I've read the Monster Culture (Seven Theses) and I think it's important that we all keep in mind that he refers to these as a "search of specific cultural moments" (4). I don't think Monster Culture can be easily defined in seven separate theses, but I think it's a great start and begins a dialogue of why these types of stories have been in our human culture forever, and it's a wonderful way to start a psychological and cultural study of monsters and their meaning to the human experience. It's not the monster itself, but the values and power we give to the monster that help to explain ourselves, and I think Cohen makes some strong arguments with evidence.. . . for most of them.
I did become frustrated with his lack of depth on number seven. As a matter fact I kept looking to see if I was missing a page! He seems to end his theses with confusion. If this was his literary purpose it worked!
I think it is important to understand that these 7 formulas have almost infinite variation within themselves and in combination, much like we discussed when we covered the basic stories and the Monomyth at the beginning of the semester.
ReplyDeleteIt's important to remember that this is the first chapter in a book, and serves as a kind of introduction to the essays that follow it in the collection. ;-)
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