monsters and allegory

Howard Phillips Lovecraft •  Born August 20th, 1890 •  Father became psychotic in a hotel room, he

was sectioned and remained there until his death when H.P. was 8

•  Raised by his mother, his two aunts, and his grandfather Wipple Phillips, who introduced him to fantasy and horror stories

•  His mother was also committed •  Married Sonia Greene; she was of Jewish

descent, despite Lovecraft's antisemitism

•  Moved in with her in Brooklyn, but couldn't find employment. He blamed the large immigrant population

"Now all my tales are based on the fundamental premise that common human laws and interests and emotions have no validity or significance in the vast cosmos-at-large."

— H. P. Lovecraft

Other Allegorical Monsters

Fran

kens

tein

Godzilla

Vampires vs. Zombies

•  They're Foreigners

•  They're "Parasites"

The Right Fear Vampires Because:

•  They are Immoral Sexual Deviants

The Left Fear Zombies Because: •  They're Mindless

Consumers : •  They Exist to Destroy

Non-Conformists

: •  They Can't Think for Themselves

Alien

Why do people use monsters as allegory rather than talk directly about issues? Three ideas:

1. Cannot talk about the ideas openly within their society

2. To get a message to people who would not normally listen

3. Cynically using current fears to sell their films