Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Mentors feature prominently in the Gothic genre. From Dr Van Helsing in Bram Stoker's Dracula, who leads the young heroes into their quest to annihilate the Count, to Rupert Giles, the Watcher in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, older and more experienced adults have provided essential guidance for the younger protagonists of the genre. The differences in media of expression and the subsequent adaptations from novel to television series has not affected the presence of this character, more than a hundred years after the publication of Dracula in 1897. What also unites the novel and the series is their fin-de-siècle resonance.
According to Elaine Showalter, sexually and socially subversive themes feature strongly in periods of cultural insecurity. In addition to the century that separates Buffy from the Count, there has been a plethora of vampire movies and books of various merits. As a result, the late-twentieth-century average spectator knows the basic facts of vampirism. Therefore, the creators of Buffy the Vampire Slayer need to challenge their audience through another aspect of the series. Turning to their advantage what might have been a serious hindrance, they adopt a self-reflexive ironic perspective on the genre. This tenuous but innovative tension between borrowing from the tenets of the Gothic and moving away from them is especially appreciable when one evaluates the Watcher, Giles. Giles embodies both the principles of continuity and daring innovation that characterise the series and contribute to its appeal.
The similarities between Dr Van Helsing in Dracula and Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer create a sense of thematic and structural continuity through different media. They share a sim...
... middle of paper ...
...Unofficial Critical Companion to Buffy and Angel. Ed. Roz Kaveney. London: Tauris, 2001, 98-119.
8. Wall, Brian and Michael Zryd. "Vampire dialectics. Knowledge, institutions and labour." Reading the Vampire Slayer. An unofficial critical companion to Buffy and Angel. Ed. Roz Kaveney. London: Tauris, 2001, 53-77.
9. Jung, C. G. The Phenomenology of the Spirit in Fairy Tales. 1912. Trans. R. F. C. Hull. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1967.
10. Heilbronn, Lisa M. "Natural Man, Unnatural Science: Rejection of Science in Recent Science Fiction and Fantasy Film". Contours of the Fantastic. Ed. Michele K. Langford. New York: Greenwood, 1990, 113-9, 115.
11. Auerbach, Nina. Our Vampires, Ourselves. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1995, 5.
12. Tudor, Andrew. Monsters and Mad Scientists. A Cultural History of the Horror Movie. 1989. Oxford: Blackwell, 1991, 114.
Literature and film have always held a strange relationship with the idea of technological progress. On one hand, with the advent of the printing press and the refinements of motion picture technology that are continuing to this day, both literature and film owe a great deal of their success to the technological advancements that bring them to widespread audiences. Yet certain films and works of literature have also never shied away from portraying the dangers that a lust for such progress can bring with it. The modern output of science-fiction novels and films found its genesis in speculative ponderings on the effect such progress could hold for the every day population, and just as often as not those speculations were damning. Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and Fritz Lang's silent film Metropolis are two such works that hold great importance in the overall canon of science-fiction in that they are both seen as the first of their kind. It is often said that Mary Shelley, with her authorship of Frankenstein, gave birth to the science-fiction novel, breathing it into life as Frankenstein does his monster, and Lang's Metropolis is certainly a candidate for the first genuine science-fiction film (though a case can be made for Georges Méliès' 1902 film Le Voyage Dans la Lune, his film was barely fifteen minutes long whereas Lang's film, with its near three-hour original length and its blending of both ideas and stunning visuals, is much closer to what we now consider a modern science-fiction film). Yet though both works are separated by the medium with which they're presented, not to mention a period of over two-hundred years between their respective releases, they present a shared warning about the dangers that man's need fo...
Morgan, J. The biology of horror: gothic literature and film. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002.
The Buffy the Vampire Slayer series is a very popular show that engages well with most youthful audiences, including teenagers and young adults. Teenagers are quickly captivated by the show’s great amount of comedy, adventure, and science fiction. Although it is remarkably entertaining, the show also teaches important life lessons pertaining to love, friendship, and family. In the episode “Hush” from the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the theme that through clear acts, one can develop clarity in relationships is presented.
With all their beauty and mystery, vampires introduce us to a glamorous but lonely life. Their secret temptation opens our mind to our own little fantasies. Even though some aspects of vampires have disappeared, they are still the main protagonists in popular culture and media. The vampires are no longer a figure of blood-thirsty predator but a figure of sympathy and sexuality. As a young teenager, one thing left to do is to wait for another vampire
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the main character Buffy Summers is the chosen Vampire Slayer, even though she does not want to be the chosen one, but there is always some type of danger in her town. As she is battling demons and vampires, she is struggling to live a normal life, but soon learns to embrace and accept her destiny. Buffy was a very popular show with seven seasons won two Emmy awards a Golden Satellite award and multiple Saturn awards. In every season Joss Whedon was able to incorporate something different to make each season stand out. A recurring theme throughout the episode “Hush” is that sometimes talking is not the most efficient way of communicating or showing affection.
A Brief History Of Horror Movies. Ezine Articles. Spark Net, 10 Aug 2010. Web. The Web.
The genre of gothic text tends to emerge in times of great social stress or anxiety. For many years, authors have described vampires as wealthy, culturally sophisticated, aristocrats who live decadent lifestyles. Today however, average Americans are faced with hard economic times, and are struggling to provide basic necessities for their families. When watching the movie Twilight by Stephanie Meyers, several details in the story seems to enhance these harsh cultural anxieties of today’s social world, such as, the excessive lengths people will go to achieve financial stability, the lavish life style of the modern vampire, and how themes of the economic issues society is facing, impacts and stresses basic human instinct that society has an unlimited wants.
“Horror and science fiction tend to present radically opposite interpretations of what may look like comparable situations.” (Kawin, 1981.) Bruce Kawin helps the reader to understand how a story in the genre of science fiction could be adapted, or bastardized if you like, into a horror. This is similar to the film adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Both “Frankenstein” (1931) and “Bride of Frankenstein” (1935) portrayed characters and events differently than Shelley would have desired. Her novel had many deeper implications than the movie portrayed.
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein is impressive, entertaining, and fascinating so is it no surprise there have been so many films and artworks influenced by her novel. Many of which have put their own spin to the horror novel, especially the character of the creature that remains one of the most recognized icons in horror fiction. However, there have been critics whom argue modern versions and variations have lost the horror and passion that is an essential to the creature. The start of the Creature is bound to one book. However, public impression of the Creature has changed severely since the publication of the original novel, leading to diverse styles and plot lines in its diverse film adaptations. People’s impression of the Creature have become so twisted and turned by time and decades of false film posters and article titles that most use the name “Frankenstein” to refer to the Creature itself, rather than the scientist who created him! It’s a shame! An understanding of literary history is a necessity to comprehend the truth of the Creature’s tragic history and how decades of film adaptations changed him into the hulking beast most people know him as today.
Many timeless novels have impacts on our everyday culture, not only as a book, but also through music or movies. Many popular novels have multiple adaptations, which shape how we approach their interpretation, in ways we may never even notice. In some films, humans are depicted as monsters, whether through their actions, or through the thoughts of other beings. In these films we find issues with our own society, and in turn see ourselves as monsters, and look for ways we can change, for the better. One particular novel that influences this side of Hollywood is Mary Shelley's “Frankenstein”. The ways Frankenstein influences pop culture can be seen in science fiction films in which humans are depicted as monster, and “monsters” are seen as more humane beings, such as I, Robot, and Ender’s Game.
Over the years, Sichuan has had more stability in almost all of its affairs as opposed to the other parts of China. From a province that was once inaccessible due to a lack of transport connectivity to the rest of the country, Sichuan has emerged as one of the crucial players in the development of the economy of China. Major efforts have been focused on developing the infrastructure of the province, a process that has achieved great success. Currently, the province boasts of long lengths of highways and expressways extending to more than 110000 and 1500 kilometers respectively. However, the province still has some challenges in regard to the transportation of products and people mainly due to the highly mountainous terrain.
The Hounds of Tindalos is a short science fiction story containing many and varied elements that have been long associated with the genre of science fiction. This essay will identify these elements, examining their placement within this short text and also the interchange of these elements with the characteristics of other genres, more specifically, horror. Belknap Long, the author, was clearly intent of incorporating the elements of horror within the genre of science fiction and this amalgamation of these two genres was a popular combination employed by future horror and SF writers. Perhaps the inclusion of horror within the SF genre is a comment in itself about perceptions of SF held by writers, the elements of horror being a cautionary warning to those in the science world.
Iran, also known as Persia, is a country in Western Asia. Though Iran is also known as Persia, it wasn't until 1935 that it adopted its present name. It is the second largest nation in the Middle East, having a land area of 1,648,195 km2. With over 77 million people, it is the world's 17th most populous nation. It shares borders with Iraq, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. In the 1500s B.C., Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979, until the monarchy was overthrown. The Medes and the Persians first occupied Iran. However, the Persian king Cyrus the Great overthrew the Medes and became ruler of the Persian Empire. Its official language, Persian, is Indo-European. Though Iran adopted a different version of the Arabic alphabet, it refused to lose its own identity after the establishment of the Arab Empire in the 7th century. Iran is home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical settlements dating back to 4000 BCE. Iran's climate can be very extreme, ranging from subtropical to sub polar, due to the tremendous variations in altitude and rainfall. The Iranian nation is one of the oldest continuous civilizations in the world. The Mesolithic and Upper Paleolithic populations occupied caves in the Elburz and Zagros mountains, while the earliest civilizations in the region descended from the Zagros hills.
Today the Iranian languages are spoken from Central Turkey, Syria and Iraq in the west to Pakistan and the western edge of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China in the east. In the North, its outposts are Ossetic in the central Caucasus and Yaghnobi and Tajik Persian in Tajikistan in Central Asia, while in the South they are bounded by the Persian Gulf, except for the Kumzari enclave on the Masandam peninsula in Oman.
The author’s op-ed piece was published in 2009, the very peak of the vampire contagion, where one could find these creatures wherever they looked. This pandemonium that arose from vampires is what drove del Toro and Hogan to pen “Why Vampires Never Die.” Furthermore, the purpose behind this essay is to give an abridged description of the past of vampires for the people who had become fanatics of the creatures. Also, this essay showed how vampires have persisted in pop culture. They suggest that vampires have been remade by diverse cultures at different times, and this change echoes that society's angst and concerns. The novelist’s imply that Stroker’s Dracula may mirror an exaggerated human on a prim...