Monster Culture Seven Theses

From urban legends whispered among townfolk to the big silver screen, monsters have always been used to elicit fear. However, that is not the only purpose of a monster. In Jerome Cohen’s “Monster Culture (Seven Theses),” he argues that the monster is a cultural body, reflecting peoples’ desires and fears through seven distinct claims. The monster prompts the audience to question their assumptions about the culture and why the monster was created. During the Shogunate era of Japan, the infamous drunken demon Shuten Dji was fabricated, originating from his name-sake tale Shuten Dji. Significantly, Shuten Dji is one of the first prominent oni legends and the version presented by Noriko Reider is the oldest version of the myth, dating back to the

Yet, as always, the monster is killed at the end along with its enticing behaviors, allowing the reader to be safe from its temporary identification with the monster. Cohen presents the monster as a question to the reader. The monster asks the audience what they assume, how they perceive the culture, and why the monster was created. The story demonstrates Cohen’s fourth thesis by depicting a culture that justifies displacing/oppressing those who are different by villainizing them. Cohen’s fourth thesis claims that representing the outcasts of civilization “as monstrous justifies its displacement or extermination” (7). Those outside of the cultural sphere are labeled as monsters, which justifies any mistreatment towards them. In Shuten Dji, the demon king is constantly displaced. He first lived on his own property atop Mt. Hirano, then a priest, overpowered him and built a temple in his homestead. With no place to go, Shuten Dji was given Mt. Kaga to live on. However, the Emperor ordered Shuten Dji to leave his home again and this time “heavenly beings came to expel” him (Reid 45). After displacement, Shuten Dji takes revenge on the

When applying Cohen’s argument to the story, the story highlights Shuten Dji’s villainy over his mistreatment to normalize abuse to outsiders. Those outside of the culture fall victim to prejudice and villainization, so one should strive to be within the culture where they are not victimized. In line with thesis six, the monster within Shuten Dji represents qualities the reader might temporarily admire, but he is destroyed to eliminate the source of temptation. The process of scapegoating an individual monster reveals a morally corrupt culture because the monster is condemned for the same desires society partakes in. The audience may “distrust and loath the monster at the same time we envy its freedom” because the monster is not bound by cultural expectations, whereas the audience’s way of life is governed by the rules within their culture (Cohen 17). In the tale, though, a terrifying monster, Shuten Dji lives quite a lifestyle. He is served by the fairest maidens, drinks to his heart’s content, and eats at his leisure. Regardless of how powerful and tempting a monster is, the story always ends with its