Where have all the monsters gone? | Intellect Skip to content
1981
Volume 12, Issue 2
  • ISSN: 2045-5852
  • E-ISSN: 2045-5860

Abstract

Monsters have been rehabilitated in popular culture, moved from the realm of the truly monstrous to the world of neoliberal ‘sameness’. The zombies of and the vampires in , as only two examples of this trend, have lost their monstrous edge and have come to represent different ways of being human. While some discussions of this reimagined monster describe the weaving of monsters into mainstream culture as a way of acting out discourses of inclusion, I argue here that contemporary narratives that focus on monsters as metaphors for difference and inclusion are, ultimately, not providing a vision of a utopian world of equality. Instead, these representations are enacting a dystopian vision of a neoliberal social order that demonstrates a fear of true or radical difference.

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2024-03-14
2024-05-02
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): Gothic; In the Flesh; monsters; neoliberal Gothic; post-race; shame; True Blood
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