Jeffrey Jerome Cohen Monster Culture

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Individuals and groups within a society have an intolerant tendency to exclude and discriminate against persons or groups who appear to be different from the rest of their society. Differences in race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc., can often lead to this kind of treatment. Humans have been prone to unfairly treat anyone who appears different or anyone who does not follow the "normal" trends. This leads one to examine and question the current norms which Jeffrey Jerome Cohen's explores in his essay "Monster Culture". Humans perceive the "Other" as different from themselves and not one of their society, which leads to humans fearing the monster. This fear stems from the misconception that the "Other" pose a threat to their society. …show more content…

Cohen states that, "When the monsters come back, they bring a fuller knowledge of our place, but they bear self-knowledge, human knowledge—and a disclosure all the more sacred as it arises from the Outside" (Cohen 20). As the monsters evolve, their intelligence and knowledge levels begin to surpass those of the humans. The monsters begin to question the humanity of humans by asking them, "How do they perceive the world, and how have they misrepresented what they have attempted to place" (Cohen 20). The monsters bring awareness to concerns and issues that exist in society. In one way, monsters appear to have been created to aid the "real humans", but the humans feel so threatened by the monsters that they fail to realize the positive influence they bring to society. Due to the poor treatment the "Other" receive, Cohen demands humans, "To reevaluate our cultural assumptions about race, gender, sexuality, perception of difference, and our tolerance toward its expansions" (Cohen 20). Ideologies that disparage or discriminate, such as evil lies behind homosexuality or that women play an inferior role in society, must be abandoned and left in the past. These mindsets are unsupportable, and it is counterproductive and simply wrong for any group to exclude others merely because of their

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