Monsters have always been a source of extreme apprehension, fear, and even entertainment for many people throughout the literature and media entertainment history. Some of the most iconic monster figures in literature and media include those such as Frankenstein, Dracula, Godzilla, the undead race of zombies, bloodsucking vampires and even psycho killers. Why have these horrific monsters been such fascinating and engaging in our culture and society. Part if the answer lies in the fact that often times monsters are associated with death, and we as people historically have a profound interest in and fear of death.
One unusual monster that has come about in recent film history is that of biological warfare. In short, these kind of movies often have apocalyptic story lines, where there is usually some deadly virus that makes it’s way to the human population and causes mass panic and immediate evacuation. Those who are unfortunate enough to get deadly infection generally turn into crazy characters who seek to kill the uninfected ones.
Additionally, these movies almost always end with a small group of uninfected individuals who form a new population and start new lives.
Why is it that these stories have become so popular and interesting to us in recent years and why do they cause such a great deal of anxiety? One answer can be found in the fact that because we know far more about biology, science and how things work than we did in the past, we are often more worried about all the possibilities if things that could go wrong. This list, as one might imagine, could be infinitely long.
The amount of dangers that we are exposed to on a daily basis is enough to make a person lose their mind. There is quite a large sect of the population that stress about these possibilities far more than the normal person. They really embody the notion that the more you know, then the more you worry.
Another reason why these stories have become so popular is because, of the shear magnitude of death that we see in them. Although many people are afraid of death and realize its inevitability, we all also try to escape it with every fiber in our body. We greatly admire and try desperately to indentify with the protagonists in the story who are also trying to escape death the best way that they know how. It is very comforting to see that in the end they escaped this inevitable and seemingly impossible fate while everyone else in the story fell victim to it. Yet, there is something deep on the inside of us that realizes that they will die eventually. That is what makes us continue to watch these films and what makes them so popular.
Biological warfare is definently an unconventional monster. I would have been interested in reading your definition of a monster because I'm sure that would have been unconventional aswell. I tend to think of monsters as living or living-dead creatures, however biological chemicals are technically living aswell. This story piqued my interest in other unusuall monsters not readily associated with the original horror creatures.
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