Monsters or Men?: Guillermo del Toro’s Allegories of American Othering in The Shape of Water

The rise of xenophobia during the Trump presidency in the United States took many forms when compared with the more progressive strides during Obama’s tenure. The negative image of the immigrant in the US has been exacerbated by platforms of rhetoric that have awoken the dormant volcano of hate. Immigrants, women, those of non-traditional sexual orientation, non-Anglos, and other minoritized groups are all subjected to US Othering. Yet, the voices of subordination, criticism, and fearmongering seem ironic beyond the dominant group for whom they are intended. Easy slogans such as “Make America Great Again” indoctrinate majority groups with a (false) sense of victimhood, deepening their desire for power over subaltern figures, whom they portray as parasitic, grotesque, and monstrous, thus creating ontological and rhetorical borders within the US.