Monster Culture In Frankenstein

As the world is rapidly modernizing, “monster culture” and the overall perception of monsters in society is also changing. Monsters generally represent the current fears of a society, and it has been this way since the beginning of recorded history. For example, the fear of monsters played just as important a role in the Greek and Roman empires as their gods and goddesses did. Monsters in these times were used to reflect the unknown and frightening occurrences that were unexplainable at the time. The first modern example of a widespread monster came with the publishing of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1886. Shelly’s monster represented a fear of technology as the world began to quickly urbanize and industrialize. The fears shifted to a fear

Matheson’s tale reflects society’s new fear of mob mentality, along with mindless consumerism, as the world was beginning to be dominated by large cities. Jeffrey Cohen stated in Monster Culture (Seven Theses), “‘Monster Theory’ must therefore concern itself with the strings of cultural moments, connected by a logic that always threatens to shift” (6). Monster culture has been constantly changing for as long as humans have recorded history because fear is a natural instinct. Humans will always be looking for something to rationalize their fears and provide tangible evidence to explain strange

They have developed a general apprehension towards the world they live in, as observed by Nancy Wadsworth in her analysis of the Western Millennials’ perception of fear. She says that “most Millennial students, regardless of background, suspect there is something wrong with the reality they’ve inherited” (5). Following this assumption, it is fair to conclude that Millennials are generally eager to find and solve what they believe to be “wrong” with the world. The Millennials also grew up surrounded by events and news that have radically intensified fears, such as the terror attacks of 9/11, graphic stories of conflict in the Middle East, and the constant threat of a nuclear war. In a commentary on the effects of technology on Millennials, Elijjah Anderson says, “The constant stream of violence we see in movies, news and everyday life on the Internet has rendered us desensitized, apathetic and despicably self-absorbed.” This helps explain why Western Millennials are not as afraid of a mythological creature lurking in the woods or many other monsters for that matter as our ancestors. The hunger to discover and solve the world’s problems among this age also shows why the Pacific Northwest was the perfect region for the legend of Sasquatch to become most notable. This area’s “nature assumed heroic proportions,” as described by the earliest settlers to inhabit it (Schwantes 477).