Choosing what monster to write about for the first assignment was an obvious choice for me because this monster has scared me ever since I saw the movie. This monster is the demon from Paranormal Activity. The demon is so monstrous to me because it is invisible, and because of this, I have to imagine what this beast may look like. The demon is capable of pulling and picking up people with ease, making incredibly loud noises, controlling furniture in houses from multiple places simultaneously, possessing people, and can even time travel. With all of these things in mind, this monster seems to defy all sorts of logic and many laws of science. This is why the demon could directly tie in with Cohen's third thesis. This thesis is about how monsters generally cannot be classified into any category because they don't fit in with the laws of nature. As mentioned before, the demon is capable of many things science could not explain. The sheer fact that this monster is invisible would mean that spirits are in fact real, or even the time traveling ability alone is enough to show that this monster is could not be a part of the real world today. From the many talents this demon possesses (no pun intended) this would be a great case study for Cohen's third thesis. In this thesis Cohen gives one example to help support his claim by using the giants from Mandeville's Travels. Although this is a fairly good example by itself, these giants still have human resemblance and extraordinary strength. Neither of these qualities are really anything that goes much beyond the laws of nature. Sure, there has never been a giant in history before, but this giant is still only a bigger human. Whereas the demon could look like anything because it is invisible, and the demon's capabilities go far beyond science has ever been able to reach. This is why I believe that using the demon from Paranormal Activity could strengthen this thesis greatly because it supports his thesis on a much farther level than he had gone before.
Joseph this is an absolutely perfect monster or monstrous creature to apply to Cohen's theses. I too thoroughly enjoyed Paranormal Activity. I recall being visibly shaken from the film, which rarely occurs since most scary movies are very predictible. Which is what I think goes along so well with Cohen's third thesis. The reason we put things into categories is so that we can predict how they will react to certain events, so we can protect ourselves. Well the monster from Paranormal Activity sure isn't predictable at all. Like you said it makes loud noises, throws people around, and shakes the house. While you then know it is capable of such things, you don't know what else it can do.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I really enjoyed this example used to support Cohen's theses. I wish I had thought of it myself, well done!