Reaction to “Vampire Gentlemen and Zombie Beasts”

In response to “Vampire Gentlemen and Zombie Beasts” by Angela Tenga and Elizabeth Zimmerman.

                In this article the author’s had a very interesting discussion about the changes vampires and zombies have occurred over the years and the difference between the two. They also explained the representation of each monster compared to today’s society.

 I thought it was interesting to see the comparison of the vampires from earlier times with the sympathetic vampires of Twilight. Vampires seem to have a less threatening appearance than they did in earlier times. For example, the vampires in The Lost Boys from the 1980’s had a much more intimidating feel but at the same time still had individuality and did not age just as they discussed in the article. I do agree that today’s vampires, like those in Twilight, are a poster for celebrity lifestyles but that is all modern day media. Vampires have gone through a drastic change and are now just a small print in modern day horror movies.

Zombies are now a national phenomenon due to their current status in the horror industry. As they talked about in the article, zombies have taken over vampires place in the horror film genre. They also described that zombies remind us that we’ll soon be rotting flesh. Zombies have taken on many forms throughout the years and everyone has their own take on them. There is a fascination with the zombies, giving people the feel of surviving.

The authors touch on the representation of people and society through these monsters. They discussed that the Twilight vampires live a fantasy life and show a higher social status than those in the past. Today’s vampires’ work is rarely shown but their rewards are capitalized. On the other side, zombies represent the poor man in today’s society. Zombies’ work for feeding and continuing on is focused on but they have no rewards to show for it. Zombies have taken the spotlight for modern day horror films.