http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_folklore_by_region
The folklore extends SO BROADLY across the ancient world, however what I've learnt is that the modern vampire is based upon early 18th century conceptions from Southeast Europe.
Ancient beliefs
Tales of the undead consuming the blood or flesh of living beings have been found in nearly every culture around the world for many centuries.[3] Today we know these entities predominantly as vampires, but in ancient times, the term vampire did not exist; blood drinking and similar activities were attributed to demons or spirits who would eat flesh and drink blood; even the devil was considered synonymous with the vampire.[4] Almost every nation has associated blood drinking with some kind of revenant or demon, from the ghouls of Arabia to the goddess Sekhmet of Egypt. Indeed, some of these legends could have given rise to the Eastern European folklore, though they are not strictly considered vampires by historians when using today's definitions.[5][6]
In my assessment I'm not sure how many cultures I should delve into for the comparative study. I want to be able to display some similarities of where the vampire myth we know today originates from, and some differences and why they might have come about.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
The Evolution of the Vampire
My confirmed topic choice, I'm so excited! So many instances over time has the image of the vampire been used in literary forms to convey different social standards and images !
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/vampires_movies/60392
This website is an awful good read, exactly what I wanted. It also touches on ancient perceptions of vampires based on the culture the folklore came from, like Malaysia verses northern Europe. It also explores the vampires appearance in film and book much more extensively than the concept of the vampire itself, which can prove to be very helpful.
I'm thinking for printing out my blog, I'll print out the articles as well, I may as well have them for reference and quoting, but I'll have to ensure I put a bibliography down for each site so I can reference them well.
Note: Sorry for the onslaught of posts, I just got really inspired today to do some history and I was just on a roll. Not that anyone will really read any of this :)
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/vampires_movies/60392
This website is an awful good read, exactly what I wanted. It also touches on ancient perceptions of vampires based on the culture the folklore came from, like Malaysia verses northern Europe. It also explores the vampires appearance in film and book much more extensively than the concept of the vampire itself, which can prove to be very helpful.
I'm thinking for printing out my blog, I'll print out the articles as well, I may as well have them for reference and quoting, but I'll have to ensure I put a bibliography down for each site so I can reference them well.
Note: Sorry for the onslaught of posts, I just got really inspired today to do some history and I was just on a roll. Not that anyone will really read any of this :)
I'm on a ROLL today
http://www.tampabay.com/features/media/article870160.ece
A timeline from the St Petersburg times online about the change vampires have undergone over time. It's brilliant, but not as scathing towards Twilight as I would have preferred. It does mention True Blood though, and I like that show...
even though the vampires should be more fearsome ._.
I like the introduction of the article the best:
"For our money, there is no cooler creature in pop culture history than the vampire. • Infinitely adaptable, mysterious and powerful, vampires are the hip kids of the zeitgeist.They dominate humanity while standing apart from it, embodying all things forbidden and seductive in one conflict-laced package. • Little surprise, then, that the form each ghoul takes through history says a lot about its time and place. • "It's ironic: They say vampires don't cast a reflection, but vampires really are a reflection . . . of society," said Eric Nuzum, who drank his own blood, watched 605 vampire movies and took a Romanian vampire tour to write his 2007 book, The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula."
I'm liking the sound of this book by Eric Nuzum, I'm going to look into ordering this. I'm thinking vampires might become my folklore focus, it gives me a chance to express my *ahem* distaste for a few things via my blog.
Guess who is extremely excited about this task now? :3
A timeline from the St Petersburg times online about the change vampires have undergone over time. It's brilliant, but not as scathing towards Twilight as I would have preferred. It does mention True Blood though, and I like that show...
even though the vampires should be more fearsome ._.
I like the introduction of the article the best:
"For our money, there is no cooler creature in pop culture history than the vampire. • Infinitely adaptable, mysterious and powerful, vampires are the hip kids of the zeitgeist.They dominate humanity while standing apart from it, embodying all things forbidden and seductive in one conflict-laced package. • Little surprise, then, that the form each ghoul takes through history says a lot about its time and place. • "It's ironic: They say vampires don't cast a reflection, but vampires really are a reflection . . . of society," said Eric Nuzum, who drank his own blood, watched 605 vampire movies and took a Romanian vampire tour to write his 2007 book, The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula."
I'm liking the sound of this book by Eric Nuzum, I'm going to look into ordering this. I'm thinking vampires might become my folklore focus, it gives me a chance to express my *ahem* distaste for a few things via my blog.
Guess who is extremely excited about this task now? :3
I was thinking
A fantastic example of myths transgressing into modern culture would be that of the Vampire. A once feared and taboo topic becoming a cult hit and in some cases, a sex symbol is utterly astounding. The advancement* of mankind has turned that which once struck terror into peoples hearts into one that emotes other.. ahem, strong feelings. A little strange isn't it. I suppose the waning influence of religious tyranny, scientific advancements and the more cynical nature of man has reduced what was once a fearsome creature into a sparkling ninny in a tree**. Wikipedia (an unreliable source but a good springboard regardless) notes,
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures regardless of them being undead or a living person. In folkloric tales, vampires often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighbourhoods they inhabited when they were alive. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance.
So how then, has our pink faced, fat, blood-slurping, mischievous undead vampire turned into a vegetarian, sparkling, cold as ice and pale as a ghost whiney little prat? A creature once famous for causing mass hysteria, the blame for unexplained happenings, a minion of the DEVIL for goodness sake, has becoming nothing more than a big wuss. That glitters.
As much as I denote and despise Twilight, I regrettably say this could possibly be a good topic for my Ext. History project. Surely you all approve of any assignment bent on mocking Twilight to the fullest extent, no?
x------------------------------------------------------------------------------x
*I'm hardly counting Twilight as an advancement of man, if anything it's a massive regression.
** I'm looking at you, Edward Cullen, you big idiot.
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures regardless of them being undead or a living person. In folkloric tales, vampires often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighbourhoods they inhabited when they were alive. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance.
So how then, has our pink faced, fat, blood-slurping, mischievous undead vampire turned into a vegetarian, sparkling, cold as ice and pale as a ghost whiney little prat? A creature once famous for causing mass hysteria, the blame for unexplained happenings, a minion of the DEVIL for goodness sake, has becoming nothing more than a big wuss. That glitters.
As much as I denote and despise Twilight, I regrettably say this could possibly be a good topic for my Ext. History project. Surely you all approve of any assignment bent on mocking Twilight to the fullest extent, no?
x------------------------------------------------------------------------------x
*I'm hardly counting Twilight as an advancement of man, if anything it's a massive regression.
** I'm looking at you, Edward Cullen, you big idiot.
Yay I'm pretty excited.
I've finally found something I'm passionate about, and I'm excited to be hitting the state library next week to check it out.
I'm most definitely going to be doing a study of Ancient and Medieval myths and either their modern counterparts or their influence on modern story telling (movies and novels).
http://www.minervaclassics.com/movimyth.htm
Another awesome website to check out ! I like how it mentions that we can either appropriate myths into a modern context / movie, or we can actually subconsciously take elements from the myths and place them in a completely different plot !
This snippet from the website I found to be particular fascinating.
Identifying the elements of myth: The Godfather and Odysseus
Blood spurting from his chest, the young Italian writhes in a dance of death, his body jerking to the rhythm of the machine gun bullets. A shark's ragged jaws open, red and mangled with the flesh of victims, and a man disappears screaming into the bloody throat. Do these scenes, from The Godfather and Jaws, represent an American myth of cruelty and violence? Or should the word "myth" be reserved for more austere and decorous tales, like those we associate with the gods and goddesses of an idealized Greek and Roman antiquity, leaving us to dismiss The Godfather and Jaws as gruesomely hypnotic stories? (A third definition of "myth" would simply say that it is "something that isn't so," which gets us off the hook without supplying an explanation.)
Many people are surprised to learn that ancient myth was often at least as violent, if not more so, than the mayhem of our modern fantasies. The Greek god Kronos castrated his father with a pruning hook, then swallowed his own children; later, he was forced to vomit them up. The accursed hero Atreus cut the children of his brother Thyestes into little pieces, then served them to their father at a banquet. So much for the austere and decorous. But mythologers today define "myth" in a more subtle and discerning way, to include both the Corleone family and the shark, and Kronos and Thyestes, as well as gentler products of the human imagination. Myth is the system of recurring patterns and themes that people use to make sense out of the world. Significantly, ancient and modern patterns often turn out to be the same, even in small details; in their universality, they seem to have an intimate connection with the way all human beings think. The Godfather, and its companion, Godfather II, have been justly praised for excellence in such technical matters as acting and direction; their popularity is enhanced by less pleasant preoccupations: a lust for violence accentuated in recent years; an obsession with the details of organized crime; a cynical belief that only small distinctions separate lawless behavior from ordinary business practice. But deeper, more archaic reasons lie back of the Mafia saga's tremendous vogue. These reasons have to do with the film's mythic content.
I'm most definitely going to be doing a study of Ancient and Medieval myths and either their modern counterparts or their influence on modern story telling (movies and novels).
http://www.minervaclassics.com/movimyth.htm
Another awesome website to check out ! I like how it mentions that we can either appropriate myths into a modern context / movie, or we can actually subconsciously take elements from the myths and place them in a completely different plot !
This snippet from the website I found to be particular fascinating.
Identifying the elements of myth: The Godfather and Odysseus
Blood spurting from his chest, the young Italian writhes in a dance of death, his body jerking to the rhythm of the machine gun bullets. A shark's ragged jaws open, red and mangled with the flesh of victims, and a man disappears screaming into the bloody throat. Do these scenes, from The Godfather and Jaws, represent an American myth of cruelty and violence? Or should the word "myth" be reserved for more austere and decorous tales, like those we associate with the gods and goddesses of an idealized Greek and Roman antiquity, leaving us to dismiss The Godfather and Jaws as gruesomely hypnotic stories? (A third definition of "myth" would simply say that it is "something that isn't so," which gets us off the hook without supplying an explanation.)
Many people are surprised to learn that ancient myth was often at least as violent, if not more so, than the mayhem of our modern fantasies. The Greek god Kronos castrated his father with a pruning hook, then swallowed his own children; later, he was forced to vomit them up. The accursed hero Atreus cut the children of his brother Thyestes into little pieces, then served them to their father at a banquet. So much for the austere and decorous. But mythologers today define "myth" in a more subtle and discerning way, to include both the Corleone family and the shark, and Kronos and Thyestes, as well as gentler products of the human imagination. Myth is the system of recurring patterns and themes that people use to make sense out of the world. Significantly, ancient and modern patterns often turn out to be the same, even in small details; in their universality, they seem to have an intimate connection with the way all human beings think. The Godfather, and its companion, Godfather II, have been justly praised for excellence in such technical matters as acting and direction; their popularity is enhanced by less pleasant preoccupations: a lust for violence accentuated in recent years; an obsession with the details of organized crime; a cynical belief that only small distinctions separate lawless behavior from ordinary business practice. But deeper, more archaic reasons lie back of the Mafia saga's tremendous vogue. These reasons have to do with the film's mythic content.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
How interesting.
In my new exploration of folklore I may do a study of the influence of european folklore on his writing styles and stories. Here is link which proves to be very interesting :)
http://www.colorq.org/Articles/ca.aspx?d=lore&x=SE_LOTR
I Don't know if this will be my focus topic, I'm still looking around. I can't focus, so sue me ._.
http://www.colorq.org/Articles/ca.aspx?d=lore&x=SE_LOTR
I Don't know if this will be my focus topic, I'm still looking around. I can't focus, so sue me ._.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
I am
abandoning any hope on doing the holocaust deniers. I'm lazy, thats why.
Plus, I'm much more passionate about ancient history, particularly mythology and folklore.
Perhaps an exploration into folklore shared across different civilisations and societies?
Anyone have any idea for an angle I could put on this?
Plus, I'm much more passionate about ancient history, particularly mythology and folklore.
Perhaps an exploration into folklore shared across different civilisations and societies?
Anyone have any idea for an angle I could put on this?
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