Cohen's "Monster Culture (Seven Theses)"

In Cohen's "Monster Culture (Seven Theses)," he explains monsters as more than simply the stereotypical terrifying beings that we normally envision.  His version of the monstrous acts as a sort of lesson to us, reappearing in situations in which we are making bad decisions or being careless.  While our ideal goal would be to get rid of our lingering monsters, it becomes almost impossible.  Just before we are about to conquer them, they escape and reappear later on when we are not expecting it.  Their constant reappearance is symbolic of the fact that we tend to repeatedly step over our intended boundaries, giving them the opportunity to attack us when we are the most vulnerable.  The monstrous also embodies every outcast, difference, and abnormality that our society looks down on today.  Although most people strive to fit in and be like everyone else, the monstrous defies the norm, longing to stand out and be unique.  It is a part of his strategy to instill a sense of fear in us, because when we are unable to classify it, it has an automatic superiority over us.   While we do fear the monster, being in his presence is almost a kind of thrill to us.  We get a rush out of being exposed to fear, because we have a belief instilled in us that good will prevail in the end, and that the fear is only temporary.  However, this naive perception is what keeps the monsters around.  The monstrous is created out of our foolishness and naivety.  Although the monster is meant to scare us and is the so-called villian, he is actually our very own creation.  Without us, the monster would have no purpose for existance.