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| I swear that this picture is relevant... |
The fact that J.K. Rowling created characters who made choices and weren't evil because of who they were born as is a major theme of the Harry Potter series. This message is made extremely clear in book 4 (Goblet of Fire) when Dumbledore says to the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge "it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be." This stands in sharp contrast to a lot of fantasy troupes that were seen all over the place in popular culture before these books. The best (and most well known) example of evil by virtue of birth are the Orcs from The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The scene where we discover that Lupin is a werewolf (at least in the books) shows the extreme prejudice he faces every day. Harry is noticeably the only member of the Golden Trio to not react badly at the declaration that Lupin is a werewolf. Both Ron and Hermione show open distrust and hostility once the secret is revealed. They quickly change their minds about Lupin, but their initial reaction still stands as pretty normal when a wizard meets a werewolf. The only reason Remus Lupin might be considered a monster is because he turns into a werewolf once a month.
Remus Lupin isn't the first example of a sympathetic "monster". There's also the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, David in An American Werewolf in London, and an argument can even be made for Tony Stark from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Each is put in a position where they are seen as a villain or monster to someone else, but are just trying to make the best of a bad situation.
(Next paragraph contains spoilers for An American Werewolf in London. This is your only warning!)
By the end of An American Werewolf in London, I sincerely wanted David to have a happy ending. I really did. Though, his mental health had significantly deteriorated and he knows he is responsible for the murders he commuted while transformed, it is still very clear that he wanted to live. But (spoilers) monsters don't get happy endings in these types of stories. Much like Larry Talbot before him, David is cornered in his werewolf form and shot to death. What is most tragic is that David seems almost relieved to die.
I may or may not have cried...a lot.
Werewolves seem to have a much more sympathetic representation in our popular culture than say vampires or zombies. Maybe it's because it's easy to identify with the werewolf condition. J.K. Rowling has been quoted as saying she used Lupin's condition as "a metaphor for those illnesses that carry a stigma, like HIV and AIDS." And unlike the vampire and zombie condition, which is constant, werewolves typically look and act like normal people until their affliction takes control.
That's not to say that vampires or zombies can't be sympathetic. The scene in Shawn of the Dead where Shawn has to kill his mother, is incredibly sad. Thankfully that movie has a somewhat happy, and pretty ridiculous, ending. But it does drive home the fact that the zombies were once humans who were loved.
Then there are monsters like The Beast from Beauty and the Beast. As a human, The Beast (or Prince Adam as dubbed by his adoring fans) had a personality that was severely lacking in empathy and charity. This leads to his curse and monstrous form.
I know that if I were in Belle's shoes, I would have screamed bloody murder. The Beast looks terrifying, especially since we first see him in the shadows of a dungeon. Though Belle reacts to his terrifying looks by shirking away from him with a gasp, she is able to look past his appearance (and he stops being a jerk to her) to fall in love with him. However, when Belle shows the image of The Beast to the villagers, they immediately form a mob and go off to "kill The Beast!"
This sequence of events leads to one of my favorite lines in the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast: "we don't like what we don't understand, in fact it scares us, and this monster is mysterious at least." Society judges The Beast to be a monster simply by how he looks. The Beast is tired and thinks he is doomed to spend the rest of his existence as a monster. At this point, he doesn't care if Gaston and the villagers are going to kill him or not. It isn't until Belle reappears that The Beast is able to find the will to live.
The villagers panic over the fact that The Beast looks scary even though he has never actually done anything to them. They have zero reasons to try and kill him.
There's actually a real life example of people hiding away from society due to a scary appearance. Raymond Robinson (1910 - 1985), also known as the Green Man, became horribly deformed in a childhood accident. To prevent people from panicking when they saw him, he would only go out at night and stay away from the main parts of his hometown. He eventually became a local legend known as the Green Man. Some people in his local community were shocked to discover that he really did exist and had an unfortunate even in his life take place.
But what about the monsters who don't look like monsters? Or, more specifically, what about the people who do terrible things because they think they have to?
I mentioned Tony Stark from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (I'm not as familiar with his other media) earlier in this post and some of you might be wondering why. To be honest, Tony's ego is his biggest weakness and is what qualifies him to being a monster. It's because of Tony that Ultron destroyed the capital city of Sokovia. If Ultron hadn't had done that, we wouldn't have had half the plot of Civil War.
Speaking of Captain America: Civil War, I backed Captain America during that whole movie. What Tony was asking them to do was to essentially give up their freedom, especially Wanda. Yes, I understood his point about someone keeping the heroes in check and making sure someone was held responsible for when innocent lives are lost (a topic for another time), but Steve Rogers made some really good points too. It also didn't help that Tony locked up half the Avengers after they rebelled against the agreement in the movie.
Tony has some good arguments and tries to do the right thing, but his actions tend to be way too extreme and hurt the people he is closes to. He is the type of monster people don't realize is a monster until they are in his crosshairs. Locking up Wanda instead of trying to help her was a really bad thing to do and stands in sharp contrast to Steve seeing the best in everyone. By the end of the movie, I did feel bad for Tony. He wasn't necessarily wrong with his arguments, but his actions were and he could very easily end up alone because of that.
At the end of Civil War, I saw someone who was devastated by their own actions, even though they still thought they were doing the right thing. I wasn't sure if I wanted to smack him or hug him. Hopefully James Rhodes will be able to get Tony to see where he went wrong.
So not all monsters are the Orcs of Middle Earth. Some have been cast out of society due to things that are entirely out of their control. Others wanted to do the right thing, but instead hurt those they care about most. These characters are important because not everything in life can be put into a "good" or "evil" box.
Life is complicated and tough to figure out. Sometimes it's the monster that needs saving.
If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.
Until next week.
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