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This book offers a unique argument for the emergence of a post-9/11 vampire that showcases changing perspectives on identity and religion in American culture, offering a look at how cultural narratives can be used to work through trauma. Cultural narratives have long played a valuable role in mediating difficult and politically sensitive topics. Christina Wilkins addresses how the figure of the vampire is used in modern narratives and how it has changed from previous incarnations, particularly in American narratives.
The vampire has been a cultural staple for centuries but the current conception of the figure has been arguably Americanized with the rise of the modern American vampire coinciding with the aftermath of 9/11. Wilkins investigates changes evident in cultural representations, and how they effectively mediate the altered approach to issues of trauma and identity. By investing metaphorical tropes with cultural significance, the book offers audiences the opportunity to consider new perspectives and prompt important discussions while also illuminating changes in societal attitudes.
List of contents
1. Introduction.- 2. Comparing Influence: Religion and Authority across the Transatlantic.- 3. 'Muslim Buffy with a Dick': Post-9/11 Interpretations of Fundamentalism in True Blood.- 4. Fear, Infection and the Aftermath: Del Toro's The Strain and Its Violent Vampires.
About the author
Christina Wilkins holds a PhD in English and Film from the University of Southampton, UK. She has taught on a variety of modules at the university, encompassing film and literature across the centuries and continents. She currently teaches at the University of Winchester, UK, and is a quarterly contributor for
Nomos Journal, an online journal dedicated to religion in popular culture.
Summary
This book offers a unique argument for the emergence of a post-9/11 vampire that showcases changing perspectives on identity and religion in American culture, offering a look at how cultural narratives can be used to work through trauma. Cultural narratives have long played a valuable role in mediating difficult and politically sensitive topics. Christina Wilkins addresses how the figure of the vampire is used in modern narratives and how it has changed from previous incarnations, particularly in American narratives.
The vampire has been a cultural staple for centuries but the current conception of the figure has been arguably Americanized with the rise of the modern American vampire coinciding with the aftermath of 9/11. Wilkins investigates changes evident in cultural representations, and how they effectively mediate the altered approach to issues of trauma and identity. By investing metaphorical tropes with cultural significance, the book offers audiences the opportunity to consider new perspectives and prompt important discussions while also illuminating changes in societal attitudes.
Additional text
“Regardless of the legitimacy of the vampire as atheist reading, Wilkins has produced an interesting study that should be of interest to vampire scholars and others studying the shifting ways in which the vampire is understood and how this monstrous figure reflects our fears, sense of identity, and changing relationship to institutionalized religion.” (John W. Morehead, Journal of Vampire Studies, Vol. 4, 2024)
Report
Regardless of the legitimacy of the vampire as atheist reading, Wilkins has produced an interesting study that should be of interest to vampire scholars and others studying the shifting ways in which the vampire is understood and how this monstrous figure reflects our fears, sense of identity, and changing relationship to institutionalized religion. (John W. Morehead, Journal of Vampire Studies, Vol. 4, 2024)
