Monster Culture: Dexter Morgan

The mind of a so called monster could be an interesting feat to many. In one instance this could be a related to the Showtime TV network's, now concluded series, "Dexter." In the show, the protagonist is Dexter Morgan who is a forensic blood spatter analyst who works for the Miami Metro Police department. Dexter also has a side to him that consists of gruesomely killing other killers. Dexter had first recognized his urge to constantly kill at a pre-adolescent age. He calls this urge within him "The Dark Passenger.” He channels his urge by killing these other murders to protect his friends and family but, if the public were to find out about this, he would be monsterized in society. As viewers we root for Dexter to kill these other killers …show more content…
In Cohen's essay, he points out seven ideas of what society claims to create in terms of what a monster is. The first thesis Cohen implicates is, "The monster is... an embodiment of a certain cultural moment - of a time, a feeling, and a place. The monster's body quite incorporates fear, desire, anxiety and fantasy....., giving them life and an uncanny independence"(4). Cohen's thesis makes the use of "Dexter" as an example in the instance that no one would expect for one of their fears to be standing right in front of them and living with them in harmony. But when looked deeply upon, people live with their fears constantly so Morgan is only a physical known embodiment of one of those fears. People live in fear when there is an occurring crisis or trouble amongst them. The fear associated with Morgan is death. No one wants life to be forcibly taken away from them and Dexter Morgan takes lives easily. Monsters are vicious and explicit in determining what we fear. Humans are the creators of monsters so there isn't a solid reason why shouldn't humans be susceptible to this characterization. "We see the damage that the monster wreaks...., but the monster itself turns immaterial and vanishes to reappear someplace else." (Cohen