Afternoon of Alterity - Nazareth College

Serial MonstrosityEmily Mastrobattisto“Battle not with monsters lest you become one.”—Friedrich NietzscheA monster is a lot like a hero. They are both viewed as heroic,idealized members of the culture and admirable. A killer of multiplevictims is not someone that is generally idolized, but the reversalof the postmodern perception of these killers has made themcelebrities. Medieval culture viewed this paradigm of mass murderersas demonic, brutal, and despicable. Medieval European society didnot aspire to be killers of multiple victims; rather, they wanted themonster dead. The separation of paradigms between these twocultures demonstrates an evolution of cultural attitude toward killersof multiple victims. These killers have encapsulated the fascinationof society and many view these monsters as heroes. What is behindthis fascination? Besides the weird perversion of heroism, there is anaspect of identity and coming full circle. As a society we can identifywith parts of their life or character and that fuels the fascination.Society has come full circle in the sense that these killers of multiplevictims are acting out our forbidden wishes. In a perverse way societylives vicariously through these killers, aspiring to be them becausethey thrill us. What does this paradigm shift mean if there is no 69