Free Downloads The Rise Of The Vampire
Before Bella and Edward; Stefan and Damon Salvatore; and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, there was Lestat and Louis, The Lost Boys, and Buffy Summers. Before True Blood and Let the Right One In, there was Dark Shadows and Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. And then there is the most prominent of them all: Dracula, immortalized by Bram Stoker in 1897. Whether they’re evil, bloodsucking monsters or sparkling like diamonds in the sunlight, vampires have been capturing our imagination since their modest beginnings in the rustic fantasies of southeastern Europe in the early eighteenth century. Today, they’re everywhere, appearing even in movies in Japan and Korea and in reggae music in Jamaica and South Africa. Why have vampires gone viral in recent years? In The Rise of the Vampire, Erik Butler seeks to explain our enduring fascination with the creatures of the night. Exploring why a being of humble origins has achieved success of such monstrous proportions, Butler considers the vampire in myth, literature, film, journalism, political cartoons, music, television, and video games. He describes how and why they have come to give expression to the darker side of human life—though vampires evoke age-old mystery, they also embody many of the uncertainties of the modern world. Butler also ponders the role global markets and digital technology have played in making vampires a worldwide phenomenon. Whether you’re a fan of classic vampire tales or new additions to the mythology, The Rise of the Vampire is a fascinating look at our collective obsession with the undead.
Hardcover: 175 pages
Publisher: Reaktion Books (May 15, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1780231105
ISBN-13: 978-1780231105
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #810,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #41 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Genres & Styles > Horror & Supernatural #740 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Television > History & Criticism #2204 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Folklore & Mythology
The back cover notes that "whether they're evil, bloodsucking monsters or sparkling like diamonds in the sunlight, vampires have been capturing our imagination since their modest beginnings in the rustic fantasies of southeastern Europe in the early eighteenth century. Today, they're everywhere, appearing even in movies in Japan and Korea and in reggae music in Jamaica and South Africa. Why have vampires gone viral in recent years? In The Rise of the Vampire, Erik Butler seeks to explain our enduring fascination with these creatures of the night."I would argue, however, that vampires have not just "gone viral" in recent years--for their position atop the pantheon of monster popular culture has always been cyclical. Yet I did find much to like inside the pages of "The Rise of the Vampire." Butler's often sardonic look at the modern interpretation of the bloodsucking undead is certainly one of the highlights; I especially appreciated his comments regarding the ever-popular sparkling vampire clan--"Twilight enjoys an air of moral respectability on account of the reserve that characters demonstrate in sexual matters. Yet in celebrating the notion that 'true love conquers all', Twilight basically urges readers--young women, primarily--not to give up on manipulative stalkers who threaten them with violence...Twilight is about scaring girls into traditional roles and showing them, through the example of Bella, the joys of masochism."Book-ended by an introduction and conclusion are five main sections:1. Portrait Gallery of the Undead: how classic literature, films, and television shows have visually influenced the vampire's visage.2. Generation V: how classic vampirism--which was essentially an impediment to sexual experience--morphed into something much more in the late 1960s.3. All-American Vampires (and Zombies): how Western European vampires changed when they reached the shores of the New World.4. That Sucking Sound: regarding the vampire's failure to flourish musically.5. The Key to Immortality: vampires rarely die for long, because we really won't let them.Butler's research casts a wide net, covering folklore, literature, film, journalism, political cartoons, music, television, and video games. You'll likely be inspired to track down all the cited examples found in his exhaustive list of references. This is an excellent study of how the vampire has evolved over the years, and how it has managed to maintain its grip on the human psyche--and will surely be enjoyed by academics and vampire-obsessed fans alike. Highly recommended!Erik Butler is also the author of Metamorphoses of the Vampire in Literature and Film (Studies in German Literature Linguistics and Culture) and The Bellum Grammaticale and the Rise of European Literature.
This is a fantastic book for anyone who wants to learn more about the vampire phenomenon--when it began (more recently than you'd think), where (not in Transylvania), and why it is the ideal modern monster. Butler's range is breathtaking--the book goes from Serbian peasants to "Twilight," from British melodrama to Buffy. I seriously didn't know the vampire had its fangs in so many parts of history and culture. Fascinating.
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