Casey Felix
Introduction
10/5/09
The study of symbols and how they survive through time: the Vampire
“In 2004, Knight Rider Newspapers reported that a dead man in a tiny Romanian village was dug up, his heart ripped out, burned to ashes, then mixed with water and drunk by relatives who had fallen ill after the man’s death”, says Bonnie Henry (Henry, Arizona Daily Star). Why would anyone do this? People take part in these strange rituals to ward off evil. In this case, they are fearful of the vampire, which is a symbol that often represents evil. It is difficult to believe that people still do these types of things today. It seems so primitive and ignorant compared to American society, but what has to be understood is that this is a real fear for them. The vampire is not a mythical creature that is seen in movies, but a truely terrifying creature to their culture. They believe that they are real and that they are a great danger. This, for many Americans, would be hard to believe. It would be looked upon as barbaric and ignorant, but today, people still have a very strong belief in these terrifying beings that they would go to such extremes to prevent themselves from the same fate. In many small villages throughout Romania, the legend of the vampire is still a critical part of life.
He was in fact a real person who was claimed to be a terrifying and gruesome man. Other names for him would be Vlad III, Vlad the Impaler, Vlad Tepes, or Dracula. It is said that he is the one true vampire. In American society he is the face we give our vampire. We have romanticized him into a whole other creature, than what Bram Stoker gave us in his novel, Dracula. Vampires are only fictional characters that we display as seductive, human like creatures in our everyday society right? Wrong, although they are displayed as such, vampires are looked at as a vile, cursed condition that is only reserved for the damned. It is something that has a serious hold on many cultures even today.
Why does America have such a skewed vision of these creatures then? How did they evolve from truly terrifying to some girls boyfriend? Even though vampires aren’t as scary to us as they are to others, they still symbolize something. They symbolized evil and death in a physical form. Symbolism is key in society. It has shaped the American culture in its beliefs, customs, ideas, etc. “It is a fundamental part of human nature not only to survive and reproduce, but also to seek explanations for the mysteries of life. Because these mysteries are in fact beyond explanation, we use the language of symbolism to represent them” (Bruce-Mittford, p6). In saying this, symbols are a part of our very existence and a part of our everyday life. Without them, we would have nothing to base our beliefs upon. It would be very difficult to communicate with one another without using symbolism in some form. Symbols can be used as illustrations, and they can be based upon a person or thing. Throughout human history, symbols have been used to represent important aspects of life
In today’s American culture, we have show such as True Blood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc that are strictly about vampires and how they relate to human life. We give them personalities, and relationships. Today’s vampire have definably changed, “Vampires in pop culture have come a long way from their 19th-century roots in penny dreadful and countless film versions of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula.’ They were demons, sex fiends in a deep Freudian sense, rebelling against Victorian repression in ways that gentlemen never could. They hissed at crucifixes and seduced women and man from righteousness into evil” (Remington, The Washington Post). Like said before, the vampire represents the damned, the cursed, evil, death, etc. Anyway it is said, it’s not good. If vampires represent such horrible things, then why does our culture have such a fascination with it and why have we morphed it into something, in some cases, that is desired? Also, where does it come from? Why do we have this symbol and how has it lasted throughout the ages?
1) The purpose of this lit review – how will it help you? how will it help the reader? how will it differ from other sections of your overall project? The purpose of the lit review is to help the reader get a grasp on what you know about the subject. Your job is to show that you know enough about the topic to successfully write that paper and that you may be a valid source. It will differ because it is informing the reader of what has already been done and how it relates to your research. 2) Your goals for this paper – what do you hope to/will you accomplish by the end of this paper? By the end of this research paper, i hope to inform the reader on my topic and maybe in a way that they have never known about it before. Hopefully they will enjoy it and get something out of it and look at my research with interest and understanding. 3) Your target audience – who is this prepared for? Who do you hope will read this?How will you tailor your writing for this audience? This paper is prepared for those that have an interest in the subject, but is mostly designed for those of a college level and ones that often partake in popular culture. I hope that anyone who is interested will read this, but mostly people of my own age. I will tailor it to fit my audience because i am viewing the evolution of the vampire but am focusing a little more on todays shows and books because they are much more popular today.
Literature Review
In American culture today, the vampire has evolved into an unrecognizable figure. It has morphed into a creature that is often desired today. Due to popular culture, by way of books, movies, television shows, etc, the vampire is seen differently. Throughout history the vampire has symbolized evil and death. It was something to be feared, and in some parts of the world, it still is. But American culture sees it as a new ‘cool fad’. In today’s writing genres, there is a category for vampire fiction. It has its own section, because it has become so popular. This category is filled with popular writings by Bram Stoker, Anne Rice, Stephanie Myer, amoung many more. Most of these books have seen the top sellers list and many have even reached number one, multiple times. Also the theaters are filling up with anxious viewers ready to see a vampire movie. It is pure entertainment today, when in the past it was seen as pure evil.
This research is very important because symbols affect society everyday, whether they are seen or not. They are located on the dollar bill, on signs and seals, television, books, etc. They are seen everywhere, so in my opinion, it’s important to know where they come from and what they represent. In understanding them, maybe we can understand ourselves and why we do the things we do. Also it is important to focus in the vampire, because they are a creature that is well known and is seen in everyday life. In saying this, Vlad III is an important figure in the American versian of the vampire, because he inspired the story of Dracula. This book, written by Bram Stoker, has been a critical part of this topic and other stories have stemmed off of this one. Dracula is the main vampire we will look at because he is the main influence. This leads us to today’s version of the American vampire. He is the key and the main figure in which this creature has been viewed and evolved.
I am interested in this topic because American pop culture has always portrayed it as a cool thing. It is mysterious and dangerous, which in some people, spikes their interest. It draws back to good versus evil. In todays versians of the vampire, it is portrayed as a forbidden love affair. For example, in Stephanie Myer’s Twilight saga, amoung many other books and television series.
The theme of my research will be symbols and their evolution through time. I will be focusing in on the Vampire as a symbol of evil and how it has evolved into a romanticized version. I will look at symbolism and what it consists of and how it is important to every day life. I also may touch on the misinterpretation of symbols. I think this relates because in a way, vampires have been misinterpreted (On a few different angles). They represent evil and death to some, but to others they represent sex appeal, desire, and the forbidden.
Much research has been done on vampires and what they symbolize, along with the evolution of them. For example, in Paul Barber’s article, “The Real Vampire”, he touches on how the evolution of them. In much of the writing, he talks about vampire in folklore and how certain customs and beliefs are still carried on today. Other important research has been done on the History of Vlad III. Will Romano is one of these researchers. In his, “Vlad Dracula’s War on the Turks”, he covers much of the history of Vlads wars, which was a key reason why he was labeled as a vampire.
I have done some other research into the popular culture aspect. I have come up with some articles that address the growing popularity of vampire television and tourism directly relating to the vampire myth. Lucian Kim’s article, “Transylvanian Town Sees Gold in Dracula Land”, is a great example. Although there is much debate, the government in Sighisoara, Romania is seriously considering building a Dracula themed park. This would succeed in bringing much tourism to the area, but there are issues surrounding it relating to religion. Another great article that addresses the pop culture aspect is in, “Vampires Stake a Claim on Audiences’ Hearts”. In this article by Alex Remington, he discusses how vampires have evolved out of the old country to in homes everyday. He talks about some of the key issues concerning this topic and summarizes some shows and movies that have been made.
As i said before, much research has already been done on this topic, but i am hoping t bring something new to the table. I am looking at the vampire as a symbol that, obviously, represents something. I’m not just looking at it as a popular thing, but i am combining much research and bringing it together, to look at the bigger picture. I will also be doing qualitative research, and making surveys that iwll focus on the average college student of western Pa and looking at the influence on them.
1.)Barber , Paul. “The Real Vampire.” 99.10 74. Web. 09/17/09.
2.)Lucian, Kim. “Transylvanian Town Sees Gold in Dracula Land.” Christian Science Monitor 08/16/01, Print.
3.)Remington, Alex. “Vampires Stake a Claim on Audiences’ Hearts.” Washington Post 09/07/08, Print.
4.)Romano, Will. “Vlad Dracula’s War on the Turks.” 20.4 (10/03): 58. Web. /9/1.
1) The purpose of this lit review – how will it help you? how will it help the reader? how will it differ from other sections of your overall project? This lit review has helped me because now i know how informed i am on the topic. It will help the reader because i think it will give them more of a sense of what the paper is about. It will differ because i am talking about my methods and research, and for the rest of the paper, i will be sharing facts and drawing my conclusions. 2) Your goals for this paper – what do you hope to/will you accomplish by the end of this paper? I hope that i will interest some people in the topic and that i may also be more informed of my topic by the end.3) Your target audience – who is this prepared for? Who do you hope will read this?How will you tailor your writing for this audience? After writing my lit review, i still think that my audience will be more aimed at college students. Maybe by the time im done i will realize it is for a different audience, but as of write now i think that my writing level relates more to those of my age.
Works Cited
1.)Barber , Paul. “The Real Vampire.” 99.10 74. Web. 09/17/09.
2.) Bruce-Mitford, Miranda. The Illustrated Book of Signs and Symbols. London: Barns & Noble Books, 1996. Print.
3.) Henry, Bonnie. “The Arizona Star, Tucson, Bonnie Henry Column: Vampires suck in UA students.” Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, AZ) 10/29/07, Print.
4.)Lucian, Kim. “Transylvanian Town Sees Gold in Dracula Land.” Christian Science Monitor 08/16/01, Print.
5.) Remington, Alex. “Vampires Stake a Claim on Audiences’ Hearts.” Washington Post 09/07/08, Print.
6.)Romano, Will. “Vlad Dracula’s War on the Turks.” 20.4 (10/03): 58. Web. /9/1.
After writing my introduction, I have learned that I have a lot of research to still do, and a lot of improvement that I need to make. I need to be a little more organized in my introduction so that my paper flows better. I think my introduction helps the reader because it gets them into the mindset. They also have an idea as to what the paper is about and the issues surrounding it. I think that I have gotten an idea of my goals into the minds of those who read it although I need a lot more improvement to reach them. As of right now my paper is aimed towards people of my age. My roommate read it and said that she could understand the basic idea, and that it sounds good, but I do need some improvement.
