Monsters are woven within the moral fabric of society. In some capacity, people will always need monsters in order to satisfy their inner desires and feelings. To me, the most powerful statement in Stephen Asma's discourse lies in the idea that monsters reflect various problems and life transitions. Asma writes, "The monster is a beneficial foe, helping us to virtually represent the obstacles that real life will surely send our way" (Asma, 5). Certainly, the distinction of a monster comes from within and is shaped by our imaginations through morals, fears, and concerns. However, the notion that monsters are disappearing within our society is an illogical allusion (Asma, 5). In fact, monsters can actually stimulate positive effects on the morality of the individual. These imaginary monsters, once formulated in an individual's mind, can provide motivation for one's daily activities and contribute to one's success.
As far as I can remember, monsters have influenced my life to varying degrees. Whether through sports, school work, or other problems that I have faced, oftentimes, I channeled the prism of the hero versus monster relationship to represent what I had to overcome. As a fan of both action and horror movies, I have witnessed these dynamic roles modeled numerous times. For as Asma explains, "Our ethical convictions do not spring fully grown from our heads but must be developed in the context of real and imagined challenges" (Asma, 3). Each example of monsters that people are exposed to causes them to question personal ideologies and morality. Generally, then, the monster serves as the obstacle we must defeat to achieve our own goals. This mentality allows each one of us to become the hero within our own story. People enjoy listening to stories of heroes and acts of courage. Therefore, it would be no surprise for them to want to view themselves in a heroic light as well.
In reality, monsters never die; they merely change and adapt, representing new challenges, fears, and anxieties. As society moves into an era reliant on technology, placing emphasis on the ideology of post-humanism, people will continue to devise new monsters, showcasing current fears and obstacles of humanity. As Asma states, "The monster concept is still extremely useful, and its a permanent player in the moral imagination because human vulnerability is permanent" (Asma, 5). Sadly, I cannot envision a world free of the distinctive lines defining an us and them. Therefore, when change occurs, something affects the status quo, or an opponent stands in the way of a person's hopes and dreams, monsters will endure. As long as there exists opposing viewpoints or different perspectives, one will conjure imaginary monsters in order to take a stance and conquer.
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I pledge that I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this assignment. Anthony King
Sources:
Asma, Stephen T. "Monsters and the Moral Imagination." The Chronicle of Higher
Education (2009): 1-6. Web.
Anthony-I agree with you, I don't think monsters will ever die. Like you said, they may adapt with our various fears and anxieties, but they never really go away. What's interesting about this whole explanation is that monsters seem to be described as little fears or other things rather than as people or creatures like we often see in the texts we read. Do you think monsters can be both small characteristics or things AND people or creatures?
ReplyDeleteThe idea of monsters never going away seems likely to me. As long as people think for themselves, there will be an unknown and unexpected events to fret about. Whether the monster is a source of motivation or fear is irrelevant. In a sense, society will need monsters just as much as we need them. Without the boundaries they establish and the ideas they represent, it isn't quite as easy to keep people in check or striving to surpass whatever lays ahead of them.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of the syncretic monster - the monster that exists, and will exist, no matter what. I think monstrosity is (at least in part) culturally determined - the Cohen reading brought this up in several places, with several examples. I think the appeal, and also the horror, of monsters lies in the fact that we can become either one with ease. Monsters are constructed as representations and obstacles that are meant to be overcome or won. One of my questions is that there's this idea that we want to be the hero, because why wouldn't we? So what happens if we want to be the monster? Would we? Can the epithet of "monster" be chosen, or can it only be bestowed?
ReplyDeleteI do agree that monsters never die and that they merely adapt and change. I love the line that you mentioned: "Our ethical convictions do not spring fully grown from our heads but must be developed in the context of real and imagined challenges." It also makes me think how monsters have influenced my life. Honestly, I believe that everyone is their own monster and hero. It's the self doubt and negativity within us that makes us our own monsters, but over coming that and saving ourselves from our own downfall makes us our own hero. Its like a never ending cycle of life in that monsters never die even in our heads.
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