Without any doubt, ScoobyNatural is one of the most successful episodes of Supernatural. According to Manuela, it is perhaps the most exceptional one of the famous American television series. The reason for it is the significance of a monstrous element of the film, which makes numerous individuals think more profoundly about evil in the modern world. The message of the “monstrous” component of this episode is that the real danger lies not in the ghosts, sorceresses, and monstrosities but in the ordinary people who strive for glory or fame.
The thesis could be proven by the fact that although the brothers Winchester and the Scooby Gang managed to catch the ghost, it was not his idea to scare people. The property developer used the spirit of a young boy to frighten shop owners to whom he did not want the real estate to be sold. Doux noted the episode “fits into the theme of innocent childhood turning into tragic adulthood, and it was sad in the way Supernatural is often sad” (Doux). Many people used to watch Scooby-Doo when they were careless children possessing little practical knowledge regarding evil. Then they became adults and realized that that life is not as easy as it had appeared before.
Furthermore, ScoobyNatural connects a happy childhood to challenging adulthood. McLevy said, “Dean wants to keep the Scooby Gang innocent, free from the knowledge that monsters are real.” The Supernatural characters represent adults, while the Scooby-Doo ones display children, who have not experienced yet a monstrous element, existing in the real world. Most critics agree with this idea. For example, Melrose noted that Dean does his best to be protective of the characters and respectful of all the cartoon world laws. He does not intend to introduce the characters of Scooby-Doo to adversity, suffering, and corruption, which most individuals face each day.
At the same time, Cohen argues that monsters are used in cartoons and movies for more complicated purposes than simply to show that the life of adults is harder than one of the children (3). More precisely, he claims that monsters are a “cultural body” (Cohen 4). According to Cohen’s statement, “the monstrum is etymological “that which reveals” (4). Therefore, it could be inferred that in ScoobyNatural‘s case, the ghost signifies such vice of modern culture as the greediness and strive to possess as much as possible that was created by the capitalist system.
Another curious issue about the application of monsters in ScoobyNatural is that people are afraid of monsters because they like the feeling of being frightened (Cohen 17). Cohen claims that monsters’ aggressive actions are limited by space and, hence, people should not be afraid of them (Cohen 17). Nevertheless, ScoobyNatural shows that victims do exist and, therefore, this concept of Cohen is inconsistent concerning the circumstances evidenced by the Winchesters and the Scooby Gang.
In conclusion, a specific monstrous element of the episode makes it highly exceptional. LaMonica stated that viewers could observe the characters of the cartoon in their innocent naiveté. However, the characters from the real world comprehend that evil exists and desire to protect the Scooby Gang from it. It makes viewers realize that there are ‘monsters’ in the modern world unfamiliar to children but well-known for most adults. Besides, these monsters are not terrible creatures but rather the human vices that they represent.
Works Cited
Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. Monster Theory: Reading Culture. University of Minnesota Press, 1996.
Doux, Billie. “Supernatural: Scoobynatural.” Doux Reviews, 2018, Web.
LaMonica, Bridget. “Supernatural Season 13 Episode 16: Scoobynatural Review.” Den of Geek, 2018, Web.
McLevy, Alex. “Supernatural Is Dead Serious About the Comic Sweetness of Its Scooby-Doo Crossover.” The A.V. Club, 2018, Web.
Melrose, Kevin. “Scoobynatural Is Everything We Love About Supernatural – and Scooby-Doo.” CBR.com, 2018, Web.