Monster Taxonomy and Narrative Tropes

Vocabulary flashcards covering monster definitions, silver bullets, premises of viral monster narratives, and the taxonomy of monsters from the lecture.

Monster (in stories)

An entity defined by four key traits: it destroys, it is bulletproof, it cannot be negotiated with, and it has a silver bullet.

Silver Bullet

A monster's Achilles Heel or exploitable weakness that cannot be muscled and favors brains over brawn.

Premise of Viral Monsters

The idea that monsters go viral through the ages because they valorize human intelligence, allowing us to find an off switch (silver bullet) through struggle.

Types of Silver Bullets

The five exploitable monster weaknesses: 1. My strength is my weakness; 2. My hunger is my weakness; 3. I was built with a missing scale; 4. Vulnerable to a certain element; 5. Fatal flaw - emotional weakness, curiosity.

Monster Binaries

Categorical pairings used to define monster types: Supernatural vs. zoological, fanciful vs. actually real, CGI vs. practical, and accidental vs. intentional.

Fusion

A monster taxonomy concept where elements are combined ('always'), such as Human + a virus = monster, or House + 'animation' = haunted house.

Fission

A monster taxonomy concept defined by an 'either or' state, such as being either human or wolf (e.g., werewolf).

Magnification

Making a monster look bigger (e.g., a big ant). This does not apply to monsters that are already naturally very big, such as THE MEG.

Massification

A monster taxonomy category characterized by having lots of a certain monster.

Horrific Metonomy

A monster category where something is normal but not, meaning 'the wrapper doesn't match the contents' (e.g., a clown).