Which MONSTER has stayed with you the longest? Let me know below while you check out THE SOJOURN on Nebula go.nebula.tv/hellofutureme (or Dracula's Ex Girlfriend!)
Hey look, it's Red OverlySarcasticProductions, protagonist of the hit franchise OverlySarcasticProductions! Famous for her catch phrase, "It's OverlySarcasticProductioning Time!" just before she OverlySarcasticProductions all over the place.
I know this is a serious topic but, “for complicated lore reasons he gains the ability to kill all of humanity” is the most anime sentence I have ever heard
Just reminded me of this "I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men. This I have known ever since I stretched out my fingers to the abomination within that great gilded frame; stretched out my fingers and touched a cold and unyielding surface of polished glass.
"I was not born, I was created, and my creators have abused and betrayed me, so I stand alone!" - Mewtwo, Pokémon: The First Movie As one treated as a monster throughout my early childhood, that line and story stuck with me, even long after it lost its relevance and even after the almost inaccessible franchise jumped its 50th shark.
@@josephmatthews7698 ...No, actually. Because your sentence suggests the idea that a video game franchise built for entertainment has nothing of value to say, to teach, to inspire, and that is both patently untrue and demonstrably false. COctagons, _in this very comment chain_ I'm continuing, proved that a childhood memory from a movie character could strike a chord with his personal experience, just as much as Frankenstein can for others. _That_ should matter a hell of a lot more than where it comes from, especially because the point summarized in that comment was brilliant. Life-changing prose comes from our experiences. If COctagons' was with Mewtwo - a character who was quite frankly designed to be inherently philosophical in his movie - then it's Mewtwo. COctagons shouldn't have to change the example because the value you assign to it differs.
That did NOT have to go so hard for a kids game. Tbh, I think the fact that its origins are that of a kid's game elevates everything about it because it took a silly little game, with cute monsters, and animation( a medium often associated with kids entertainment) and elevates it with some absurdly poignant philosophy on par with some of the most cerebral adult oriented films.
"Believe me, Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity: but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow-creatures, who owe me nothing? they spurn and hate me. The desert mountains and dreary glaciers are my refuge. I have wandered here many days; the caves of ice, which I only do not fear, are a dwelling to me, and the only one which man does not grudge. These bleak skies I hail, for they are kinder to me than your fellow-beings. If the multitude of mankind knew of my existence, they would do as you do, and arm themselves for my destruction. Shall I not then hate them who abhor me? I will keep no terms with my enemies. I am miserable, and they shall share my wretchedness."
Frankenstein's monster is such an interesting and tragic figure, and it annoys me to no end that Hollywood turned him into a dumb brute, stripping out all of the nuance of the original novel.
@@maddie9602 Because the West itself HATES the hard truth that people born physically ugly are ostracized, ridiculed, and attacked by our "civilized" society for simply existing.
I think you'd really love Slay the Princess. It's a fully voice acted branching visual novel, pretty short, but it's got themes similar to this and other stuff you've made in the past. It's more of a love story, but it's about perspective and change. I'd love if you did a video like this on that or more story games in general!
Slay the princess was really damn good. it really delved into the concept of love and what type of loves we can presently show and how the other person is warped cause of that. the pain, the compass. everything around it is beautiful. One thing i especially love is that for the ending, her voice/demenior is determined by your first action towards her. if you killed her she has a more distant/monotone voice. showing that your initial interaction have left you both more weary but yet can still show compassion and trust. If you didnt kill her first time, she has a softer/sweeter voice. sharing more compassion and emotion, showing that you both initally show intensity in your starting interactions. and if you take the third action where you dont enter the cabin and get the glob princess, she also become that glop and all her voices being that part of her, showing maybe that you both have an understanding of each other on another level at first.
@@ZarHakkar it's both. You can finish it in 10 minutes for the fastest ending, or about 4 hours normally. But really there's so much variation you could play it at least 3 times and still see completely new stuff nearly every chapter. With the huge final update today, probably a bit more than that.
@kaikalter It's a punchy quote to be sure, but I can't help but feel that you've entirely missed the point of the video. Y'know, about _not_ writing off other people as monsters...?
@@Braxmegaman the soldier bragging about raping a child in the first stages of Witcher 3? Yeah, that’s a monster. That’s more a monster than the griffin or the necrophages. Half the narrative point of Witcher 3 is that people often ARE more monstrous.
@VisonsofFalseTruths And I hope you had fun carving up the made-up man in the fictional video game. I'm being serious -- I've no doubt he was written to be as perfectly hateable as possible, so that he made such a strong impression on you means that the writers did their job well. The point I was _trying_ to make is that I find it extremely weird that the quote is presented as though it's agreeing with the central thesis of the video, when it's in sidelong opposition at the _very_ best.
Ah I see what you mean. I used the Witcher thing as an example because it seemed topical at the moment. But even in the real world, my point stands. Those soldiers were written as real people, not just villainous caricatures, and that exact scenario has almost certainly played out in some warzone somewhere. The only real difference is in the real world they get to go home to their wife and kids and forget the child whose life they ruined because there isn’t a supernaturally strong demi-hero to fillet them like salmon. Some people really ARE monsters. The man who rapes children and drowns them to hide the evidence is a monster. The woman who fosters children to get money from the state only to sell them as child prostitutes is a monster. The man who buys kittens to put in a blender just to upset strangers on the internet is a monster. These are all REAL people, who actually existed. We make fictional monsters to distract ourselves from the REAL ones, because it’s easier to imagine a monster as being some 10-foot slathering lizard thing than to imagine it as the man who you have coffee with every morning but secretly is molesting his 7-year old stepdaughter. It’s more comfortable to think of a monsters as a sentient starfish from deep space than as the nice woman working the checkout line who captures stray cats to skin them alive. Some people ARE monsters. Few things in life are that simple, but this is one of them. The difference between real monsters and the lizard creature, is real monsters CHOOSE to be monstrous, not because they don’t think their actions ARE monstrous, but because they don’t think they’ll be caught. That’s of course not to say everyone who does a bad thing is a monster. The guy who accidentally kills someone with his car? Not a monster. The robber who panics during a robbery and guns down a clerk? Not a monster. The elephant who kills a keeper who tortured it for years? Not a monster. Monstrousness requires both action and intent. Some people happen to have both, and it makes them more than qualify. Steel is for humans. Silver is for things other than humans. Both are for monsters.
One thing most people miss about Lovecraft, and cosmic horror in general, is that the true focus of the stories is never the monsters, the unspeakable horrors, themselves. Instead, it is the implications that the very existence of such means within a universe supposedly governed by the universal laws of science. This is one reason that most of Lovecraft's many imitators fail. It's easy to imagine a hideous monster, but so much harder to dwell on the meaning of said monster.
His stories also focus on the humans, whose curiosity and ambition, whose foolishness and abandon either leads them into contact with or outright awakens the otherwise aloof eldritch beings. While his monsters are not creations of humanity per se, they are still accessed and viewed through the lens of human interaction. They are treasures to be hunted down, enemies to be fought, artifacts to be stolen, primitive indigenous creatures to be tamed, demons to bargain with or pure physical effects to study, understand and then harness. Until they decide "No..." that this is their world, this is their power, they hold all the cards, and you are most certainly not welcome.
I'll give HP Lovecraft authenticity. He's a bit purple but he was genuinely terrified of the world around him to an extreme xenophobic degree, but the fact that those terrible thoughts manifested as some fun stories and ideas is at least better than many alternatives.
@@geordiejones5618I find Lovecraft fascinating. Like you say he was so afraid of the world he was excessively xenophobic but made captivating work from that. I feel like people would like to neatly put him in a box of bad person with bad art who is just bad. His beliefs are utterly intolerable, but I think it's bad faith and cruel to distill him down to only that. He clearly had some mental health issues that allowed him to tap into a universal feeling of fear of the unknown in a very genuine way. I think part if the simplification is that people are scared of relating to someone they don't like. We also struggle with the idea that just because you sympathize with someone, you don't have to like them and sympathy shouldn't be a basis for liking someone.
@@dismurrart6648 "It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things." Terry Pratchett, Jingo
I've always described Lovecraftian horror as "The eventual certainty that humanity will unearth something that takes umbrage at our intrusion". That we, in trying to understand the world around us, shall peal back the curtain to a reality in which we have no place, no meaning.
"Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall, too strong, too heavy, and they are not evil by choice. That is their tragedy." -Ichiro Honda I'm so glad I stumbled upon this video, because it was perfect timing. I write fanfics, and currently I'm writing a fic about eight famous godzilla and ultraman kaiju who have all suffered at humanity's hands, and now they are ready to take their vengeance. One of my favorite tropes is when a benevolent and kind creature is forced to become a monster to fight back. You can't blame them, their hand was forced, and now we have todeal with the consequences.
Reminds me of a tweet I saw some time ago: Intelligence is knowing that Frankenstein is not the monster. Wisdom is understanding that Frankenstein *is* the monster.
You messed up the wording, it's more like: "Intelligence is knowing Frankenstein is the name of the doctor, not the monster; wisdom is knowing Frankenstein is the true monster."
@@emdoveIt's in reference to stats in D&D, where intelligence refers to knowledge and reasoning ability while wisdom refers to intuition and perception.
An interesting exploration of the monster that I saw recently was in The Ninth Hour: The Beowulf Story. The central characters of the musical are only called "The Hero," "The Monster," and "The Mother" in the playbill. The show's first song starts with a coin toss meant to determine which actor plays the Hero and which actor plays the Monster. The Monster is a powerful and commanding presence. The ensemble will swarm him and the Mother in various scenes to act as extensions of themselves, showing in vague shapes their imposing forms. He's jaded and hungry, and he kills a lot of people. And he's very aware of how the world sees him. He hates it but finds ways to revel in it. "I would rather be a monster than a fool." He says that everyone is guilty of something, including himself, including the Hero, including the audience. The Hero is a powerful and commanding presence. The ensemble swarms her when she arrives. She's prideful but willing to do what the king asks of her and slay the Monster. And she's very aware of how the world sees her. She loved it but cannot keep the appearance forever. Their one confrontation is where she slays him. It's performed as a love ballad. It ends with her taking off his arm, repeating his line of "We're all guilty of something." The Monster has one final song in front of his Mother. He expresses true remorse for how he lived his life, how he thought he would always be the enemy. He fought so hard for so long and was awful, and all for what? He could've been something much different. "There's beauty and there empathy / Some people might have cared for me / Mother, I've grown tired of this / Mother, I've grown tired of this." His last word is "Sorry," as he dies. The Hero revels in her defeat of the Monster until the unexpected appearance of the Mother. There's another order for the Hero to go and slay her, which she does. Although, during this song, she spends most of the time reflecting. "A predator in the dark, a beast without a heart / The same as me, the same as me." In the end, the Hero returns and is welcomed, but the ensemble is haunting. "The warrior returns, the warrior returns / With blood on her hands, blood on her hands." The final song includes the melodies of many of the previous songs, repeating again that the Hero will never die. The Monster returns to the stage, and the Hero sings to him, "We've sung this song a thousand times before / And I'll be made to sing it more / I've grown tired of this / I've grown tired of this." A coin is flipped. The Hero continues to sing the part of the Monster, and the Monster starts singing the part of the Hero. They switch costume pieces. It ends with the Hero saying over and over, "Tell me there's another song / Tell me there's another song / Tell me there's another song / Tell me there's another song..." The cycle continues on . In this play, the traits that make one heroic make another monstrous. "It depends on where you're standing / Where you are and where you've been." The play is an ongoing cycle of violence.
There is a song called Grendal, I believe by leslie fish, where it shows the conflict from the Mother’s PoV… and her reasoning for revenge sounds logical, something we would here from any noble man of the time. Unrelated to above, but interesting. ruclips.net/video/PRnKtWsNDBA/видео.htmlsi=fwzAZbxZa6tfMgwr
Sounds interesting. Thanks for the recommendation. If you are a reader, there is another example of Grendel and Beowulf being swapped in role in John Gardner's novel "Grendel".
One of my favourite anime series is Mononoke. Not to be confused with the film Princess Mononoke-which is also excellent and one of my favourites out of Studio Ghibli's catalogue-the 2007 anime Mononoke is about a wandering nameless Medicine Seller (Kusuriuri in Japanese) and his encounters and efforts to slay malevolent spirits called mononoke. Kusuriuri has in his possession a very ornate and very unusual sword that he uses to slay mononoke. However in order to unsheathe the sword, he needs to learn three pieces of information about the mononoke: its katachi, makoto, and kotowari. Depending on the sub, these are roughly translated as Shape/Form, Truth, and Reason/Regret. Technically all three words can be translated as "truth," the distinction just doesn't translate well into English. But what Kusuriuri needs to learn is the shape or form the mononoke has taken (usually a well known yōkai like Bakeneko or Umibōzu); the truth of its reality, or essentially how the mononoke came into being; and the mononoke's motivation, the reason why it exists and why it's doing the things that it is. I remember that besides being blown away by the series' unique and gorgeous art style, I found the method that Kusuriuri used to "slay" the mononoke-learning its name, history, and motivations-very compelling. It's been a while since I rewatched Mononoke, but from what I remember the mononoke in the series were said to result from intense human emotions. Grief, anger, injustice. These emotions fetters them to this world and twists them into becoming these malevolent, and often very homicidal, spirits. Something that's interesting in Mononoke is that the majority of the victims, whose emotions create the mononoke featured in the series, or at least attracts them, are women. And they are women who were put in tragic and/or horrific circumstances. From a brother manipulating his younger sister into being a sacrificial offering in his stead; to a woman who was forced her to marry an abusive man for the sake of her mother's vanity; to a concubine who was kidnapped by a nobleman, imprisoned and sexually abused, and finally beaten to death. Their suffering, their anger and grief at being unable to fight against their situations, created monsters. And it is Kusuriuri's job to listen to their stories, to find the Truth, to acknowledge their pain and regrets, and in doing so put them to rest. I've always thought that was a remarkable, and beautiful, way to handle monster slaying. The monster does need to be stopped, but in order to succeed you must first seek, listen to, and understand its story. You must acknowledge its suffering without judgement. In doing so you restore the humanity and dignity that was taken from it, that it perhaps was never allowed to have. It is empathy that can release a soul from the anger and grief consuming it.
WOW, I've never heard of this, and it sounds amazing! I looked it up and the art style IS beautiful. That plot reminds me of the videogame "Paranormasight - the seven mysteries of Honjo" with the explanation of how spirits came from suffering humans. I can't explain it nearly as well as you have here.
Holy shit you just unlocked a niche memory for me 😂 My ex and I used to try to watch this while zooted and it freaked me out too much and we'd always stop and watch something else 😭
One of my favorite uses of the monster is framing an actual horrible person becoming a monster. While understand the desire to bring beauty to the monster imagery as a misunderstood and oppressed being. It's nice to see actual horrible people becoming monsters. Example: Belos
Agreed. Tim says 'maybe' toward some people just being born monsters. I say that's one privileged life he's lived to not know the answer to that rhetorical question is 'absolutely'. Some people just suck. And ignoring that reality enables the monstrosities to seek new victims and make new monsters. If our problems would truly disappear by the meak holding hands and singing happy songs then we wouldn't be in the situations we are all in today.
I liked when shows like supernatural did the opposite. The redemption of the monster. Or like Crowley, keeping the monster you know. Or the sympathetic monster like the Man in Black from Lost.
Best friends Red and Blue Oni is a great story on the nature of monstrosity. Red wanted to be accepted by people. Being an Oni, they were far too big, strong, and different to be accepted. So, the kind Blue pretended to be a monster, attacked those people, and Red became their hero by defeating Blue. Red would then lose Blue who either runs away or is slain depending on the story. Leaving Red in depression, having gained his dream at the cost of his closest friend.
There's actually a really interesting re-interpretation of this story in Ore Monogatari (My Love Story as its official English title). It's a romantic comedy manga and anime about a gigantic high-schooler named Takeo, who is a kind and well-respected boy, but is dangerously shy around girls and is a bit of a dunce. He's even compared to an oni and particularly the red one from the story, emphasizing his desire to fit in and be friends with others, but his awkward nature and inability to interact with them in some ways. He's helped along by his best friend Suna, who is a parallel to the blue oni, being aloof, kind and willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of his friend despite being otherwise popular and socially capable (with the reveal that he rejected a lot of girls who confessed to him because they talked shit about Takeo behind his back). In a great way though, Ore Monogatari actually updates the red and blue oni story because Takeo manages to unwittingly connect with a kind girl named Yamato through his own actions by being his lovable self instead of any played-up heroism. And instead of losing the blue oni, Takeo realises just how much Suna means to him and shows him how much he appreciates their friendship. It's fun because instead of just rehashing the oni story, it focuses on other aspects of their characters that are usually ignored. For example, the red oni is kind and friendly despite his awkwardness, hence why he wants to be friends with everyone, while the blue oni is aloof and kind of a loner, not bothered by how others perceive him, hence why he's okay with playing a monster to help out red. The story focuses on these aspects and with a healthy dose of the sweetest comedy and character work you can imagine, it makes for a lovely little romance experience. I recommend it if you haven't seen/read it already. Oh also, the original title of the story you mentioned is "The Red Oni Who Cried" since at the end, the red oni cries as he realises he lost his best friend.
"We had given AM sentience. Inadvertently, of course, but sentience nonetheless. But it had been trapped. AM wasn't God, he was a machine. We had created him to think, but there was nothing it could do with that creativity. In rage, in frenzy, the machine had killed the human race, almost all of us, and still it was trapped. AM could not wander, AM could not wonder, AM could not belong. He could merely be. And so, with the innate loathing that all machines had always held for the weak, soft creatures who had built them, he had sought revenge. And in his paranoia, he had decided to reprieve five of us, for a personal, everlasting punishment that would never serve to diminish his hatred... that would merely keep him reminded, amused, proficient at hating man."
I think ableism and dehumanization is most apparent in the changelings of european folklore who were most likely autistic, neurodivergent or otherwise disabled children who were abused, trochered and murdered for being what "they were". There are even studys that seem to suggest that autistic people fall into the uncanny vally more often than non-autistics for various reasons and non-autistic people seem to have more negative first impressions of autistic people. I don't know where to go with this well f it being precived as not neceserly the monster but "the other" is hard and try be nicer to autistic people unless they are objecively an ahole which happens after all we are only people right?
I noticed this in some people around me. Some people are all too eager to dehumanise neurodivergent people. Trust me, I have been on the receiving end too many times.
I cant think right now. i had a full thing i was going to say on how it easier for autistic/neurodivergent people socialize easier on the internet cause it generally a wider range of access combined with socializing being typically more drawn to hobbie interests as you arent restricted with where you go while socializing irl is more general appearances and how you conduct yourself to the other person as A) generally your trying to fit in with a group which are generally diversely different compared to you and B) you dont have a shared interest known from the start. alot of other facts but yeah...that generally what i was going to talk about
i spent my first 18 years trying to be as normal as i could, but no matter how i tried no matter how closely i followed the behaviors of others i never was treated the same as others, i felt so much shame feeling that i was wrong not meant to be and still dont really feel human, finding out im autistic was a huge relief, knowing i wasnt alone that it wasn't just me being inherently bad in some way, but it does say a lot about the countless people who wouldnt even look at me as human, these days im me take or leave it, all my friends are autistic to lmao
Here's a hot take. Given how vital certain behaviors are to a society's survival, and given how difficult it is for normal people to teach these behaviors to neurodivergent people, attempting to accomodate the quirks of every weirdo to the degree you think is necessary to be inclusive would kill people. As much as you might want to believe otherwise, the world is finite. If a society is too inefficient with its resources, it's folly will cascade into starvation and death. Especially back then, but even now too if we become too inefficient. And we are very societally inefficient, its only technology that gives us so much leeway, but technological progress is slowing down.
As someone struggling with depression, I needed this. Thank you. I'm sorry you are dealing with this. I am too. Exactly that. No one should but so many of us do.
One of my favorite takes on the idea of the monster comes from Guillermo del Toro, and how he creates monsters. That there are times when to make Monsters as People, People as Monsters, and Monsters as Monsters. It shows that the line between what we consider a "monster" and a "person" is, in actuality, blurred, that everything that can think, feel and dream are capable of empathy and kindness, but also callousness and harm when push comes to shove. The thing I consider a "True Monster" is something that is fundamentally indifferent to the pain and suffering of others, that it's not driven by any greater motivation other than to harm others. Not because it wants revenge, or it wants to become something else, or that it is in pain due to it's surroundings, or due to mental illness. Simply because it does it, without remorse or regret.
Questions out of curiosity: Does your idea of a "True Monster" gain enjoyment or otherwise fulfillment out of the act of hurting others? Does it actively seek out people and ways to hurt them, or does it simply do it whenever it can? Does it seek to inflict pain in general or the most amount of pain possible? For example, would it stop inflicting pain if the subsequent betrayal brought even more harm? Would it be displeased if it was forced to stop by something or someone else? Would this monster harm itself if it didn't have anyone else to harm, or would it stay in a catatonic state like Jerry from Fiona and Cake? Just very curious, sorry if I bombarded you out of nowhere😅
While elephants can be deliberately violent, there is generally a reason for it. In the wild they have learned that humans are dangerous and have become more aggressive over time. In captivity they are subject to conditions ranging from AZA accredited zoos to open abuse, and even the best of circumstances tends to result in zoochosis eventually. Elephants, among others, do extremely poorly in captivity. Topsy did nothing to deserve death. All other creatures deserve the respect and care we put upon humans(when we care about each other). All creatures eventually lash out when put upon like this. And humans react the same way with all of them: kill it, before it does it again, instead of thinking about the cause of the violence and working to prevent it originally and from repeating. Topsy's story makes me cry. She is a symptom of a greater issue that i keep screaming about. Nobody listens because they love the way the justice system hurts people for some reason.
I think that cruelty comes from some level of Projection. Which is unsurprisingly true with politicians encouraging policies that demonize and encourage targeting marginalized communities.
@@poenpotzu2865 there's also a borderline pandemic of people using their traumatic experiences to excuse not desiring to harm their abusers, that's a normal feeling, I feel it, but believing the harm should actually take place. And I don't know how to convince them that more violence doesnt make anybody do or feel better. We even have statistics on the death penalty, it rarely if ever makes the victim or family of the victim feel better because trauma isn't remotely fixed by murder. Nobody believes people who do horrible things can or could ever want to change though. I'm simplifying a lot because yt comments but yeah just. Cruelty begets cruelty hurt people hurt people and the world keeps getting bloodier.
I think that the result is surprisingly simple: sadism is fun. It's a truth most people don't like to look at, don't like to accept, but look at broader culture. How many narratives (books, movies, etc) feature fight scenes? How many video games feature violence as a core element of gameplay, sometimes the *only* gameplay? I think there is something within us as animals on this planet that calls toward violence, towards barbarity and savagery. I don't necessarily think that impulse in and of itself is "bad" either. It surely served us well when we lived in caves, when we had to hunt to eat, kill to preserve our own lives. Its my view that theres no harm in finding outlets, so long as those outlets are couched safely in a thick layer of fantasy, to prevent them from causing harm in the real world. I think the problem comes from the fact that people do not recognize that impulse within themselves. They turn away from it, even as they seek to fulfill it. And so, they seek "righteous violence." They look for reasons to demonize, excuses to turn off one's own empathy towards another. After all, if they aren't a person... who are you *really* hurting? In short, people reject the monster within themselves. They seek ways to sate that desire, while fooling themselves into believing that they are heroes for it.
I never understand how anyone can hurt an animal the way they hurt Topsy. All animals are beautiful and innocent, but especially elephants. They deserve freedom and respect, not captivity and pain. I hope one day we can find a way for all humans to respect the beautiful creatures we share our planet with. All we can do for now is share the knowledge we know about animal abuse and hope that by sharing that we encourage others to stop being cruel to animals.
For your section on the Uncanny Valley I am reminded of the video game Until Dawn. At one point your companion is bitten by the monster and another companion says that they think she’ll turn into one if you don’t execute her now. At this point in the game you have no reason to think the monster is contagious but do you risk being killed later if you are wrong? In the end you find out a bite doesn’t make you turn into one of them, which is a big gut punch if you took preventative action earlier.
"What if I'm the monster? What if I'm in the wrong? What if I'm the problem that's been hiding all along? What if I'm the one who killed you Every time I caved to guilt? What if I've been far too kind to foes But a monster to ourselves? What if I'm the monster? Is the cyclops struck with guilt when he kills? Is he up in the middle of the night? Or does he end my men to avenge his friend And then sleep knowing he has done him right? When the witch turns men to pigs to protect her nymphs is she going insane? Or did she learn to be colder when she got older and now she saves them the pain? When a god comes down and makes a fleet drown Is he scared that he's doing something wrong? Or does he keep us in check so we must respect him And now no one dares to piss him off? Does a soldier use a wooden horse to kill sleeping Trojans 'cause he is vile? Or does he throw away his remorse and save more lives with guile? If I became the monster, and threw that guilt away Would that make us stronger? Would it keep our foes at bay? If I became the monster to everyone but us And made sure we got home again Who would care if we're unjust? If I became the monster"
Don’t forget to credit :) These are lyrics from the very excellent Odyssey themed musical ‘Epic’ by Jorge Rivera-Herrans. The balance between mercy and monstrousness is one of the key themes.
@@andrewsannar5328 Isn't it! The tragedy of it is so interesting, that whichever way he chooses in the moment - mercy or monster - someone ends up getting hurt or killed, suggesting that there's so way he can truly win whatever he decides.
From my reading and watching a lot of things that had monsters in it, I lost count of how many times my reaction was "That's not a monster" and became aware of scapegoats, projections, and mental health issues, etc. I'm not perfect but I do my best to show empathy. Thank you for this video 😊
Tim? I think that you deserve all of this because it's the fruits of your labour because how hard you worked to get here because your hard work matters!! Own your hard work because this was mostly you!! 😊😊❤❤ I appreciate you, mate!! 💕🤗
Gosh, the way your writing is so evocative, its incredible. The final reference to Alan Wake at the end there made me tear up. You're right, im not a lake, I'm an ocean... thank you
Just had to jump over from Nebula to click Like. As hellish as this social media platform may be at times, I am profoundly awed and grateful it exists, because so many amazing voices would never have reached me otherwise.
When you speak of Topsy's execution around 27:54 , you give the mob too much credit IMHO. This was 1900 and something. The activities available to the common person were limited. Even the City folk were constrained by what was out there to do and what they could afford. If you ever read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, you'll see that going to buy a 'sheenie' pickle was an event for the children of the neighborhood. Their parents had their jobs and struggles and very little else besides church and politics (yes, politics were hotly followed and more like a sport / fandom, where people would follow their favorite stars and argue canon). The circus coming to town was a massive event. Everyone went to see the circus. So it goes to that everyone would go to see the event of killing a dangerous animal. Same as they would in earlier years make a picnic of the hanging of any notorious murder. In sum, they weren't projecting inner internal darkness; not casting out evil spirits; not even indulging in cathartic primal violence. They were bored.
Damn, this hits hard. Mental illness and disorders make you feel so defective and unlovable and it just really hurts sometimes. You worded it beautifully. This video also really invokes the vibe of Monster from Epic the musical, especially these lyrics: Is the cyclops struck with guilt when he kills? Is he up in the middle of the night? Or does he end my men to avenge his friend And then sleep knowing he has done him right? When the witch turns men to pigs to protect her nymphs is she going insane? Or did she learn to be colder when she got older and now she saves them the pain? When a god comes down and makes a fleet drown Is he scared that he's doing something wrong? Or does he keep us in check so we must respect him And now no one dares to piss him off? Does a soldier use a wooden horse to kill sleeping Trojans 'cause he is vile? Or does he throw away his remorse and save more lives with guile?
I love how "Legendary" gives us Telamacus, wondering where his father has been, singing "If I fight those monsters, is it you I'll find?" On the surface it's about him wanting to be a hero and face monsters like his father has and maybe even bring him home, but we as the audience see the other implication, that Odysseus has become one of the monsters, something Odysseus himself has resolved himself to be.
The thing with Shinji Ikari is that had he known his father well enough he could have easily rejected the latter’s invitation from the beginning and been way better off that way knowing how Gendo only ever really cared more about his passed wife than their son anyway. In that story humanity truly is the monster only after short term resources even if there were specks of light in some individuals. Sure, rejecting the invitation might have meant the end of humanity but wasn’t humanity headed towards that direction anyway knowing how everyone was treating each other? In the continuity of at least the old tv-show and End Of Evangelion movie Shinji was wasting his whole time expecting any healthy compassion from the people whom he ended up working for. So his apathy is completely understandable, even relatable.
What a beautiful and heartbreaking way to put something that can feel like such an abstract concept into something relatable. I found it so touching, thank you for making this!
This brought to mind so much of what yes, for every single monster in games like NieR and Automata, you get to explore deeper and understand them. It's emphasizing on how you as the main character are also their monster, a relentless hunter who can't or won't listen to them (like Kainé), and yet are driven by such human impulses. Then you recognize that it was needed to have a higher drive to let you observe and maybe stop. And the analysis of Evangelion where kids were turned to soldiers to fight a losing war and were only useful, doing whatever it took for survival. Also, having Treasured Times be the outro just hits harder, well played.
It brings to mind a meme image of the game Warframe, where you control a bunch of cybernetic ninja supersoldiers in space. The meme shows how the fandom, the creators and the enemies see a particular playable character, with the first two being cute or hot while the last one being as a nightmarish murdermonster that hunts them down without remorse. Because to be fair, while the enemies are mostly evil, the playable characters are pretty scary in terms of their power and relentlessness.
@@darklord884 Warframes are basically the manifestation of mook horror as a trope. And then, you play The Sacrifice and see what happens when you find a broken thing and take its pain away.
@@alexanderberkel86 Even before that, the Second Dream already transforms a major part of who and what the Tenno are. While they are still horrifying menaces to the Grineer, the Corpus and any other enemies of the Origin system's people, they become so much more and less than the warrior gods they were originally showcased as being.
In his description of the uncanny valley, of the monster being so close to human but still off made me reflect on my life as a person with autism. Reminded me of times as a kid not understanding, as a teenager trying his hardest to mask and blend in, as a young adult finally putting the pieces together and recontextualizing old memories. There have been studies that show that those with autism can give allistics the feeling of the uncanny valley. I don't know, it just hit close to home
I watched this on Nebula when it came out and was waiting for the notification to come here just to say this was fantastic! As a woman/mother/person with mental health troubles I have struggled with feelings of otherness/wrongness and the worries that my child who views me in a way unaffected by the world at large now will see me differently, maybe badly, as he learns about the world from others. Your ending made me cry, but also feel some optimism in being seen. Thank you!
This reminds me of the story of Vayne, a character from League of Legends - someone who, due to her hatred of monsters, became one herself. Her parents were killed by a demon, and she was raised to believe that magic was evil. Driven by her parents' deaths, she searched out a mentor to find and take revenge on the demon. In her journeys, she was attacked by a monster and saved by a woman named Frey. After a great deal of pleading, Frey agreed to mentor Vayne. Frey had a great deal of knowledge of dark magic, and was an excellent mentor. Eventually, they managed to track down the demon that Vayne suspected had killed her parents, but they were ambushed by some of the demon's lackeys. With Vayne and Frey about to die, Frey used magic to shapeshift into a wolf, and barely defeats the lackeys. With the threat gone, Frey explained how she had learned dark magic to avenge her own family. "Vayne put an arrow arrow through Frey's heart without allowing her another syllable. Whatever affection she had felt for Frey evaporated upon discovering her true nature. A tear formed in Frey's eye as she collapsed, but Vayne didn't notice - whatever warmth the two had shared died with Frey. There were still hours left before dawn, which meant hours left to continue the hunt. Vayne thought only of the demon. The kill that would be hers to savor. And all the kills to come. The underworld would come to fear her, just as she had once feared them. For the first time since her parents' death, Vayne smiled."
Thank you for the bravery of including your personal struggle in this topic. Your videos never fail to make me think, and to dig deeper into the rationale behind a topic that seems innocuous on the surface. The world is definitely a better place for you and sharing your insight.
I always thought it was funny how Godzilla represents nuclear destruction and then the American movies are like, "yeah, but we need Godzilla, you see."
OH GEE I WONDER WHAT THAT SAYS ABOUT AMERICA'S FUCKED-UP CULTURAL FETISH FOR STATE VIOLENCE AND EMBRACE OF EVERY NONSENSE IDEA ONE HAS TO BELIEVE TO SHOVEL ENOUGH BULLSHIT DOWN THE SCREAMING MAWS OF SENSE AND SUSTAINABILITY TO SILENCE THEM IN ORDER TO JUSTIFY HAVING A NUCLEAR ARSENAL AT ALL!!! ""But what if they nuke us first? Are we just going to let that happen?" You already have, by definition. Nuking them back doesn't bring back everyone and everything vaporized and/or irradiated in the blast. It's a nuke, not a philosopher's stone from FMA:B. "But it's the only thing keeping them from nuking us" The exact logic behind the first argument is why that doesn't work. It's a hammer in your hand to which the other guys are a nail, and now they feel the need to stop you from nuking them, so they get their own IRL ban hammer penis weapon, which they promptly whack in the nail that just nuked them to scare them down. "But the threat of total annihilation if we escalate makes us less likely to do conventional war. Don't you remember how it totally stopped the Cold War from going hot?" Yes, I remember Korea, Vietnam, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, and WOW, Wikipedia has a lot of wars listed in the Cold War template.
I'm sure different people have different interpretations of "Monster Girls Don't Cry," largely informed by their own experiences. For me, an autistic person, I can't help seeing all the ways they tried to "fix" me.
I love the video and agree with a lot of the interpretations and points herein, but I feel it focuses perhaps a little too much on the "created monster". You certainly bring up valid points, but I feel there are other ways other types of monsters can show us what we are like when we interact with them, where we don't have to create or mislabel them. The dwarves who dug too deep in Moria, Ripley deciding to take a stand against the xenomorph, Isaac Clarke desperately trying to uncover what the humans did to become hideous necromorphs, the little girl making friends with the haunted animatronics in the FNAF movie, The Penitent One willingly setting out against horrifying manmade monsters of penance to complete his quest, I feel all of these tell us even more different messages about hope, ambition, kindness, determination, sense of justice and other positive qualities that encounters with a monster can evoke.
This was such a great description of mental illness, and it really resonated with mine, OCD. My mind obsesses about all kinds of thoughts. It worries that some day, my worst fears will come true. The more I resist those thoughts, the more I reinforce the perceived threat of them. The only way to combat it is to confront those fears directly and prove that they have no power. I went into my treatment afraid of the monster I might be and left with an understanding of the man that I am.
I've been struggling with clinical depression for all of my adult life, and that ending monologue made my heart ache in recognition. Beautifully written.
I know there's not much comfort I can offer through a RUclips comment, but I hope you know how meaningful your work and art is to those of us who have been following your journey from the start. And even to those who are new here, I'm sure. I also know depression has been an ongoing battle for you, so I wanted to offer some thoughts. The way you weave stories is poetic and insightful, the kind of true talent that deserves to be propped up. It's why I've been a patron for years and share your videos with the people I know and buy your books as gifts for the readers in my life. I don't mean to sound like a fangirl, that's not it. It's just so rare these days to have followed someone for nearly a decade without any controversies or horrible secrets come to light. And then for that person to also show growth? Rare indeed. I believe you are a truly good person, and a truly amazing artist. All of the changes you've been through in the past year would be scary for anyone, let alone someone in the public eye. Give yourself grace, lean on Laura, snuggle your fur babies, and remember that there are people like me all over the world cheering "go on Tim! Achieve your dreams!"
great video (one i will probably return to talk about sweet home some more) there is a book I found from a poetry collection thingy on tumblr about Sweet Home (korean show about the monster apocalypse which was really good) and it included a quote from a book called 'on earth we are briefly gorgeous' by ccean vuong and the quote was early on page 13 and it is simply “What I really wanted to say was that a monster is not such a terrible thing to be. From the Latin root monstrum, a divine messenger of catastrophe, then adapted by the Old French to mean an animal of myriad origins: centaur, griffin, satyr. To be a monster is to be a hybrid signal, a lighthouse: both shelter and warning at once."
“Since childhood, I’ve been faithful to monsters. I have been saved and absolved by them, because monsters, I believe, are patron saints of our blissful imperfection, and they allow and embody the possibility of failing." - Guillermo Del Toro I clicked on this video as someone who adores monsters for so many reasons, and i am so glad i did.
23:48 the sentence "Many monsters arent made literally, they are created in an interely different way..." straight into an ad for condoms was peak unintentional comedy 😂
Tim, this video met me when I needed it, though I didn’t realize it at the time. I am Autistic, and often ‘treatment’ of Autism has historically never been for the benefit of the Autistic person, but to make us more amenable to the neurotypical people around us. People do see something monstrous about us when we’re unable to keep up the mask that society requires of us in order to function within it. I know that meltdowns are part of my life and yet I feel ashamed when they happen. The part about the real psychiatric asylums and abuse really got to me because there is one in my hometown that is now an upper class shopping destination. I shudder to think what would have happened to me if I had been born decades ago and forcibly committed there. I don’t know what else to say except to thank you for helping me think about my disability in a different context and what I can do to challenge the preconceptions that people have.
as a trans person I was always lead to think that I was a monster for being that way even when I wasn't aware of what was "wrong" with me. When I discovered it, "monster" was the thing I called myself most often, even now, 10 years after that, and despite having the support of amazing people who helped me all the way and I still sometimes relapse in my darkest moments and start calling myself that again. This video was really hard for me, gotta admit but I still thank you for making it because just knowing that there are people out there who are not thinking that way really helps.
This was a really great video about monsters, human nature, and mental health. Loved hearing all the stories and genuinely made me confront my emotions head on. Such an interesting topic
This is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. It’s certainly the best cosmic horror I’ve read that is not Lovecraft and King and in many ways is better. I think this book deserves more praise, it’s a brilliant blend of horror and literary fiction that just worked so well with me.
Hi!! First of all, WOW!!!! This was breathtaking. I was in an abusive relationship from 2015-2019 and this video has not only recontextualized my feelings about that but also I am researching and developing a play set in 1600s Poland loosely working through my relationship with my grandfather and his wife after my grandfather passed away last month (where the ultimate goal was empathy). I was struggling to come up with a reason why in that time family would be so cruel with each other, but then your segment about mental health popped up. I have struggled with mental health basically my whole life. It is also pretty prevalent on that side of my family. I think I might have figured out a key touchpoint in my story moving forward and the way it ties into a key point in your video that Empathy is Hard. Thanks for this beautiful video. I will be revisiting it often!
This reminds me of the struggle Frodo has with bearing The One Ring, and what it did to Sméagol. Sauron’s will is bound to the Ring, and it's the Ring that corrupts the ring bearers, constantly whispering its lies to the one unfortunate to find it, much like the lies of the world turn people into monsters. In a way, Frodo is on a journey to destroy this lie and end its corrupting influence on the world. But he needs the help of the fellowship along the way, And Samwise following him to Mordor is in a way represents a friend who won’t give up on you, who sees your burden and says "I Can't Carry It for You... but I Can Carry You." a friend who lifts you when your down, who’s there to pick you up when you fall. I’ll end with this excerpt from LotR RotK: "There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tower high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end, the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach."~ J. R. R. Tolkien.
I really resonated with that bit where you talked about your mental health and the feeling of unworthiness. I would suggest reading The Happiness Trap. I personally found the writing very helpful, the important part is shifting your mindset from being focused on goals to being focused on your values. Goals are unreachable- in the sense you will endlessly replace them with new, harder to reach goals. If you don't have something to strive for you aren't doing anything. The mentality the book tries to promote suggests that you instead focus on what you find fulfilling, and work towards personal fulfillment in a more manageable fashion.
Hey Tim. Not sure if you'll ever see this comment, but I just want to say I'm happy to see you still making content. I watched you years ago as a teen when you used to make HTTYD content. I thought about you today and came back to see if your channel was still doing well. When I used to watch you, your content gave me something I could relate to, and it kept me entertained and distracted through an otherwise difficult period of my life. I'm glad to see you're still making content about something you're passionate about, and I wish you well in whatever is in store for you in your RUclips future. All Hail Mishka
What an amazing video, not only did I learn about writing, history, and new perspectives; but it truly and deeply touched me understanding myself better. It touched on a subject I was learning about, abnormal psychology, in college. Your videos are truly grand, I value your work and you as a person. Keep up the good work; I look forward to more, thank you!
Please read or watch Naoki Urasawa's "MONSTER," if you haven't already. It covers a lot of this and I would love to hear your thoughts on it, considering not many people have even seen it let alone read it.
Thank you for bringing attention to Yoko Taro’s works / the Nier series!! I could yap all day about those games but I genuinely feel his games made me more mindful of those around me and changed the trajectory of my life lol
30:27 this one resonates so vividly, the horror of having physical individualities removed without consent is awful. It reminds me of doctors who would cut off tails or extra fingers of children without even consulting the parents. Imagine what was lost there.
Excellent video essay! Also, I had an S-tier transition to a pokemon go ad at 23:50 when you said "some monsters are made in an entirely more insidious way." I had no problem believing you were about to start talking about Pokemon 😆
I don’t cry much anymore. I used to cry easily when I was younger, at sad movies, at happy endings, whenever I just really needed a good cry. Lately, I’ve only been thinking about how difficult it is to feel like a person. Walking, talking, eating, breathing. I feel like I spend most of my time laying in bed, thinking about all the things I wish I was doing. I am difficult to deal with it and often feel like a masquerade of a person. I sobbed as this video reached its conclusion. This essay was beautiful and fascinating and spoke to me in a way I don’t know how to deal with or describe right now, but maybe my second or third or eleventh rewatch will provide. Thank you for this, so sincerely.
41:48, I was listening while sorting magic cards and was caught off guard hearing Joe Scott’s voice. I would recognize his voice anywhere. Was not expecting my science RUclipsr/ writing RUclipsr crossover lol.
I love that you used the phrase "wash your hands of them" because we tend to forget where that comes from. One person's monster might be another's messiah.
What a beautiful narrative that truly helps break down and conceptualize something that everyone is familiar with but few truly understand. Possibly my favorite quote of the recent days has got to be "Empathy is hard. It's even harder for to have it for yourself."
I have to comment this cus it's fucking insane. I applied to the researcher and writer position that you posted you were looking for help for. At the end of the application you asked to pitch a video idea and I spoke about the use of fantasy representing reality. I used the example of monsters representing human issues with media. It is insane that I sent in that application yesterday and then today the idea I pitched is at least partially being discussed. Bonkers
Fantastic video Tim. Loved it. So glad you are out here making fascinating content that is so useful for navigating both the world and writing!! Thank you
Thank you for this I always love stories about a sympathetic monster or one that can be accepted or healed because I've been called a monster, freak, other, by those who said they loved me, by people who hated me, and by myself. It's hard to combat and to put into words so I just really connected with this video and how you explained things
Ahhhhh. This was such an eye opening video to watch, gave so many names to things i was struggling to understand and she’d light on so many things. I know now not to fear the monster but the thing that created it
The end of the video nearly brought me to tears. Very well expressed, really put some things into words and perspective for me. I hope you continue seeing the human in you more than the monster. But in the end, both are you and both deserve care.
This video made me cry so hard. Thank you. The spiral of mental health issues for a disabled "monster" like me springs, and coils and roils, sometimes dangerously. This video is beautiful an steeped in empathy. Thank you again.
Thank you for caring. I found your channel because of your writing advic,e and LOTR, and HTTYD, but I appreciate so much that you care about things and make videos about things like this.
Which MONSTER has stayed with you the longest? Let me know below while you check out THE SOJOURN on Nebula go.nebula.tv/hellofutureme (or Dracula's Ex Girlfriend!)
You're the Best! Love your content ❤❤❤❤
nero from Nero (The Trials of Apollo) I got Goosebumps every time I read those books
Dettlaff from The Witcher 3; Blood & Wine
I'm gonna go with the obvious (but truthful) answer: Frankenstein's wretch.
you are aware that Stephen King doesn't care about AI, right?
rip to that monster girl I heard she had an eight-pack -R
Hey look, it's Red OverlySarcasticProductions, protagonist of the hit franchise OverlySarcasticProductions!
Famous for her catch phrase, "It's OverlySarcasticProductioning Time!" just before she OverlySarcasticProductions all over the place.
Hi red
@@thejohnhopkinscompany9599
Um, ackshually, her catch phrase is “Um, yeah…”
Your channel has made me a better writer and person! The Trope series is amazing.
@@GnarledStaff You fool! It's actually "So... yeah."
I know this is a serious topic but, “for complicated lore reasons he gains the ability to kill all of humanity” is the most anime sentence I have ever heard
_Eren Jaeger has entered the chat_
"...But beware the monster in window, for it might just be a mirror."
Tim writing fire once again 🖊🔥
~He was quoting something said years ago~
No hate, just clarifying < 3
@@cmonslowpokeYeah, I’m pretty sure it’s a quote by Rod Serling from the Twilight Zone. But you are right, @Selverna it does go pretty hard.
Absolute bars I swear.
A fancy way to say “You might be projecting” 😮
Just reminded me of this "I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men. This I have known ever since I stretched out my fingers to the abomination within that great gilded frame; stretched out my fingers and touched a cold and unyielding surface of polished glass.
"I was not born, I was created, and my creators have abused and betrayed me, so I stand alone!" - Mewtwo, Pokémon: The First Movie
As one treated as a monster throughout my early childhood, that line and story stuck with me, even long after it lost its relevance and even after the almost inaccessible franchise jumped its 50th shark.
Read Frankenstein so you don't have to invoke pokemon for life changing prose lol.
@@josephmatthews7698 ...No, actually.
Because your sentence suggests the idea that a video game franchise built for entertainment has nothing of value to say, to teach, to inspire, and that is both patently untrue and demonstrably false. COctagons, _in this very comment chain_ I'm continuing, proved that a childhood memory from a movie character could strike a chord with his personal experience, just as much as Frankenstein can for others. _That_ should matter a hell of a lot more than where it comes from, especially because the point summarized in that comment was brilliant.
Life-changing prose comes from our experiences. If COctagons' was with Mewtwo - a character who was quite frankly designed to be inherently philosophical in his movie - then it's Mewtwo. COctagons shouldn't have to change the example because the value you assign to it differs.
Awesome quote
That did NOT have to go so hard for a kids game. Tbh, I think the fact that its origins are that of a kid's game elevates everything about it because it took a silly little game, with cute monsters, and animation( a medium often associated with kids entertainment) and elevates it with some absurdly poignant philosophy on par with some of the most cerebral adult oriented films.
@@josephmatthews7698 found the school nerd
"Believe me, Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity: but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow-creatures, who owe me nothing? they spurn and hate me. The desert mountains and dreary glaciers are my refuge. I have wandered here many days; the caves of ice, which I only do not fear, are a dwelling to me, and the only one which man does not grudge. These bleak skies I hail, for they are kinder to me than your fellow-beings. If the multitude of mankind knew of my existence, they would do as you do, and arm themselves for my destruction. Shall I not then hate them who abhor me? I will keep no terms with my enemies. I am miserable, and they shall share my wretchedness."
Shelly has her quirks, yet she never spat anything but fire.
Frankenstein's monster is such an interesting and tragic figure, and it annoys me to no end that Hollywood turned him into a dumb brute, stripping out all of the nuance of the original novel.
@@maddie9602
Hollywood don't like stories where Golems have sentience. Makes them nervous
@@maddie9602 Because the West itself HATES the hard truth that people born physically ugly are ostracized, ridiculed, and attacked by our "civilized" society for simply existing.
53:38 is gold
"While real healing is long and inconsistent because understanding is hard and empathy is complicated."
I think you'd really love Slay the Princess. It's a fully voice acted branching visual novel, pretty short, but it's got themes similar to this and other stuff you've made in the past. It's more of a love story, but it's about perspective and change. I'd love if you did a video like this on that or more story games in general!
Slay the princess was really damn good. it really delved into the concept of love and what type of loves we can presently show and how the other person is warped cause of that. the pain, the compass. everything around it is beautiful.
One thing i especially love is that for the ending, her voice/demenior is determined by your first action towards her. if you killed her she has a more distant/monotone voice. showing that your initial interaction have left you both more weary but yet can still show compassion and trust.
If you didnt kill her first time, she has a softer/sweeter voice. sharing more compassion and emotion, showing that you both initally show intensity in your starting interactions.
and if you take the third action where you dont enter the cabin and get the glob princess, she also become that glop and all her voices being that part of her, showing maybe that you both have an understanding of each other on another level at first.
YES! and bonus points for Jonathan Sims, head archivist of the Magnus Institute, London ;)
And it's coming to the Switch this month!!! I'm counting down the days!!
It's short?? My outside impression was that it was really long with lots of layers
@@ZarHakkar it's both. You can finish it in 10 minutes for the fastest ending, or about 4 hours normally. But really there's so much variation you could play it at least 3 times and still see completely new stuff nearly every chapter. With the huge final update today, probably a bit more than that.
As Geralt of Rivia says of his silver and steel swords,
Both are for monsters.
that goes so hard 🔥🔥🔥
@kaikalter It's a punchy quote to be sure, but I can't help but feel that you've entirely missed the point of the video. Y'know, about _not_ writing off other people as monsters...?
@@Braxmegaman the soldier bragging about raping a child in the first stages of Witcher 3? Yeah, that’s a monster. That’s more a monster than the griffin or the necrophages.
Half the narrative point of Witcher 3 is that people often ARE more monstrous.
@VisonsofFalseTruths And I hope you had fun carving up the made-up man in the fictional video game. I'm being serious -- I've no doubt he was written to be as perfectly hateable as possible, so that he made such a strong impression on you means that the writers did their job well.
The point I was _trying_ to make is that I find it extremely weird that the quote is presented as though it's agreeing with the central thesis of the video, when it's in sidelong opposition at the _very_ best.
Ah I see what you mean. I used the Witcher thing as an example because it seemed topical at the moment. But even in the real world, my point stands. Those soldiers were written as real people, not just villainous caricatures, and that exact scenario has almost certainly played out in some warzone somewhere. The only real difference is in the real world they get to go home to their wife and kids and forget the child whose life they ruined because there isn’t a supernaturally strong demi-hero to fillet them like salmon.
Some people really ARE monsters. The man who rapes children and drowns them to hide the evidence is a monster. The woman who fosters children to get money from the state only to sell them as child prostitutes is a monster. The man who buys kittens to put in a blender just to upset strangers on the internet is a monster. These are all REAL people, who actually existed. We make fictional monsters to distract ourselves from the REAL ones, because it’s easier to imagine a monster as being some 10-foot slathering lizard thing than to imagine it as the man who you have coffee with every morning but secretly is molesting his 7-year old stepdaughter. It’s more comfortable to think of a monsters as a sentient starfish from deep space than as the nice woman working the checkout line who captures stray cats to skin them alive.
Some people ARE monsters. Few things in life are that simple, but this is one of them. The difference between real monsters and the lizard creature, is real monsters CHOOSE to be monstrous, not because they don’t think their actions ARE monstrous, but because they don’t think they’ll be caught.
That’s of course not to say everyone who does a bad thing is a monster. The guy who accidentally kills someone with his car? Not a monster. The robber who panics during a robbery and guns down a clerk? Not a monster. The elephant who kills a keeper who tortured it for years? Not a monster. Monstrousness requires both action and intent. Some people happen to have both, and it makes them more than qualify.
Steel is for humans. Silver is for things other than humans. Both are for monsters.
One thing most people miss about Lovecraft, and cosmic horror in general, is that the true focus of the stories is never the monsters, the unspeakable horrors, themselves. Instead, it is the implications that the very existence of such means within a universe supposedly governed by the universal laws of science. This is one reason that most of Lovecraft's many imitators fail. It's easy to imagine a hideous monster, but so much harder to dwell on the meaning of said monster.
His stories also focus on the humans, whose curiosity and ambition, whose foolishness and abandon either leads them into contact with or outright awakens the otherwise aloof eldritch beings. While his monsters are not creations of humanity per se, they are still accessed and viewed through the lens of human interaction. They are treasures to be hunted down, enemies to be fought, artifacts to be stolen, primitive indigenous creatures to be tamed, demons to bargain with or pure physical effects to study, understand and then harness.
Until they decide "No..." that this is their world, this is their power, they hold all the cards, and you are most certainly not welcome.
I'll give HP Lovecraft authenticity. He's a bit purple but he was genuinely terrified of the world around him to an extreme xenophobic degree, but the fact that those terrible thoughts manifested as some fun stories and ideas is at least better than many alternatives.
@@geordiejones5618I find Lovecraft fascinating. Like you say he was so afraid of the world he was excessively xenophobic but made captivating work from that.
I feel like people would like to neatly put him in a box of bad person with bad art who is just bad.
His beliefs are utterly intolerable, but I think it's bad faith and cruel to distill him down to only that. He clearly had some mental health issues that allowed him to tap into a universal feeling of fear of the unknown in a very genuine way.
I think part if the simplification is that people are scared of relating to someone they don't like. We also struggle with the idea that just because you sympathize with someone, you don't have to like them and sympathy shouldn't be a basis for liking someone.
@@dismurrart6648
"It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things."
Terry Pratchett, Jingo
I've always described Lovecraftian horror as "The eventual certainty that humanity will unearth something that takes umbrage at our intrusion". That we, in trying to understand the world around us, shall peal back the curtain to a reality in which we have no place, no meaning.
"Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall, too strong, too heavy, and they are not evil by choice. That is their tragedy."
-Ichiro Honda
I'm so glad I stumbled upon this video, because it was perfect timing. I write fanfics, and currently I'm writing a fic about eight famous godzilla and ultraman kaiju who have all suffered at humanity's hands, and now they are ready to take their vengeance. One of my favorite tropes is when a benevolent and kind creature is forced to become a monster to fight back. You can't blame them, their hand was forced, and now we have todeal with the consequences.
Was actually about to post this quote.
The man knew how to right a monster.
"Topsy wasn't a monstrous criminal, she was a victim lashing out at her abuser." This is also a great description of the Gypsy Rose situation.
Reminds me of a tweet I saw some time ago:
Intelligence is knowing that Frankenstein is not the monster.
Wisdom is understanding that Frankenstein *is* the monster.
Are you referring to the doctor as one Frankenstein or are you referring to how many things can be true at once from different perspectives?
Wouldn't knowing Frankenstein isn't the monster be knowledge, not intelligence?
@emdove ya that's the original quote I looked it up after my comment lol
You messed up the wording, it's more like:
"Intelligence is knowing Frankenstein is the name of the doctor, not the monster; wisdom is knowing Frankenstein is the true monster."
@@emdoveIt's in reference to stats in D&D, where intelligence refers to knowledge and reasoning ability while wisdom refers to intuition and perception.
An interesting exploration of the monster that I saw recently was in The Ninth Hour: The Beowulf Story. The central characters of the musical are only called "The Hero," "The Monster," and "The Mother" in the playbill.
The show's first song starts with a coin toss meant to determine which actor plays the Hero and which actor plays the Monster.
The Monster is a powerful and commanding presence. The ensemble will swarm him and the Mother in various scenes to act as extensions of themselves, showing in vague shapes their imposing forms. He's jaded and hungry, and he kills a lot of people. And he's very aware of how the world sees him. He hates it but finds ways to revel in it. "I would rather be a monster than a fool." He says that everyone is guilty of something, including himself, including the Hero, including the audience.
The Hero is a powerful and commanding presence. The ensemble swarms her when she arrives. She's prideful but willing to do what the king asks of her and slay the Monster. And she's very aware of how the world sees her. She loved it but cannot keep the appearance forever.
Their one confrontation is where she slays him. It's performed as a love ballad. It ends with her taking off his arm, repeating his line of "We're all guilty of something."
The Monster has one final song in front of his Mother. He expresses true remorse for how he lived his life, how he thought he would always be the enemy. He fought so hard for so long and was awful, and all for what? He could've been something much different. "There's beauty and there empathy / Some people might have cared for me / Mother, I've grown tired of this / Mother, I've grown tired of this." His last word is "Sorry," as he dies.
The Hero revels in her defeat of the Monster until the unexpected appearance of the Mother. There's another order for the Hero to go and slay her, which she does. Although, during this song, she spends most of the time reflecting. "A predator in the dark, a beast without a heart / The same as me, the same as me."
In the end, the Hero returns and is welcomed, but the ensemble is haunting. "The warrior returns, the warrior returns / With blood on her hands, blood on her hands." The final song includes the melodies of many of the previous songs, repeating again that the Hero will never die. The Monster returns to the stage, and the Hero sings to him, "We've sung this song a thousand times before / And I'll be made to sing it more / I've grown tired of this / I've grown tired of this."
A coin is flipped. The Hero continues to sing the part of the Monster, and the Monster starts singing the part of the Hero. They switch costume pieces. It ends with the Hero saying over and over, "Tell me there's another song / Tell me there's another song / Tell me there's another song / Tell me there's another song..." The cycle continues on . In this play, the traits that make one heroic make another monstrous. "It depends on where you're standing / Where you are and where you've been." The play is an ongoing cycle of violence.
This sounds rad, I'll have to check it out
@@SuddenlyUpsidedown It's really good! If you look it up on RUclips, the Met released an official recording of the entire show a while back
Well that's extremely fucking baller
There is a song called Grendal, I believe by leslie fish, where it shows the conflict from the Mother’s PoV… and her reasoning for revenge sounds logical, something we would here from any noble man of the time.
Unrelated to above, but interesting.
ruclips.net/video/PRnKtWsNDBA/видео.htmlsi=fwzAZbxZa6tfMgwr
Sounds interesting. Thanks for the recommendation. If you are a reader, there is another example of Grendel and Beowulf being swapped in role in John Gardner's novel "Grendel".
One of my favourite anime series is Mononoke. Not to be confused with the film Princess Mononoke-which is also excellent and one of my favourites out of Studio Ghibli's catalogue-the 2007 anime Mononoke is about a wandering nameless Medicine Seller (Kusuriuri in Japanese) and his encounters and efforts to slay malevolent spirits called mononoke.
Kusuriuri has in his possession a very ornate and very unusual sword that he uses to slay mononoke. However in order to unsheathe the sword, he needs to learn three pieces of information about the mononoke: its katachi, makoto, and kotowari. Depending on the sub, these are roughly translated as Shape/Form, Truth, and Reason/Regret. Technically all three words can be translated as "truth," the distinction just doesn't translate well into English. But what Kusuriuri needs to learn is the shape or form the mononoke has taken (usually a well known yōkai like Bakeneko or Umibōzu); the truth of its reality, or essentially how the mononoke came into being; and the mononoke's motivation, the reason why it exists and why it's doing the things that it is.
I remember that besides being blown away by the series' unique and gorgeous art style, I found the method that Kusuriuri used to "slay" the mononoke-learning its name, history, and motivations-very compelling. It's been a while since I rewatched Mononoke, but from what I remember the mononoke in the series were said to result from intense human emotions. Grief, anger, injustice. These emotions fetters them to this world and twists them into becoming these malevolent, and often very homicidal, spirits.
Something that's interesting in Mononoke is that the majority of the victims, whose emotions create the mononoke featured in the series, or at least attracts them, are women. And they are women who were put in tragic and/or horrific circumstances. From a brother manipulating his younger sister into being a sacrificial offering in his stead; to a woman who was forced her to marry an abusive man for the sake of her mother's vanity; to a concubine who was kidnapped by a nobleman, imprisoned and sexually abused, and finally beaten to death. Their suffering, their anger and grief at being unable to fight against their situations, created monsters. And it is Kusuriuri's job to listen to their stories, to find the Truth, to acknowledge their pain and regrets, and in doing so put them to rest.
I've always thought that was a remarkable, and beautiful, way to handle monster slaying. The monster does need to be stopped, but in order to succeed you must first seek, listen to, and understand its story. You must acknowledge its suffering without judgement. In doing so you restore the humanity and dignity that was taken from it, that it perhaps was never allowed to have. It is empathy that can release a soul from the anger and grief consuming it.
WOW, I've never heard of this, and it sounds amazing! I looked it up and the art style IS beautiful. That plot reminds me of the videogame "Paranormasight - the seven mysteries of Honjo" with the explanation of how spirits came from suffering humans. I can't explain it nearly as well as you have here.
Cool, probably should check that out!
Holy shit you just unlocked a niche memory for me 😂 My ex and I used to try to watch this while zooted and it freaked me out too much and we'd always stop and watch something else 😭
The artstyle has kinda turned me away so far but this might be worth a watch.
One of my favorite uses of the monster is framing an actual horrible person becoming a monster. While understand the desire to bring beauty to the monster imagery as a misunderstood and oppressed being. It's nice to see actual horrible people becoming monsters. Example: Belos
Agreed. Tim says 'maybe' toward some people just being born monsters. I say that's one privileged life he's lived to not know the answer to that rhetorical question is 'absolutely'.
Some people just suck. And ignoring that reality enables the monstrosities to seek new victims and make new monsters.
If our problems would truly disappear by the meak holding hands and singing happy songs then we wouldn't be in the situations we are all in today.
@@AxiomDreamProductionsthere’s still the question of how much of that is caused by the person vs their upbringing
I think it's even worse, I think people can be drawn to a place beyond redemption by circumstances outside of their control.@@AxiomDreamProductions
I believe even belos was a monster created by the puritan society he lived in
I liked when shows like supernatural did the opposite. The redemption of the monster. Or like Crowley, keeping the monster you know.
Or the sympathetic monster like the Man in Black from Lost.
Best friends Red and Blue Oni is a great story on the nature of monstrosity. Red wanted to be accepted by people. Being an Oni, they were far too big, strong, and different to be accepted. So, the kind Blue pretended to be a monster, attacked those people, and Red became their hero by defeating Blue. Red would then lose Blue who either runs away or is slain depending on the story. Leaving Red in depression, having gained his dream at the cost of his closest friend.
There's actually a really interesting re-interpretation of this story in Ore Monogatari (My Love Story as its official English title). It's a romantic comedy manga and anime about a gigantic high-schooler named Takeo, who is a kind and well-respected boy, but is dangerously shy around girls and is a bit of a dunce. He's even compared to an oni and particularly the red one from the story, emphasizing his desire to fit in and be friends with others, but his awkward nature and inability to interact with them in some ways. He's helped along by his best friend Suna, who is a parallel to the blue oni, being aloof, kind and willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of his friend despite being otherwise popular and socially capable (with the reveal that he rejected a lot of girls who confessed to him because they talked shit about Takeo behind his back).
In a great way though, Ore Monogatari actually updates the red and blue oni story because Takeo manages to unwittingly connect with a kind girl named Yamato through his own actions by being his lovable self instead of any played-up heroism. And instead of losing the blue oni, Takeo realises just how much Suna means to him and shows him how much he appreciates their friendship. It's fun because instead of just rehashing the oni story, it focuses on other aspects of their characters that are usually ignored. For example, the red oni is kind and friendly despite his awkwardness, hence why he wants to be friends with everyone, while the blue oni is aloof and kind of a loner, not bothered by how others perceive him, hence why he's okay with playing a monster to help out red. The story focuses on these aspects and with a healthy dose of the sweetest comedy and character work you can imagine, it makes for a lovely little romance experience. I recommend it if you haven't seen/read it already.
Oh also, the original title of the story you mentioned is "The Red Oni Who Cried" since at the end, the red oni cries as he realises he lost his best friend.
@@darklord884 I love that anime, it's adorable
I thought you were doing a story about OSP lmaooo
@@alphonseowo OSP?
I first heard this story in Tokyo godfathers! Great movie that’s free on RUclips I believe
"We had given AM sentience. Inadvertently, of course, but sentience nonetheless. But it had been trapped. AM wasn't God, he was a machine. We had created him to
think, but there was nothing it could do with that creativity. In rage, in frenzy, the
machine had killed the human race, almost all of us, and still it was trapped. AM
could not wander, AM could not wonder, AM could not belong. He could merely be. And so, with the innate loathing that all machines had always held for the weak, soft
creatures who had built them, he had sought revenge. And in his paranoia, he had
decided to reprieve five of us, for a personal, everlasting punishment that would
never serve to diminish his hatred... that would merely keep him reminded, amused,
proficient at hating man."
Harlan Ellison I have no mouth but I must scream. I read those words last 40 years ago.
I think ableism and dehumanization is most apparent in the changelings of european folklore who were most likely autistic, neurodivergent or otherwise disabled children who were abused, trochered and murdered for being what "they were". There are even studys that seem to suggest that autistic people fall into the uncanny vally more often than non-autistics for various reasons and non-autistic people seem to have more negative first impressions of autistic people. I don't know where to go with this well f it being precived as not neceserly the monster but "the other" is hard and try be nicer to autistic people unless they are objecively an ahole which happens after all we are only people right?
I noticed this in some people around me. Some people are all too eager to dehumanise neurodivergent people. Trust me, I have been on the receiving end too many times.
Hey Autist here. I never felt so much understood when i read your Comment. Do you have D!ßcorD or an other Plattfrom to communicate?
I cant think right now. i had a full thing i was going to say on how it easier for autistic/neurodivergent people socialize easier on the internet cause it generally a wider range of access combined with socializing being typically more drawn to hobbie interests as you arent restricted with where you go while socializing irl is more general appearances and how you conduct yourself to the other person as A) generally your trying to fit in with a group which are generally diversely different compared to you and B) you dont have a shared interest known from the start.
alot of other facts but yeah...that generally what i was going to talk about
i spent my first 18 years trying to be as normal as i could, but no matter how i tried no matter how closely i followed the behaviors of others i never was treated the same as others, i felt so much shame feeling that i was wrong not meant to be and still dont really feel human, finding out im autistic was a huge relief, knowing i wasnt alone that it wasn't just me being inherently bad in some way, but it does say a lot about the countless people who wouldnt even look at me as human,
these days im me take or leave it, all my friends are autistic to lmao
Here's a hot take. Given how vital certain behaviors are to a society's survival, and given how difficult it is for normal people to teach these behaviors to neurodivergent people, attempting to accomodate the quirks of every weirdo to the degree you think is necessary to be inclusive would kill people.
As much as you might want to believe otherwise, the world is finite. If a society is too inefficient with its resources, it's folly will cascade into starvation and death. Especially back then, but even now too if we become too inefficient.
And we are very societally inefficient, its only technology that gives us so much leeway, but technological progress is slowing down.
As someone struggling with depression, I needed this. Thank you.
I'm sorry you are dealing with this. I am too. Exactly that.
No one should but so many of us do.
The same goes for you
I'm sorry you are going through it. Thank you for still reaching out to others.
I wish you the best on your journey back up
@monsterwings1037 Thank you. Just started meditation and it's a big help.
One of my favorite takes on the idea of the monster comes from Guillermo del Toro, and how he creates monsters. That there are times when to make Monsters as People, People as Monsters, and Monsters as Monsters. It shows that the line between what we consider a "monster" and a "person" is, in actuality, blurred, that everything that can think, feel and dream are capable of empathy and kindness, but also callousness and harm when push comes to shove.
The thing I consider a "True Monster" is something that is fundamentally indifferent to the pain and suffering of others, that it's not driven by any greater motivation other than to harm others. Not because it wants revenge, or it wants to become something else, or that it is in pain due to it's surroundings, or due to mental illness. Simply because it does it, without remorse or regret.
His Lovecraft anthology did that really well.
Questions out of curiosity: Does your idea of a "True Monster" gain enjoyment or otherwise fulfillment out of the act of hurting others?
Does it actively seek out people and ways to hurt them, or does it simply do it whenever it can?
Does it seek to inflict pain in general or the most amount of pain possible? For example, would it stop inflicting pain if the subsequent betrayal brought even more harm?
Would it be displeased if it was forced to stop by something or someone else?
Would this monster harm itself if it didn't have anyone else to harm, or would it stay in a catatonic state like Jerry from Fiona and Cake?
Just very curious, sorry if I bombarded you out of nowhere😅
Your description of a true monster reminded me of the demon race from Frieren.
@@EarlyOnset you almost just described Dexter.
While elephants can be deliberately violent, there is generally a reason for it. In the wild they have learned that humans are dangerous and have become more aggressive over time. In captivity they are subject to conditions ranging from AZA accredited zoos to open abuse, and even the best of circumstances tends to result in zoochosis eventually. Elephants, among others, do extremely poorly in captivity.
Topsy did nothing to deserve death. All other creatures deserve the respect and care we put upon humans(when we care about each other). All creatures eventually lash out when put upon like this. And humans react the same way with all of them: kill it, before it does it again, instead of thinking about the cause of the violence and working to prevent it originally and from repeating.
Topsy's story makes me cry. She is a symptom of a greater issue that i keep screaming about. Nobody listens because they love the way the justice system hurts people for some reason.
I think that cruelty comes from some level of Projection. Which is unsurprisingly true with politicians encouraging policies that demonize and encourage targeting marginalized communities.
@@poenpotzu2865 there's also a borderline pandemic of people using their traumatic experiences to excuse not desiring to harm their abusers, that's a normal feeling, I feel it, but believing the harm should actually take place. And I don't know how to convince them that more violence doesnt make anybody do or feel better. We even have statistics on the death penalty, it rarely if ever makes the victim or family of the victim feel better because trauma isn't remotely fixed by murder. Nobody believes people who do horrible things can or could ever want to change though. I'm simplifying a lot because yt comments but yeah just. Cruelty begets cruelty hurt people hurt people and the world keeps getting bloodier.
I think that the result is surprisingly simple: sadism is fun. It's a truth most people don't like to look at, don't like to accept, but look at broader culture. How many narratives (books, movies, etc) feature fight scenes? How many video games feature violence as a core element of gameplay, sometimes the *only* gameplay? I think there is something within us as animals on this planet that calls toward violence, towards barbarity and savagery. I don't necessarily think that impulse in and of itself is "bad" either. It surely served us well when we lived in caves, when we had to hunt to eat, kill to preserve our own lives. Its my view that theres no harm in finding outlets, so long as those outlets are couched safely in a thick layer of fantasy, to prevent them from causing harm in the real world.
I think the problem comes from the fact that people do not recognize that impulse within themselves. They turn away from it, even as they seek to fulfill it. And so, they seek "righteous violence." They look for reasons to demonize, excuses to turn off one's own empathy towards another. After all, if they aren't a person... who are you *really* hurting?
In short, people reject the monster within themselves. They seek ways to sate that desire, while fooling themselves into believing that they are heroes for it.
I never understand how anyone can hurt an animal the way they hurt Topsy. All animals are beautiful and innocent, but especially elephants. They deserve freedom and respect, not captivity and pain. I hope one day we can find a way for all humans to respect the beautiful creatures we share our planet with. All we can do for now is share the knowledge we know about animal abuse and hope that by sharing that we encourage others to stop being cruel to animals.
I can't stop singing the Bob's Burger song about Topsy in my head.
For your section on the Uncanny Valley I am reminded of the video game Until Dawn. At one point your companion is bitten by the monster and another companion says that they think she’ll turn into one if you don’t execute her now. At this point in the game you have no reason to think the monster is contagious but do you risk being killed later if you are wrong? In the end you find out a bite doesn’t make you turn into one of them, which is a big gut punch if you took preventative action earlier.
"What if I'm the monster?
What if I'm in the wrong?
What if I'm the problem that's been hiding all along?
What if I'm the one who killed you
Every time I caved to guilt?
What if I've been far too kind to foes
But a monster to ourselves?
What if I'm the monster?
Is the cyclops struck with guilt when he kills?
Is he up in the middle of the night?
Or does he end my men to avenge his friend
And then sleep knowing he has done him right?
When the witch turns men to pigs to protect her nymphs is she going insane?
Or did she learn to be colder when she got older and now she saves them the pain?
When a god comes down and makes a fleet drown
Is he scared that he's doing something wrong?
Or does he keep us in check so we must respect him
And now no one dares to piss him off?
Does a soldier use a wooden horse to kill sleeping Trojans 'cause he is vile?
Or does he throw away his remorse and save more lives with guile?
If I became the monster, and threw that guilt away
Would that make us stronger?
Would it keep our foes at bay?
If I became the monster to everyone but us
And made sure we got home again
Who would care if we're unjust?
If I became the monster"
He is a different beast now
He is the one who feasts now
He won’t take more suffering from you
He is the man made monster
Don’t forget to credit :) These are lyrics from the very excellent Odyssey themed musical ‘Epic’ by Jorge Rivera-Herrans. The balance between mercy and monstrousness is one of the key themes.
I was hoping to find the Epic reference! Odysseus's transformation from hopeful but conflicted idealist into a cold, utilitarian monster is SO GOOD
@@andrewsannar5328 Isn't it! The tragedy of it is so interesting, that whichever way he chooses in the moment - mercy or monster - someone ends up getting hurt or killed, suggesting that there's so way he can truly win whatever he decides.
Was I the only one who was impressed by Red’s delivery of that NieR Replicant quote? I could see her being a voice actor in another life.
I think she's a voice actor in this life!
From my reading and watching a lot of things that had monsters in it, I lost count of how many times my reaction was "That's not a monster" and became aware of scapegoats, projections, and mental health issues, etc. I'm not perfect but I do my best to show empathy. Thank you for this video 😊
Such a tragedy, Topsy deserved better
She did kill 3 people though. Nowadays, they make you kill your dog after having bitten just one person
True, but she deserved to never be in that situation anyway.
They'll say, Awww Topsy at my, aaaaautopsy
@@LuisSierra42all worth less than her combined
Tim? I think that you deserve all of this because it's the fruits of your labour because how hard you worked to get here because your hard work matters!! Own your hard work because this was mostly you!! 😊😊❤❤
I appreciate you, mate!! 💕🤗
One of my favorite quote about monsters came from Hellsing.
Monster can’t be defeated by another monster. Only human can defeat the monster.
Gosh, the way your writing is so evocative, its incredible. The final reference to Alan Wake at the end there made me tear up. You're right, im not a lake, I'm an ocean... thank you
I like how you mixed Alan Wake quotes into your script, like “it’s not a loop it’s a spiral” and “it’s not a lake it’s an ocean”
Just had to jump over from Nebula to click Like.
As hellish as this social media platform may be at times, I am profoundly awed and grateful it exists, because so many amazing voices would never have reached me otherwise.
Looking at the title and run time, I am SO READY to watch this video!
When you speak of Topsy's execution around 27:54 , you give the mob too much credit IMHO.
This was 1900 and something. The activities available to the common person were limited. Even the City folk were constrained by what was out there to do and what they could afford. If you ever read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, you'll see that going to buy a 'sheenie' pickle was an event for the children of the neighborhood. Their parents had their jobs and struggles and very little else besides church and politics (yes, politics were hotly followed and more like a sport / fandom, where people would follow their favorite stars and argue canon). The circus coming to town was a massive event. Everyone went to see the circus. So it goes to that everyone would go to see the event of killing a dangerous animal. Same as they would in earlier years make a picnic of the hanging of any notorious murder.
In sum, they weren't projecting inner internal darkness; not casting out evil spirits; not even indulging in cathartic primal violence.
They were bored.
Makes for a better story to spin the narrative your way. A bit ironic though, you are no better than the media at that point.
Damn, this hits hard. Mental illness and disorders make you feel so defective and unlovable and it just really hurts sometimes. You worded it beautifully.
This video also really invokes the vibe of Monster from Epic the musical, especially these lyrics:
Is the cyclops struck with guilt when he kills?
Is he up in the middle of the night?
Or does he end my men to avenge his friend
And then sleep knowing he has done him right?
When the witch turns men to pigs to protect her nymphs is she going insane?
Or did she learn to be colder when she got older and now she saves them the pain?
When a god comes down and makes a fleet drown
Is he scared that he's doing something wrong?
Or does he keep us in check so we must respect him
And now no one dares to piss him off?
Does a soldier use a wooden horse to kill sleeping Trojans 'cause he is vile?
Or does he throw away his remorse and save more lives with guile?
We are a different beast now~
I love how "Legendary" gives us Telamacus, wondering where his father has been, singing "If I fight those monsters, is it you I'll find?" On the surface it's about him wanting to be a hero and face monsters like his father has and maybe even bring him home, but we as the audience see the other implication, that Odysseus has become one of the monsters, something Odysseus himself has resolved himself to be.
The Topsy story always makes me sick to my stomach. It's horrific.
The thing with Shinji Ikari is that had he known his father well enough he could have easily rejected the latter’s invitation from the beginning and been way better off that way knowing how Gendo only ever really cared more about his passed wife than their son anyway. In that story humanity truly is the monster only after short term resources even if there were specks of light in some individuals. Sure, rejecting the invitation might have meant the end of humanity but wasn’t humanity headed towards that direction anyway knowing how everyone was treating each other? In the continuity of at least the old tv-show and End Of Evangelion movie Shinji was wasting his whole time expecting any healthy compassion from the people whom he ended up working for. So his apathy is completely understandable, even relatable.
What a beautiful and heartbreaking way to put something that can feel like such an abstract concept into something relatable. I found it so touching, thank you for making this!
This brought to mind so much of what yes, for every single monster in games like NieR and Automata, you get to explore deeper and understand them. It's emphasizing on how you as the main character are also their monster, a relentless hunter who can't or won't listen to them (like Kainé), and yet are driven by such human impulses. Then you recognize that it was needed to have a higher drive to let you observe and maybe stop. And the analysis of Evangelion where kids were turned to soldiers to fight a losing war and were only useful, doing whatever it took for survival.
Also, having Treasured Times be the outro just hits harder, well played.
It brings to mind a meme image of the game Warframe, where you control a bunch of cybernetic ninja supersoldiers in space. The meme shows how the fandom, the creators and the enemies see a particular playable character, with the first two being cute or hot while the last one being as a nightmarish murdermonster that hunts them down without remorse. Because to be fair, while the enemies are mostly evil, the playable characters are pretty scary in terms of their power and relentlessness.
@@darklord884 Warframes are basically the manifestation of mook horror as a trope. And then, you play The Sacrifice and see what happens when you find a broken thing and take its pain away.
@@alexanderberkel86 Even before that, the Second Dream already transforms a major part of who and what the Tenno are. While they are still horrifying menaces to the Grineer, the Corpus and any other enemies of the Origin system's people, they become so much more and less than the warrior gods they were originally showcased as being.
In his description of the uncanny valley, of the monster being so close to human but still off made me reflect on my life as a person with autism. Reminded me of times as a kid not understanding, as a teenager trying his hardest to mask and blend in, as a young adult finally putting the pieces together and recontextualizing old memories. There have been studies that show that those with autism can give allistics the feeling of the uncanny valley. I don't know, it just hit close to home
Same for me mate :/
The uncanny value doesnt exist, its pseudo science
“Isn't it strange, to create something that hates you?”
- Ava, Ex Machina (2015)
I watched this on Nebula when it came out and was waiting for the notification to come here just to say this was fantastic! As a woman/mother/person with mental health troubles I have struggled with feelings of otherness/wrongness and the worries that my child who views me in a way unaffected by the world at large now will see me differently, maybe badly, as he learns about the world from others. Your ending made me cry, but also feel some optimism in being seen. Thank you!
This reminds me of the story of Vayne, a character from League of Legends - someone who, due to her hatred of monsters, became one herself. Her parents were killed by a demon, and she was raised to believe that magic was evil. Driven by her parents' deaths, she searched out a mentor to find and take revenge on the demon. In her journeys, she was attacked by a monster and saved by a woman named Frey. After a great deal of pleading, Frey agreed to mentor Vayne. Frey had a great deal of knowledge of dark magic, and was an excellent mentor. Eventually, they managed to track down the demon that Vayne suspected had killed her parents, but they were ambushed by some of the demon's lackeys. With Vayne and Frey about to die, Frey used magic to shapeshift into a wolf, and barely defeats the lackeys. With the threat gone, Frey explained how she had learned dark magic to avenge her own family.
"Vayne put an arrow arrow through Frey's heart without allowing her another syllable. Whatever affection she had felt for Frey evaporated upon discovering her true nature. A tear formed in Frey's eye as she collapsed, but Vayne didn't notice - whatever warmth the two had shared died with Frey.
There were still hours left before dawn, which meant hours left to continue the hunt. Vayne thought only of the demon. The kill that would be hers to savor. And all the kills to come. The underworld would come to fear her, just as she had once feared them.
For the first time since her parents' death, Vayne smiled."
all this lore just for sweaty gamers to scream slurs at eachother lol..
Thank you for the bravery of including your personal struggle in this topic. Your videos never fail to make me think, and to dig deeper into the rationale behind a topic that seems innocuous on the surface. The world is definitely a better place for you and sharing your insight.
I always thought it was funny how Godzilla represents nuclear destruction and then the American movies are like, "yeah, but we need Godzilla, you see."
Wait until you find out about the other 20 japanese Godzilla movies.
Dang there isn’t a multi-paragraph long discussion in this reply section :/
More Americans need to watch Godzilla '54, Shin Godzilla, and Godzilla Minus 1
OH GEE I WONDER WHAT THAT SAYS ABOUT AMERICA'S FUCKED-UP CULTURAL FETISH FOR STATE VIOLENCE AND EMBRACE OF EVERY NONSENSE IDEA ONE HAS TO BELIEVE TO SHOVEL ENOUGH BULLSHIT DOWN THE SCREAMING MAWS OF SENSE AND SUSTAINABILITY TO SILENCE THEM IN ORDER TO JUSTIFY HAVING A NUCLEAR ARSENAL AT ALL!!!
""But what if they nuke us first? Are we just going to let that happen?"
You already have, by definition. Nuking them back doesn't bring back everyone and everything vaporized and/or irradiated in the blast. It's a nuke, not a philosopher's stone from FMA:B.
"But it's the only thing keeping them from nuking us"
The exact logic behind the first argument is why that doesn't work. It's a hammer in your hand to which the other guys are a nail, and now they feel the need to stop you from nuking them, so they get their own IRL ban hammer penis weapon, which they promptly whack in the nail that just nuked them to scare them down.
"But the threat of total annihilation if we escalate makes us less likely to do conventional war. Don't you remember how it totally stopped the Cold War from going hot?"
Yes, I remember Korea, Vietnam, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, and WOW, Wikipedia has a lot of wars listed in the Cold War template.
William Golding's Lord of the Flies is a great book that blends the line between monster & man
I'm sure different people have different interpretations of "Monster Girls Don't Cry," largely informed by their own experiences.
For me, an autistic person, I can't help seeing all the ways they tried to "fix" me.
I love the video and agree with a lot of the interpretations and points herein, but I feel it focuses perhaps a little too much on the "created monster". You certainly bring up valid points, but I feel there are other ways other types of monsters can show us what we are like when we interact with them, where we don't have to create or mislabel them.
The dwarves who dug too deep in Moria, Ripley deciding to take a stand against the xenomorph, Isaac Clarke desperately trying to uncover what the humans did to become hideous necromorphs, the little girl making friends with the haunted animatronics in the FNAF movie, The Penitent One willingly setting out against horrifying manmade monsters of penance to complete his quest, I feel all of these tell us even more different messages about hope, ambition, kindness, determination, sense of justice and other positive qualities that encounters with a monster can evoke.
This was such a great description of mental illness, and it really resonated with mine, OCD. My mind obsesses about all kinds of thoughts. It worries that some day, my worst fears will come true. The more I resist those thoughts, the more I reinforce the perceived threat of them. The only way to combat it is to confront those fears directly and prove that they have no power. I went into my treatment afraid of the monster I might be and left with an understanding of the man that I am.
I've been struggling with clinical depression for all of my adult life, and that ending monologue made my heart ache in recognition. Beautifully written.
I know there's not much comfort I can offer through a RUclips comment, but I hope you know how meaningful your work and art is to those of us who have been following your journey from the start. And even to those who are new here, I'm sure. I also know depression has been an ongoing battle for you, so I wanted to offer some thoughts.
The way you weave stories is poetic and insightful, the kind of true talent that deserves to be propped up. It's why I've been a patron for years and share your videos with the people I know and buy your books as gifts for the readers in my life.
I don't mean to sound like a fangirl, that's not it. It's just so rare these days to have followed someone for nearly a decade without any controversies or horrible secrets come to light. And then for that person to also show growth? Rare indeed. I believe you are a truly good person, and a truly amazing artist.
All of the changes you've been through in the past year would be scary for anyone, let alone someone in the public eye. Give yourself grace, lean on Laura, snuggle your fur babies, and remember that there are people like me all over the world cheering "go on Tim! Achieve your dreams!"
great video (one i will probably return to talk about sweet home some more)
there is a book I found from a poetry collection thingy on tumblr about Sweet Home (korean show about the monster apocalypse which was really good) and it included a quote from a book called 'on earth we are briefly gorgeous' by ccean vuong and the quote was early on page 13 and it is simply “What I really wanted to say was that a monster is not such a terrible thing to be. From the Latin root monstrum, a divine messenger of catastrophe, then adapted by the Old French to mean an animal of myriad origins: centaur, griffin, satyr. To be a monster is to be a hybrid signal, a lighthouse: both shelter and warning at once."
“Since childhood, I’ve been faithful to monsters. I have been saved and absolved by them, because monsters, I believe, are patron saints of our blissful imperfection, and they allow and embody the possibility of failing." - Guillermo Del Toro
I clicked on this video as someone who adores monsters for so many reasons, and i am so glad i did.
23:48 the sentence "Many monsters arent made literally, they are created in an interely different way..." straight into an ad for condoms was peak unintentional comedy 😂
Brooooo if I was a filmmaker I would find a way to put this into my film 😂
Tim's videos are getting to the point they routinely make me cry by the end. Excellent work sir, I'm going to go stare at a wall for a bit.
Tim, this video met me when I needed it, though I didn’t realize it at the time. I am Autistic, and often ‘treatment’ of Autism has historically never been for the benefit of the Autistic person, but to make us more amenable to the neurotypical people around us. People do see something monstrous about us when we’re unable to keep up the mask that society requires of us in order to function within it. I know that meltdowns are part of my life and yet I feel ashamed when they happen. The part about the real psychiatric asylums and abuse really got to me because there is one in my hometown that is now an upper class shopping destination. I shudder to think what would have happened to me if I had been born decades ago and forcibly committed there. I don’t know what else to say except to thank you for helping me think about my disability in a different context and what I can do to challenge the preconceptions that people have.
as a trans person I was always lead to think that I was a monster for being that way even when I wasn't aware of what was "wrong" with me. When I discovered it, "monster" was the thing I called myself most often, even now, 10 years after that, and despite having the support of amazing people who helped me all the way and I still sometimes relapse in my darkest moments and start calling myself that again. This video was really hard for me, gotta admit but I still thank you for making it because just knowing that there are people out there who are not thinking that way really helps.
Love the inclusion of House of Leaves, good to see it coming up in video essays much more lately!
Tim, this is the best video you have ever made. And, to me, the most profound words you ever spoke. Thank you!
Happy to have another video of You! Was just binging your avatar ones
This was a really great video about monsters, human nature, and mental health. Loved hearing all the stories and genuinely made me confront my emotions head on. Such an interesting topic
This is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. It’s certainly the best cosmic horror I’ve read that is not Lovecraft and King and in many ways is better. I think this book deserves more praise, it’s a brilliant blend of horror and literary fiction that just worked so well with me.
Hi!! First of all, WOW!!!!
This was breathtaking. I was in an abusive relationship from 2015-2019 and this video has not only recontextualized my feelings about that but also I am researching and developing a play set in 1600s Poland loosely working through my relationship with my grandfather and his wife after my grandfather passed away last month (where the ultimate goal was empathy). I was struggling to come up with a reason why in that time family would be so cruel with each other, but then your segment about mental health popped up.
I have struggled with mental health basically my whole life. It is also pretty prevalent on that side of my family.
I think I might have figured out a key touchpoint in my story moving forward and the way it ties into a key point in your video that Empathy is Hard.
Thanks for this beautiful video. I will be revisiting it often!
This reminds me of the struggle Frodo has with bearing The One Ring, and what it did to Sméagol. Sauron’s will is bound to the Ring, and it's the Ring that corrupts the ring bearers, constantly whispering its lies to the one unfortunate to find it, much like the lies of the world turn people into monsters. In a way, Frodo is on a journey to destroy this lie and end its corrupting influence on the world. But he needs the help of the fellowship along the way, And Samwise following him to Mordor is in a way represents a friend who won’t give up on you, who sees your burden and says "I Can't Carry It for You... but I Can Carry You." a friend who lifts you when your down, who’s there to pick you up when you fall.
I’ll end with this excerpt from LotR RotK:
"There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tower high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end, the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach."~ J. R. R. Tolkien.
I really resonated with that bit where you talked about your mental health and the feeling of unworthiness. I would suggest reading The Happiness Trap. I personally found the writing very helpful, the important part is shifting your mindset from being focused on goals to being focused on your values. Goals are unreachable- in the sense you will endlessly replace them with new, harder to reach goals. If you don't have something to strive for you aren't doing anything. The mentality the book tries to promote suggests that you instead focus on what you find fulfilling, and work towards personal fulfillment in a more manageable fashion.
BJ Blazkowicz: Monsters did this.
Gloria: Not monsters. Men.
- _Wolfenstein: The New Colossus_
This was another one of your videos which made me cry. Thank you for the effort you put into your content.
As an autistic person with dissociative issues this video hit me like therapy. Thank you for the work you do
Hey Tim. Not sure if you'll ever see this comment, but I just want to say I'm happy to see you still making content.
I watched you years ago as a teen when you used to make HTTYD content. I thought about you today and came back to see if your channel was still doing well.
When I used to watch you, your content gave me something I could relate to, and it kept me entertained and distracted through an otherwise difficult period of my life.
I'm glad to see you're still making content about something you're passionate about, and I wish you well in whatever is in store for you in your RUclips future.
All Hail Mishka
What an amazing video, not only did I learn about writing, history, and new perspectives; but it truly and deeply touched me understanding myself better. It touched on a subject I was learning about, abnormal psychology, in college. Your videos are truly grand, I value your work and you as a person. Keep up the good work; I look forward to more, thank you!
Please read or watch Naoki Urasawa's "MONSTER," if you haven't already. It covers a lot of this and I would love to hear your thoughts on it, considering not many people have even seen it let alone read it.
Thank you for bringing attention to Yoko Taro’s works / the Nier series!! I could yap all day about those games but I genuinely feel his games made me more mindful of those around me and changed the trajectory of my life lol
30:27 this one resonates so vividly, the horror of having physical individualities removed without consent is awful. It reminds me of doctors who would cut off tails or extra fingers of children without even consulting the parents.
Imagine what was lost there.
Excellent video essay! Also, I had an S-tier transition to a pokemon go ad at 23:50 when you said "some monsters are made in an entirely more insidious way." I had no problem believing you were about to start talking about Pokemon 😆
I don’t cry much anymore. I used to cry easily when I was younger, at sad movies, at happy endings, whenever I just really needed a good cry. Lately, I’ve only been thinking about how difficult it is to feel like a person. Walking, talking, eating, breathing. I feel like I spend most of my time laying in bed, thinking about all the things I wish I was doing. I am difficult to deal with it and often feel like a masquerade of a person.
I sobbed as this video reached its conclusion. This essay was beautiful and fascinating and spoke to me in a way I don’t know how to deal with or describe right now, but maybe my second or third or eleventh rewatch will provide. Thank you for this, so sincerely.
41:48, I was listening while sorting magic cards and was caught off guard hearing Joe Scott’s voice. I would recognize his voice anywhere. Was not expecting my science RUclipsr/ writing RUclipsr crossover lol.
some of your best work, and I'm especially enjoying watching you branch out into more dense and challenging material like this
Thank you for posting this at the exact moment I was looking for something to watch as I deep clean my house. Much appreciated 🙏
Wow, man, you've really been putting out banger after banger recently... Hard-hitting stuff. I love this new era of your content, it's awesome.
This definitely puts "monster fuckers" into a different light...
Halfway through the Minotaur section, really loving this analysis so far
This video has been a huge help with my story, gave me loads of ideas
I love that you used the phrase "wash your hands of them" because we tend to forget where that comes from. One person's monster might be another's messiah.
I'm autistic, monster stories often hit me right in the heart.
That little musical motif at 5:18 sounds like the intro to the Macarena
Awesome 💚 love that you can more easily travel, and guest readings. How everything is going well 👌
What a beautiful narrative that truly helps break down and conceptualize something that everyone is familiar with but few truly understand. Possibly my favorite quote of the recent days has got to be "Empathy is hard. It's even harder for to have it for yourself."
I have to comment this cus it's fucking insane. I applied to the researcher and writer position that you posted you were looking for help for. At the end of the application you asked to pitch a video idea and I spoke about the use of fantasy representing reality. I used the example of monsters representing human issues with media. It is insane that I sent in that application yesterday and then today the idea I pitched is at least partially being discussed. Bonkers
Excellent video as always, gonna have to listen a few times to fully dissect. Thank you for the content
40:45 I have never heard the voice of Red like that.
Fantastic video Tim. Loved it. So glad you are out here making fascinating content that is so useful for navigating both the world and writing!! Thank you
38:42 A great Discworld quote indeed
Thank you for this
I always love stories about a sympathetic monster or one that can be accepted or healed because I've been called a monster, freak, other, by those who said they loved me, by people who hated me, and by myself. It's hard to combat and to put into words so I just really connected with this video and how you explained things
This video is so well done! Thank you for the high quality content as always.
25:20 the perspective of the minotaur as a monster created by our perspective is so well done in Netflix's KAOS
Ahhhhh. This was such an eye opening video to watch, gave so many names to things i was struggling to understand and she’d light on so many things. I know now not to fear the monster but the thing that created it
The end of the video nearly brought me to tears.
Very well expressed, really put some things into words and perspective for me.
I hope you continue seeing the human in you more than the monster. But in the end, both are you and both deserve care.
This video made me cry so hard. Thank you. The spiral of mental health issues for a disabled "monster" like me springs, and coils and roils, sometimes dangerously. This video is beautiful an steeped in empathy. Thank you again.
Thank you for caring. I found your channel because of your writing advic,e and LOTR, and HTTYD, but I appreciate so much that you care about things and make videos about things like this.
The real monster was the camera not focusing all along.
I didn't know cameras have adhd?