Works Cited

Arpe, Malene. “His vampires aren’t pretty; It started as a TV pitch. But the director stuck with nasty characters and put them in a novel.” The Toronto Star. (June 13, 2009 Saturday ): 878 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 6 Nov. 2012.

Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia. In the Forests of the Night. Random House Children’s Books, 2000. Print. 

Bailie, Helen T. “Blood Ties: The Vampire Lover In The Popular Romance.” Journal Of American Culture 34.2 (2011): 141-148. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Nov. 2012.

Beck, Bernard. “Fearless Vampire Kissers: Bloodsuckers We Love In Twilight, True Blood And Others.” Multicultural Perspectives 13.2 (2011): 90-92. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Nov. 2012.

Campbell, Sarah, and Lindsey C. Dunn. “Marketing Teen Read Week.” Young Adult Library Services 6.4 (2008): 24-26. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Nov. 2012.

Clapp, Rodney. “Vampires Among Us.” Christian Century 127.3 (2010): 45. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Nov. 2012.

Dark Shadows. Dir. Tim Burton. Perf. Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer. Warner Bros. Pictures. 2012. DVD.

“Giving some bite to the outsider dwelling in us all.” The Daily Telegraph (Australia). (March 19, 2012 Monday): 467 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 9 Nov. 2012.

“Hollywood’s Vampire Craze With Frank Elaridi.” YouTube. 6 Oct. 2011. mtchalln. Web. 18 Nov. 2012.

“Lover Awakened.” Photograph. Barnes and Noble. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. <http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lover-awakened-j-r-ward/1100173197?ean=9780451219367> 

McCormick, Patrick. “It’s In The Blood.” U.S. Catholic 75.12 (2010): 40-41. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Nov. 2012.

“Memorable Quotes for Underworld.” IMDB. 2012. IMDB.com, Inc. Web 5 Nov. 2012. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0320691/quotes>

Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight. New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2005. Print.

“Priest.” Photograph. EW. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. <http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/05/16/priest-vampires-summer-movie-body-count/>

“Teen Vampire Fascination.” YouTube. 23 Nov. 2009. awakememphis. Web. 17 Nov. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OwPQXvhNaU&feature=related>

“Teens’ Top Ten.”  YALSA. American Library Association. 2 March 2012. Web. 6 Nov. 2012.

<http://www.ala.org/yalsa/teens-top-ten>

Twilight. Dir. Catherine Hardwick. Perf. Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart. Summit, 2009. DVD.

“Twilight fans pack movie theaters for finale.” YouTube. 15 Nov. 2012. kmbctv. Web. 22 Nov. 2012.

“Twilight Movie Poster.” Photograph. Stephenie Meyer. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. <http://stepheniemeyer.com/twilight_movie.html>

“Underworld.” Photograph. FanPop. Web. 5 Nov. 2012.  <http://www.fanpop.com/spots/underworld/images/5287248/title/underworld-photo?ir=true>

“Vampire.” Box Office Mojo. 10 Nov. 2012. IMDB.com, Inc. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. <http://boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=vampire.htm> 

“Vampire Craze. Mov.” YouTube. 14 Sep. 2010. Web. 18 Nov. 2012.  <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCiRz7p1azo> 

 

“Vampire Diaries extra DVD #2 “When Vampires Don’t Suck” parte1, The.” YouTube. 16 Nov. 2011. TheFurymuser. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. 

“Vampire Diaries extra DVD #2 “When Vampires Don’t Suck” parte2, The.” YouTube. 16 Nov. 2011. TheFurymuser. Web. 4 Dec. 2012.

Vampire Diaries: The Third Season, The. Writ. Nick Wauters, Julie Plec, Carolin Dries. Dir. J. Miller Tobin. Warner Bros., 2012. DVD.

“Vampires! The Psychology, Science, and Impact of a Literary Monster.” YouTube.  22 Oct 2010. washingtonstateuniv. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. 

“Vampires in Pop Culture.” YouTube. 24 August 2009. CBS. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMZQkBjyknk>

“Vampires taking big bite out of box office.” Hobart Mercury (Australia). (October 27, 2009 Tuesday): 792 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 8 Nov. 2012

Conclusion

Vampires from the past decade are more like humans than ever before, in both appearance and character. They possess everything we desire and lust after while at the same time embodying some of our deepest insecurities. Vampires have become complex characters, with individual personalities and problems, and are no longer terrifying monsters. Redefining every aspect of the vampire myth has made vampires relatable and sympathetic.

Different people interpret the meaning behind vampires in popular media in different way. Although I sometimes think that people read too much into the characters and stories, I can see where each theory that I've come across has some point of validity. At the end of the day, whether or not a story resonates with the audience comes down to the type of connections an audience member can form with the characters and the story being told. There's no definitive answer to what vampires symbolize because for each person it's different and potentially multi-faceted. Where one person sees an outsider longing for acceptance, another might see parallels with terrorists and their ability to blend into society seamlessly. It all depends on each person's viewpoint. 

When Vampires Don't Suck

I was rewatching The Vampire Diaries Season 1 on DVD, when I came across this featurette in the special features.

Grading

When I'm graded for this project, I hope to receive good marks because I've followed all the given requirements for a blog as best as I could, without being provided with an example of a previous blog that received high marks. I've put quite a bit of work into making my blog visually appealing, as well as providing a variety of information and sources.

An Interesting Psychological Viewpoint

This video has an interesting viewpoint about the meaning behind vampires.

What Does It All Mean?

There are a few different theories about what vampires symbolize for society. As a fan myself, I have my own thoughts, but I'll save those for the end.

 In an article in the December 2010 issue of U.S. Catholic, Patrick McCormick draws parallels between the vampires of True Blood and Daybreakers and issues in society today. According to McCormick, the vampires in True Blood represent the "perceived threats posed to traditional values and homeland security by same-sex marriage and illegal aliens," [McCormick, 41], while the unsustainable consumption of their food source in Daybreakers is a reference to mankind's consumption of global resources.  In Rodney Clapp's article "Vampires among us" he compares vampires with terrorists, seemingly normal people living among us with malevolent intent. Jeffrey Weinstock argues that it would much more accurate to say that vampires represent more than just "the metaphorical embodiment of sexual desire, capitalist exploitation, viral contagion, or virulent xenophobia," [Weinstock, 5], but rather a combination of all of them. 

I agree with Weinstock myself. Trying to fit the role vampires play in terms of the psychological representation they provide for society into just one small classification is just inaccurate. Each individual associates vampires differently in their mind, not to mention what they associate each different vampire character with. Vampire symbolism has become much more complex as vampires have moved beyond 2-dimensional monster stereotypes and into the realm of individual characters.

Midnight Hysteria

Here's a news clip from Kansas City covering the midnight opening of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 that came out earlier this month. They talk to some of the fans who have been camped out in line hours before the initial screening of the movie.