The Impact Of Monsters In Myths And Movies On People Behavior

While most myths serve as stories to advise in our actions in life, an abundance of myths do just the contrary. These myths bring us to cultures whose rules have been broken by people who distrusted their importance and truth. As we turn the pages of such a story, for an instant, our minds and bodies separate as we rethink all society has taught us. Almost instantly, the feeling vanishes. It is beyond our comprehension how characters in myths and movies can so instinctively rebel against their foundation, but if the whole purpose of myths and movies is indeed to remove the blinders society has set on our eyes since birth, we are obligated to face the reality that we grew up in a world of lies rather than to ignore it.

I unconsciously count the number of chimes the elevator makes as it travels through the floors of the building I had rendezvous with someone in. The chiming stops and I tighten my grasp on my purse, move into one of the corners in the elevator, and stare straight ahead. Walking into the elevator is a man, triple my size, big and buff. He could crush me with little to no effort. My mind involuntarily races into the varying situations I could face. Should I quickly leave? The guilt of asking that question freezes me and the elevator slowly starts rising, along with my anxiety. The elevator stops, my breaths return. A petite woman with hazelnut hair enters the elevator. ‘I am now safe,’ I think to myself. My thoughts, heavily influenced by society, speak for me. Little did I know, the woman was no guardian angel–not even close. The two strangers stood stiffly in the tight space, while my heart internally grinned in relief knowing that the threat of danger no longer remained. The elevator doors screeched opened one last time, and standing in front of us were two police officers with stern countenances. They were staring at the woman, waiting to arrest her. With a history of being an initiator of severe harassment and assault, the police had finally caught her.

On my walk home that day, my mind experienced an awakening. Few people can precisely remember when they were told to fear or be alert around certain people, yet we behave as if we did. The inquiry of where we get these ideas churned inside of me until the realization hit me that from a young age, we are introduced to these notions through the accumulation of our loved ones' and strangers' actions, not necessarily through their words. Some myths and movies contradict this concept of following societal rules. As a child, I adored the movie “Monsters Inc.,” but until now did I recognize its significance. In a society solely inhabited by monsters, these creatures are informed of the threats of humans. As ridiculous as this is, Sullivan, a monster, eventually realizes the falsity of this idea when he becomes best friends with a little girl that escaped the human world. The wrongfulness of the claim the monster society made in the movie is relevant to human society as well. Most of us are too scared to confront, become, or acquaint ourselves with what we are told to avoid, and thus we are never able to expose the lies society has influenced us to trust.

While society has a huge impact on people's behavior, monsters in myths and movies don't have enough of an impression on their readers. Too many people think about the significance of these myths and movies regarding the past which is irrelevant to the future due to the changes in culture that come with time. My experience in the elevator that day illustrates an idea that society is already beginning to recognize–all

women are not vulnerable and harmless, and all men are not a threat. However, countless ideas are engraved in our minds since birth, disabling us from seeing them clearly or even identifying them. At this point, nearly everything we’ve been told could be a lie, but the time on Earth each person has is not enough to uncover all the lies in the world. However, myths and movies last longer than a lifetime, perhaps the reason life-changing messages are found in them, rather than in people.