After reading Cohen’s “Monster Theory”, I was able to connect several of his theses to a contemporary, or “American” monster. The contemporary monster I chose was a mass shooter, also known in popular culture as “school shooters”. The first thesis that connects to this modern day monster is the first one Cohen writes about: “The monster’s body is a cultural body.” Cohen says when explaining this thesis that “The monster signifies something other than itself.” This is very true in the case of a mass shooter. They signify many problems in today’s society, such as our country’s gun control laws as well as our knowledge of mental illness. It also signifies that if we do not do something to get weapons out of the hands of those who can hurt us, or try to better understand and adapt our knowledge of mental illness, horrible tragedies like these will continue to happen. The mass shooter also points out the problems in our government, and how if officials continue to simply argue about how to fix the issues of mass shooters instead of agreeing on a course of action then the problem will only get worse. If our leaders cannot protect us, then who can? We fear the shooter because we do not understand why someone would ever do something like that, and we fear what we do not understand. This inability to understand drives our fear more because if we cannot understand why someone would do this, we also cannot understand how to stop others from doing the same thing. Cohen also says when explaining this thesis that “The monster only exists to be read”. This also connects to a mass shooter, as after any shooting takes place people immediately begin to discuss how to try and fix the problems that have been presented. The shooter almost serves as a message that warns us, as a monster does, that tragedies will continue to happen unless something is done. Thesis seven, which states “The monster stands at the threshold of becoming”, also connects very well with this point. When explaining it, Cohen writes “They (the monster) ask us why we have created them.” Mass shooters are sadly a product of society, usually a society that has tormented or hurt them in some type of way. This does not at all excuse their actions, but it makes the monster that much more unsettling when it is realized that the society it attacked is partly to blame. Also, by not being able to put aside our differences and reach a common solution, we continue to allow the monster to thrive and wreak havoc.
