Of monsters and men

Monsters and Bogeymen have been in the collective unconscious since civilisation began. Trolls, Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies, Witches, and so on have been the anti-heroes in myths and stories for generations. At the moment there is a plethora of TV shows based on monsters showing in prime time viewing slots. Only nowadays the monsters are sometimes the heroes.

Among the current shows of this genre are Grimm, Supernatural, Fringe, V, The Walking Dead and Lost Girl. The monster shows seem to be of two types: the monsters  among us that the people around them don’t know about and represent danger, and the monsters who are “misunderstood” and shown to have the same desires, hopes and dreams as people; sometimes they are hidden, sometimes in the open. 

Supernatural and the Walking Dead revolve around a plot based on humans hunting/being hunted by monsters. The plight of the human population lies in the hands of our hunters. In some shows they have specialized techniques, equipment and ancient knowledge. The monsters are normally in the guise of people and only the hunters can usually see/identify them. Other shows, such as Lost Girl and Heroes make the monster the lead character. In this scenario the audience are invited to share the problems of being different: the angst and pain as the characters try to fit in to a world in which they don’t belong. In both types of show the viewer is introduced to the idea that beneath the everyday world there is a supernatural world full of beings different from us. These beings live amongst people and mostly go unrecognized. The general impression given is that it is not just a few isolated monsters in the human population, their number is legion.

I mentioned Heroes in the previous paragraph. It comprises a storyline about “superhumans” who develop abilities beyond the norm. The 4400 and No Ordinary Family fall in to this category also. The main characters suddenly, through a freak accident or some such thing, find themselves with amazing abilities: abilities that they conclude they need to use for the good of everyone. They usually have to keep their identity hidden from the authorities for their own safety. They are always portrayed by law enforcement as a danger to society. They are imposters, people who are not what they seem; people we should be afraid of.

There is a monsters hierarchy. Some make it to the top of the ladder owning corporate businesses  and they have at their disposal lower monsters to be their goons. Just like organised crime and the illuminati in real life these monsters infiltrate everything: church, politics, business, media and either run everything already or are in the process of gaining control over everything. In most episodes of any of these shows a monster will inadvertently give themselves away and will therefore have to deal with the people who could expose them. Then the paranormal experts turn up to do some sleuthing and slaying before travelling on, continuing their quest to save humanity from horrors unknown. 

Is the idea behind these type of shows to keep the population scared? To make them worry about their neighbours? Their work colleagues? Does Big Brother hope that it makes people stay at home and trust no one? Perhaps it is just harmless entertainment, then again it could be that mind control methods are behind it. That would suggest collusion between studio owners, producers, directors and writers. 

I think I’ll look into that. Blog you later!