The Boy Next Door Analysis

Actor Ryan Guzman who plays 19 year old Noah Sandborn in The Boy Next Door clearly represents Jeffrey Cohen’s first thesis from “Monster Culture: Seven Theses”. Cohen’s first thesis states that monsters are always symbols and representations of a culture. They are brought into being because of certain places or feelings of a time period. Monsters are “an embodiment of a certain cultural moment” (Cohen 105). Noah Sandborn represents gender roles in today’s society. A cultural problem that Noah Sandborn reveals is sexism, especially through authority and violence. “The monster’s body quite literally incorporates fear, desire, anxiety, and fantasy..” (Cohen, 106). Sexism is defined as prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against …show more content…
Ingebretsen simply means that the monster either tries to loosen the restrictions on a system or idea, or the monster makes a specific problem seem normal. The idea of sexism is seen as normalizing when presented in the analysis of The Boy Next Door. Normalization by definition refers to social processes through which ideas and actions come to be seen as "normal" and become taken-for-granted or 'natural ' in everyday life. “Because violent crime is dramatic, conflict ridden, evokes intense emotions, disrupts the social order, threatens the community..” (Ingbretsen, 27). The way that Noah Sandborn treats Claire, although creepy is seen as common in society today. Men’s craving for authority and use of violence in everyday life towards women can be clearly seen in the media. The media definitely does not provide concrete evidence all the time, but nonetheless, what is happening to women because of their gender is unacceptable and should be ended. Studies have shown that in today’s society, violence against women is extremely high. 1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted in college. 1 in 3 women experience sexual assault at some point in their lifetime. 2 in 3 victims of intimate partner and family related homicide are women. 8 out of 10 adult victims of intimate partner violence were female. 9 out of 10 adult victims of sexual violence were women. These statistics are not only high, but they are tear jerking. Women are the victim of horrifying acts of violence every day. The gap between how society views men and how society views women is immense. The matter of sexism is one we should weigh carefully, but nevertheless should fight to stop the heinous acts of violence against women simply because they are seen as inferior by the male