Monster: A comment on Japan's Heteronormativity

 
Monster (2023) is a coming of age story about Minato Mugino, a relatively normal 5th grader who one day begins to act strangely.  He comes home with dirt in his water bottle, a missing shoe, or he doesn't come home at all.  His mother demands answers, to which he responds that he, Minato is a monster because his teacher said so.  The story unfolds as it is told through different perspectives, and shows what really happened that made Minato feel that he is a monster.

⚠️spoilers ahead!! ⚠️

    Japan's Heteronormativity

    Heteronormativity is the idea that heterosexuality is the norm, and that men and women have specific and predetermined roles/behaviors and guidelines that they must live by.

    Japan is a collectivist culture, meaning that there is an emphasis on group harmony and conformity.  Unique and individualistic traits are often shut down, as there is a need to be normal in Japan, which enhances the heteronormativity found in society.
    This idea compels men to find jobs, get married to a beautiful woman, and have kids.  Although this goal seems ordinary on the surface, the emphasis on gender roles and normality tells men that this is the only way to find fulfillment and happiness in life.

    Monster directly challenges this notion.  In the opening scene, Minato's mother is driving him home after she discovered him in an abandoned tunnel playing.  As she drives, she mentions how she will take care of him until he grows up and gets married.  This statement makes Minato so uncomfortable that he jumps out of the car and runs away.  Even though this comment is very casual, it establishes the heteronormativity that is ingrained in culture, and how it can alienate and quietly shame kids who don't fit in these strict cultural norms.
    Furthermore, when the movie later introduces Yori Hoshikawa, a feminine boy who is bullied in class, it shows the full spectrum of boys who are affected by the system.  While Minato suffers due to his internalized homophobia and emotional suppression, Yori suffers from being empathetic and friendly— traits that don't align with the guidelines set by society.  He is abused by his father, who calls him a disease, accuses him of thinking like a pig, and dehumanizes him for acting "gay".  Together, Minato and Yori show how heteronormativity not only enhances shame, but it actively punishes originality and progress.
    However, because of these challenges, the boys grow closer.  Minato defends Yori from bullies by causing a ruckus to distract them, and Yori gives Minato a safe space to be himself and imaginative.  Eventually, when Minato confides in the principal that he has a crush on his classmate, it becomes clear that Minato has caught feelings for Yori.  However, he then states that he hides it from others because they'll know that he'll never be happy.  This implies that Minato's fear of himself stems from his fear of being different and never finding happiness.  This singular line highlights the role of heteronormativity in internalized homophobia in Japan: the fear of never finding happiness and being abnormal.  However, the principal's response is the central message of the film: "If only some people can have it, that's not happiness.  That's just nonsense.  Happiness is something anyone can have."
    Whether you're shy, energetic, straight, queer, or anything in between, you deserve happiness.  This message inspires Minato to embrace who he is.  Despite there being a storm, he escapes from his heteronormative cell, and with Yori, they run to their hiding spot in the forest.  There, they wonder if they will be reborn as normal kids.  But, instead of longing for a new life, they come to the realization that they're okay with being the queer, unique kids they are.  When the storm ends, the boys experience a taste of freedom and they run around the forest with pure joy.
  

credit: @.bagsty (tiktok)

 This ending is a symbolic moment of liberation, self-acceptance, and pure happiness.  Minato and Yori are finally able to be kids, without being gnawed at by the constant reminder that they are wrong, that they are aliens, that they will never be happy.  Unlike their neighborhood, where their bullies, teachers, and parents are, the forest allows them to be who they really are.  This ending reminds us what fulfillment should really be: being honest to yourself and accepting your differences.  
    This film critiques heteronormativity for being a system that robs children of their empathy and self worth.  It teaches children that they must suppress parts of themselves to be accepted in a collectivist society, and that happiness is only promised to those who follow the rules.
However, this film also offers hope.  Minato and Yori's quiet rebellion of running away, choosing to accept themselves, and stay friends, reminds us that change is possible.  We can still choose to feel fulfilled and happy by stopping ourselves from ordering "normal" from ourselves and others, and embracing our messy, human selves.
    In the end, Monster doesn't just ask us to treat queer kids with kindness.  It asks us to imagine what would happen if we stopped trying to fix them, and instead let them be who they are and realize that they were never broken in the first place.