The Monster Within

Literature and films have the astounding ability to let us experience a new world, look at life with a new perspective, and understand human nature much more deeply. Oftentimes, they are sources of comfort, providing moments of escape from anything in our lives that worry us.

What gives novels and films this capability, is the extent to which they resonate with us. This frequently happens because of the characters, and the qualities and emotions they embody, that we recognise in ourselves. 

Sometimes however, the characters we relate with can frighten us; monsters and villains who have done terrible things, who seem to have traits that we see in ourselves. It leaves us wondering whether we are, in fact, any better than they are. We imagine the worst in ourselves.

In the age of social media and photoshopping technology, majority of us are plagued by unreal body images and fitness routines. While everyone has the desire to look presentable, there are some who take this to a whole different level; major dietary changes, skipping meals to lose weight, intense workout schedules for "toned" bodies and heavy makeup or plastic surgery.

It reminds me of the Evil Queen, from the classic tale, Snow White. Insecure of her appearance and paranoid about looking the best, the Evil Queen is so driven by jealousy of Snow White's beauty, that she resorts to poisoning her to sleep. We can see just how far she is willing to go, to maintain her status as "the fairest of them all". 

When relating this to real life and social media standards, we see how young people are willing to do whatever it takes to look a certain way and get the social media recognition they want. Many destroy their lives doing this and even promote unnecessary competition, jealousy and negativity amongst the people around them. Are we all slowly turning into Evil Queens ourselves? 

Voldemort, a much feared character and name in the Harry Potter universe, is to me, an apparent example of how easily innocence can be manipulated into darkness by corruption and greed. The young and curious Tom Riddle, once a boy yearning to prove his worth by showcasing his talents, begins to seek power, loyalty and immortality as he grows older. Mercilessly, he kills anyone who dares to get in his way. Blinded by his greed and want for more power and control, he decides to strip away any remaining humanity he had left. Literally cutting his soul into 7 pieces, rendering him imperishable as he continues to incite terror, death and misery wherever he goes. 

Behaviour similar to this is what I often see or hear about around me. The desire for power and to be self-serving can easily take over, and this is something a small part of us seems to want. When we feel betrayed by someone we trusted, we regret knowing and being loyal to them. In haste, we make the wrong decisions regarding our next move, sometimes choosing a path that ends up tearing down our virtues. Unless kept in check, these darker desires run the risk of taking control, and is something we must always be mindful of. 

We most commonly see the flaws in antagonist characters, and end up seeing a part of them in us; however, this may not always be the case when we imagine the monster in us. Sometimes characters portrayed as villains in books and films, show us how we form judgements by misinterpreting their intentions, then taking action against it. For example, in the 2016 movie Pacific Rim, we see these monstrous creatures called Kaiju's attacking cities and killing people. Humans then build giant robots called Jaegars to fight them. On the surface, we believe that the Kaiju's are the Bad Guys, that they mean to hurt us because they are the mutant creatures that they are. Humans are the Good Guys. 

However, if we reverse the roles, would we still feel the same? Yes, probably. We would watch a film where humans invade an alien planet and dislike when the alien organisms fight back.  We would condone humans entering an alien world by calling it "exploration", but when alien creatures do exactly the same, we victimize ourselves. Any destruction the Kaiju's caused as they move past various obstacles, is the same as what we humans would have done. 

This shows us how quick we are to form judgements and biases, and stick by them. We consider ourselves the superiors because of our so-called intelligence, and we undervalue and disrespect any other living species. It makes us selfish, because something we do is justified whereas when someone else does the same thing, it is inexcusable. 

Another way we form judgements on people is by making assumptions and filling in the blanks. An example of this is shown in the classic novel by Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey. Catherine Morland had become so absorbed in the Gothic Fiction plots in her books, that she misinterpreted the things she was told, to eventually form the idea that her host at Northanger Abbey, General Tilney was a murderer who killed his wife from his obsession with real estate. However, she learns later that this was not the case after all, and that she'd let the gothic horror stories she had read, manifest themselves into a horrific assumption about someone who was not guilty in the way she had previously assumed. 

While literature and films pull us into a new reality filled with wonder, resonating with the monsters and villains definitely helps us recognise our deeper thoughts, desires and psyche. It then lets us work on ourselves and figure out who we want to be, and the kinds of impacts we have on ourselves, and the people around us. 

The monsters and villains help us imagine the worst in us, which I believe is an important thing to realise, so we can reflect more, and work on ourselves for the better. Now, take a couple of moments to ponder... which villain or monster do you resonate with the most?

                                                                                                                                         ~ Mridini ♡