| Title | How to Brand Your Monster |
|---|---|
| Contributor | Matt Tomlinson(author) |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.53288/0361.1.15 |
| Landing page | https://punctumbooks.com/titles/living-with-monsters-ethnographic-fiction-about-real-monsters/ |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ |
| Copyright | Matt Tomlinson |
| Publisher | punctum books |
| Published on | 2023-05-11 |
| Long abstract | In the Monster Branding Seminar, you are taught how to make your monster break through to fame and fortune. Make your favorite beast become the It Monster – the one everyone loves and is terrified of at the same time. There are seven rules: Your monster needs a memorable name, an iconic look, and a good natural setting. Your monster cannot be too scary, but need to be just scary enough, and must have a touch of sex appeal. Crucially, your monster needs a sense of humor. Above all, your monster needs a special feature – the X factor that gets it onto shows like the X-Files. By taking your local monster and branding him, her, or it according to these rules, you will entertain the world and make scary amounts of money. |
| Page range | pp. 261–278 |
| Print length | 18 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
| Keywords |
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Matt Tomlinson is an anthropologist who studies language, religion, and politics with a focus on ritual performance. He has conducted long-term research in the Pacific Islands, especially Fiji, Samoa, and New Zealand. More recently, he has conducted fieldwork in Australia on the religion of Spiritualism. When not marketing the Jersey Devil as the most entertaining monster in the world, he teaches anthropology at the Australian National University. His most recent books are God Is Samoan: Dialogues Between Culture and Theology in the Pacific (University of Hawai‘i Press, 2020) and the edited volumes The Monologic Imagination (with Julian Millie, Oxford University Press, 2017) and New Mana: Transformations of a Classic Concept in Pacific Languages and Cultures (with Ty P. Kāwika Tengan, Australian National University Press, 2016).