Liminality in Monsters, Inc: Sarah Gingerich

 When I was reflecting on the vocabulary we discussed in class, I was reminded of the word “liminality” and its concept of one being in a transitional or “in-between” space. With this definition in mind, I can think of no better movie to discuss than Monsters, Inc. 

    Monsters, Inc. is one of my favorite movies of all time, and I think it frames the concept of liminality quite well. The factory and the city of Monstropolis are familiar and secure spaces for the monsters where they experience everyday life. However, for the monsters on the scare floor, when they enter the children’s bedrooms, they move into a liminal space. The child’s bedroom is neither fully part of Monstropolis nor fully part of the human world, and the usual rules don’t apply. Transformational experiences actually happen in this liminal space for Mike and Sully, and they end up challenging ethical dilemmas as well as Monstropolis’s norms, and develop empathy for human children. This echoes Victor Turner’s idea that liminal spaces are sites for transformation. 

Ultimately, I just love this movie and wanted to talk about it.


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