History Main / StockMonsterSymbolism

!![[AliensAndMonsters Aliens or monsters]] who [[HumanDisguise pretend to]] [[TheyLookLikeUsNow be human]]

->''"Hey...aren't zombies great? I mean, all they do is eat and eat and eat, growing in number, just like you red-white-and-blue Americans.''

* [[FiveRaces High Men]] and [[ClarkesThirdLaw Gods]] - great power, interfering with humanity according to mysterious rules.
* AmbiguousDisorder or 'oddness'

!! {{Alien|Tropes}}s (in general)

!! {{Alien inva|sion}}ders

!! [[Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers The Body Snatchers]] (and [[ReplicantSnatching similar]])

!! [[OurCryptidsAreMoreMysterious Cryptids]]

!! [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Dragons]]

!! [[{{Kaiju}} Giant monsters]]

!! [[WasOnceAMan Former humans]] in general (that keep their intelligence/personality)

!! [[WasOnceAMan Former humans]] in general ([[DeathOfPersonality that lose their intelligence/personality]])

!! [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Ghosts]]

!! [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampires]]

!! [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Werewolves]]

!! [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Zombies]] ([[ZombieApocalypse apocalypse]] / {{plague|Zombie}} type)

!! [[VoodooZombie Zombies]] (the {{voodoo|Zombie}} type)

!! {{Robot}}s (in general)

!! [[HumongousMecha Giant mecha and fighting robots]]

!! [[FrankensteinsMonster Monsters]] created by {{mad scientist}}s

!! NanoMachines and GreyGoo
* The potential for [[LuddWasRight new technology to make people obsolete]]
* {{Green Aesop}}s about the impact of industry on the environment
* [[GoneHorriblyWrong Unforeseen Consequences of Human Industry/Technology]]
* The dangers of [[JustThinkOfThePotential being blinded to risk by the potential benefits]] of a new technology

** The original ''Literature/{{The War Of The Worlds}}'' novel was largely meant as a critique of the British Empire and imperialism in general.
* Human reaction to disaster, similar to zombie films in that the people are more of a problem than the invaders. Also an element of all War Of The Worlds adaptations.

** The original ''Literature/{{The War Of The Worlds}}'' novel was largely meant as a critique of the British Empire and imperialism in general.
* Human reaction to disaster, similar to zombie films in that the people are more of a problem than the invaders. Also an element of all War Of The Worlds adaptations.

** AristocratsAreEvil: {{Dracula}} and many other famous vampires tend to be [[VampiresAreRich wealthy nobles]], which represents how the upper-class exploit and oppress poor people.

** Just about every other werewolf using the whole amnesia shtick.

* Metaphor for addiction.

* Excessive Hubris on the part of their creator

** Metaphor for addiction.

* [[GoneHorriblyWrong Unforeseen Consequences of Human Industry/Technology]]

* Human interaction with nature and RomanticismVsEnlightenment-- 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.

* Slavery - the word 'robot' is derived from the Czech 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...]]

!! Vampires
* Anything to do with parasitism or disease, including:
** AristocratsAreEvil
*** {{Dracula}}
* WhoWantsToLiveForever
** Too many VampireDetectiveSeries to mention
* VampiresAreSexGods--don't judge by appearances, because the people who seem the slickest, the wealthiest, the coolest are in fact the most heartless
* Bloodthirst as a metaphor for drug addiction
* The need to kill to survive

!! Werewolves
* [[SuperpoweredEvilSide The Beast Within]]
** ''Film/TheWolfman1941''
** Just about every other werewolf using the whole amnesia shtick.
** [[HulkingOut Anger]] and Rage.
** SplitPersonality
* Metaphor for [=STDs=]
** ''Literature/HarryPotter'' (according to {{Word of God}}, although the evil werewolf Fenrir Greyback gives off hints of pedophilia as well).
* Metaphor for menstruation
** First appeared in the Creator/PeterSBeagle short story, "Lila the Werewolf". Later used by Creator/AlanMoore in ''ComicBook/SwampThing'' and Creator/JossWhedon in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', as well as a direct connection in ''Film/GingerSnaps''.

!! Zombies (of the ZombieApocalypse variety)
* 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.
* [[InYourNatureToDestroyYourselves Mindless, ravenous consumption]]
* Survival of the Fittest
* Faceless conformity and loss of identity
* Epidemics, especially when zombieism is TheVirus.

!! Zombies (of the HollywoodVoodoo variety)
* Slavery
* Again, faceless conformity and loss of identity
* Fear of being BuriedAlive

!! [[Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers The Body Snatchers]] and [[ReplicantSnatching similar]]

!! [[{{Kaiju}} Giant Monsters]]

!! [[HumongousMecha Giant Robots]]
* Much like with the kaiju above, giant robot imagery is often connected with nuclear weapons, being obscenely powerful weapons that should never be used. Far and away more common in RealRobot works and more horror-inflected fantasy fare, though optimistic SuperRobot works are certainly not unknown to touch on this (i.e. ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant''). In some stories, the robots may literally be armed with nukes, as in ''VideoGame/MetalGear''.
* 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).
* In [[SuperRobot more fantastical robot stories]], a kind of mind-body-spirit relationship - the robot is the body, the pilot is the mind, and the more fantastical elements of the robot (e.g. becoming strengthened by force of will or emotion) represent spirit.
* Works influenced by ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' (of which there are many) will often incorporate Freudian concepts into the robots. In ''Evangelion'' itself, the focus is on motherhood (and the pain of an extended childhood), with the bodies of the robots keeping their pilots safely in biomechanical, fluid-filled womb-like cockpits; other works may interrogate other pieces of Freudian imagery such as phallic cockpits or weaponry.

!! Alien Invaders
* Human imperialism and war.
** The original ''Literature/{{The War Of The Worlds}}'' novel was largely meant as a critique of the British Empire and imperialism in general.
* Human reaction to disaster, similar to zombie films in that the people are more of a problem than the invaders. Also an element of all War Of The Worlds adaptations.

!! Aliens in general
* Foreignness and [[HumansThroughAlienEyes other cultures]].
* [[FiveRaces High Men]] and [[ClarkesThirdLaw Gods]] - great power, interfering with humanity according to mysterious rules.
* AmbiguousDisorder or 'oddness'
* Often [[OtherworldlyAndSexuallyAmbiguous sexually othered]], allowing for such tropes as DiscountLesbians.

!! [[FrankensteinsMonster Mad Scientist-made Monsters]]
* ScienceIsBad / MyGodWhatHaveIDone
* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters
* [[GoneHorriblyWrong Unforeseen Consequences of Human Industry/Technology]]
* Excessive Hubris on the part of their creator

!! [[OurCryptidsAreMoreMysterious Cryptids]]
* Human interaction with nature and RomanticismVsEnlightenment-- 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.
** ''Tintin in Tibet'' ends with the hero saying he hopes humans never catch the Yeti, because they'd only put it in a zoo.
** 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]].
* If bought from an exotic country to the modern world (as in ''Film/KingKong''), it can be anti-colonialism on top of environmentalist.

!! Robots
* Slavery - the word 'robot' is derived from the Czech 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 meaning of human consciousness, humanity or the soul. In stories like this, robots are often depicted as being essentially 'human' and with consciousness but condemned to be treated as a 'thing' due to their artificial minds. They may be fighting to gain the rights of being recognised as human, which can be read as a metaphor for civil rights movements. Alternatively, the robots and artificial intelligences might have BlueAndOrangeMorality, demonstrating that a being doesn't have to be human to be intelligent.
* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment, when a highly intelligent but emotionless robot is pitted against less intelligent but loving human beings.
* 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".

!!Dragons
* Destructive {{Greed}} -- Western dragons hoard treasure and are usually portrayed negatively.
* 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''.

!! Any WasOnceAMan That Remains Intelligent
* The FiveStagesOfGrief. See StagesOfMonsterGrief for more.

!! A WasOnceAMan that loses its intelligence

!! Ghosts

* HumansAreBastards
** [[InYourNatureToDestroyYourselves Mindless, ravenous consumption]]

* Often [[OtherworldlyAndSexuallyAmbiguous sexually othered]], [[DiscountLesbians too]].

** The {{Unicorn}} has an extremely 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]].
* If bought from an exotic country to the modern world (as in ''Film/KingKong''), it can be anti-colonialism. Or [[UnfortunateImplications pro-deportationist]].

* 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 was the same thing as the previous in the [[CriticalResearchFailure hugely uninformed imaginations of storytellers at that time]]). See the story of ''Myth/SaintGeorge and the Dragon''.

* Much like with the kaiju above, giant robot imagery is often connected with nuclear weapons, being obscenely powerful weapons that should never be used. Far and away more common in RealRobot works and more horror-inflected fantasy fare, though optimistic SuperRobot works are certainly not unknown to touch on this. In some stories, the robots may literally be armed with nukes, as in ''VideoGame//MetalGear''.

* Much like with the kaiju above, giant robot imagery is often connected with nuclear weapons, being obscenely powerful weapons that should never be used. Far and away more common in RealRobot works and more horror-inflected fantasy fare, though optimistic SuperRobot works are certainly not unknown to touch on this. In some stories, the robots may literally be armed with nukes, as in ''Franchise/MetalGear''.

* Teamwork, 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 become more of a force of political negotiation, civic duty or solidarity (as in Anime/{{Patlabor}}, which is mostly focused on the robot pilots getting stuck in traffic jams or complaining about paperwork).

* Works influenced by ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' (of which there are many) will often Freudian concepts into the robots. In ''Evangelion'', the focus is on motherhood (and the pain of an extended childhood) as the pilots are kept in fluid-filled bladders inside the bodies of the robots within which they feel safe; other works may interrogate other pieces of Freudian imagery such as in the cockpits in ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders''.

* Much like with the kaiju above, giant robot imagery is often connected with nuclear weapons, being obscenely powerful weapons that should never be used. Far and away more common in RealRobot works and more horror-inflected fantasy fare, though optimistic SuperRobot works are certainly not unknown to touch on this.

* Works influenced by ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' (of which there are many) will often incorporate sexually Freudian concepts into the robots. In ''Evangelion'', the focus is on motherhood, as the pilots are kept in fluid-filled bladders inside the bodies of the robots within which they feel safe; other works may interrogate other pieces of Freudian imagery such as in the cockpits in ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders''.

* Teamwork, 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 become more of a force of political negotiation, civic duty or solidarity (as in [[Anime/{{Patlabor}}]], which is mostly focused on the robot pilots getting stuck in traffic jams or complaining about paperwork).

* Works influenced by ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' will often incorporate sexually Freudian concepts into the robots. In ''Evangelion'', the focus is on motherhood, as the pilots are kept in fluid-filled bladders inside the bodies of the robots within which they feel safe; other works may interrogate other pieces of Freudian imagery such as in the cockpits in ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders''.

* 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 was the same thing as the previous in the [[CriticalResearchFailure hugely uninformed imaginations of storytellers at that time]]).

** The {{''Unicorn''}} has an extremely 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]].

* Frequently associated with a RedScare
* Some examples of this trope will draw comparisons to [[GreedyJew anti-Semitic]] [[AncientConspiracy conspiracy theories]]. (Creator/JohnCarpenter's ''Film/TheyLive'', which is a transparent allegory for Reaganism and consumerism, is occasionally interpreted this way. Carpenter has colourful words for the MisaimedFandom.)