Showing posts with label vampires. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vampires. Show all posts

Friday, November 3, 2023

I’m profiled in the AJCU’s “Connections”



I’m honored to be profiled in the recent edition of “Connections,” the online magazine of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. You can check it out right here. 

 

It’s an overview of classes I teach, my research and commentary on mass media issues, popular culture and popular entertainment and why I think certain media products like vampire stories and this summer’s Barbie movie touch the collective nerves in audiences to make these products blockbuster successes. Barbie and vampires I had written about in this blog earlier as well.

 

I also discuss how my research into fandom led me to my interest in the conspiracy theory phenomenon. As I discuss, conspiracy theorists are basically no different from Trekkies writing fan fiction. Just like the fan fiction writer wants to take control of some text he did not originally create and make his own—often subvert it and rewrite it—so do conspiracy theorists want to write their own fan fiction about every day’s headlines. They want to take reality and reinvent, to rewrite those headlines to match the creative fantasies inside the conspiracist’s head. Of all the classes I teach, the one about the conspiracy theories, I firmly believe, is my most important one.

Sunday, September 10, 2023

Always let vampires onto your viewing list!


Directed by Tomas Alfredson, the 2008 Swedish horror film Let the Right One In—an adaptation of a novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist (who also penned the screenplay)—centers on the dynamic between a young boy named Oskar and Eli, a vampire child who appears to be Oskar’s age but who has lived for centuries. The film unfolds against the backdrop of a small wintry Swedish village, contributing to its distinctive visual approach and ambiance. Through a blend of horror, romance, and themes related to coming of age, the movie crafts a one-of-a-kind and thought-provoking storyline.

Let the Right One In garnered significant critical and popular praise thanks to its inventive take on the vampire genre, capacity to elicit both fear and compassion, evocative cinematography, deliberate pacing, and deep exploration of the intricacies of human emotions and connections.

Listen to our CineVerse discussion right here.

Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Long Live the Undead!


If you love vampires as much as I do, take a look at the above special edition magazine about the undead on magazine racks everywhere! I am quoted extensively in this issue discussing the history of beliefs in vampires, and how these creatures have been such a fascinating open text for storytellers for perhaps as long as people have been telling scary stories. 

 

The magazine traces the history of vampires from ancient religions and folklore to literature and modern popular culture like films, TV shows, fashions, role-playing games, and even people who live the vampire lifestyle 24/7. From monstrous vampires to sexy vampires, immerse yourself in the world of the undead in this magazine and see why vampires are the most attractive of all supernatural being.

 

In the article “Undead Evolution,” check out my quotes on how even the narrative structure of such out-there conspiracy theories like Pizzagate and QAnon have incorporated the themes and plot structure of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” Diabolical elites with enormous wealth at their disposal hunting humans—especially children—for Satanic blood-drinking rites in a far-reaching plot to poison and undermine society sound familiar? Sure, it’s Count Dracula’s evil plan to buy up London real estate and prey on unsuspecting humans. And it’s also at the core of the QAnon mythos with its fantasies of blood-drinking elites in the Deep State and the New World Order running the world and sacrificing abducted children in catacombs under pizza parlors. For over a hundred years, however, no one has ever believed that “Dracula” was anything other than fiction. It’s a strange world we live in, though, when the high foolishness of QAnon has sucked in so many believers. It’s almost like modern conspiracism has become a mind-plague that spreads through the population like a vampire disease.  

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

All things Vampire!!


Only two days before Halloween, you can't miss the October 29th episode of WSPC Culture Wars.

Our special guest will be Leslie Klinger, the author of The New Annotated Dracula, discussing all things vampire.

Listen live or download the podcast and hear us talk about the undead, from the blood-thirsty and vicious to sexy and sensitive.

And let us know which one is your favorite by e-mailing us at wspcradio@gmail.com