RedEye wrote:Let the action determine things, not the appearance.
Anyway, that's my take so far.
When did I ever suggest in any of my recent, (or even past) messages that a werewolf LOOK Ugly, or in some way impossible to see as anything other than frightening to look at. That has not been part of this discussion.
This discussion has been about nothing
BUT behavior.
RedEye wrote:Can we agree that a Werewolf is essentially Frightening? But not necessarily a Monster.
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................NO.
...Here is my explanation why:
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In the realm of literature, media, and the very human psyche, there is a fundamental and essential NEED for the existence of the two-dimensional "
Monster". From the Boogie-Man, to the Vampire, to Demons, Dragons, and the Restless Dead, there is an instinctual
NEED within all human beings to personify all of the fears and evils and harmful forces which they are unable to fight back against into
tangible concepts and characters that can more easily be recognized and understood.
...not just in their own minds, but as shared and sympathized fears and metaphors which can be mutually interpreted and understood by all of the community and culture around them. Often there are just so many gray-aria, indistinct and unclear evils which we build up frustration and anxiety about that we just don't know how or where to direct our feelings towards...and some times those pent up feelings can be even WORSE than the evils themselves.
That is why we have
MONSTERS. The
Gray troubles we face in our everyday lives we are taught and old we should not allow ourselves to FEAR ...not allow ourselves to HATE ...and most definitely, never lash out against in
REVENGE.
But as wise as those lessons and advice may be, it remains a simple truth that those Emotions are a natural part of the Human Condition,
(and every concious living creature, most likely). One way or another, those feelings need to be acknowledged, identified, and dealt with. One of the most effective ways used by Mankind, since before the advent of our first civilizations until this very day is the shared LOVE/HATE, across all borders and all cultures, for the
mythical ETERNAL
BLACK and
WHITE struggle between 'Good' and
'Evil'.
No one will ever call you a coward for
FEARING a
True "Monster" ... for it is Truly something that deserves to be feared.
No one will ever accuse you of being unreasonable for
HATING it ... for Nothing has ever been more deserving of hate.
...and No one will ever scorn or punish you for wishing to
DESTROY the "Monsters" that plague your world...to see them wiped from the land, and
especially from your nightmares ... for no creature has ever been more worthy of OBLITERATION.
Although these 'ULTIMATE' monsters do not, nor have ever truly existed in such clear, pure, and tangible forms ... outside of our own vivid imaginations, that is ... our ability to focus all of the Gray evils in our world into mutually accepted, clearly defined incarnations of PURE
BLACK EVIL, helps us as a worldwide culture to come to some mutual understandings about what dark elements of our world trouble us the most, what we share in common in our fears, and how we all on the same side, regardless of where we came from, in our shared battle against the forces of EVIL.
Every culture has created it's own Monsters, and there are far too many to list in one sitting, but for CENTURIES, there have always been a few ideas that stood out above all others, crossing borders of culture and language to reach every corner of the globe, which so perfectly define different familiar forms of Evil, universal amongst all peoples, that they are not only LEGENDS, and ICONS of isolated
National culture, or 'niche' POP culture, but WORLD Culture.
Dragons - [ The Superior Being. The Beast which is capable of everything that we are not. Stronger...Bigger...Faster... Able to do as it pleases with Humanity helpless to to stop it, at the mighty MONSTERs mercy. ]
Vampires - [ The Immortal Oppressor. The Figure whom preys helplessly upon the weak to make itself stronger. Impossible to kill, for it is already beyond death. Impossible to oppose, for it's influence is greater than any man. The MONSTER of the
greed in every Humans heart, made flesh...fed upon the hearts blood. ]
The Risen Dead - [ Ghosts and the Walking Dead/(Zombies). The returning wrath of debts unpaid. The visage of our dearly departed loved ones, stood before us again, threatening harm. Their wrath can not be appeased, for in death, they have no soul, and so are unable to forgive. (A trait considered to be 'Divine') Only the pain left unsoothed in life remains. While all that was good in them has ascended to Heaven, all that remains in the shadow and the shell left behind on the mortal plane is a MONSTER of darkness, hunger, and hate. They are like the embodiment of all Mans regrets in life, and the fear that not even DEATH can wash those evils away. ]
Demons/The Devil - [
EVIL ITSELF, made flesh. Demons are souls that have sworn themselves to serve the creator of all Evil on Earth. Sworn to allegiance to it in exchange for greedy desires in life, or risen from the bowels of Hell itself as the dark masters favorite pets, given strengths and abilities far greater than any mortal being that break even the laws (through Dark Magic) that the creator of light set down to bring order to the world, to enable them to do their dark masters bidding. What can a mere mortal do against a MONSTER of
Pure Evil, or the deity of Evils eternal Essence? ]
...and...
Werewolves - [ Man is
BEAST. A threatening concept to almost all civilized cultures. A Human being reverts to indulging themselves in all of instincts and behaviors that civilization has come to forbid, such as the indifferent murder and consumption of any living flesh, wild, privately owned, or
Human, without conscience or allowance for retribution. Humanity believes it is greater than the wild beasts, and to see themselves behaving as they believe the beasts of the wild behave is more frightening than even the acts themselves, for it suggests that they are not so far above the wild beasts after all, and that they themselves may not be able to resist the wild desires within their OWN hearts. This reversion is manifested, not only in the behavior of the person, but in the twisting and reforming of the humans familiar shape into the form and resemblance of the peoples most familiar, and
feared beastly foe,
(their most formidable competitor for the food and the earth they need to live), the
WOLF. Man becomes his own greatest enemy and is reformed a MONSTER. The beast generates an unparalleled sense of
paranoia as it is known to reside within the heart and the flesh of a Human being like themselves, and could be hiding in plain sight right under their nose. How can one bring to justice a Beast which hunts and kills and brings it's mayhem in the form of a beast too familiar and common to track or isolate, which is also able to change it's form and hide by your very side as your own best friend? ...and if your best friend could host such a vicious and terrible beast inside...how can you be so sure that you yourself could resist the call of the wolf and the lure of flesh if the hunger of the wild burned in your blood? ]
Different cultures call these creatures by different names, and interpret their appearances in different ways, but these themes are familiar to almost ALL cultures around the world.
My point is ... like the Vampire, the Werewolf ,
as a MONSTER, is not just a character from a few obscure legends and fairytales, but a cultural ICON...a
Landmark on the roadmap of the Human Psyche.
To claim to be a fan of the character of the "Werewolf", while completely ignoring, rejecting, and choosing to be oblivious to the true
POWER and
presence it has within the Culture and Psyche of the Human race ...
as the MONSTER ... I think is like buying the Declaration of Independence and hanging it on your wall just because you think the calligraphy is pretty.
...
do you have any idea of the significance of what you have in your HANDS?! ...
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Am I saying that we should
not make stories, art, music and movies about creative interpretations of Werewolves that are
NOT exact, faithful representations of that single ideal?
No, No, No, No, NO!...
Write stories about Therian Werewolves that protect the forest from evil hunters and ecosystem destroying corperations...
Draw pictures of a Werewolf in a dress, seasoning a platter of raw meat for her tail-wagging anthro-wolf children, wearing an apron that says "Lick the Cook"...
Make a Movie about the Werewolf Pack that fought against the undue hatred and oppression their race endured and, showing the soft, loving side of the noble beast, ends a millennium of secret warfare by proving they were the good-guys all along.
...
WHATEVER...
Not EVERY Werewolf story needs to be about such scary kinds of 'Monsters'.
...but at least
some of them do.
Don't forget
WHY everyone knows what a "Werewolf" is.
As a Mild-Mannered Shapeshifter, the Werewolf is little more than just another Furry Fan-Fiction character.
...but as
The"MONSTER" , the "Werewolf" is a
Global Cultural ICON.
I agreed with you in my post.
I'm sorry Vuldari. I definitly fell into the catagory of trying to eradicate the old werewolf, but from now on, I'll give all wolves a fair chance 
! And sorry I didn't understand what you ment 