GRSJ224/VampireCulture

Vampires Re-Imagined

From "Dracula" to "Twilight"

The public's interest in vampires seems to never subside. From "Dracula" to "Twilight," the vampire has been defined and re-defined, redesigned, reconceptualised, and re-imagined, but the purposes vampires are serving, the reasons they stay so popular are largely the same.

Vampires & Fears

The idea of the vampire was born out of fear during the Victorian era. In all honesty, Victorians feared many things and Dracula was one manifestation of those fears, as he was “a kind of incestuous, necrophilous, oral-anal-sadistic all-in wrestling match” (Clasen 379-380). Some of the fears of the Victorian era include “fears over degeneration, reverse colonization, homosexuality, the “New Woman,” Darwinian materialism and the dissolution of the soul” (Clasen 380). While today's vampires may be more attractive, they are still quite fearful if one bothers to analyze what they represent. For example, in the Twilight movie series, Edward Cullen is a father's worst nightmare as he alienates Bella, takes her away from her family, puts her in danger, and eventually turns her into a vampire, all without her family's knowing or consent. Vampires continue to represent fear of what we don't know; fear of the "other," who might not be quite as human as we are. These others could be not just strangers coming from distant lands - like immigrants - but anyone who doesn't socialize according to societal rules and prefers living isolated.

Vampires as Sex Symbols

Vampires are sexy. Whether males or females, straight, queer, gay or non-defined, vampires have always been portrayed as attractive in a way that no regular, living person can be attractive. Weinstock argues that from Lugosi’s “Dracula” to the soft looks of Robert Pattison in “Twilight,” vampires have always exuded sex, as “the power and danger of sex have undergirded and energized the vampire cinema” (4). Vampires might be undead, feeding on blood and ultimately self-serving but they are also “undeniably the sexiest of monsters” (Weinstock 4). We have come a long way from our Victorian ancestors and vampires have come a long way too, especially when it comes to their sexuality. Today’s vampires are not just extremely good-looking, “they are invested with vastly more sexuality than Stoker’s repulsive Count ever was,” so much so in fact that they make humans want to be them, instead of trying to defeat and eliminate them (Clasen 392). Once Bella, from Twilight, gets turned into a vampire, she goes from being an underachieving, socially awkward teenager to being “beautiful, strong, rich and happy beyond measure” (Clasen 392). It seem that Bella didn’t have to go through all the hurdles humans go to achieve all of these things; she just needed to give up her humanity. It is unclear what the vampires of today are supposed to be teaching us because Stoker wanted us to reject them and defeat them with our human gifts. Clasen argues that vampires used to be “soulless, carnal, egoistic monsters” and people rejected them, but today they are “everything that we wish we were: beautiful, strong, rich and happy beyond measure” (392). While Clasen is quite right, he seems to lose track of the fact that people are indeed required to give up their humanity and will have to feed on others in order to live their glamorous lives. This is in line with neoliberal ideas of individualistic pursuits, personal success, and meritocracy but not in the sense liberalism might have envisioned it when it was talking about the American Dream.

Vampires as Taboo

Vampires, and especially what vampires do, is symbolic of the things humans would like to do but they do not because of moral, ethical and legal constraints. As Weinstock puts it, “vampires provide representations of tabooed sexuality and reinforce proper sexual roles” (4). While vampires are hedonistic and can engage in even the naughtiest of behaviors, they are only allowed to do so because they are NOT human. For humans, the thrill has to come from watching and experiencing vicariously the thrill of not being bound by humanity and all the moral concerns that come with living in an orderly society.

Vampires as Heroes 

While vampires are strong, they are usually pursued, and people want to kill them, which makes them victim of violence. However, in many circumstances, vampires are perceived as more interesting and more attractive than those who are hunting them down, and even though the viewers understand the need to eliminate this societal evil, they also cannot help but admiring the vampire (Weinstock 4). If the original Dracula was definitely a villain, now there are “many Draculas – sexy Draculas, disgusting Draculas, malevolent Draculas and tender-hearted ones” (Clasen 378). New world vampires, such as Edward Cullen of the “Twilight” movie series have come a long way from blood-sucking, daylight-fearing vampires like Dracula. Edward is rich, good-looking, mysterious and takes the liberty of using “mental and emotional intimidation” in order to both control and entice Bella (Taylor 391). Throughout the movie Edward engages in following Bella, stalking her, abusing her verbally, rejecting her then taking her back, and he can’t help by physically hurt her because of his unmatched strength. Still, Bella loves him and so does the audience. Taylor argues that audiences seem to easily accept violence against women if it is perpetrated by handsome males who also explain their actions in terms of “the passion of the hero” (395). Considering that after Twilight we have witnessed the enormous success of BDSM-promoting "Fifty Shades of Grey," it does indeed seem like our society's tolerance for gender violence is increasing and it's not just vampires who can't control themselves who are allowed to hurt women in the name of passion and love.

Vampires as Symbols of Capitalism

Today’s western world is built around the idea that neoliberalism is the best form of social organization, as it is rooted in democracy, individualism, and faith in market economics. While this system might be the best one in the world, it is definitely not one that allows everyone to thrive. Many people see capitalism as a system that thrives on the backs of hard-working people who are disempowered and will never be more than followers or supporters of a system which abuses them. The “glamorous bloodsuckers” (Clasen 391) portrayed in “Interview with the Vampire” definitely fit the bill for the carefree, upper class vampires who live without any obligations towards others. New, modern vampires also demonstrate our love affair with technology and industrialization. For example, the vampires of Twilight Saga and True Blood “move with the speed of sound and have the strength of industrial wrecking-machines” (Clasen 392).

References

Clasen, Mathias. “Attention, Predation, Counterintuition: Why Dracula Won’t Die.” Style, vol. 46, no. 3-4, 2012, pp. 378-398.

Taylor, Jessica. “Romance and the Female Gaze Obscuring Gendered Violence in the Twilight Saga.” Feminist Media Studies, vol. 14, no. 3, 2014, pp. 388-402.

Weinstock, Jeffrey A. “Vampires, Vampires, Everywhere.” Phi Kappa Phi Forum, vol. 90, no. 3, 2010, pp. 4.