Children’s Monsters: An Introduction

Your group has 2 minutes to come up with a working definition for Please take out your monster card Find a group of 4-5 In your group, share your monster card. Describe what you drew, what name/adjective you assigned your monster, what inspired you. Your group has 2 minutes to come up with a working definition for MONSTER use the adjectives & images you brought with you to help with this FEAR *NO CELL PHONES! Come up with your own definition…

an imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly, and frightening MONSTER an imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly, and frightening

FEAR an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat

How it all began… Do you remember the first time you heard the word ‘monster’? Do you remember what your childhood monsters were? Where did they live/hide? (Outside? Inside?) What did they look like? (fuzzy, hard, soft, claws?)

If no one tells us to be afraid of monsters, where do these ideas come from? Why monsters??

Birth-2 years Separation Anxiety Too young to process the idea of a ‘monster’ beyond the physical grossness Crying, running away, nightmares

2-6 years old Begin to understand representations through words and pictures This is when they begin to envision monster from their own imaginations They begin to fear the dark, animals, and the supernatural Introduction to death Children begin to identify with monsters when they misbehave (‘that child is monstrous’)

Can you think of examples of this type of labeling? Hansel & Gretel Many, many of the original Grimm’s tales Alice in Wonderland

Taming the children’s monster Disney, PBS, making monsters friendly & happy

Ages 6-12 Fear of frightening appearances fades, able to face more grotesque images Begin to experience the ‘fun’ of horror Toys allow children to play with and challenge their fears Ages 9-12 the fear of personal injury grows, as well as death of family

Teenage years What do our monsters transform to at this point? Young adults begin to think theoretically, abstractly, logically Their fears are therefore abstract: social, political, psychological, economic

Where The Wild Things Are

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bptuYPvfgk

Discussion Questions… What is this story about? (actually?) How does Sendak convey these ideas? (Think both about his words and his illustrations, as well as literary devices like characterization, symbolism, etc.) Does the child in this story have real power, or not? Why or why not? What do you think the ‘wild rumpus’ is? What is Sendak’s central message here, do you think? What is he employing these monsters to say?

Where the Wild Things Are Published 1963 Significance of ‘things’ (over, for example, horses) Duality of realism vs. fantasy The power of suggestion Framing of the book Equating language with art and the unnamable felt experience of fantasy & dreams Symbolism of art & words A safe space within which to confront one’s demons RAGE & ANGER http://www.cc.com/video-clips/gzi3ec/the-colbert-report-grim-colberty-tales-with-maurice-sendak-pt--1

Maurice Sendak 1928-2012 Not interested in writing stories of “sunshine & rainbows” – that was not his experience in life ‘Things’ inspired by his immigrant relatives and how he viewed them as a child “They were unkempt; their teeth were horrifying. Hair unraveling out of their noses.” Affected by the Lindbergh baby kidnapping “When the Lindbergh baby was found dead I think something really fundamental died in me”

Wild Things: Film Adaptation Spike Jonze, Dave Eggers What do we do when watching film?

Wild Things Writing Assignment Due Monday, February 4 before class starts Turnitin.com & hard copy in class Prompts + rubric are on my website