As a child I have always been fascinated with vampires. From old to modern books like Dracula, Blue Bloods Series, and The Twilight Saga. Movies like Interview with the Vampire, Underworld, and Day Breakers. Even one of my favorite graphic novels is American Vampire by Scott Snyder and Stephen King. I am even taking a course at Anne Arundel Community College in the Spring 2012 called Gender & Sexuality in Vampire Literature.
Something that is interesting and can be quite annoying is what I call "Vampire Fever" that has purged on every being walking the planet these days. Vampire's are popular and heavily prevalent in pop culture right now. And what I find interesting is the way these creatures gender and sexuality have been portrayed over hundreds of years.
The oldest and most popular vampire fiction novels is Dracula written by Bran Stoker and published in 1897. Dracula came into theaters in 1931 where audiences were frightened and captivated by the sinister villain. Count Dracula is portrayed as wealthy, who can turn into any animal he desires, stronger than twenty men and rendered useless when exposed to the sun. The heroines in the book/film were victums of the vamp's allure and power as he had uncontrollable power over these women.
In contrast, America fell in love with one of the biggest selling young adult book's called Twilight by Stephanie Meyer and after great success morphed into movies that turned into box office excellence. Different from Dracula, the Cullen family is a clan of vampires that were once human but turned into vampires by their "father" Carlisle only because they were dying. These vampires are portrayed as good-hearted, beautiful, porcelain, strong and possess special powers like reading peoples minds and knowing the future. Bella Swan, a mere human, is captivated by a member of the clan, Edward. Bella wants to give up her future, family, and literally life to be forever bound to Edward.
Writers are making their own twists on the classic and now very popular topic of vampires. But, why are we captivated? Why is it that even in a movie like Underworld, where the main character is a female who pulverizes men in every other scene is still portrayed as weak in the eyes of her male peers, sexualized, and still undermined throughout the film?
Something that is interesting and can be quite annoying is what I call "Vampire Fever" that has purged on every being walking the planet these days. Vampire's are popular and heavily prevalent in pop culture right now. And what I find interesting is the way these creatures gender and sexuality have been portrayed over hundreds of years.
The oldest and most popular vampire fiction novels is Dracula written by Bran Stoker and published in 1897. Dracula came into theaters in 1931 where audiences were frightened and captivated by the sinister villain. Count Dracula is portrayed as wealthy, who can turn into any animal he desires, stronger than twenty men and rendered useless when exposed to the sun. The heroines in the book/film were victums of the vamp's allure and power as he had uncontrollable power over these women.
In contrast, America fell in love with one of the biggest selling young adult book's called Twilight by Stephanie Meyer and after great success morphed into movies that turned into box office excellence. Different from Dracula, the Cullen family is a clan of vampires that were once human but turned into vampires by their "father" Carlisle only because they were dying. These vampires are portrayed as good-hearted, beautiful, porcelain, strong and possess special powers like reading peoples minds and knowing the future. Bella Swan, a mere human, is captivated by a member of the clan, Edward. Bella wants to give up her future, family, and literally life to be forever bound to Edward.
Writers are making their own twists on the classic and now very popular topic of vampires. But, why are we captivated? Why is it that even in a movie like Underworld, where the main character is a female who pulverizes men in every other scene is still portrayed as weak in the eyes of her male peers, sexualized, and still undermined throughout the film?
