Cohen the Confuser And His Cultural Codes

Jeremy Cohen's "Monster Culture" covers a great span of information with seven interesting theses. The theses focus on how history is made up of fragments to how Aristotle failed to classify 'monsters' into categories of race because the “monstrous genus is too large.” Cohen is definitely a scholar and his writing reflects that with his word choice and phrasing. He goes on to say how people need to understand different cultures and the monsters they bear. Monsters, who function as alter egos, must be examined within a matrix of relations such as social or cultural. These monsters also question the cultural assumptions of the human race. Some of these assumptions include race, gender, sexuality and our perception of differences. However, it is through the monster that humans can explore their deepest fantasies of aggression and domination; the monster is the symbol of desire. Additionally, Cohen tells us that these much fantasized monsters also ask why have we (as humans) created these assumptions and how do we perceive our world through them.

I believe Cohen, even though very hard to understand at times, has definitely shed some light on cultural perspectives. He talks about these monsters as being a cultural product of the moment in time they were born and he helps the reader understand two narratives of the monster. These double sided narratives include how the monster came to be and what event sprung its ideas and also the purpose this monster serves in culture. One great example he gives is vampires. Vampires have been an issue throughout history but our perspective of them is constantly changing. For instance, to paraphrase Cohen, in the later part of last century movies about vampires could be seen as AIDS awareness to growing adults. Nowadays, Vampires are seen as a racial issue and as a cultural boundary in movies like Twilight and shows like True Blood. However, it is the monster that lives within us that Cohen is constantly alluding to in his writings. Only we as a species can control our acts and the monsters that we create should all be symbols of our behaviors that need to change.