Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Monsters of American Politics


I've run across several articles recently that have looked at how monster movies help explain the US.

In a 2009 article, the San Diego Union News pointed out that the leection of Barack Obama coincided with a spate of vampires movies in the theaters. They also pointed out the high number of zombie movies made during the George W. Bush administration.

It's likely just coincidence, but maybe not. The writer points out that vampires might be the boogieman of the left, who fear the blood-sucking tactics of Wall Street, and zombies may frighten the right with the specter of an uprising of the undead hordes of the ravening poor descending on Washington.

On the other hand, this recent article from Cracked.com takes the opposite tack. It explains that the right fears vampires because they're immoral sexual deviants who want to drain the blood from capitalism, and the left fears zombies as mindless consumers who swarm after anyone who doesn't conform.

Could this be right? And if that's the case what about other monsters? Does liking werewolves mean you're a Libertarian? Are fans of the Creature from the Black Lagoon mean you're voting Green?

I'm a little worried. Does the fact that my favorite movie monster is King Kong mean that I'm a closet royalist???

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