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| Malta Comic Convention, source (1) |
When it comes to Vampirism and the fanbase surrounding it- there is no end to the phases that pulse. Of course there are many fans of the classics, like Dracula and Nosferatu, however the newer hype mostly surrounds stories like Twilight or the Vampire Diaries. Despite the newer phases of Vampirism, Dracula stills stands strong as one of the phases that will never die out (not only because of the movie adaptations or original novel, but because Dracula is in general a timeless classic enjoyed by many).
One of the many discussions I found was focused on Vampires in Film at the Malta Comic Convention, where a whole panel discussed the topic of Vampirism in film history and took questions from the audience and fans, only to debate it amongst themselves. This form of interaction is very popular in conventions for their informative and entertaining content often starting a strong connection with the crowd (2).
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| The Dracula Podcast, cover photo. Source (3). |
Another ongoing form of discussion in Vampirism would be the Podcast,
The Dracula Podcast. The description is: 'Home to the unofficial podcast of all things Dracula' With a Halloween special on October 29, 2015 (3). In the podcast they chat about Dracula, theories, news and predictions following Dracula's story. Podcasts are an extremely relaxing and focuses on the theme of your choice, it is kind of like the common radio but more complex where the hosts are often educated or professionals in their content area and talk about several researched subtopics surrounding your theme (4).
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This comes from the common search, 'Vampire Chatrooms'
in google. |
As far as I can tell, there is not much toxic content surrounding the Vampire & Dracula fandom. I've been in several chatrooms and although every person in there genuinely considers themself a vampire- everyone there is really relaxed in a hardcore kind of way. Some of the chatrooms demand that you send in pictures of your fangs before you get accepted, and the members often talk about what their favorite blood type is. To me, this is very odd behavior but everyone has their thing.
Works Cited:
- (1) Malta Comic Convention,
Dr Krista Bonello Rutter Giappone, August 5 2013.
http://www.maltacomic-con.com/events/vampires-in-film-revisiting-hammers-dracula-presentation-and-discussion/
- (2) "Panel Discussion",
Nature Education. 2014.
https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/panel-discussions-13909630
- (3) Dracula Podcast, Lawrence Burgess, Frank Stella, Zachary Hare. South Gate Media Group, October 28, 2015.
http://www.southgatemediagroup.com/dracula-podcast/
- (4) Podcast Host, Colin Gray. 2011.
https://www.thepodcasthost.com/listeners-guide/what-is-a-podcast/
Sara,
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting modern-day topic of Dracula and his vampirism. I, too, am surprised by these behaviors surrounding vampires. I think it would be particularly interesting to look into the "Dracula fandom chatrooms" and the reasons for why and how their perceptions of vampires exist. Also, I liked your discussion of the podcast as I didn't know much about them before. It's awesome to see how there is one out there for everyone.
Good work!
I never thought about the adaptions that Dracula had, not only in film, but in people's everyday lives. I find it interesting and at the same time frightening that people take vampirism so seriously. When you mentioned that to be a part of a chat room you must send a picture with your fangs and then there is the discussion of blood completely baffled me. I think looking into that behavior would be an interesting research project. Also, I never knew that people had podcasts about Dracula and different theories that surround vampirism. I thought your blog was very interesting and informative.
ReplyDeleteReading your blog post made me realize just how serious people take vampires. I thought it was interesting how you mentioned that there isn't much negativity in the vampire fandom. The only negativity surrounding it are the people who look down on it. This brings up the topic that when people don't understand something they don't spend the time trying to learn more about it; they just shun it. The people within the community are part of it because they genuinely enjoy vampires and/or believe they are one. It's their lives and outsiders shouldn't judge them just because they don't understand them.
ReplyDelete