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Bringing vampires back home? (Dracula was British?)
Reuters ^ | 4/6/10 | Reuters

Posted on 04/06/2010 12:46:24 PM PDT by Sax

A British university is to hold a conference on Vampires in an effort to counterbalance the "Americanization" of the fictional genre.

Delegates to the University of Hertfordshire's "Open Graves, Open Minds: Vampires and the Undead in Modern Culture" conference to be held on April 16-17 will have their food served to them out of coffins as part of a mission to encourage students of all ages to study literature.

English lecturer Sam George, who has just launched a Master of Arts degree in vampire fiction at Hertfordshire, said the most famous vampire narrative of all, Dracula, was written by Irishman Bram Stoker and set in London and Whitby in Yorkshire, but that now with the "Twilight" saga and "True Blood," modern vampires have become Americanized.

"The new breed of vampires are far from monstrous, they are glamorous and sexy and have an emotional side," she said. "Their (teenagers') attraction to vampire figures provides a safe way for them to acknowledge these desires."

Conference lectures will be delivered by academics and author Marcus Sedgwick, who writes young adult fiction with a vampire twist.

Panel topics during the two-day event will include "Dracula Lives," "Appetites of the Undead," "Undead Victorians," "Undead Teens," "Politics of the Undead," "Undead Romance," "The Gay Undead," "Undead TV," "Undead in the New Media," "Identity, Legality and the Undead" and "Gendering the Undead."

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: vampire
So this sounded like a good idea, I enjoyed the 1922 Nosferatu vampire, and the Salem's Lot vampire - you know the ghost, ghoul and monster variety - not the TeenBeat, Judy Blume type vampires that are skipping all around now with their fancy hairdos....But, then I saw the panel topics they listed here and figured that vampires are just a total write-off at this point. Long live zombie movies! Don't think the teeny boppers will wind up with heart-throb zombies anytime soon (I know, that's just tempting fate....)

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Image and video hosting by TinyPic

1 posted on 04/06/2010 12:46:25 PM PDT by Sax
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To: Sax
will have their food served to them out of coffins as part of a mission to encourage students of all ages to study literature

Oh yeah. That'll do the trick.

2 posted on 04/06/2010 12:52:37 PM PDT by subterfuge (BUILD MORE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS NOW!!!)
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To: Sax

3 posted on 04/06/2010 12:53:20 PM PDT by frogjerk
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To: Sax
“Politics of the Undead,”

I would imagine the vote democratic...

4 posted on 04/06/2010 12:54:31 PM PDT by MAexile (Bats left, votes right)
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To: MAexile
Whoops, I meant they, not the.
5 posted on 04/06/2010 12:55:39 PM PDT by MAexile (Bats left, votes right)
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To: Sax
"The new breed of vampires are far from monstrous,"

And, they have much better teeth than their British counterparts...
6 posted on 04/06/2010 12:55:51 PM PDT by green pastures (Cynicism-- it's not just for breakfast anymore...)
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To: Sax
Vlad the Impaler lived in Transylvania!

The Vampire legends were far reaching throughout Europe. It was Bram Stoker's sanguin stories that added flesh and blood to the mysteries of Transylvania.

Blah, Blah Blah!

7 posted on 04/06/2010 12:57:26 PM PDT by Young Werther ("Quae cum ita sunt" Since these things are so!)
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To: Sax
Meh. Portraying vampires as attractive is s-o-o-o 1979.


8 posted on 04/06/2010 12:58:27 PM PDT by Bratch
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To: Bratch
Image and video hosting by TinyPic

that reminded me of the George Hamilton vampire!

9 posted on 04/06/2010 1:01:06 PM PDT by Sax
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To: Sax

Well Britain, you’ve already allowed the Muslims to immigrate. Might as well let the vampires come home too. It’s not like it’s going to make things worse.


10 posted on 04/06/2010 1:01:17 PM PDT by DannyTN
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To: Sax

Dracula wasn’t British! He was born in Transylvania which is in present-sday Romania and was known as Vlad The Impaler for the cruel punishments he imposed on his enemies. He is also known for his resistance against the Ottoman Empire (aka Muslim jihadis) and its expansion.


11 posted on 04/06/2010 1:03:55 PM PDT by Jack Hydrazine
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To: Sax

Nosferatu is the creepiest. I remember seeing his image on TV when I was a kid and he’s creeped me out ever since.


12 posted on 04/06/2010 1:10:49 PM PDT by constitutiongirl ("Nietzsche was stupid and abnormal."---Leo Tolstoy)
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To: Sax

The book Dracula by Bram Stoker is a classic. Everyone should read.


13 posted on 04/06/2010 1:13:38 PM PDT by iowamark
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To: Sax
Dracula worked for the government.

And was only there to help you.

14 posted on 04/06/2010 1:15:16 PM PDT by uglybiker (BACON!!)
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To: Jack Hydrazine
I think the article is referring to vampire literature. Bram Stoker novelised the vampire legend which exists all over the world.

Personally, I think Stoker did a diservice to Vlad Tepes. If it weren't for the brutality Vlad III was willing to inflict upon the Ottomans, history would look very very different. I think we can see now, even in the 21st century, barbaric cruelty was instrumental in holding back the Muslim hordes, since violence seems to be the only thing they understand and respect.

15 posted on 04/06/2010 1:19:01 PM PDT by constitutiongirl ("Nietzsche was stupid and abnormal."---Leo Tolstoy)
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To: Sax
Schvartzes?"


16 posted on 04/06/2010 1:21:17 PM PDT by Dumpster Baby (Truth is called hate by those who hate the truth.)
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To: Dumpster Baby
Take the tannest white man in existence and make him a vampire. Cheeky.
17 posted on 04/06/2010 1:29:21 PM PDT by constitutiongirl ("Nietzsche was stupid and abnormal."---Leo Tolstoy)
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To: constitutiongirl

I agree. We need more people like him to help push back against the Muslim horde. Not in terms of cruelty but just using the necessary force to teach the jihadis respect for Western culture.


18 posted on 04/06/2010 1:35:20 PM PDT by Jack Hydrazine
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To: iowamark
The book Dracula by Bram Stoker is a classic. Everyone should read.

Something everyone forgets is,

Who killed Dracula?

No, it was not Van Helsing with a wooden stake. It was an American (Texan) Quincy Morris with a Bowie knife.

19 posted on 04/06/2010 1:56:40 PM PDT by Clock King (There's no way to fix D.C.)
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To: subterfuge

“Master of Arts degree in vampire fiction “

about as useful finding a real job as a Womyn’s Studies degree.


20 posted on 04/06/2010 1:57:56 PM PDT by WOBBLY BOB ( FIRE STUPAK: LindaForCongress.com)
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