Thematic Reflection
Fear is a powerful force. Fear of failure, of change, of the dark, of rejection, of the unknown, of loss, of the future, of missing out, of being ordinary, of heights, of financial ruin, of ___________. Regardless of its object, our fear is capable of absorbing us, consuming our hearts and minds in a maelstrom of apathy and inaction. Worse, perhaps, it drives us to capitalize on humanity’s collective sense of anxiety. We leverage fear and exploit it, attempting to control it lest it control us.
Fear’s power is most fully realized when it convinces us that there is such a thing as a “healthy dose.” At its insidious best, fear traffics in this kind of subtlety, for—in measured quantities—it has the ability to catalyze individuals and communities to action. It forges personal and communal identities by shifting something that is simply unknown into something that is wholly “other.” It creates a clearly definable “us,” and an equally distinct “them.” At first blush, it seems to be completely natural, prudent even, to speak in these terms. As our common enemy, these mysterious others are nothing more than a threat to our way of life, and to know them in any substantive way is to risk losing all that we hold dear, or at least that is what fear would have us believe.
Fear is never content, though, to merely create some shared sense of otherness. It always works to radicalize this otherness. Those whom we fear are not simply unknown to us; they are fundamentally unlike us. We are humans. They are something else entirely, something “less than.” We are the innocents. They are the monsters.
Monsters, Inc. is a film about fear. It taps into childhood fears common to the human experience, and it also speaks to the collective fears of a terrorized society—fears of the unknown, the outsider, and most importantly, the other. It is a film that explores, albeit whimsically, the lengths to which we will go in order to keep the other in an impenetrable fortress. Released in 2001, a year permanently etched into the American cultural consciousness, this children’s film is quite timely.
The fictional city of Monstropolis where Monsters, Inc. is to be found is literally fueled by the screams of human children (see clip 1). The irony here is that the monsters who are best at eliciting screams are terrified of the children they are tasked with scaring. It is common knowledge in Monstropolis that human children are “poisonous.” Their very presence threatens to contaminate the purity of the city that the monsters have worked so tirelessly to maintain.
It is not until James P. Sullivan and Mike Wazowski inadvertently bring an actual human child into their world that the narrative of vilified “otherness” begins to unravel (see clip 2). As it does, the fear-based economy of Monstropolis is revealed to be unstable. By capitalizing on unfounded fears and painting outsiders as infectious others, the monsters had unknowingly denied a power source deeper and far more regenerative—love and laughter.
Love casts out fear (1 John 4:7). What a fascinating notion. Fear creates otherness. Love reclaims the other as brother or sister. One of fear’s powers is its ability to dehumanize the other. Love has the power to humanize the foreigner, the alien, and the outcast in our midst. Monsters, Inc. reminds us that, while fear often fuels our individual and corporate lives, it is fundamentally limited. Love, on the other hand, knows no bounds, for it draws upon a different source of power altogether.
Key Scenes
Discussion Questions
For Adults
Watch Clip 1, and read Psalm 118:5-7.
1) What do you fear? What keeps you up at night?
2) How do we discern the difference between real enemies and simply “unknown others?”
3) Do you trust God with your fears? Why or why not?
Watch Clip 2, and read 1 John 4:7-21.
1) Who counts as our “brothers and sisters?”
2) Does loving the “other” involve any risk? If so, is it worth it?
3) In what ways has love “cast out” or overcome fear in your life?
For Families
Watch Clip 1, and read Psalm 118:5-7.
1) What do you fear? What keeps you up at night?
2) How does our family treat the “other” or “outsider?”
3) Do you trust God with your fears? Why or why not? Does our family?
Watch Clip 2, and read 1 John 4:7-21.
1) What does it mean to consider someone a brother or sister?
2) What does the way we treat each other say about what we think about God?
3) Is our family powered by fear or by love? What made you choose one or the other?
For Students
Watch Clip 1, and read Psalm 118:5-7.
1) What do you fear? What keeps you up at night?
2) How do you generally treat the “other” or “outsider?”
3) Do you trust God with your fears? Either way, what does that mean to you?
Watch Clip 2, and read 1 John 4:7-21.
1) Who counts as our “brothers and sisters?”
2) Does loving others (or the “other”) involve any risk? If so, is it worth it?
3) Have you seen love “cast out” or overcome fear in your life?
For Children
Watch Clip 1, and read Psalm 118:5-7.
1) What are you afraid of? What are the monsters afraid of? Why?
2) What do you do when you are afraid?
3) How does it mean for God to be on your side when you are afraid?
Watch Clip 2, and read 1 John 4:20-21.
1) Do you have a brother or a sister?
2) What does your relationship with your brother and/or sister have to do with your relationship with God?
3) Can you trust God when you are scared? Why?
Related Scriptures
In my distress I cried out to the Lord.
The Lord answered me and put me in a wide open place.
The Lord is on my side, I am not afraid!
What can people do to me?
The Lord is on my side as my helper.
I look in triumph on those who hate me.
(Psalm 118:5-7)
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
(1 John 4:7-21)
