In days of old, the curious thrill-seeker and casual Earth detective went searching for the famed
Abominable Snowman, a humanoid ape creature said to be an evolutionary deviant and living high up in snowy mountains.
In today's world, people are curious about the urban phantom --- i.e., "Who is the new
Jack the Ripper?" That's because in today's world, pedestrian traffic is of high concern.
America is the land of great multi-cultural traffic, and Americans know their country is marked by variegated terrain (swamps, mountains, prairies, deserts, beaches, cities, suburbs, you name it).
Hollywood (USA) makes thoroughfare-consciousness films such as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" [1974] and "Coming to America" [1988], films that designate a new focus on a profound sense of place and how people view the crossing of space.
So who exactly is the new Jack the Ripper?
In this thread, I propose that Leatherface, the fictional chainsaw-wielding cannibal from the popular Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror film franchise, is the new phantom (or Jack the Ripper).
While Leatherface is not real (while Jack the Ripper was a real serial killer), media/movie images of violence-glorification ominously suggest that an impressionable or psychologically troubled individual just might find the gumption (and mania) to don the mask and mantle of Leatherface one Halloween and go on an American killing spree (with a chainsaw).
Copycat crimes are a problem in the modern age. We remember the news stories of copycat crimes modelled after scenes from the controversial Hollywood (USA) film "Natural Born Killers" [1994].
If someone were to 'copy' Leatherface, he just might *be* Leatherface.
After all, Leatherface (from the original 1974 Tobe Hooper film) is something like a cross between the
Wolfman and the
Tin Man.
Leatherface stalks random passerby in Texas who happen to cross his path.
Leatherface represents a pedestrian paranoia about poor navigation. Leatherface's chainsaw symbolizes a human angst about weapon/power mismanagement.
So if Jack the Ripper and the Abominable Snowman preyed on our sensibilities about surroundings, Leatherface haunts our fears about basic trust, making him the new Boogeyman.
Therefore, we should be wary (with a degree of irony) about the possibility that a masked Leatherface copycat ghoul may be lurking, waiting to push us into this new age of pedestrian angst.
Welcome to the new age!
LEATHERFACE
