TEJ Blog 3: Davis, 'Monsters and Messiahs'

TEJ Blog 3: Davis, 'Monsters and Messiahs'

Quote

“Elsewhere in Mexico, the beloved devil-rat-alien, Latino if not literally raza, was supplanting Mickey Mouse and the Power Rangers as a popular icon… The delicious embrace of chupacabrismo by Mexico was, first and above all, a celebration of the national sense of humor. Despite all the setbacks and infamies of the Salinas era, Mexico still owned its laughter.” (Monsters, 48)

Summarize

     In this quote, Davis intends to make sure his audience knows that the true view of the chupacabra was not only of fear or as a political metaphor, but instead was largely a celebration of sharing a story, of sharing a joke.

Response

     I liked that Davis focused on multiple aspects and moods about Chupacabra; it was feared for the legend of its blood-sucking devil-creature status, but in it was found a "familiar monstrosity" - it was a monster that, like many others, was a "messiah of consolation" (47) that refamiliarized new issues to people who needed reassurance from their culture. I was glad that Davis properly acknowledged the culture that the monster was born in - many consumers of pop culture love to illustrate how monsters were a symbol of fear and horror, but often forget to investigate the general culture of the society that made them, and ultimately do a disservice to themselves and others interested in the creature by ignoring or simply missing the depth the creature's originators built them with. By exclaiming the love with which Mexico introduced and shared this evolved-from-lore Chupacabra cryptid, Davis joins in celebrating the Chupacabra's role, and invites his readers to do so as well, with just as much exuberance as Latine people themselves tend to do in sharing stories.