Morally Challenging Monsters

[Qwillion]

Morally Challenging Monsters

I have come to the opinion that monsters with the greatest “traction” creat an emotional response in players, in D&D that is often nostalgia and the reactions of other players to the mosnter, but in literature and classical mythology monsters challenge our systems of morality and our concept of humanity. As Joseph Campbell put it “By monster I mean some horrendous presence or apparition that explodes all of your standards for harmony, order, and ethical conduct."

You often see these monsters as personifications of a broken taboo, representing repressed fears contorted and projected externally. Manifestations of a unsettling side of our culture.

-What does our modern culture label as "monstrous" and why?
-What makes a successful monster in our current jaded culture and is that likely to change in the future?
-What exactly have certain authors and filmmakers of modern fiction captured (or unleashed)?
-Do we still cling to the seemingly universal terror of the anomalous, the uncategorizable?
-What moral challenges can be transformed into monsters.
-What is still taboo in modern north America?

 

[Shade]

This is an interesting topic.

What I find interesting is what scares me as a player is radically different than what scares me in life. As a player, I fear few things more than monsters that trash my possessions, like rust monsters, disenchanters, and the like. The absolutely most terrifying creatures I can imagine ever facing are the lavawight and shape of fire (both in the Epic Level Handbook). Why? Because they drain hit points permanently that can never be restored!

Now, in real life, I'd be far more horrified by something that could cause me great pain or pain to my loved ones. I'd much rather have material possessions ruined...those can be (at least potentially) recovered. In real life, I'd rather face a rust monster rather than just about any other creature since it could barely hurt me.

What do we still fear in our modern, jaded culture? I think torture is far more disturbing nowadays than death. Look at the trends in horror movies...in the last century, most of the horror movies focused on a creature/killer dispatching people. The deaths, while often creative and horrific, were usually quick. Nowadays the focus is on torture and mutilation. I can't really stomach most of the recent horror movies, like Hostel and the Devil's Rejects.

I definitely feel that the greatest traction of monsters is a combination of nostalgia and being part of the greater D&D picture. Githyanki aren't just old school cool, but they tie in to illithids, githzerai, red dragons, the Astral Plane, and so on.

 

[Qwillion]

torture
A very modern moral challenge, look at say the George Bush vs. John McCain
Here in the states a former POW who was tortured (John McCain), and a air national guard pilot who wants to torture people for important potential lifesaving information (George Bush).

The real moral problem you don't know what they know so you don't know if it is worth torturing them.


Rust monsters, disenchanters lavawights, and shapes of fire
These all deal a type of damage that can never be restored, they cripple you, not simply kill you. In a way it is similar to torture. It does not kill you it causes you pain and makes you weaker if not just plain weak.

 

[edemaitre]

Modern monsters

Without getting into current U.S. politics (since the country is fairly evenly divided right now, anyway), here's some thoughts:

-What does our modern culture label as "monstrous" and why?

Some things don't change: Cannibals (Jeffery Dahmer), child abusers, and those who lack remorse. Certain animals still evoke an instinctive danger response, such as snakes, insects, or large predators. Many people still have a visceral reaction to gore, disease, and decay.

I agree that modern manifestations are often seen in the latest batch of horror movies, although many of these are designed to excite teenagers. An adult is more aware of death and less afraid of gore, if more concerned about its effect on his or her children's sensitivities.

Real-world monsters include dictators, who use the state or religion to murder millions; serial killers, whose detachment and methodical killings make no place safe; and corrupt officials in otherwise law-abiding societies or businesses, who ruin the lives of others with a deceptive smile.

-What makes a successful monster in our current jaded culture and is that likely to change in the future?

As the other posting noted, many archetypes need only a slight bit of updating to be relevant. Where vampires represented supressed sexuality to Victorian readers, to today's audiences, they represent the fear of death from invisibly transmitted disease or the lure of fashionistas' cult of perpetual youth. Frankenstein's monster can be traced through popular entertainment through killer robots of the 1950s, "Star Trek's" Borg, and the oppressive A.I.s of "Terminator" and "The Matrix."

-What exactly have certain authors and filmmakers of modern fiction captured (or unleashed)?

The best ones tap into our subconscious fears, give a desired quick shock or thrill, and build suspense (and often leave us with a cliffhanger teasing the inevitable sequel). The audience needs to identify with the victims, whether they're running from a power-tool-wielding stalker or crawling out of a mummy-filled crypt. Everyone was able to identify with the swimmers who unknowingly came close to a certain shark or with the unfortunate teenagers whose nightmares of a plane crash or other fatal accidents started to come true...

-Do we still cling to the seemingly universal terror of the anomalous, the uncategorizable?

Yes. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, that was described in the form of spirits or H.P. Lovecraft's "things man was not meant to know." In more recent decades, extraterrestrials, the ongoing threat of nuclear annihilation, and now terrorist cells also provide anonymous and difficult-to-comprehend foes. Death is still the great unknown.

-What moral challenges can be transformed into monsters?

Is it better to save the body or the mind/soul, regardless of the form? Uncontrolled transformation is as old as Ovid and as new as "The Fly" or "The Hulk." Can you really trust the person sitting next to you? What if the promise of eternal life is a lie, and one is rewarded for selfish actions and cruelty rather than good acts? What if no amount of virtue can save someone, let alone the world? Is free will an illusion? Why do good people suffer? What if the weak rise up and overthrow the strong?

-What is still taboo in modern north America?

Incest, necrophilia, bestiality. In gaming terms, a Wizard respected by his neighbors who stitched together and reanimated the bodies of humans and animals to be his slaves and to lure more victims might well evoke a reaction from otherwise jaded role-players, especially if the humans are loved ones of the characters (or even former characters themselves). Happy Halloween...