{"id":494,"date":"2017-02-14T05:42:29","date_gmt":"2017-02-14T05:42:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/dig215\/?p=494"},"modified":"2017-02-14T05:42:29","modified_gmt":"2017-02-14T05:42:29","slug":"fear-thy-neighbor-the-monster-next-door-in-dead-set","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/dig215\/2017\/02\/14\/fear-thy-neighbor-the-monster-next-door-in-dead-set\/","title":{"rendered":"Fear Thy Neighbor: The Monster Next Door in “Dead Set”"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the\u00a0chapter\u00a0\u201cMonster Culture (Seven Theses),\u201d of\u00a0Monster Theory : Reading Culture<\/a>,<\/i>\u00a0Jeffrey Jerome Cohen does exactly as his\u00a0title suggests, interpreting seven different types of monsters as cultural embodiments of specific\u00a0fears, taboos, and desires within cultures. His fourth thesis, titled \u201cThe Monster Dwells at the Gates of Difference,\u201d struck me as particularly relevant to today\u2019s global climate. In this thesis, Cohen claims that \u201cThe monster is difference made flesh,\u201d a \u201cdialectical Other\u201d that represents \u201can incorporation of the Outside, the Beyond\u2026\u201d (Cohen 7). This cultural fear of the invasive, dangerous Outsider is highly applicable within the context of contemporary society where\u00a0the widespread fear of the \u201cOther\u201d is linked directly to the fear of terrorism and the need for protection, whatever the cost.<\/p>\n

However,\u00a0as I watched Episodes 1 and 2 of the TV mini-series Dead Set<\/em> and attempted to apply Cohen\u2019s fourth argument to the violent zombies on the screen, I began to wonder if perhaps there was an important nuance to be made in this thesis. While the zombies were physically on the outside of the safe house and then further estranged as “Other” by their cannibalistic behavior, they still existed right next door. Kelly\u00a0is separated from a zombie by only a door just as Patrick and Pippa are cloistered away in a room while a zombie bangs in frustration on its\u00a0entrance. \u00a0Despite their positioning as Outsiders, the zombies\u2019 close proximity put them in a different category all together: that of the\u00a0neighbor<\/em> (rather than the\u00a0stranger).<\/p>\n

<\/a>
The only thing separating the “Big Brother” cast from the zombies is this door. Source: “Dead Set.” Season 1 Episode 2\/5. Netflix.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This imagery of the neighbor is further reinforced by the fact that the reality show Big Brother<\/em> is filmed within a constructed house reminiscent of Foucault\u2019s panopticon in which the cast can\u2019t see out but the film crew can see in. The physical and literal invocation of the house and surveillance immediately establishes a relationship between the inhabitants within and those on the outside. In one scene, Kelly\u00a0taps on the one-way mirror and the audience\u00a0sees what she cannot: a hungry zombie growling on the other side of the glass. In this moment, human and monster coexist next door to each other, only inches apart. The one-sided mirror serves the same delineative purpose as the traditional white picket fence that separates properties and neighbors. However, this barrier is soon penetrated when the zombie gets in through the door.<\/p>\n

These zombies are violent, cannibalistic, wild, disgusting, and without any trace of humanity. What\u2019s even more unsettling\u00a0is that they still resemble the familiar faces of the cast and crew we met at the beginning of Episode 1 when they were human. The cinematic choice to maintain the physical identification of these original characters even as zombies is effective because it confuses the Familiar<\/em> with the Other<\/em>. The zombies are at once different because of their violence and familiar because of their faces. In this sense, the Other does not represent an Outsider from far away\u00a0lands but rather the monster that\u2019s living next door. I\u2019ll title this eighth thesis, \u201cThe Monster Dwells at the Gates of\u2026your own home.\u201d One thing is certain, you can\u2019t trust your neighbor. Time to get a bigger\u00a0fence.<\/p>\n

References:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. “Monster Culture (Seven Theses).”\u00a0Monster Theory : Reading Culture.<\/i> Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1996. Web.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the\u00a0chapter\u00a0\u201cMonster Culture (Seven Theses),\u201d of\u00a0Monster Theory : Reading Culture,\u00a0Jeffrey Jerome Cohen does exactly as his\u00a0title suggests, interpreting seven different types of monsters as cultural embodiments of specific\u00a0fears, taboos, and desires within cultures. His fourth thesis, titled \u201cThe Monster Dwells at the Gates of Difference,\u201d struck me as particularly relevant to today\u2019s global climate. In … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Fear Thy Neighbor: The Monster Next Door in “Dead Set””<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[70,75,74,71],"class_list":["post-494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-group-a","tag-dead-set","tag-fear","tag-monster","tag-zombies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/dig215\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/dig215\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/dig215\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/dig215\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/dig215\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/dig215\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":511,"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/dig215\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494\/revisions\/511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/dig215\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/dig215\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/dig215\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}