Essay/Term paper: Dragons in america

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Dragons in America


Ian Richards
World Literature Hr. 3
9 September 1996

Monsters or dragons in present day America are feared .Monsters in
America consist of politicians, celebrities, and criminals. In America they are
portrayed through media, television, and movies. Monsters in America are feared
but can also be seen as a source of entertainment.
Media and entertainment create most of the fear in Americans. In the
news we hear of shooting, killings, and rapes everyday. The media always gives a
very in depth look a each incident to satisfy the audiences every wonder.
Entertainment on the other hand enhances these modern day monsters in movies and
television. Movies about serial killers such as "Natural Born Killers", "Seven" "
The Stand", and "Silence of the Lambs" strike fear in to the hearts of millions
of Americans all too often. This creates people to fear monsters in reality more
than ever because Hollywood makes monsters as scary as possible. The television
is another source of violence in the world. It seems that every shows on TV has
to do with some kind of terrible murder. Shows like "New York Undercover"
always end up with a seen where someone is shot to death. This makes the viewer
perceive society as a place too dangerous to live in.
A very obvious monster in America is a criminal. Americans fear burglars,
rapists, and killers in their own cities and states. They are feared because
their victims are people like themselves and are victimized in very familiar
places to the average American. That is why people protect themselves with
security systems and weapons. Criminals are feared mainly because their victims
are random. People never feel completely safe knowing that they may be the next
victim.
Besides fear of monsters that pose physical threats, there are monsters
in politics that scare people as well. Corrupt politicians are feared because of
past and foreign politicians that have caused unfair, and painful treatment of
the people they represent. That is why all candidates for office are thoroughly
examined to make sure that they can be trusted. And every time a politician
makes a mistake or something negative is said about him or her people panic and
fear that the person that represent them could end up harming them instead of
representing them in their best interest. Incidents in the past that have caused
great turmoil in politics is Watergate, and Communism in foreign countries such
as Germany and Russia.
Some celebrities scare Americans because they are seen as hero's or
idols in the films, or events they are in. O.J. Simpson is a monster because he
was a legend and a hero of all football fans. When he turned out to be a killer
his fans became scared because they idolized him and he was a very evil man. I
think that celebrity monsters tend to be seen more as entertainment. The O.J.
trial was seen more as entertainment than the trial of a killer. This is all too
common on television such as in shows like" America's Most Wanted" where the
audience is entertained by hearing the stories of killers and the fact that they
are loose. Criminals on TV are not seen as evil but rather as entertaining.
Fear exists in all Americans. Monsters such as Charles Manson, Hitler,
and Randall Flag (from "The Stand") are feared for what they did can happen to
you. Americans are afraid to be victims and monsters need victims. Through media,
entertainment and politics people of America fear Monsters.