 Every civilization in the world has had monster stories.  Most monster stories have the same ideas and function the same way.

 How do we define “monster”?  What does a monsters do?

 Represent Societal Fears  Teach moral, religious, and practical lessons  Defy reasonable explanation  Set boundaries and borders  Geographical  Moral

 Medieval and Renaissance Folktale  Spirit of drowned girl that haunted a lake or pond  If anyone lingered too long by the edge of the lake, “Sally” would pull them under

Nosferatu -Smelled like death -Ate babies -Probably a result of curse or suicide

 Written in 1898, England  Based on Transylvanian Folklore  Dracula is an aristocrat who comes to England  Feeds on blood, can shapeshift  Hypnotic personality  Eventually destroyed by Dr. Von Helsing

 What societal fears could Dracula have represented?  What societal fears do vampires represent today?

 Based on the book Orientalism, by Edward Said, Orientalism essentially argues that West (i.e. Europe) has always identified itself in opposition to other places and cultures outside of itself that it has conveniently identified as The Other. It has often seen these other places and cultures as “mysterious”, “dark”, “magical”, “strange”, “decadent”, “dangerous”, and “spectacular”. By contrast, the West has seen itself as “normal”, “rational”, and “safe”. The West has extended its notions of place s and cultures to people whereas, according to Said, people of other cultures are often seen as sharing in the traits of their origins (i.e. “mysterious”, “dark”, “magical”, “strange”, “decadent”, “dangerous”, and “spectacular”). According to Said, this is most evident in what he argues are the West’s racist or xenophobic tendencies.

 What do these guys represent?