When movies made their debute, it was only a matter of time before horror stories were filmed. But since it was the slient era, these movies had to rely on visual appearance, such as shawdows and light. It requrie people to bring these monsters into pysiche form. Some of this was hard to do since the film was black and white. One popular movie was Nosferatu, a film about a vampire.
Throughout the development of horror cinema – the figure of the ‘vampire’ has changed and progressed dramatically. When thinking of the ‘classic’ figure of the ‘vampire’ – one of the first that comes to the minds of most is none other than Hammers Dracula (Horror of Dracula; 1958). The stereotypical judgments or thoughts towards the ‘classic’ vampire figure – in this case, Dracula – is most notably known to be from Transylvania. He seduces and lures his victims in order to suck blood for survival and also finding pleasure in the process of his kill. Ultimately, Dracula is portrayed as evil, a threat to society and a menace.
The reason why one has exactly this image of the vampire in one’s mind can be traced back to Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. This novel is one that is known all over the world and the name Dracula has become a synonym for the vampire in general. Moreover, the image of Dracula has become such a prominent one because the book has been made into films several times, with great actors such as Max Schreck, Christopher Lee and Bela Lugosi. Nevertheless, Dracula is not the only vampire who had extraordinary success in the film industry. Until today there have been hundreds of vampire films publishes, of which some reinvented the typical male “Dracula” vampire character in such a peculiar way so that the vampire film still remains today quite popular among its fans.
Examine the representation of vampires and sexuality in cinema or television. Vampires have long been depicted in films as something to be feared and to avoid at all costs. Cardace (2009), for example, said that before Twilight, vampires were heart stoppers, not heartthrobs. Vampires have also been connected with fears of foreign people, since the eastern European spectre of the count. It has only been in recent years with film releases such as those in the Twilight series, originally books by author Stephanie Meyer, that these previous images are being given a different new angle.
There seem to be some common misconceptions, not blaming anyone (cough) TWILIGHT. This is a serious problem. We as vampires used to be formidable and cause humans to tremble in their boots so to speak. Today, they all either want to be us, or fall in love with us! (Establish credibility) I myself have been associated with VAMPIRE since the New York Vampire Riots in 1882.
Victor lived in a gothic area, Europe – Switzerland and Germany with old buildings, dungeons, towers, dark laboratories. It sure was an element of mystery and gloom. Shelley had Frankenstein wandering the streets of Ingolstadt and the Orkney Islands looking for body parts. That is awful and revolting. In preparation for his monstrous experiment Victor scours charnel houses, places for vivisection and graveyards, for these parts needed to create his new Adam or modern Prometheus, which is the novels subtitle.
How far are characters in the horror films we have studied typical for their genre? There are many characters in horror which follow the stereotypical genre but some more than others. Along with the changes in the genre itself its stereotypical aspects have developed including characters. A film reception can be controlled by the production and creative side. If a film have a great storyline and strong settings etc.
Out of all the deadly creatures that have been mentioned before, vampires would be considered to be one of the “living dead” that closely resembles a human. The distinct trait that sets apart from the rest is that they do have human-like emotions which make a connection with the audience. Nevertheless, vampires cannot fully become a human because of their tendency to kill a human being for blood. Knowing that vampires can take the breath of a human, why are people still fascinated with them? The reason certainly cannot just be because they initiate the feeling of fear; the reason definitely has a deeper meaning than that.
Although Randel puts forth some peculiar evidence, he is able to explain and utilize historical facts to further strengthen his argument. Because I am not very familiar to the facts and details of the French Revolution, I had a hard time associating Randel’s ideas to the plot of Frankenstein. Nevertheless, he did use a lot of background knowledge to accommodate a person who does not have a lot of knowledge of the French Revolution. Randel’s essay starts off strong with excellent points about the correlation between certain characters and their actions in different geopolitical places, but some of his later
Sometimes, the things that people believe in make little sense to others. Scientists have difficulty understanding how certain people could possibly believe that the world could have been created in 7 days. Conversely, many Christians simply don’t understand how so many people in the world are blind to the truth, “how is it possible that all the proof is there, but people just don’t see it?”, is a common question heard from both sides of the spectrum. One of the things that most of the people I have ever talked to about this topic claim to believe in is; the existence of ghosts. All over the internet there is “proof” of ghosts existing, which causes scientists to bang their head up against the wall and again ask the question, “Why do people believe it?” Indeed, why do people believe strange, off the wall things?