Why are Hollywood Monsters so Big?

[Karri]

I'm doing a dissertation at uni on why Hollywood monsters have changed in size over the history of hollywood cinema and i was hoping for some info. any ideas from anyone why monsters (classic and contemporary) are so big? do they pose a bigger threat when they're bigger? are people more afraid when the monster is huge?
thanks for the feedback so far.
i think what i am ultimately trying to get to is...what do people fear? i spoke to my nan and king long 1933 terrified her when she was a little girl, yet children now don't find it scary. does fear move on as technology does or do big monsters of all eras scare the audience?

 

[Schtupa]

Ummmm. Hollywood monsters today are so big because? Steroids? Because they can be?

Seriously, the question you ask is far harder for me to answer than I thought when originally reading it.

I think that ultimately the answer is advancing technology in film production.

First, what constitutes a monster? In the early films make-up and lighting made the monster.

The original monsters, Frankenstein's monster, Nosferatu (and his alter-ego Dracula,) the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Wolfman were all human sized. (Okay, Frankenstein's Monster was made from extra large pieces, and the actor wore elevator boots to look even more imposing, but the parts were from regular people.) They posessed supernatural powers of evil that were difficult to overcome.
Wait a minute. No they weren't all that difficult to defeat. A couple of dozen villagers with pitchforks and waving lit torches could defeat Frankenstein's monster. Some studious, loner, geek, wearing coke bottle bottom glasses with a cross and a wooden stake could lay Dracula to rest. (At least temporarily.)

These monsters were scary because they were operating in secret. The fear is that you will meet them alone, and you will be defeated. They were waiting behind doors in deserted castles. As soon as enough people knew about them, poof. The monsters lost.

Ignoring Jason and the Argonauts, and similar film dealing with mythological Gods and beings, the first big monsters were freaks of nature.

King Kong and even Godzilla are examples. Even though a lot of people were aware of them it took many, many people working together in concert to kill the monsters. (Okay were weren't that good about killing Godzilla. It was a draw. He returned again. And again. And again. ad infinitum. I am not sure that he is dead yet. Expect another Godzilla movie in the future. Hopefully not the near future.)

Both Godzilla and Frankenstein's monster had one thing in common with the monster's we see more commonly in films today: They were the result of man's meddling with nature. Doing things we shouldn't oughta do. (Like testing nuclear weapons, and re-animating the dead.)

Most of the monster's today follow one of three paths: Either they are super-natural, or they are the result of technology, or they are entirely alien and implacable.

The super-natural (and frequently evil) monsters include, but are not limited to: zombies, ghouls, vampires and similar beings. They can only be defeated by GOOD. GOOD frequently is coupled with technology.
Examples of monsters that occur when they are the result of technology run amok and gotten out of control of the arrogant and stupid humans in charge include Frankenstein's Monster, Godzilla, and the Jurrasaic Park movies.
Monsters who are alien and implacable include, Jaws, The Swarm, Transformers, and the Alien/Predator franchises.

Aliens who attack this planet tend to display high technology. Their technology is superior to ours. Relatively speaking their technology has run amok. Independance Day, Mars Attacks, and War of the Worlds are examples.

The point is that more and more the "monsters," that we face in Hollywood films today can only be created by the current technology in film, and then can only be defeated by that same technology. This technology is frequently explosive, and therefor very exciting and hence highly desirable for film.

My final remark is that, contrary to what women you date will tell you, in film size does matter. If Cujo had been a Chihuahua who would have cared?

 

[michyme216]

i would think so, no one would really care if like a tiny dog was attacking lol but if you think about cloverfield you had a HUGE monster, and then those little monsters that walked around killing ppl