Kayleigh Artise

English 1101/ Redding

Composition 2
28 June 2016
Monsters Portrayal in American Society
The difficulty in using the word monster is not that it has so many definitions, but rather
the way it is interpreted. The word monster is so vague that it can be manipulated to describe
nearly anything; the monsters that children turn themselves into on Halloween, the sex offender
that is serving life in prison, the proverbial monster truck, and even certain wild animals are
considered monsters. Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King and Monsters and the
Moral Imagination by Stephen T. Asma show different examples of the need for monsters.
Although Kings and Asmas essay both describe the necessity of monsters in American Culture,
the difference lies in the way audience members and the participants of American culture
perceive monsters image. This bears exploration because of the portrayal of monsters and their
role of representing fears and finding the monster inside of us all.
American Culture has many complicating aspects; one way that Americans
compartmentalize and deal with these complex aspects is through deconstructing the idea of
monsters and what monsters might symbolize. King equates professional football and how it has
become the common pastime of watching physical aggregation and combat, to that of horror
films and how they have become the modern lynching (17). One compartment in many peoples
brains is the compartment in which thoughts that are deemed inappropriate in American Culture
are stored. Through watching horror movies, the inappropriate thoughts in this compartment are
allowed to be expressed, which, in turn, allows people to continue to act like a normal being.

According to Asma horror movies are becoming increasingly popular due to the social anxiety,
specifically in the post 9/11 decade. Just like the horrific events of 9/11, Asma also describes
monsters by saying, things dont strike fear in our hearts unless our hearts are already seriously
committed to something (66). Due to these acts, America as a nation upgraded security and
gave the people a better sense of security. The terrorists that committed the heinous acts of 9/11
were branded monsters through the use of the media. The use of this title allowed Americans to
dehumanize these terrorists in order to be able to effectively cope with the event. This is yet
another compartment in peoples brains where events and situations that are more complex to
comprehend are placed. In placing this fear in different compartments, it allows the idea of fear
to be overcome.
Although horror movies and the portrayal of monsters can be exaggerated, it is
necessary. King says, The mythic horror movie like the sick joke, has a dirty job to do. It
deliberately appeals to all that is the worst in us (18). That being said, one of the big reasons we
as Americans go to horror films is to have fun or to show our friends we are not afraid of the
unknown. Horror movies allow people to live situations that they would not want to find
themselves in and then, in turn, think of the ways that they would defuse the situation if they
were actually in it. One point Asma makes is that monsters serve a liberal lesson of tolerance, in
which we must learn to overcome our tendencies to always have a scapegoat to evade the title of
monster (61). Just like the panic that 9/11 caused days, months, and even years after the tragedy,
panic is the undeads greatest ally (Asma 63). What Asma means is that the word monster can
apply to practically anything and serves the purpose of striking panic and fear. With this panic,
people live with a constant sense of paranoia that causes them to fear the unknown. However,

being able to put a face or a name to this panic allows the paranoia to become manageable.
Though monsters are present in media, they are also present in people.
According to King, one of the scariest concepts of monsters is that they are inside of us
all. The main theme in Kings Why We Crave Horror Movies is that behind every smiling or
not smiling face, there is a little bit of monster in us all, and because of this savage inner
personality we must find a way to reestablish our feelings of normality (16). The ability to watch
horror movies allows the little monster in us all to be free when the time is appropriate so that we
can then act as normal beings in everyday social settings. Almost as if people are schizophrenic,
in a sense, and watching horror movies bring out an alternative personality so that we may
suppress that personality at a later time. Asma also believes that everyone contains a Mr. Hyde
(62). If everyone truly contains a Mr. Hyde then they would not just seem like a monster, they
would be one. Most people would agree that serial killers are monsters, but part of our childlike
fascination with serial killers is that they are very realistic and we are all potentially vulnerable to
sadistic violence (Asma 62). Some people are able to suppress the monster inside; however,
others are not able to. This means that not only is there a monster inside that person, but that that
person is also a monster.
One of the reasons it is hard to hide the inner monster is because there is a disability
hindering the person from being able to contain their monster. According to King, we are all
mentally ill, he furthers his point by stating, If we are all insane, then sanity becomes a matter
of degree (17). King then brings about the clinical side of illness and that existing outside of an
asylum does not exclude someone from the identifier of crazy but rather brings about their social
awkwardness or aloneness. Even though we are not all in asylum under medication and constant
care, it does take the release of our inner demons in order to stay sane. The release of our

demons, just like being in an asylum, is a way to manage the monster inside. The use of monster
stories shows us various vulnerabilities and their different cures (Asma 65). When told that the
concept of monsters is no longer useful in the modern world, Asma states, The monster concept
is still extremely useful, and its a permanent player in the moral imagination because human
vulnerability is permanent (65). The monster in the closet story is representative of the monster
inside of a person. Children are taught that there is nothing inside the closet but in reality the
child projects the idea of a monster into the closet. Just like adults are taught to see the best in
someone when there is actually a monster lurking inside.
The roles that these monsters play are different based on the way their creator portrays
them. With King and Asmas belief that a monster exists inside of us all, these creators are then
given the responsibility of showing the American population different ways to cope and suppress
these monsters. The portrayal of these different monsters and what a monster is, is to shape the
population's mind into knowing what is bad and what is good. The importance of knowing that
monsters are portrayed differently for varying situations is so the American population knows
how to defeat the monsters inside or that not all monsters are real. Sometimes the main reason a
monster is created is to strike fear into the minds of the American population so that the
population will blindly fear or follow a certain group of people.

Works Cited
Asma, Stephen T. Monsters and Moral Imagination. Monsters: A Bedford Spotlight Reader.
Ed. Andrew J. Hoffman. New York: Bedford/St. Martins 2016. 61-66. Print.
King, Stephen. Why We Crave Horror Movies. Monsters: A Bedford Spotlight Reader. Ed.
Andrew J. Hoffman. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2016. 16-19. Print.