Williamson 1 Roby Williamson Curtis Hisayasu TS English 12/12/12 A Monstrous Perception of Humanity The article Monster Culture (Seven

Theses) by Jeffrey Cohen is one that draws on rather elaborate ideas from academic discourse and applies them to monster media and popular culture. By merging these two separate atmospheres he creates an intellectually complex environment catered towards those who fall under a category receptive to both deep intellectual thought and less serious cultural motifs. In his article, Cohen establishes an emphasis on a history of humanity, drawing a parallel between the history of monsters and how we can see ourselves through them. Cohen appeals to his audience by organizing, through his Seven Theses, a motivation to view ourselves differently by understanding how the monsters we create as a society reflect our own actions. The appeals Cohen makes to his audience give us an indication of his purpose and also the target for those who he has intended this article for. The convergence of intellectualism and blithe monster lore makes for a strong connection between Cohens appeals to logos and pathos. Cohen establishes authority through the examination of theorists such as Derrida and Foucault additionally presenting an appeal to ethos as suchand effectively proving his legitimacy amongst an academic crowd. By forming this credibility to examine monstrous culture on a logical level, Cohen ingratiates himself with scholars through a shared sense of what intellectual work should look like and represent. Also geared towards those with a passion for popular culture and more specifically monsters, Cohens article references numerous monsters for the

Williamson 2 purpose of solidifying his multiple subsidiary claims. In this way, Cohen also maintains authority with those who appreciate the examination of or expressed opinions on monsters. While this is more of a raw appeal, Cohen still maintains a critical eye on the broad spectrum of monstrosity. The convergence of these seemingly distinct audiences is met through their shared humanistic impulse and their orientation towards change, thus revealing Cohens purpose and ultimate motivation to inspire a recognition and change in humanitys self-perception and actions. In Thesis VII: The Monster Stands at the Threshold of the Becoming, Cohen examines the evidence and argument he has provided through his previous discussion, and addresses his audience about the monsters which have rooted themselves within our culture: These monsters ask us how we perceive the world, and how we have misrepresented what we have attempted to place. They ask us to reevaluate our cultural assumptions about race, gender, sexuality, our perception of difference, our tolerance toward its expression. They ask us why we have created them. (Cohen 20) When Cohen discusses how we have misrepresented what we have attempted to place he explicates that when we attempt to create just ethics and morals we are actually deceiving ourselves, and monsters depict the exaggerated role of how we displace these ideals. This deception leads us to believe we are a just and fair society, as we disregard our misleading perceptions of those who are unlike us. Continuing with his notion of our misrepresentations, Cohen specifies how perception of difference [and] our tolerance toward its expression become our limiting factors in our own existence, and the monsters incarnation of our intolerance to difference serves as a wake up call for the actions necessary to broaden our perspective. As monsters ask us why we have created them, we can see Cohen implies that we have incarnated our own fears and misperceptions, and if we are willing to conceptualize this

Williamson 3 embodiment of fear we can better overcome the prejudices and chauvinisms that constrain us as a human race. His emphasis on the mistakes and injustices of humanity instills an inherent passion and rousing of emotion in his audience, clearly a highly effective appeal to Pathos on Cohens part. By assessing the language Cohen uses in his final thesis as well as the claim he is making, it can be inferred that he himself uses monsters to ask us these challenging questions. Not only does Cohen create a rhetorical motivation to accept the monstrosity we have created as a key to comprehending our wrongdoings, but also more discursively appeals to Logos in a discrete manner by using his own perception of monstrosity to pose difficult or novel concepts and provocations about how we might alter ourselves. Cohens rhetorical situation provides a fascinating aspect of social injustice through the isolation of our own social injustices based on our creation of monsters. Cohens specific audience, an unusual combination of intellectuals and cultural followers, creates a direct exposition to his purpose; the motivation to change specifically targeted at those with an open mind towards change. Through his appeals specifically to logos and pathos Cohen alters his argument in an emotional and yet academic sense, making a strategic connection between audience and intention. Cohen also methodically utilizes the concept of the monsters questions to reveal his questions of us, thereby creating a symbolic drive, urging us towards reevaluation and change.

Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. "Monster Culture (Seven Theses)." Introduction. Monster Theory: Reading Culture. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, 1996. N. pag. Print.