Due today Monster Outline
Quick Write
We watched the Jocko Podcast #155. The beginning is Jocko reading from a book about what happened in the Russian Gulags.
What monster theories can help us understand what happened in the Gulags?
Lessons
Monsters teach us about ourselves. We are studying monsters to study the cultures that produce them. By studying the cultures we can learn about that culture, its fears, and its norms.
We have been studying monsters for almost two months now. You have learned a lot about monster. Lets compile a list of lessons learned from monster.
Write two to three lessons that you have learned about monsters so far.
Quick Write 2
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
-Edmund Burke
Write for two minutes on this quote and its significance to monsters.
Causal Analysis Samples
The Effects of a Monster
Professor Ramos' Blog 
quick write 1:
Thesis IV: we create monsters out of anything that is different. this apply’s to the Gulags by society today looking back on what had happened there as a tragedy but in there moment while being there it was there norm they seen someone do it and they realized it was the only way for them to live.
quick write 2: that quote is talking about how evil men get noticed and remembered but good men are never noticed or acknowledged. i think that it can also be a metaphor. as in the men who do nothing and just watch are actually the bad men just like people today instead of breaking up a fight they take there phone out and record it.
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Quick Write 1:
The Monster theories that can help us understand what happened in the Gulags are Theories 1,5, and 7 as they each discuss how the monster can integrate themselves directly into society through a variety of emotions. I think these theories correlate to what Jocko was iterating when he says “We are quite capable of creating hell for ourselves as human beings”.
Monster Lessons I’ve Learned:
-When you break them down you can see that all monsters no matter how different they are tend to have similar qualities/characteristics
– How fearful we, as humans are of becoming monsters. Yet, in the way we treat others it is easy for us to become them.
Quick Write 2:
I think what this quote is saying is as long as there isn’t a good force out there counteracting the evil one from doing what they want to evil will be able to prevail. This concept can be seen in so many different aspects of life. In example, can be a dictator who is dominating the mass. All it takes is one person to spark a rebellion to give people hope and start to fight for the greater good.
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Quick Write # 1
The 3 Monster theories that helps up us understand the Soviet Gulags is theory I “The Monster is a cultural body”, theory V “the monster polices the border of the possible,” and theory VII “the Monster stands at the threshold of …becoming.”
These 3 theories demonstrate a real life monster, not a fictional creature.
People living in the Gulags represented a time in culture of torture and despair. People endured horrible things and did the unthinkable, not the impossible, but it showed it’s possible for people to become savage creatures when faced with certain unbearable situations. The Gulags is frightening haunting time period In history. It allows for people to reflect and question society and our own moral.
Lessons Learned about Monsters:
1. Monster’s are born through cultural stories and for a purpose.
2. The 7 theories of Monsters better help us understand who the monster[s] is [are.]
3. Every monster has a cause and effect relationship on a small or grand scale.
Quick Write #2
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
-Edmund Burke
The quote above is a convicting quote. It reminds me of Monster theory VII: The monster stands at the threshold of …becoming..” We as people are all capable of some sort of evil , which makes us reflect on our morals and where we stand in the balance. I believe the write is trying to say that people choosing to do nothing when faced with evil allow for evil to spread in some way or form. We may not be directly doing the evil thing but to allow it to deep into our culture makes you question yourself.
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Quick Write #1
For the Gulags the Monster theories I think it would be is Theory 3 because is says the monster always escapes because it refuses easy categorization. Makes you think if we all have a monster inside of us, when we are put in a very difficult moment, we will anything to survive. Are states in this theory that “order of things” we generally have an order of how things should go but never stop to think would we really do it eat human flesh. I also think Theory 7 works well in the Gulags situation because I quote Cohen “This thing of darkness I acknowledge Mine” That monsters are our children. They can be pushed to the farthest margins of geography and discourse, hidden away at the edges of the world and in the forbidden recesses of our mind but they always return. Like I said in the beginning there’s a monster in all of us, if our backs are against the wall.
Quick #2
I think this means that if someone where to see something bad or wrong going on and they didn’t do anything about the situation, then that just gives violence the opportunity to be done more. In other words, people will continue on doing bad things because no body is stopping them.
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Quick Write 1
The monster theories that could assist in helping people in understanding the occurrences that took place in the Russian gulags is first IV: The Monster Dwells at the Gates of Difference this theory says because the monster is different it is monstrous so the people imprisoned in the gulags were different in a political stance or who were considered anti-Stalinists and this somehow justified what was being done to these people. This is how something so horrific was able to occur. Also theory V: The Monster Polices the Borders of the Possible the monster that was Stalin showed what was possible if horrible people such as him or Hitler who are in power are left to their own devices they can do atrocious acts.
Quick Write 2
The quote we have to respond to basically says that evil is only successful at doing evil when the good people do not stand up in someway. This is hard for me to personally understand because we can’t say for sure exactly how we would react when something horrific is happening until we live that situation personally. This doesn’t mean that these good people are at fault for the evil that is done because they didn’t stand up, fear for ones life can be truly paralyzing.
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Quick Write 1:
After watching the podcast, I started thinking of which monster theory could relate to the Soviet Gulags the most. Thesis I shows that monsters are a reflection of our uncertainty in culture. When we analyze monsters, we can find out more of the certain time period they reflect. This is one way to begin to understand what happened in the gulags. Another theory that relates to these monsters would be Theory III, how the monster offers a new way to look at life, and is seen as an outcast. This is true of the people in the gulags, who were seen as outcasts.
Quick Write 2:
The quote that was posted has more meaning than it seems to have. It says that evil will triumph as long as good men don’t do anything. This seems to be true, because when horrific things have happened in history, they tend to continue to happen unless someone puts an end to it. For example, in Nazi Germany, there was no end to the racial genocide going on because evil people justified their actions. The end only came when the Allies decided those actions needed to stop.
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QW1: People were segregated, not being fed, dying, and killing each other for food. Fear comes to life. People get exceedingly crazy, social norms become nonexistent. More and more outlandish things start to feel normal out of necessity. This relates to thesis one the monsters body a cultural body because people no longer know which societal path to follow, there becomes a point where you’re no longer letting your common sense decide but instead being ruled by your will to survive.
QW2: We all have to stand up against the monsters or otherwise we are a part of the problem we are contributing to the activities and outcomes of the monsters. We cannot only stand up when the actions are towards us or the people we care about but when the monsters are having the negative behaviors towards anyone in our society.
1. When humans become afraid or fearful they often strike out in anger and become violent it is like their brains downshift into the survival brain. We have not evolved into higher thinking and investigate what is causing fear instead of reacting to it.
2. we often do not provide support for humans at a younger age they evolve into monsters. The lesson to me is that we need to revamp our mental health and foster youth programs.
3. Sometimes inhumane actions or actions humans would not normally do become necessary for the greater good. The lesson I learned is that we are in the situation we may not want to judge others’ actions in the prosecution or termination of a monster.
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Quick Write 1: What monster theories can help us understand what happened in the Gulags?
The first thing that I identified when watching Jocko tell the Gulags story was his tone, pauses, and inflection making it sound like a scary story.
-IV: The monster dwells at the gates of difference. I think that in trying to understand the Gulags we realize that the monsters of the story were regular men and women like us. We then realize that we could be monsters too! Professor even asked us if we would eat people? Let’s just say I think I would be a survivor if necessary.
-V: The monster polices the borders of the possible. Cannibalism immediately strikes each normal-non monster person with questioning themselves if they could eat the same species if necessary. “What If?” I think that many monster stories are created to warn, to guide, to share lessons learned. This lesson could very well serve as for someone one day put into that situation.
-VII: The Monster stands at the threshold. This sounds redundant, but the monster in all of us does stand at the threshold of becoming. Given the right conditions we could have been just another meal or survivor at the Gulags.
Write two to three lessons that you have learned about monsters so far.
1)First lesson was that there was a structure and similarity’s to monsters. I had never imagined that the 7 Theories existed. I now see monsters and wonder if their creators used the 7 Theories as a checklist to create new monsters.
2)Second I learned that monsters are re-born, and continue to evolve to reflect the times
3)Third that monsters come to life when they reflect real life situations, and life lessons. We have not discussed Robots as monsters, but I Just thought that Robots are our future, and with AI pushing the boundaries, our movies starting from Terminator a long time ago to a long list of new robots exploring the possibilities of a Robot Monster.
Quick Write 2:
“ The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -Edmund Burke
Write for two minutes on this quote and its significance to monsters.
This is a famous quote that I have heard, and seen many times posted next to someone’s face or a indication that the quote is by “ “
The quote like monsters is timeless. This can be said in many situations, rather it be in a terrorist situation, war, or like the common situation that I relate this to being WW2 Nazi’s. I think that we can also apply the foundation of the quote and may have even related this saying to School shooters, Recycling previously in this class.
Those examples happen to be what we can relate too, and also fall into the Monster category. In every monster story there is a Good Guy and a Bad Guy(monster) . The Good Guy is the Good Men, and in many of the stories it turns out to be one or few risking it all to save the many, and usually the world.
The quote is a call to those with a conscience that we all have to take action. Many people believe that they are the “good men”. The monsters that we know from Movies usually have the Hero/Good Guy fighting the Cultural Body, that always escapes, and is the Harbinger of category Crisis, while dwelling at the gates of difference, policing the borders of the possible, and the fear of the monster is really our kind of desire, and this monster stands at the threshold of becoming.
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Quick Write 1:
The Monster Theories that help us understand the Gulags includes Theory 1 (The Monster’s Body Is a Cultural Body), Theory 3 (The Monster Is the Harbinger of Category Crisis), and Theory 7 (The Monster Stands at the Threshold of Becoming). Theory one shows how these monsters are an embodiment of the culture they’re created in. The story of the Gulags stands to demonstrate the brutality of the culture in Soviet Russia at that time. Theory three states that the monster refuses to be categorized as they “appear at times of crisis as a kind of third term that problematizes the clash of extremes.” This is true of the monsters in the Gulag story, appearing in a time of crisis; being human and yet something else entirely. Theory seven talks about how monsters are inevitable to rise as the world continues to go on. They are at every turn, “our babies,” as we create them and as they feed on the troubles of our times. The monsters in the Gulag story were conceived in the troubles of Soviet Russia. They were their “babies.”
Monster Lessons:
I’ve learned that monsters are the embodiment of our culture. They exemplify our fears, our desires, and our history. I learned that the monster isn’t formed despite the world around it, but because of the world around it. From this, monsters are bound to continue to form.
Quick Write 2:
This quote is asserting that evil can only rise if we do nothing to stop it. It is imploring for us to take a stance against evil, to stop turning a blind eye. Good is in us and all around us, but we are too afraid to stand for it and rise it up. We cowardice in the sight of conflict and thus we cowardice in the face of evil. This is how evil wins.
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