A brief description of my FYP is how vampire, gothic and monster fiction in movies and tv are a representation of american anxieties and fears and how the fiction evolves with the changes in american society.
The Two Keywords I Looked at were
Citizenship (Lauren Berlant)
the article looks at how citizenship is percieved in America today and how it creates groups and segregation in society. especially when it looks at the issues between being a citizen and being a non-citizen. I chose this in relation to my topic because it talks about white anxieties about race, and disease and it is all about America's fear of the alien or unknown. These are the kind of issues that i am looking at in my fyp and how they are represented by vampire and gothic movies and television today.
African (Kevin Gaines)
This article is pretty self explained by the title and it deals with what the perception of "african" is in the USA. This relates to my article again because it is all about african americans feeling outside the system in america and feeling out of place. It deals with issues such as the pessimism the usa has about the word african and how it realtes to poverty, famine and disease. Again issues that i am looking at within my FYP in regards to how they are portrayed in gothic fiction.
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The negativity which is ascribed to the ‘other’ in American culture is neatly captured by elements of Rich’s choices. Non-citizens are referred to as ‘aliens’ - literally - and Africa’s ‘otherness’ has historically been labelled as the negative shades of the positive (Anglo-American) binary. Are vampires, et al contemporary manifestations of the ‘savage’? Also, why are so many characterisations of these fantasy baddies British? Are we the safest ‘alien’? The 'almost-citizen' who represents the ‘dark side’ within contemporary American culture?
ReplyDeleteThere are some interesting elements that you could incorporate in your FYP with your words. On reading your blog and then the chapter for 'citizenship'I thought further on the 'alien' and certainly with the vampire tradition I could suggest there might be parallels to fears of Americans at the time of The Great Deluge of immigrants with a fear of 'the other,'disease and 'foreign' ways. It's not too difficult to make a connection with a fear of a 'parasitic' immigrant and the blood-sucking vampire. I thought your choice of 'African' was an interesting one too; in connection with 'the other' again. Also you could address how Africans (and indeed Africa) were seen as somehow bestial and dark. It occurred to me that the 'fear' of black mythologised sexual prowess could also be transferred to a vampire impregnating your neck with a set of sharp teeth if you wished to read it as such!
ReplyDeleteI think these two keywords are very relevant to Rich's FYP when looking at the anxieties felt towards "otherness" (from the perspective of the Anglo-American) in American society; Citizenship can be seen as representing the Anglo model of society characterised by assimilation to a western set of values and beleifs, where as African can be see as representing the "other"; African Americans have had many issues in American society and much underlying fear and mistrust exists in America of non WASPs.
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to find keywords that directly associate themselves with creatures such as vampires and monsters. Rich as done well looking past the creatures themselves at how they are represented, and the reasons for this representation in american fiction.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the case of citizenship it is obvious that this becomes relevant, the representations of the 'other' as seperate from society is symbolic in a country where patriotism and the essence of being an American is so important.
African is an interesting choice, looking at the history of 'outsiders' in early America and the transition to modern society. Do these Vampires and Monsters in the focus of Rich's study try to assimilate to society or deliberately remain on the fringe? An interesting topic which clearly runs deeper than fictional tales of scary creatures.