"Monster's Mask" Writing Arguments (2003): 564-565.
In a letter to the editor of the Seattle Times, Steven Mitchell argues that the 2002 Academy Awards reinforced racism by awarding Oscars to Denzel Washington and Halle Berry for roles that misrepresented the black community. He goes so far as to call it "a backhanded slap in the face to black Americans." (p.56).
Denzel Washington was awarded the best actor award for his villainous portrayal of a renegade cop in Training Day. According to the author, his character defies statistics, as there are more white cops who behave corruptly than black cops. The deaths of Amadou Diallo and a black sheriff in the south are cited as example of this. So, as argued, racism is encouraged and blacks are portrayed as deviant law officials. By contrast, the author states, Washington's portrayal of Malcolm X in 1992 was not even given an Oscar nomination.
Halle Berry won best actress for her performance in Monster's Ball as a woman who begins dating a white man who was indirectly responsible for her husband's death. He compares this to Hattie McDaniel's" Gone With the Wind character as both being examples of blacks as sub servants to whites, claiming that there is nothing more subservient than a woman who sleeps with the man who killed her husband. Altogether, these Oscars amount to a denigration of blacks, and gratification to the white movie going public in seeing blacks in roles impossible to respect.
Now, it must be noted that this is merely a letter to the editor and cannot be expected to be backed up by facts, figures, and reputable quotes. This aside, the argument is a very weak one. He states that whites have more rogue cops than blacks but offers no statistics whatsoever to back this up, merely examples of it. All race groups can be given examples of unethical behavior; it proves nothing. His true ignorance of the situation is proven, though, when he states that Washington's more malevolent performance as Malcolm X was not nominated.
She walked over to the town meeting held in the center of the forest; they were handing out tickets to the festive walk that night with everyone's masks on. ... They all go their own path to search for the Loch Ness Monster along the beds. ... The "Loch Ness Monster" is what you make her to be.... You were the monster all along. Nessie says, "I'm not a monster though! ...
The mirror image of the angel is the "monster". ... Monsters are said to be responsible for the negative image on female creativity. ... Still today women are portrayed with their mythical masks as either angel or monster. ... One example of Alex's monster characteristics is her frazzled wild hair. ... This scene represents how Beth, the angel, doubles as the monster too. ...
In Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, mankind constantly rejects her monster. ... William was horrified by the physical appearance of the Monster and began to scream, "Hideous monster! ... William's reaction frightened the Monster and the Monster reacted the only way he knew how. ... The Monster knew that love is the ability to see through the masks and understand who the person is behind that mask. ... Victor rejected the request of the Monster for a mate as well as rejected the Monster as a living being. ...
In addition, Jack didn't know how to act around people," [he] would put on a mask and become a different person." When he put this mask on, he would become a barbaric monster, trying to kill everything around him. This mask was nothing more than some wood and paint and yet it would change him so much. In closing, The Lord of the Flies expressed humanity as a bloodthirsty monster. ...
Those who knew him couldn't believe that a monster lay under his charming personality. Over the years he had many names and masks. ... The police searched the car and found a pair of hand cuffs, a length of rope, a crowbar, a ski mask, an ice pick, and a nylon stocking. ... I think it is very sober to think that you could meet Ted Bundy and never know what kind of monster he was. ...
Most of the time we know immediately who the villain is, he's the "scary" guy, maybe wearing a mask, dark clothing, or just seems sinister and mysterious. ... By the enemy wearing masks, having mysterious (and often foreign) voices children are being taught be afraid of the unfamiliar and suspicious of other nationalities, or people who do not sound the same as what they are used to. ... Is it the monster that is bringing terror to where ever he goes or is it Frankenstein who created and abandoned the monster. ... He could've stopped or even better, prevented the destruction and terr...
With his hands gloved, his eyes goggled and a dust mask over his face, he loses all of the things that we use to express ourselves; to communicate with others. He can no longer betray any sort of emotion or human response, thus aligning himself with the machine, causing us to see him as, " part of the monster, a robot in the seat.". ... The tractor driver is incapable of controlling the machine, rather he is possessed by the "Monster", as it is described, its control over every aspect of his being forcing him to steer and maneuver it. ...
According to Spooner, Frankenstein acts as an archetypal human monster. ... We are merely modern day monsters, such as the carnivalists of Freaks, and Geek Love. ... The Monster no longer is the other. ... Geek love is full of Frankenstein type characters, different people seeking to create monsters for all sorts of different reasons. ... Her photographs of dolls and medical mannequins in monstrous scenarios is what most appealed to Croke, as well as her grotesque re-creation of faux-historical portraits with masks and fake body parts, as they play on the characteristic Gothic tension between ...
The character Grendel in both works Grendel and Beowulf portray him in different lights. Due to different times there are different cultures and styles of writing intermingled in the works. Grendel is an angry character; however, due to the different eras, the types of anger are distinguished and t...
