What is the connection between monsters, folklore, folk groups and narrative? How can we understand those concepts within our contemporary society?
Folklore in a society or culture is the traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community passed through generations by word of mouth. These communities are referred to as folk groups. A folk group shares something in common that makes them distinctive and gives them their identity. Folk groups can be based on such elements as ethnicity, tribe, religion, region, occupation, family, age, or gender. Folklore in our contemporary society manifests in the form of campfire stories, chain mail, and the like. Until the internet social media existed, folklore was communicated by word of mouth and spread by print media, radio, and television. Stories travelled more slowly, evolving as they were told and retold within and between communities, leading to the co-existence of multiple variants of the same tale. Traditional folklore still exists in children's stories such as Goldilocks and Cinderella, and modern iterations can also be found and propagated like Creepypasta forums on the internet. Narratives use monsters to reveal tensions, inconsistencies, and gaps in society. Monsters help authors draw attention to the construction of narrative itself, and to the agency or performance of the story. The most notable difference between contemporary society and monsters of old folklore is that popular culture sympathizes with the monster's goals and social scrutiny. Modern monsters have notably human like characteristics and powers that are even desirable at times. They aim to assimilate and blend in with existing society. Monsters manifest numerous fears and taboos including violence, ridicule, destruction of nature, oppression, violation of gender roles, promiscuity, attempted immortality, prolonged youth, and artificial creation.
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AuthorSoumya Jaiswal Archives
April 2021
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