西方影视作品中，以吸血鬼为题材的作品不胜枚举。但其中最有代表性的电影如1922年的《诺斯费拉图—恐怖交响曲》，二十世纪九十年代的《惊情四百年》和《夜访吸血鬼》。但从此之后，吸血鬼的影视作品开始淡出荧屏，直到《暮光之城》系列﹑《吸血鬼日记》等影视作品的陆续出现，才掀起新一轮吸血鬼流行文化的热潮。那么，经过几十年的沉寂，“吸血鬼”为什么能重新赢得人们的青睐呢？ 这是因为吸血鬼银幕形象的特征随着时代的不同而改变着。从1922年青面獠牙如怪兽般的洛克斯伯爵到《惊情四百年》中中年绅士形象的德库拉，再到近几年电视剧《吸血鬼日记》中青春帅气的史蒂芬，吸血鬼的银幕形象发生着与时俱进的变化，影片的类型也由最初的恐怖片迈向如今的偶像片。正是这些具有时代特征的变化，使吸血鬼的魔力再次狂起。 由此看来，每个时代都在创造着“它所需要的吸血鬼”。然而，吸血鬼形象发生的巨大变化，与社会的发展是分不开的。本文将对五部经典影视作品中的吸血鬼形象的演变进行分析并阐释其形象演变的原因。希望通过这次探讨，我们能对西方影视作品中的吸血鬼形象有更深刻的认识，从而更好的了解西方吸血鬼文化。
Vampire is one of the most common themes in the western films and TV serials. And there are many masterpieces which are based on the vampire themes, such as Nosferatu -- A Symphony of Horror in 1922, Dracula and Interview with the Vampire both in the 1990s. After that, there have been seldom influential vampire films or TV serials to be produced until Twilight Saga and The Vampire Diaries which both released in the 21th century and rapidly swept the world. What are the reasons for vampire’s popularity again？ As time goes on, the images of vampires on the screen have been transforming. Vampires are showing the feature in different times. In the film Nosferatu——A Symphony of Horror, the vampire Lugosi was an old ugly and blood thirsty demon, and in the Dracula, vampire Dracula was an middle-age gentleman. More than a decade later, Twilight Saga and The Vampire Diaries made a breakthrough on the images, for example, in the TV serial The Vampire Diaries the leading actor Stefan was a young and handsome man. These featuring vampires absolutely attracted audience again in the 21st century. Every age seems to embrace “the vampire that it needs”, so the changed images definitely associates with the development of society. This thesis aims to make an analysis for vampire images’ evolution in the typical western films and TV serials and interpret the reasons for their evolution. This paper will help us have a better understanding for western vampire cultures.
The vampire myth appears to have originated in Transylvania, according to the Stoker novel, in the dark hills of Eastern Europe. “Stoker's Dracula is an old man that appears harmless except for an air of doom about his castle. His vampires are the curse of the surrounding towns, and the descendants of a strange disease.”(Wu,2006) It is often very hard to tell which pieces of the vampire myth were added from literature, and which were originally spread through word of mouth. Bram Stoker's Dracula is the cause of new conventions in the vampire legend. His book included the use of garlic to fend off vampires, stakes as killing tools and the ability of vampires to crawl upside-down on a wall. Besides, “the novels of Anne Rice, including Interview With the Vampire, are also spreading twists in the definition of a vampire.”(Wu,1999) Her vampires are immortal and mostly ordinary people caught in something they cannot understand. And Stoker's Dracula was an unconscious comment on Victorian England, Stoker himself was torn between the convention of the sexes in this day, and underneath this book one can see his inner struggle. Similarly, Anne Rice uses vampires to examine the reaction of the modern world to the magical and horrific. In Interview With the Vampire, the main character asks to be made into a vampire. The vampire he asks is unwilling to comply. Today there are actually some cults of “vampires” that exist. These people drink small amounts of blood from willing victims in keeping with the ancient belief that it will bring power and life. Besides, all of those are appreciated in the film. Many of vampires’ novels were adapted or filmed in the screen for watching. For example, In 1922, Nosferatu——A Symphony of Horror conducted by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, originated from Dracula (Irish novelist Bram Stoker) in which Dracula was changed name as Bela Lugosi. 70 years later, in 1992, Dracula was being dusted off for a remake by Francis Ford Coppola. In 1994, Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, a famous volume of The vampire Chronicle, appeared in the films directed by Neil Jordan. It tells that a plantation owner named Louis lost his wife in childbirth. Both his wife and the infant died, and now he has lost his will to live. A vampire named Lestat takes a liking to Louis and offers him the chance to become a creature of the night: a vampire. Louis must learn from Lestat the ways of the vampire. When they meet a young child Claudia, he makes Claudia a vampire. The story starts among them. From 2008 to 2012, Stephanie Meyer ‘s Twilight saga were shown to the public in the media, including Twilight, New moon, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Breaking Down which state a romantic love story between Edward and Bella.
Vampires (also known as The Cold Ones in Quileute legends) are the primary supernatural creatures of the Twilight universe. They are immortal beings who feed and survive on the blood of humans or animals, however, which was an old definition for a long time. Nowadays，Vampires are being transformed whether appearance or images. In Twilight Saga or Vampire diaries, their skin is flawless and textured with a marble-like substance much harder and stronger than granite. Due to the features, when a vampire is exposed to sunlight, their body will sparkle like diamonds. For vampires who feed on human blood, their eyes reflect a deep red, as opposed to those who drink animal blood, whose eyes will reflect a medium gold color. Vampires also possess superhuman powers, such as speed and strength. They also have incredibly keen senses and are able to hear for miles and see in total darkness. After transformation, a few vampires show special abilities such as foresight or telepathy, usually a prominent personality or physical trait magnified from their human life. Most of them, however, do not. Besides, Vampires are unharmed by garlic, holy items, or wooden stakes; they have reflections and shadows, and are able to walk freely in the sunlight without being physically damaged by it. Further, the values of their love, sex and desire have been varied with running time, In a word, with the time changing, a vampire has a new image in the films. This paper mainly explored the image of vampire has been transforming on the screen in 20 years. It will help us better understanding for vampires’ value. |
