History Main / StockMonsterSymbolism

* [[GiantWoman Giant women]] are often used to symbolize the allure and temptation of lust, or the power of feminine beauty. They tower over the male characters in a work, and are often [[CasuallyPowerfulGiant casually powerful giants]] who overpower them with ease of manipulating a toy. Because giant women also have a penchant for [[LiteralManeater eating these men alive]], they also represent things like anxieties about intimacy and/or sex, abusive female romantic partners, especially ones that are a [[FetishizedAbuser fetishized abusers]], or fears of emasculation. Additionally, man-eating giant women can also represent things a woman (or women) who have power over men in general via their sex appeal.

* Teamwork, unity and ThePowerOfFriendship, if the robot requires multiple pilots that work together, or a synchronisation with the spirit of the machine. In more consciously political works, this can be turned to more down-to-earth feelings of community spirit or civic responsibility (as in ''Anime/{{Patlabor}}'', which is mostly focused on the robot pilots getting stuck in traffic jams or complaining about paperwork).

* Often [[OtherworldlyAndSexuallyAmbiguous sexually othered]], allowing for such tropes as DiscountLesbians.

* Disasters. Either man-made (Hedorah, giant robots, mutants) or natural (Rodan), a sort of divine retribution tied to Shinto beliefs can also be read into it (Mothra).

* It's a ForgottenTrope now, but in Victorian pulp aimed at young women, mummies were the sexy monster (similar to VampiresAreSexGods) — mummies were used as curios and even medicine in the 19th Century, and the British middle-class was very familiar with them. Mummy romances tended to present the mummy as being an outrageously wealthy and well-educated prince more exotic than the humdrum men of England.

* Metaphor for addiction, since the classic werewolf loses control during transformation

* On [[OurHydrasAreDifferent Hydras]] as a subcategory; Hydras are used to represent ''any'' problem that keeps coming back even when it is fought (see HydraProblem).

* Since mummies are covered in bandages, there's a visual association with injury, pain and even MedicalHorror (the intense embalming processes overlap with operation scenes, a bit). Mummies also have literally no brain (it was pulled out through their nose), so there's an association with intense stupidity as well. (Both of these taken together are probably why, early in his career, Music/{{Eminem}} liked to imagine his wrist-slitting, [[{{DiagnosedByTheAudience}} brainless]] Slim Shady character as a mummy.)

* Since mummies are covered in bandages, there's a visual association with injury, pain and even MedicalHorror (the intense embalming processes overlap with operation scenes, a bit). Mummies also have literally no brain (it was pulled out through their nose), so there's an association with intense stupidity as well. (Both of these taken together are probably why, early in his career, Music/{{Eminem}} liked to imagine his wrist-slitting, [[{{Ambiguous Disorder}} brainless]] Slim Shady character as a mummy.)

* Metaphor for menstruation

* AmbiguousDisorder or "oddness"

* While largely a ForgottenTrope in the secular world, older Western stories, particularly Medieval ones, tended to use them as a metaphor for {{Satan}} or paganism (or Mohammed or Islam, [[ArtisticLicenseReligion which tended to be lumped together by storytellers of the time]]). See the story of ''Myth/SaintGeorge and the Dragon''.

* While largely a ForgottenTrope in the secular world, older Western stories, particularly Medieval ones, tended to use them as a metaphor for {{Satan}} or paganism (or Mohammed or Islam, which tended to be lumped together by storytellers of the time). See the story of ''Myth/SaintGeorge and the Dragon''.

* SufficientlyAdvancedAliens and other "[[ClarkesThirdLaw Gods]]" - great power, interfering with humanity according to mysterious rules.

** Paranoia, secrecy, and betrayal—- how well do you ''really'' know the people in your life?

* Human interaction with nature and RomanticismVersusEnlightenment-- cryptids are usually described as living in areas of untouched wilderness and hunted by humans with fancy technological gizmos. Heroes often have to help them escape and be left alone in the wild, without human interference.

** The {{Unicorn}} has an very similar status even though it doesn't have exactly the same history or reputation as the modern cryptids. Unicorns may be mysterious even in settings where [[ArbitrarySkepticism other fantasy creatures are an ordinary fact of life]].

* Disasters. Either man made (Hedorah, giant robots, mutants) or natural (Rodan), a sort of divine retribution tied to shinto beliefs can also be read into it (Mothra).

* Being unable to "move on" from some wrong--usually consumed by anger or sadness
** A ghost may be so fixated on this wrong that they forget everything else about themselves--hence, the dangers of dwelling too much on something in the past

* Mummies are often Pharaohs - kings of once-great civilisations now lost to the march of time.

* Since mummies are usually kings or court magicians, they were usually outrageously evil before they died as well - because [[DrunkWithPower power corrupts]].

* It's a ForgottenTrope now, but in Victorian pulp aimed at young women, mummies were the sexy monster (similar to VampiresAreSexGods) - mummies were used as curios and even medicine in the 19th Century, and the British middle-class was very familiar with them. Mummy romances tended to present the mummy as being an outrageously wealthy and well-educated prince more exotic than the humdrum men of England.

* VampiresAreSexGods--don't judge by appearances, because the people who seem the slickest, the wealthiest, the coolest are in fact the most heartless

* [[MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold Strangers who seem scary at first but are actually harmless]], in the case of the FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire who needs protecting from VanHelsingHateCrimes. This tends to show up in more light-hearted works, naturally

* Post-apocalyptic works in general are about how humans react to the fall of civilisation, so over the course of the story the focus may move from the ravages of the zombies to how the survivors are harming each other.

* Slavery - the word 'robot' is derived from the Czech word for 'slave' - or workers in general, which also makes them useful for talking about Communism. 'Robot revolution' stories - whether the story was on the revolution's side or not - were especially common in the early half of the 20th century, but fell out of fashion once revolutions stopped seeming likely and the UsefulNotes/ColdWar began. RedScare stories featuring robots in this era will often suggest they are disguised perfectly as humans, hiding amongst humans and spreading evil robot ideas. Even fairly apolitical robot stories tend to depict them as 'lowly' characters compared to the humans due to their life of drudgery, which sometimes allows them to be {{Servile Snarker}}s or even [[TheButlerDidIt so beneath notice as to be able to commit murder...]]
* Dependence on technology and possessions - the idea that a possession, in some way, owns its owner. Or, less frighteningly, the idea that a possession might have a 'soul'.

* The failings of rules and law compared to intuitive thinking - in stories like this, robots will be incapable of disobeying seemingly harmless rules, resulting in awful consequences in messy real world situations.
* Destiny - a robot is usually made for a specific purpose, with abilities to allow it to do its job, and often with the inability to choose ''not'' to fulfil that purpose.
* Anxiety about death - robots can't be killed due to not really being alive and tend to invoke the UncannyValley (the lowest point on which is an animated corpse). See the skeleton imagery in ''Film/TheTerminator'', or how this is spelled out as a reason for instinctual human hatred of robots in ''Series/DoctorWho'''s "The Robots of Death".

* [[AGodAmI Excessive Hubris]] on the part of their creator