster will continue to change.

A research article in the Journal of Media Psychology, entitled The Psychological Appeal of Movie Monsters, suggested that the popularity of movie monsters was linked to their intelligence, superhuman abilities and actions, and their ability to create the image of the dark side of human nature. The “monster” was the evil enemy who was smarter, stronger and driven by a dark side of their humanity. “Monsters” were different than their “victims” and they were labeled monsters because of their actions. Many considered political leaders such as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin monsters because they exhibited these characteristics. They were intelligent leaders who acted contrary to their “victims.” One cultural group would see them as great leaders while others would attribute their actions to their “dark side” and call them monsters.

The “dark side” of human nature has cultural variations, which will affect what people fear or view as enemies or monsters. In Theses IV of Jeffery Jerome Cohen’s Monster Culture (Seven Theses), the author suggests that monster stereotypes emerge from exaggeration of cultural differences in order to position or differentiate one social or political group from another. In some cases, the differences resulted in severe actions such as genocide and war. In others, the differences were justifications for societal behaviors and beliefs. During the westward expansion of the United States, Native Americans were profiled as culturally different than the political leadership of the United States. They were savages and monsters that could be pushed aside during the period known as the Manifest Destiny. In the Bible, conquering cultures would justify their actions against other cultural groups by labeling their differences asthe rationale for the other’s actions. In reality, cultural differences influence the evolution of the human “dark side.”

Staples, a black man who grew up in an environment where “young, big black men” were the perpetrator of violent crimes, was a victim of cultural stereotyping. Culturally, Staples’ physical characteristics were the profile of a monster that needed to be feared. To the world around him, Staples was the monster. He was to be feared because society labeled him as dangerous. Staples looked at society’s profile of the “big black man” as the monster. While he did not exhibit any of the characteristics of a social monster, those around him feared him. The profile made him a victim of society. He needed to change his habits and actions in order to protect himself from others. Society feared Staples because of his physical characteristics but Staples feared society’s reaction to him. Both were subjected to fear. The question then needs to be asked, “Who really is the monster?”

Works Cited

Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome, “Monster Culture (Seven Theses)”, Monsters, Fountainhead Press, 2012.

Cooper, L. Andrew, “Gothic Realities: The Impact of Horror Fiction on Modern Culture”, Monsters, Fountainhead Press, 2012.

Cooper, L. Andrew and Blake, Brandy Hall, “Movie Psychos and Slashers: From Norman Bates to Freddy Krueger”, Monsters, Fountainhead Press, 2012.

Fischoff, Stuart, Dimopoulos, Alexandra, Nguyen, Francois, and Gordon Rachel, “The Psychological Appeal of Movie Monsters”, Journal of Media Psychology, Volume 10, No. 3, Summer 2005.