Olemeku Aledan Professor Harrell English 101 19 November 2013 I Wish I Were A Monster I wish I were a monster.

Monsters get to do what they want, when they want. They dont worry about bills or what others may think of them. Well, at least the monsters in the olden days did not. The monsters of today seen on television, movie screens, and in books are more like us then we think. This isnt a coincidence. Vampires Never Die by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, discusses our want to be like the monsters we see and read about. Monsters Among Us from Arizona State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, elaborates on how our beloved monsters in media reflect society. The relationship between the monsters on television and society is closer than we think. A cycle of us wanting to be like them, yet they are modeled after us. With vampires, zombies, and witches being everywhere we turn, it is not surprising that we want to be like them. In Vampires Never Die Del Toro and Hogan say, Monsters, like angels, are invoked in our individual and collective needs. We need bad in the same way that we need good, because you cannot have one without the other. These monsters created are from our own inner desires. Eternal life and youth are two characteristics of vampires and zombies that we want. But the main admiration we have towards monsters is the no holds barred attitude that they have. Peoples strongest desire is to do whatever they want, without any repercussions. If a vampire wants to suck a damsels blood he is not going to ask; he is going to do it whether she likes it or not. This is something people both fear, and respect. Take Adolf Hitler for

example. He was a living monster, some would say the most vile creature to be born, but as much as there are people who curse his birth, there are those who respect him. He is respected not for what he did, but how he did it. As radical as he was he gained followers who saw things the way he did. He did exactly what he sought out to do with Nazism, and did not let any mere person talk him down. Art imitates life, does it not? Paintings are of nature and books are about people. Well, not Animal Farm, but I digress. This is because we like to read or watch shows that are relatable. So it would not be uncommon that, like any monster, it has to be reflective of us to be interesting. Monsters like werewolves, because they are not in control of their transformation. Like life, there are things that we are not in control of, and this is translated into the phenomenon of mans transformation into a werewolf. It is all psychological, as said in Monsters Among Us. And these reflections often lead to sympathy. People normally sympathize with the outcast monster; a person with something deeming them different from all others, making them a monster. This is because we have all been an outcast at some point in our life, so when we see this monster triumph on the big screen, it is a victory for all. The connections we have with these monsters are what attract us to them. Psychological connections as well as direct ones are what draw people to indulge in monsters. In Monsters Among Us, Cajsa Baldini is introduced as a senior lecturer at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Baldini argues that the zombie is relatable in this particular time in history. This is said due to the comparison of both the zombie and mans need to over-consume. This is terribly true. Americans need to over indulge is astonishing, so astonishing that it must be filmed. With movies like Super-Size Me and shows like Hoarders, it is hard to argue against this. People have a strange need to over eat and over

spend. This over indulgence could be to fill a void. People are also like zombies then it comes to being brainless. Metaphorically speaking of course, but equally as astonishing as the over indulging. Senselessly following others orders and ideals and not thinking for themselves, is unfortunately a characteristic of teenagers today. Again this is transferred to film and text such as Mean Girls, which constantly refers to the teenagers in the movie as animals. On November 12th, 2009 Misfits, a UK television show categorized as a British science-fiction comedy drama, was born. The premise of the show is that there is a freak storm that gives powers to anyone caught in it. The show follows the adventures of five teenagers doing community service for misdemeanors. A lot yes, but very good. It is interesting because throughout the show characters along with the five main begin discovering their strange new gifts and learning how best to utilize them. Some are harmless; reading peoples minds, some more extreme; violent obsessions. The powers that most of the characters obtain reflect a characteristic about them. For example, Simon is a loner who never feels heard; he has the power of invisibility. Seth is a drug dealer, who obtains the power of being the only person able to help people switch powers; a power dealer. There are more cases like these, but the point of this is to monstrously alter the character. The writers took something small, that we can all relate to; being protective of your teenage daughter, and made it monstrous; unconsciously killing every boy that tries to date her. And yes, this was the power of Dave. When all this information is reviewed it is safe to say that the relationship between monsters in our media and people is just one big cycle. It is simply monsters, imitating people, imitating monsters. We want to be them in the sense of releasing our inhibitions and not being held back. But monsters reflect us when they face our same problems whether directly or

metaphorically, which all comes back to us being monsters ourselves. And that ladies and gentlemen is why we love vampires.