The Sheridan Sun Online
10/03/10 4:35 PM
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Say hello to vampires in pop culture
This is a vampire timeline highlighting the more popular vampire adaptations in books and on screen.
By Lindsey Papp
Twilight and True Blood are the latest additions to the vampire phenomena. Why have vampires become so popular recently? What about them is so appealing to this generation? PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BOSTON GLOBE
"The vampire seems to appeal in a different way to people Bela Lugosi (right) and Frances Dade in 1931's at different historical periods," said Carol Senf, associate Dracula. professor of English at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "Dracula was only reasonably popular in his own time (circa 1897). What made it popular was the movies," said Elizabeth Miller, an educator and Dracula scholar. "For about 60 years or so, the vampire stayed as Stoker had imagined it. There would be a new Dracula movie, a revival of interest and then it would disappear again."
The new vampire took off in the 70s "It wasn’t really until the '70s that writers took this [idea] and turned it upside down," said Miller. Anne Rice is one of the first authors to see vampires into something other than macabre. Her first vampire novel, Interview with a Vampire, was published in 1976, bringing a whole new type of vampire into the forefront. "In Ann Rice's books, some of the vampires are pretty nasty, but you have these other vampires who are ambivalent. They have a conscience," said Miller. "[Vampires are] a stage for us to play out things that we're maybe not comfortable coming right out and talking about, and dealing with," said Lisa Mackay, a professor at Sheridan College. "They're very attractive and they have special powers. Things like that are really appealing to us."
"If the vampire is like a thermostat for the culture that we're in, then it has changed according to what we're interested in." The Bram Stoker version of Dracula is frightening; the women he attacks are victims. He shows no remorse for his actions and is seen as an animal in the actions he takes to survive. In the novels by Stephanie Meyer (Twilight, New Moon) the vampires are different from Stoker's portrayal. They are essentially human with the added benefits of strength and power.
The Chameleon of mythology "One of the reasons why the vampire has survived is because it can adapt. Writers can use it and adapt it to what every generation is interested in. It's not a one dimensional figure," said Miller. Buffy the Vampire Slayer ran seven seasons, from March 13, 1997 to May 20, 2003. When the show first aired, Buffy was killing every vampire she came across. They were all evil. But soon characters like Angel, and later Spike, proved that maybe not all vampires are bad; that some of them don’t want to hurt people. "As our society and culture gets more complex we don't really believe in black and white, good and evil; we recognize shades of gray," said Mackay. "The interest in vampires today wouldn't be where it is if people had just stuck to the same old [story]," said Miller. file:///Volumes/Sun%20Online/2009%20Fall/oct_01_2009/web/distractions_vampire.html
One of the first written works based on vampires was the 1748 German poem written by Heinrich August Ossenfelder called The Vampire. In 1828 a novel called either The Skeleton Court or The Vampire Mistress was written by Elizabeth Caroline Grey. It's thought to be the first vampire novel written by a female. Dracula: The novel written by Bram Stoker was released in 1897. In 1921 the very first Dracula film was released. It is a Hungarian film called The death of Dracula. In 1931 Universal studios release Dracula. Bela Lugosi starred as Dracula. Hammer Studios released Horror of Dracula in 1958. It starred Christopher Lee as Dracula. There would be another six movies from 1960 to 1973 starring Lee and continuing the story of Dracula. Anne Rice's first vampire novel Interview with the Vampire was released in 1976 Interview with the Vampire, the movie, was released in 1994 starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. Buffy the Vampire Slayer first aired on television on March 13, 1997. In 1998 the first Blade movie was released, followed by two other. Dracula 2000 is a Wes Craven production starring Gerard Butler as Dracula. The book The Vampire Diaries was originally published in 1993, written by L. J. Smith. It was turned into a television show that aired Sept, 10, 2009. Twilight was written by Stephanie Meyer and published in 2005. The first movie adaptation was released Nov. Page 1 of 2
The Sheridan Sun Online
10/03/10 4:35 PM
had just stuck to the same old [story]," said Miller. "If the vampire is like a thermostat for the culture that we're in, then its changed according to what we're interested in," said Mackay. It wasn't’t until the 20th century that vampires really moved from the horror fiction genre into fictional romance and teenage fiction. PHOTO COURTESY OF Today they can be the antagonists, where they started, but they www.meetintheloby.com can also be the protagonist, the victim or the romantic love interest This is the DVD cover of Interview with in novels.
adaptation was released Nov. 21, 2008. True Blood is the television show loosely based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris. It premiered on HBO on Sept. 7, 2008.
the Vampire, released in 1994.
"There's always a little bit of danger involved, just a little bit of rebelliousness which is always popular with the young people of any generation," said Miller. "As long as they keep that little bit of an edge to them, that rebelliousness or something to distinguish them otherwise why have it a vampire at all?"
www.Fitness -Singles.com
file:///Volumes/Sun%20Online/2009%20Fall/oct_01_2009/web/distractions_vampire.html
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