The thesis from "Monster Theory", by Jeffrey Cohen, that related the most for me with the Gentlemen, was the seventh thesis, "The Monster Stands at the Threshold . . . of Becoming." Cohen's begins this section with the phrase: "This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine." I interpret the Gentlemen as a monster that society/people are scared of becoming. The Gentlemen wear suits, which is common at some jobs or how some people picture the 'working man' or someone with some sort of power. The Gentlemen also have PERMANENT smiles on their faces. Are the Gentlemen truly happy? Probably not, which could be interpreted similarly to society's expectation to 'fake it till you make it', you should always be happy or 'service with a smile'. The thing that is truly terrifying though, is the Gentlemen's ability to take away the voices of an entire city in order to take the hearts of people. Cohen says "They ask us why we have created them." Just like as we were talking about in lecture on Monday with Cloverfield, why did this happen? What are these monsters to us? Is it that society/life is forcing us to give up our dreams, passions, happiness (our hearts) somehow? What about not being able to say how we truly feel or to have an opinion? I think the Gentlemen could be what Cohen says, a warning of what is 'Becoming.' Maybe the Gentlemen are heartless versions of what happens when you suppress all the things that make you a human being. "Monster Theory" has certainly made me think about what other monsters could be trying to tell us.
I definitely enjoy your statement about the Gentlemen. I sort of feel it is easy to relate that Gentlemen may be the result of suppressing all that makes us human. It is quite scary in that sense if you consider the circumstances that we most likely will involved in ourselves after our college lives. If you take a moment to consider the general thoughts of entering the industry straight out of college, you would most likely be subject to ‘fake it till you make it’ in your new job you are starting.
ReplyDeletePulling out another meaning from the Gentlemen is that it may also represent our cultural body. Society generally demands that we conform to the rules laid before us. It is a common aspect that many Americans share from day to day lives. We must conform and thus we may “remove” those aspects of being human to fit into the cog known as a business better. It can be seen as mundane and pure drudgery considering these points but it does seem to give reason to these Gentlemen monsters.