It is difficult to imagine our world without monsters. Their hideous appearance and scary behavior became integrated in our lives and culture. No culture can live without monsters. Children at an early age fear monsters under their beds and adolescents fight against monsters in computer games. We read about them in fictional literature and see them in classic movies as well as new publications. Monsters have always played an important role in culture.
But what are monsters? How do they find their way into our society and where do they come from? Not only are they defined by their deterrent appearance but also by qualities ascribed by the culture they appear in (cf. Murgatroyd 2007, p. 2). The anthropologist Jeffrey Jerome Cohen deals with monsters and their role in society. In his work called “Monster Theory” he proposes a method of understanding cultures through the monsters they invent by giving seven theses explaining the monster´s characterizations (cf. Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome: Monster Culture (Seven Theses). In: Monster Theory. Reading Culture. Minneapolis 1996, p. 3f.). Cohen´s second thesis “The Monster Always Escapes” will be of special interest to us. Also referring to Cohen´s first thesis “The Monster´s Body Is A Cultural Body” we will examine how monsters are born into society and how they keep on living within the frames of cultural, political and social relations. Afterwards we will apply Cohen´s thesis to Richard Matheson´s “I Am Legend”, a Science Fiction and horror novel, which deals with monsters in form of vampires. In Matheson´s fictional work the protagonist Robert Neville, as the only human being, lives in a world of bloodthirsty vampires. Neville, trying to understand the germ which created the disease and to which he himself is immune, does scientific researches. He haunts the vampires and kills them, when ultimately he is captured by a pair of infected survivors. The novel is set in Los Angeles.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. “ The monster always escapes” – The return of the undead
3. Richard Matheson´s I Am Legend
3.1 Reappearance of the monstrous
3.2 Racial issues and feminine sexuality
3.3 Shifting monstrosity
4. Francis Lawrence’s film adaptation
4.1 Reappearance of the monstrous
4.2 Terrorism and religion
4.3 Shifting monstrosity
5. Conclusion: cultural, social and political context
5.1 Postwar America
5.2 Post-9/11 America
5.3 Comparison between book and film adaptation
Objectives and Key Themes
This work explores the phenomenon of the "monstrous" by applying Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s "Monster Theory" to Richard Matheson’s novel "I Am Legend" and its 2007 film adaptation by Francis Lawrence, aiming to analyze how cultural anxieties—ranging from postwar racial tensions to post-9/11 fears of terrorism—are reflected and transformed through the figure of the monster.
- Application of Cohen’s thesis "The Monster Always Escapes" to literary and cinematic texts.
- Examination of racial, gender, and religious subtexts in the portrayal of monstrosity.
- Comparative analysis of how monstrosity shifts between the 1950s cultural context and the post-9/11 era.
- Exploration of the "Other" and the construction of boundaries within societal norms.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 Reappearance of the monstrous
The monsters in Richard Matheson´s novel I Am Legend appear and disappear many times to haunt the protagonist Robert Neville anew. They keep coming back to his house every single night: “In another hour they´d be at the house again. [...] As soon as the light was gone” (Matheson 2010, p. 4). One of the vampires that Neville knew personally before the illness spead, a neighbor of his called Ben Cortmann, keeps yelling for Neville to come out of the house “´Come out, Neville!`” (ibid., p.8). He appears throughout the novel again and again. One time Neville fires a bullet trying to kill him, but Cortmann, after being hit, stands up and again calls for Neville (cf. ibid., p. 55).
Neville tries hard to kill the vampires and get rid of them. As soon as he finds out that hitting the hearts of the monsters with stakes kills them effectively, he makes more and more of them. No matter how many of the vampires he kills though, there always seem to be more. He founds them either in the basements of stores (cf. ibid., p.15) or on the cemetery, where he buried his wife (cf. ibid., p. 28). We see in the novel that the monstrous itself, disregarding the death of individual vampires, never disappears. The vampires are always there. They cannot be killed and they never disappear entirely from Neville´s world: “[...] the same ones he shot came rushing at him again” (ibid., p. 36).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the theoretical framework based on Jeffrey Jerome Cohen's "Monster Theory" and introduces the core objectives of analyzing monstrosity in Matheson's novel and its film adaptation.
2. “ The monster always escapes” – The return of the undead: Discusses the theoretical foundations of how monsters function as cultural embodiments of fears and how they continually reappear in changing forms.
3. Richard Matheson´s I Am Legend: Analyzes the novel's depiction of the monstrous, focusing on its repetitive nature, racial subtexts, feminine sexuality, and the character's internal transformation.
4. Francis Lawrence’s film adaptation: Examines how the film adaptation recontextualizes the source material through the lens of modern themes like religious symbolism and post-9/11 fears of terrorism.
5. Conclusion: cultural, social and political context: Synthesizes findings by situating both works within their respective historical frameworks, specifically Postwar America and the Post-9/11 era.
Keywords
Monstrosity, I Am Legend, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, Richard Matheson, Francis Lawrence, Monster Theory, Cultural Studies, Racial Issues, Feminine Sexuality, Post-9/11, Terrorism, Religion, Hybridity, Otherness, Cold War.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this academic work?
The work primarily examines how the figure of the monster functions as a reflection of societal anxieties and how these representations evolve based on the cultural and political climate of their time.
Which theoretical framework is applied?
The analysis is grounded in Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s "Monster Theory," particularly his thesis that "The Monster Always Escapes," implying that monstrosity is culturally contingent and shifts over time.
What is the main goal of the research?
The primary goal is to compare Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel with Francis Lawrence’s 2007 film to identify how different social contexts—such as the Cold War vs. the war on terror—shape the narrative of the monstrous.
What research methodology is used?
The author uses a qualitative, comparative literary and film analysis, interpreting primary text and film sequences through the lens of critical cultural and sociopolitical theory.
What are the key thematic areas covered in the main body?
The study covers the reappearance of the monstrous, the intersection of racial issues and sexuality, the role of religion in post-9/11 media, and the concept of "shifting monstrosity."
Which keywords best characterize this research?
Essential keywords include Monstrosity, I Am Legend, Cultural Studies, Monster Theory, Post-9/11, Racial Issues, and Hybridity.
How does the novel relate the monster to racial issues?
The author argues that in Matheson’s novel, the protagonist Robert Neville often describes the vampires using racialized language, reflecting 1950s American tensions regarding segregation and the "Other."
In what way does the film adaptation differ from the book regarding the representation of "in-betweenness"?
While the book portrays a blurring of boundaries and hybridity in characters like Ruth, the film maintains a sharper, more binary divide between the humans and the monsters, framing the conflict in terms of clear-cut good versus evil.
How is the 9/11 event linked to the monster in the film?
The film uses symbols such as Ground Zero, references to religious wars, and the motif of the savior to reflect the trauma and sociopolitical landscape of post-9/11 America, effectively casting the "infected" as a manifestation of modern terrorist fears.
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- BA Kinga Gmiat (Autor:in), 2013, Monstrosity in Matheson's "I Am Legend" and Lawrence's Film Adaptation, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/230739
