Culture & Comparison of Monster Depiction
Paper instructions:
TOPIC: COMPARE AND CONTRAST ARTISTIC DEPICTIONS OF THE JOKER. THE RECENT VERSION AND THE VERSION OF THE JOKER PLAYED BY JACK NICHOLSON. CITE SOURCES FROM BOTH MOVIES.
Compare and contrast two different artistic depictions of ONE monster. Closely analyze the characteristics of each depiction, compare their cultural placement, their creation, and their interaction with “normal” people. Finally, compare and contrast the allegorical meanings behind each monster’s depiction.
FIRST- Select a monster that is depicted in literature, movies, or television. Find TWO DIFFERENT depictions of it. (for example, if you chose “zombie”, you’d select 2 pieces works that depict zombies- two different movies, a movie and a TV show, or a movie and a book, etc.)
SECOND- Study the TWO depictions closely. Write a description of the TWO monsters: How are they created? During what time do they exist? What are their physical and spiritual characteristics? Who do they interact with? How do they communicate with? What happens to them at the end? This is the “cultural” part of the assignment. Basically, what culture does the monster inhabit and do they change the culture around them?
THIRD- Find the ALLEGORICAL message in each monster’s depiction. What does the depiction tell you about human nature? What does it tell you about what humans find monstrous? What are we supposed to learn from the depictions? Compare and contrast the allegorical meaning. How do they differ? How are they the same? Don’t give an easy answer in this analysis.