Exploring American Monsters: From Bigfoot to Cannibals
Delve into the world of American monsters as we uncover the mysteries surrounding creatures like Bigfoot, Wendigo, and Alferd Packer, the Colorado cannibal. Discover the symbolic significance, cultural metaphors, and historical contexts that shape these monstrous legends in American folklore.
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Presentation Transcript
American Monsters
What Is What Is Monstrosity Monstrosity? ? 1. -Df. unknown, uncanny (Freud s unheimlich), terrifying, portentous 2. -Symbolic monstrosity -American land -Otherness (Natives) -settling hardships -destruction of the family/societal bonds -the dark side of the reinvention of the self 8. -unholy VS holy monstrosity (savage VS awesome nature the White Beast) 9. -P.T. Barnum s Circus freakshow why so popular? 10. Tied to history (witches; Frankenstein; zombies; alien/Martian invaders) 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Bigfoot Bigfoot -If not dangerous, why monstrous? mysterious aberrant size hairy, nonverbal own species filmed female (Nature) furry, fleeting, fearsome, fascinating: the incest taboo according to Freud our own fear of incest-regression (throwback to abject Primal Mother, primate evolutionary state)
The Wendigo/ A Loup- Garou a Carcajou -Native origin: the Hopi Ogre, Wendigo lore -the taboo of cannibalism -metaphor for: multiculturalism (theme, language): good or monstrous? harsh north American winter loose social ties+ harsh survival masculinity run wild precariousness of the division between human/animal
Alferd Packer, the colorado cannibal -Cannibalism among the early settlers (Packer, Donner party) -Metaphor for greed, gold fever, rugged VS rampant individualism: Packer a con-man, vs honest Chief Ouray, who saves half of the remaining party -Why comedic treatment by media? a. double irony of he ate all the Democrats few Democrats (in the land of Democracy !) democracy not an individualist/ tough enough concept b. The Alferd Packer Memorial Grill of the U of Colorado at Boulder, dining tent at Philadelphia Folk Festival, and The Packer Saloon and Cannibal Grill in Lake City, CO c. Trey Parker s 1993 play/film Cannibal! The Musical!
