The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

God is (un)dead: religion and identity in post-9/11 vampire narratives

God is (un)dead: religion and identity in post-9/11 vampire narratives
God is (un)dead: religion and identity in post-9/11 vampire narratives
Cultural narratives have long played a valuable role in mediating difficult and politically sensitive topics. Investing metaphorical tropes with cultural significance offers audiences the opportunity to consider new perspectives and prompt important discussions. One of these tropes that has become ever more prominent in the last decade is that of the vampire. This thesis is concerned with the questions of how the figure of the vampire is used in modern narratives, and how it has changed from previous incarnations, particularly in American narratives. The rise of the modern vampire coincides with the aftermath of 9/11 and it is this link that is primarily explored here.

Through an examination of three texts, Being Human, True Blood and The Strain, these chapters construct an argument for the vampire as a key figure in post-9/11 narratives and imbued with a religious significance. Being Human establishes the difference between the UK and US interpretation of the figure through a direct comparison of an original series and its American remake. This highlights the religious aspect to the figure, along with reinforcing the Americanisation of the vampire, discussed in relation to the series. With this established, the argument moves on to True Blood, looking at patriotism, terrorism and the presentation of the ‘other’ onscreen in the series. Particularly, it posits the vampire in True Blood as being representative of the Muslim other, providing a unique method for discussing post-9/11 issues of religion and identity. The argument then moves on to looking at The Strain, which presents a more explicit link between vampires and 9/11, and argues for a need for narratives that do this. By looking at theoretical research on the issues raised in the texts, particularly those of trauma and faith, it highlights a change in perspectives. Ultimately, the exploration of these texts shows a valuable use of the vampire in working through the trauma of 9/11, a need for an American vampire and the importance of religion (in its many forms) in cultural narratives.
Wilkins, Christina
bb22415c-d988-4950-8565-d4df104b3a0b
Wilkins, Christina
bb22415c-d988-4950-8565-d4df104b3a0b
Williams, Linda
91aca12f-be12-40d8-a15b-b1e22d90d66b
Jordan, James
b4bf9915-44c8-45da-823b-7f2627f33e55

Wilkins, Christina (2015) God is (un)dead: religion and identity in post-9/11 vampire narratives. University of Southampton, Faculty of Humanities, Doctoral Thesis, 233pp.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

Cultural narratives have long played a valuable role in mediating difficult and politically sensitive topics. Investing metaphorical tropes with cultural significance offers audiences the opportunity to consider new perspectives and prompt important discussions. One of these tropes that has become ever more prominent in the last decade is that of the vampire. This thesis is concerned with the questions of how the figure of the vampire is used in modern narratives, and how it has changed from previous incarnations, particularly in American narratives. The rise of the modern vampire coincides with the aftermath of 9/11 and it is this link that is primarily explored here.

Through an examination of three texts, Being Human, True Blood and The Strain, these chapters construct an argument for the vampire as a key figure in post-9/11 narratives and imbued with a religious significance. Being Human establishes the difference between the UK and US interpretation of the figure through a direct comparison of an original series and its American remake. This highlights the religious aspect to the figure, along with reinforcing the Americanisation of the vampire, discussed in relation to the series. With this established, the argument moves on to True Blood, looking at patriotism, terrorism and the presentation of the ‘other’ onscreen in the series. Particularly, it posits the vampire in True Blood as being representative of the Muslim other, providing a unique method for discussing post-9/11 issues of religion and identity. The argument then moves on to looking at The Strain, which presents a more explicit link between vampires and 9/11, and argues for a need for narratives that do this. By looking at theoretical research on the issues raised in the texts, particularly those of trauma and faith, it highlights a change in perspectives. Ultimately, the exploration of these texts shows a valuable use of the vampire in working through the trauma of 9/11, a need for an American vampire and the importance of religion (in its many forms) in cultural narratives.

Text
PhD Final Version 2016.pdf - Other
Download (2MB)

More information

Published date: September 2015
Organisations: University of Southampton, English

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 388834
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/388834
PURE UUID: ee075284-dba4-484d-bded-9f62ab19b124

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 07 Mar 2016 11:48
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 05:25

Export record

Contributors

Author: Christina Wilkins
Thesis advisor: Linda Williams
Thesis advisor: James Jordan

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×