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The Establishment and the “Other”

The establishment refers to those who have power, control, and status in

society/civilization. The establishment are connected to the power structures of society.

They are connected to religious power structures (priests/imams/nuns/ministers), political

power structures (politicians/prime minister/mayors), academic power structures

(teachers/students/administrators), military and policing power structures, financial power

structures (owners of large companies/ rich or wealthy bankers etc.) and judicial power

structures (judges/lawyers/bailiffs) etc. There are varying degrees of power as some

establishment positions have more power than others ex. Judges have more power than

lawyers and the prime minister has more power than a mayor or premier.

The “other” refers to those who have less or no power and control in

society/civilization. The “other” are frequently found in the margins/edges/outskirts of

civilization or in the wilderness. They are varying degrees of otherness. However, the more

closely connected a character is to the “other,” the less power the character will have in

civilization and the more power the character will often have in the wilderness.

In horror, the establishment and the “other” are in frequent conflict with each other.

The establishment sees the “other” as a threat to its power and wants to

control/kill/attack/destroy the “other” in order for the establishment to maintain its power

and control. The “other” see the establishment as a threat to its existence or want to

become the new establishment which means they must destroy or overthrow the old

establishment. Thus, the “other” often attack/undermine/ invade/kill/destroy/attempt to

overthrow the establishment in order to get power and control for themselves. The

establishment represents the power of civilization and the “other” represents the power of

wilderness.

Characteristics of the Establishment vs. the “Other”

(The quality on the left of the / connects a character to the power of the establishment and

the quality on the right of the / connects a character to the power of the “other”). The

characteristics of the establishment vs. “other” are culturally specific so will be different in

different cultures.

Male/Female

White/People of Colour

Heterosexual (straight)/Homosexual (gay/lesbian/bisexual etc.)

Christian/Non-Christian (Pagan/Jewish/Muslim)

Even within Christianity, there is an establishment/”other” re: Protestant/Catholic

Light/Darkness

Civilization/Wilderness City (urban)/Countryside (rural)

Logic/Passion Sanity/Insanity

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Rich/Poor

Educated/Low Education re: your parents must have told you that education is power –

it connects you to the power of the establishment

Literate (ability to read and write)/ illiterate (low or no ability to read and write)

Old/Young Adult/Child

Human/Animal the one exception is the following: the Dog (Man’s best friend)/the

Cat (connected to the power of the supernatural and women)

Transmission of Information through Time:

Writing (books)/Pictures (paintings etc.) or gossip or storytelling

Fire/Water Air/Earth

Father God/Mother Goddess The earliest humans were hunters and gatherers so they

wandered the earth following the herds of animals. Then humans started to settle down in

one area. Once humans started to settle down and could no longer follow the herds of

animals, the humans needed to start farming the land. Thus, farming became the first,

earliest sign of civilization because humans had to create laws and rules to follow once

people started living together permanently. Since the earth is considered female (Mother

Earth), the earliest religions were Mother Goddess religions that asked for the earth to be

fertile and to give the farmers good crops. However, as the settlements of people became

larger and larger, you started to have cities form (usually around waterways for

transportation). The cities became a symbol of civilization and the farms now became

symbols of wilderness as they were in rural areas away from the cities. City people were not

as concerned about the fertility of the earth. Instead, city religions followed the new social

structure of the city which was male dominated. So, you started to have city religions

become patriarchal (male dominated) while the rural religions remained matriarchal

(female dominated). The Father God lived in the Air (Sky/Heaven/Mount Olympus) while the

Mother Goddess lived in the earth or was connected to the earth.

Symbolic Sacrifice/ Literal Sacrifice

Symbolic sacrifice means that instead of doing a literal blood or flesh sacrifice to the

gods/god and literally killing a human being/animal and offering their blood or flesh to the

gods, one does a symbolic offering of blood and flesh. So, instead of going to a church on

Sunday and watching the priest wrestle a goat up to the altar and cut its throat and then

offer the blood and flesh of the goat to the worshippers, there is a symbolic blood and flesh

offering. During the Last Supper, Christ passes around a cup of red wine which symbolizes

his blood. His disciples drink the wine to connect to his power of godhood. Christ also passes

around a loaf of bread which symbolizes his body. Thus, the bread becomes a symbolic way

for his disciples to connect to his power of godhood/the divine. In church, the worshippers

drink wine (symbolic blood) and eat bread (cracker/wafer) which symbolizes the body/the

flesh. Thus, symbolic sacrifice becomes a symbol of civilization and civilized religion.

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Literal Sacrifice is connected to pagan religion and the Mother Goddess in horror. The

peasants who live in the rural areas and need to ensure fertility of the earth

(female/”other”) must offer literal blood and flesh sacrifices to the pagan gods. So, who do

you think the villagers will want to kill and offer to the pagan gods? Their neighbours or the

strangers from the city who have wandered into the wilderness? Some of these sacrifices

involve fertility rituals – sex rituals. Cybele is a Mother Goddess who has a consort or

husband Attis (Atys). During the fertility ritual, Attis’ testes are cut off and fall into the earth

covered in his blood. Out of the earth come flowers (violets), a sign of life and fertility.

(Testes contain semen which is the Latin word for seed. Thus, seeds fall into the earth, are

nourished by blood (which symbolizes life) and then flowers come forth from the earth. The

castration of Attis is a planting ritual. Thus, literal sacrifice becomes a symbol of uncivilized

religion/pagan religion and the “other” and wilderness.

Remember, characters are usually a combination of characteristics that connect them to

the power of the establishment and the power of the “other.” However, the more a

character is connected to the power of the establishment, the more likely a character is to

survive his/her journey into the wilderness and his/her encounters with the

“other”/supernatural.