Escapism into Monsters and Fantasy Creatures

As many people have undoubtedly pointed out, human-kind has created monsters as a way to deal with our social issues without confronting them head on. Today, I am going to explore some of those monsters and show what they could possibly be standing in for. They help us acknowledge our fears without looking too directly at those fears.

Zombies are monsters I can go on about forever. More often than not, zombies are allegories for the growing fears of consumerism and the mindlessness that goes along with it. People, much like zombies, have a drive to consume to no end, though instead of on human bodies, it is on goods like the newest gadgets. There is a conformist nature to these creatures as well. There is no need to stand out in the crowd because the crowd is a great place to be. You do not have to strive for higher or walk over competition because in the zombie state, there is no competition, just consumption! I think our fascination with zombies stems slightly from our desire to be more like them.

Vampires are a classic monster that almost every culture that I can think of has a version (and fear) of. They are parasitic, feeding on the lives of others to stay immortal themselves. One reason they are feared (and were feared so much in their earlier days) is the overt sexualization of these monsters. Where others are grotesque and, quite frankly, disgusting to look at, vampires are sensual and are known for luring virgins from their beds and turning them into vampires as well or drinking them dry.  I will be going more into detail on vampires later (next week), so I’ll cap this one here.

Werewolves are another classic monster and can show humanity’s base, animalistic urges. They are literally men who turn into animals and go on killing rampages. It’s pretty self-explanatory there. This, in more recent years, has also become one of the more sexualized monsters. Maybe because humanity wants to be more animalistic and less in their rigid, conformist lives. Who knows?

Godzilla is one of the most recognizable monsters in cinematic history. This monster was created out of the fears of nuclear bombs and nuclear waste in the Post World War II and Cold War eras. This is humanity fearing for the possible (real) mistakes of what they have created and unleased on the world.

Frankenstein’s Monster (not just Frankenstein) is the fear of science itself. If someone is able to create another life, a stronger, more powerful life, then where does it stop? There is a godlike quality of Frankenstein himself that makes the monster into an Adam-like creature. This is definitely a fear of scientific advancement and god itself.

Jaws is one of the monsters that I do not believe should have been made a monster. Even the author of the novel, Peter Benchley, regretted the fear he stoked for the majestic creature known as the great white shark. This “monster” proves humanity’s fear of the unknown and unexplored world. If they are not familiar with something, the first instinct is to kill it, to wipe it out so there is no possibility of it hurting either themselves or those they love.

Aliens show humanity’s fear of the “other.” Again, this is something unknown and unexplored, so obviously it has to be a man killer and cannot be a peaceful and majestic thing to experience. (Yes, I am still upset about Jaws. I just love sharks so much.) But in all honesty, if aliens do exist (which for my mind I have to believe they do) then why would they want to get into contact with a race that kills first and asks questions later? Maybe that’s why we have not seen or heard from any.

The Blob, known from the famous movie from 1958, has been seen as a symbol for communism. It is known throughout the film as the “red menace,” much like the political party was throughout the Red Scare period of American history. It swallows up “good capitalists” without concern for the rest of the world.

Sirens and mermaids are a couple of my favorite types of monsters on here. They are an innate fear, by men, of the female’s sexuality. Basically, their beauty can kill men because they get so distracted at sea that they crash their boats. They can lure men to their deaths with a song or a swish of their tails. They are not the innocent singing red-headed mermaids from Disney. Nope, they are they terrifying mermaids from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. (Now pause to listen to Jolly Sailor Bold from that movie about 50000000 times)

The Wendigo is one of the more cultural, folk monsters I have on this list. It is known as being a cannibalistic monster. Basically, how it is made is when a person eats the flesh or some part of another human being, they become this grotesque man-eating monster known as the wendigo. This is obviously a fear of cannibalism and shies people away from doing such a thing because nobody wants to become a cannibalistic creepy monster like a Wendigo (or a zombie, or a vampire…)

A banshee is another female centric monster, but this is a creature disguised as a woman who, if you hear one, is foretelling a death in your household. They notoriously will sit outside one of the windows and scream at the top of their lungs to tell you someone you love is going to die. It is quite a dramatic monster and plays on the fears of death.

Another monster that shows the fear of death, but particularly life after death, is the poltergeist. This is, in its most basic form, an angry spirit who is not quite finished with life. They are there to haunt your ass and let you know they are there to do it. From throwing your stuff around, to scratching you, to possibly even appearing as an apparition, they are death come back to kick your ass.

Yet another fear of what comes after death is the mummy. Now we know that mummies actually exist. They are a historical burial right. But when they come back to life, as seen in too many movies, that is when they become monsters. Not only is this a fear of after life, this is also a fear of other cultures as well as making sure you treat the dead with respect. Most of the time in these mummy films, these mummies come back to life because historians (ahem, grave robbers) can’t leave these burial grounds alone. Let’s just all do everyone a favor, okay. Just let the dead lie where they are!

Sucubi and incubi are both more fears of sexuality and sexual advances. Sucubi are female sex demons who prey on men, while incubi are male sex demons preying on (sleeping) women. These are truly terrifying because they take the form of regular humans. Was this possibly an explanation people gave instead of admitting rape was a thing? Probably.

Sasquatch is another classic “monster” on this list. Instead of it deliberately trying to hurt anyone, however, it is basically just out there to taunt those who are trying to find it. It is a desire to catch the uncatchable. I think that is the most pure kind of monster. It doesn’t want to make a mess of things, it just wants to be unknown.

Changelings, also known as fairy demons who take the place of your babies, can show the fears of parenthood and possibly failing your children. If you cannot keep your kids safe in their own homes from monsters, and (more often than not in these stories) cannot tell your child apart from a changeling, then that is proving this fear to be right.

Demons are a religious version of these monsters we have seen on this list so far. They are a fear of owns bad deeds coming to hurt them, in a religious context. In many films, they are something to wholly take over the human, they rip people apart for sport. They are foul and abhorrent creatures. So what do they stand for? Human’s faults? Bad deeds? The issues in the world? I guess there’s no one answer.

It is also important to look at the kinds of monsters as well as the time periods these monsters became prevalent in the culture.

We have already talked extensively about the kinds of monsters in each individual case, but I will go into a little more detail on a few types of monsters here.

Metamorphic monsters have completely changed into another form and cannot change back. Think Kafka’s Metamorphosis. He is a cockroach now and cannot be changed back.

Human-like monsters look human at a first glance. Think vampires, wraiths, sucubi, and changelings. They bring death to unsuspecting humans and use trickery to get what they want.

Folk monsters are created and imbedded into cultures. They are the legends of a certain people or of a place. Think the wendigo, Davy Jones, Chupacabra. These are all very specific to a certain group.

Hybrids are what we all know best. These are mythic. Think werewolves and mermaids. They can be both “human” and inhuman all at once.

The “European monsters” are all the ones who came before WWII. They were based in humanity and had not completely changed or been fully created from something inconsequential. Most of these monsters (vampires, mummies, werewolves, Frankenstein’s Monster) were all human at one point or another.

In the Post-WWII time, there seemed to be a rise in the type of created monsters. Things like Godzilla, and zombies created by nuclear waste were more prevalent because of the circumstances of the war itself. The world did not know how to deal with this post nuclear era, partially because they did not know what effects the nuclear materials would have on humanity. Yes, they were effective (though questionable in their use) but at the cost of human health and life, was it actually a technique that should have been employed? I cannot say. But in this post WWII world, the created monsters are more often than not quite a bit more terrifying than those that came before.

So what are your thoughts on monsters as symbols for our struggles? Do you agree with any of the ideas I posted about? Do you have any additional information you want to share about the monsters I wrote about? Let me know in the comments below!

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I’ll see you all next time!

XOXO

Dana