Perhaps the most extreme form of Othering, brought to its logical conclusion. Often explored in fiction, especially in simplified form.
Distinct from monsters, who are non-sentient, monstrous beings are sentient to some degree, usually of lower intelligence (you should be questioning even this) and less-than human in some way. This forms a kind of problematic scale of personhood.
I realise this could easily come across as overly moralising and I’m well aware of that. Can evil characters just be evil, and not suggest real prejudiced views? This is an open question with people on either side. It is something at least worth questioning, especially in the context of Post-colonialism. I do suspect that there are real outdated worldviews encoded on a structural, cultural level.
In fantasy
Orcs and other baddies
No I mean baddies, not baddies.
Tolkien’s orcs are the archetypical example of this: irredeemably foul, subhuman creatures. Other classic fantasy has much of this kind of creature.
In Dungeons & Dragons, this is expressed in character alignment, which ‘evil’ being that of those strongly inclined toward, or even trapped within, villainy. Demons and devils for example (distinct in the D&D lore) are evil for the sake of it, though enemies to each other (they differ in being chaotic or lawful, respectively).
As sentient beings, it is all to easy to personify or anthropomorphise these creatures. It has been compellingly argued that orcs and other baddies are formed of the racist othering particularly endemic in the colonial encounter with those who come to be colonised.
There has already been a lot written about this. I will put a Pin 📌 in this and add some picks later.
For comic effect
First seen (at least by me) in the 1997 film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery when, after one of the typical drone-like henchmen is killed, the scene cuts to a domestic scene where his wife and child are informed of his death and react with grief. This satirically pokes fun at the idea that the nameless cannon fodder of soldiers and other goons in films exist only to be cut down by heroes. These monstrous goons are humanised, albeit only to reverse the expected trope for laughs.
This exact same formula is stollen whole-cloth and reproduced in the first episode of the Rick and Morty adult cartoon TV show, ‘Pilot’. In an action scene in which Rick and Morty are trying to escape insect-like alien space border patrol guards:
Rick: I need to type in the coordinates to our home world Morty. Cover me.
Morty: Oh, man. I mean, you know, I-I-I don’t wanna shoot nobody.
Rick: They’re just robots Morty! It’s okay to shoot them! ‘They’re robots!’[Morty shoots an insect-like alien, wounding its leg.]
Wounded alien (Glenn): Aah! My leg is shot off!
Alien 2: [Cradling Glenn’s head and looking concerned,] Glenn’s bleeding to death! Someone call his wife and children!Morty: They’re not robots, Rick!
Rick: It’s a figure of speech, Morty. They’re bureaucrats. I don’t respect them. Just keep shooting, Morty. You’ve no idea what prison is like here!
Unstructured notes
- Civilization vs barbarism or savagery
- Alien societies, e.g. wasp morality
- Madness and fixation, villains and the loss of free will