Vanessa Putnam
Albert Barajas
Mark Diaz
Brittney Larson
TA: Amanda Reyes
Theater 80C
7 February 2014 Cohen’s 7 Theses

Thesis 1: The Monster’s Body Is a Cultural Body: Vanessa
The monster is born as a cultural movement. The monster exists only to represent fear, anxiety, or desire that can be read or portrayed for a specific culture. A glyph that seeks it’s hierophant: meaning the monster exists to signify something other than itself.
Thesis 2: The Monster Always Escapes: Brittney
In his second thesis, Cohen tells the reader of how a monster is never caught, both by society as well as mortality. In any book or movie, we can imagine a scene in which a monster is being cornered by a mob, but manages to find an escape route at the last minute. Similarly, a monster never seems to truly die, despite any attempts made by outsiders to kill it.

Thesis 3: The Monster Is the Harbinger of Category Crisis: Albert
In Cohen’s third thesis, he touches base on categories. Our world is filled with “boxes” of categories. The way our society works is we categories everything that fits in place, restrooms, music, sexulaity, etc. However, what makes a monster a monster is the fact that it doesn’t follow societies norms. The fact that we can’t place a monster in certain category, scares us. Some examples of monsters that follow this thesis are vampires and werewolves,
Vampires are neither alive or dead, and werewolves are not human or a wolf. Monsters refuse to be placed in a category, and because of this they make us uncomfortable and that is why we fear them.
Thesis 4: The Monster Dwells at the Gates of Difference: Mark
The monster is different from us physical and mental wise. Something not of this world.
Things or “types” of people are changed in society to justify something the government wants or needs to change so people would be on board with whatever they are trying to accomplish.
By not belonging the monster makes it seem they are disrupting the way things should be done. The monster contaminates the way of life and must be stopped.
Thesis 5: The Monster Policies the Borders of the Possible: Albert
Ever heard of the saying “curiosity killed the cat”? Well this is exactly what Cohens fifth thesis tries to explain. Monsters were created to tell society to never cross the line of curiosity. They tell us never