I now have the rough draft of the conference paper done, and good timing too since school resumes tomorrow with all the distractions of students. But then, in many ways my students are a blessing to the vampire side of me: they keep me young, they keep me current, and they force my mind to think about old issues in new ways -- as well as reminding me of resources which are old to me (and I forget them), and new to them.
One of these forgotten, but wonderful, resources is Katerhine Ramsland's The Science of Vampires. In her rather marveolous text, she takes a look at what would have to happen for vampires to become real. She includes chapters focusing on "Dracula's Shadow" -- the part I was reminded of today -- among many others since it has particular relevance upon my conference paper, and the thesis of the conference itself, that our perceptions of vampires change over time. Ramsland says, "Our monsters are based in our fears and our fears derive from our understanding of reality: if reality changes, so do our fears"(51). Of course, with vampires, they are now as much a creature of romance as they are of fear.
I receive paper after paper which equates pain and fear with sex and love. Personally -- and on this blog I can state my opinion as my opinion (don't try it on me in a class paper, my students!) : I am not buying it. Maybe it is a facet of having too many shots, too much blood drawn over the years (Medical Doctors -- not vampires), but pain is pain. And I am not turned on by fear. A really scary man doesn't turn me on; he makes me want to go find a safe house. To be blunt, having sex with someone who could rather easily accidentally kill me due to super-strength or excessive hunger is just scary. And yet author after author is making a fair living selling novels positing that vampires are sexy, and that a "monster" can be tamed.
One of these forgotten, but wonderful, resources is Katerhine Ramsland's The Science of Vampires. In her rather marveolous text, she takes a look at what would have to happen for vampires to become real. She includes chapters focusing on "Dracula's Shadow" -- the part I was reminded of today -- among many others since it has particular relevance upon my conference paper, and the thesis of the conference itself, that our perceptions of vampires change over time. Ramsland says, "Our monsters are based in our fears and our fears derive from our understanding of reality: if reality changes, so do our fears"(51). Of course, with vampires, they are now as much a creature of romance as they are of fear.
I receive paper after paper which equates pain and fear with sex and love. Personally -- and on this blog I can state my opinion as my opinion (don't try it on me in a class paper, my students!) : I am not buying it. Maybe it is a facet of having too many shots, too much blood drawn over the years (Medical Doctors -- not vampires), but pain is pain. And I am not turned on by fear. A really scary man doesn't turn me on; he makes me want to go find a safe house. To be blunt, having sex with someone who could rather easily accidentally kill me due to super-strength or excessive hunger is just scary. And yet author after author is making a fair living selling novels positing that vampires are sexy, and that a "monster" can be tamed.
1 comment:
Agreed. Our modern sexy but dangerous vampires are the "bad boys & girls" of previous eras.
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