Bram Stroker’s Dracula has been incredibly influential in pop-culture and the 20th Century. Movies, TV shows and many characters have been based off Vampires and their characteristics according to Stroker.
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| Robert Pattinson as Edward in Twilight (Movie Adaptation) |
For example, one of the most popular series of books for millennials and Gen-z readers is the Twilight Saga (Meyer). This series follows many characters that have certain traits that follow the stereotypical vampire. Pale skin, glowing red eyes and the thirst for human blood is all found in Stephenie Meyer’s novels along with the sexual themes mirroring Stroker’s vampires. Meyer however wrote her vampires in a more personable way and gave them more human-like traits, but there is no mistaking the fact that she got much of her inspiration from Stroker. According to the American Library Association Meyer won multiple awards for her writing skill and her ability to make her [version of] vampires personable and interesting (despite the less than worthy film adaptations). (ala.org)
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| Marceline the Vampire Queen: Adventure Time |
Stroker introduced the idea of vampires to the world and since then the idea of his vampires has been warped to fit into pop culture, vampires even making their way into children’s literature and film. Adventure Time, a well-liked children's cartoon adapted the vampire idea into a beloved bisexual musician named Marceline the Vampire Queen. Yes, it’s a children's show but that didn’t stop the show’s writer (Ward) from completely hiding the character’s sexuality. I personally love the character, but also believe that it is interesting that Pendleton Ward chose “Marcy” to be bisexual as being a vampire shows both yonic and phallic characteristics. (imdb.com)
On the children’s show note, Count Von Count from Sesame Street is a sweet puppet who just loved to count. Teaching children numbers is a far cry from Stroker’s original idea of a vampire, as his version had been attacking children, not befriending them in the name of counting. Count Von Count even made Entertainment Weekly’s list of Great Pop-Culture Vampires, on this list there are 12 other vampires deemed recognizable by many as they are shown quite often in the media. (ew.com)
Many writers of our time were influenced by Bram Stroker’s Dracula and his visionary work in creating the look and feel of a vampire. From Stephenie Mayer, an award-winning author, to children’s and adult show writers such as Alan Ball (True Blood 2008-2014) the ideas and portrayals of vampires is endless, all thanks to Stroker.
Madelynn Reilly
Bibliography
Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2005.
American Library Association. Awards/ Grants: Twilight. http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/content/twilight-novel. 1996-2020
IMDb TV. Pendleton Ward. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2216378/. 1990-2020.
IMDb TV. Alan Ball Biography. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0050332/bio. 1990-2020
Madelynn, awesome job on your post, I found it to be a very interesting read. It is very interesting how the concept of vampires has been dominating our popular culture across time and genres. I personally was never a big fan of Twilight, but I can recognize the power it held over my friends. I do remember growing up with Count Von Count and always enjoyed him as a child. I think the concept of vampires will always remain in our culture and continue to change and evolve and we have Stoker to thank for that.
ReplyDeleteI had never really thought that Dracula had left a legacy until doing these blogs, and yours definitely fits the mold! I've never seen or watched anything from Twilight, but I found it interesting that those vampires were portrayed as more "personable." Did they feel love, empathy, regret, and sorrow more than Dracula ever could? Also, I didn't realize how much of a vampire influence there was on children's shows. The idea of a bisexual vampire being chosen because the vampire is both yonic and phallic is thought-provoking. Count von Count was just a cute vampire and I love that someone thought he was qualified to make it on the list of Great Pop-Culture Vampires.
ReplyDeleteOverall, this was an informative and well-done blog!
It had never really occurred to me that vampires were in children’s literature or even film, but your example fits that description really well. It seems kind of odd to me that children are being introduced to vampires at young ages. The way you interpreted Dracula’s legacy into children characters is really interesting a twist from the normal soapy drama that vampires usually exist in. Overall great job!
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