Vampirism. An Evolution from Myth to Societal Hype

Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, Free University of Berlin (Institut für Englische Philologie), course: Cultural Studies: Life after Death, language: English, abstract: Vampires - Ever since, they exist in human belief. During the ages the image of the vampire underwent a massive change. Simply regarding the different genres in which the cinematic vampire appears it becomes clear that those changes are primarily based on the changes in society. The following is aimed at describing these changes and exploring their causes by analyzing the vampire's characteristics in its relation to the respective cultural background. First, the origin of the vampire myth will be discussed. Furthermore the most popular literary character originating from the Gothic horror genre, Count Dracula by Bram Stoker, will be examined to point out the changes of the vampire image as well as the cultural message behind the figure Dracula. The paper will take an additional look at the development of the concept of the vampire and the underlying cultural trends by analyzing the early cinematic vampires Count Orlok from Nosferatu and Dracula by Tod Browning. Finally, the work will create a reference to the present image of the vampire by analyzing Edward Cullen, the protagonist in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. The result of the analysis is intended to reflect the changeableness of the vampire concept as well as show to what extent the vampire can be used as a medium to represent the respective societal needs, trends and changes.