![]() ![]() Monstrous depictions in newspapers and pamphlets expressed strong political attitudes. Until relatively recently in history, monsters close to home, such as deformed babies or two-headed calves, were construed as warnings of divine wrath. The 'murdered' lion becomes the innocent white-robed victim of the archetypal gothic tale, while murderous 'Dentist' plays the role of social scapegoat. By excising them, through fantasies of execution or simply professional exclusion, we rid ourselves of the undesirable attributes they are perceived to carry. Such public 'monsters' serve a similar role to gothic monsters, images that embody the cultural or psychological characteristics that we as a society find difficult to acknowledge. Trophy hunting, and anyone who takes part in or has involvement with it, has been similarly vilified in the media and by animal rights groups. He has even received death threats and been described as 'barely human'. Given the moniker 'The Dentist', he has had to resign from his practice, flee his home, and hire armed guards to protect himself and his family as a result of public disgust at his actions. Though the modern gothic monster and the medieval chimaera may seem unrelated, both have acted as important social tools.ĭr Walter Palmer, who illegally shot Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe, has been labeled a 'monster'. They reveal, portend, show and make evident, often uncomfortably so. 'Monster' probably derives from the Latin, monstrare, meaning 'to demonstrate', and monere, 'to warn'. The etymology of monstrosity suggests the complex roles that monsters play within society. How monsters have been created over the centuries is much more indicative of the moral and existential challenges faced by societies than the realities that they have encountered. What do we mean when we talk about 'monsters’? The word conjures up figures from gothic horror, such as Frankenstein or Dracula, classical images of exotic peoples with no heads or grotesquely exaggerated features, and the kinds of impossible chimerical beasts inhabiting the pages of medieval bestaries. ![]()
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