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Message: <blockquote data-quote="edemaitre" data-source="post: 3140316" data-attributes="member: 3372">Modern monstersWithout 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...</blockquote>

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