Analysis Of Monster Culture

Culture is the embodiment of human traits that go beyond societal norms while nature is the traits humans were born with. In the seven theses essay “Monster Culture,” Cohen explains the aspects of culture in society and the human condition by portraying them as monsters from different cultural eras and places. The monster is multidimensional, different, and constantly evolving. In the perspective of nature, the monster is the enemy. It threatens the very concept of what nature, tradition, and normal is. However, who is to say what is natural and what is not? Is something different yet that has existed as long as the victim a threat? Pollan’s article “Why Natural Doesn’t Mean Anything Anymore” suggests that nature is no longer applicable to

Cohen reveals a way of which culture defies the systems of society. The monster is different, thus it poses as a threat to the way of society and nature.. However, tolerance is taught to be a moral standard. Is difference a threat or an invitation? Cohen relates this difference as a threat by, “Representing an anterior culture as monstrous justifies its displacement and or extermination by rendering the act heroic” Throughout history, civilizations have repeatedly displaced cultures because of this difference. The monster threatens to challenge our natural morals and values. It threatens society, the normality of our lifestyle, and traditions; essentially corrupting all that is natural. However, what exactly does this mean in terms of our natural

To the primitive natural human moral compass, anyone different to that person is seen as a threat to their lifestyle and safety. This attitude towards differences stretched for centuries, and later developed into laws and principles, most of them stemming from the concept of religion (religion being a philosophy built upon and followed by those with similar moral compasses). By viewing other people as “dangerous” or “savages” because of differences in religion (moral compasses) or appearances / culture, it is a natural human response to go against that group of people to preserve their lifestyles. This concept stretches from the Christian crusades, Spanish Inquisition, and English Colonization, to more recent atrocities such as the Holocaust, the Khmer Rouge genocide, etc. Leaders calibrate their people’s moral compasses to their own direction and create this distinction of who and what is wrong. It is because of our moral compasses that we decide what is right with our society, and what we deem is not becomes an enemy and threat and must be