Mosters Misunderstood: How Fear Creates the Moster Archetype in Myhology

2119 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Dracula blood symbolism essays

What is an archetype and what is a stereotype? That was the question I was asked on the first day of class. It was something that I had never thought of for more than a minute, but I would soon learn that archetypes and stereotypes show themselves in everyday media and have walked, hand and hand, throughout time. Of the many archetypes and stereotypes that popped into my head, one has rang true throughout the quarter, the idea that we, as a society, make monsters out of those people or cultures that we fear or do not understand. This can be seen throughout time, but the most noticeable ones are: the myth of vampires, especially Dracula, from Eastern Europe, the urban legends that surround homosexuals, and the stereotypes that society has about the Muslim religion.

The Vampires: Fathers of Monster Myth

One of the most interesting and misunderstood cultures is that of the Eastern Europeans and, most notably, the myths of the vampires. Vampire myth has its greatest hold among the West Slavs and the South Slavs (Willis 2006). The vampire was created for different reasons, but the main two were to “curse” those who were evil and to explain the natural decomposition of the body. Those who are worst affected were also the most misunderstood: werewolves, sorcerers, witches, sinners, and the godless. In certain places, like Bulgaria, murderers, robbers, prostitutes and others who were socially undesirable (ibid). Vampires were thought to roam the earth at night, biting victims and sucking out their souls, eventually leading the individual to wither and die. They were also connected to many untimely deaths of family mothers, with one belief that vampires could even kill family members by chewing on their burial garments (Barber...

... middle of paper ...

...y L.A.: the Intersection of Place and Politics. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 2001. Print.

Lemiwinks the gerbil inside "Mr. Slave" Digital image. Southparkstudios. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. .

Miller, Elizabeth. "Elizabeth Bathory: Bram Stoker, Elizabeth Bathory, and Dracula (Elizabeth Miller)." Web. 09 Mar. 2011. .

Stoker, Bram. Dracula. New York: Barnes and Noble Classics, 2003. Print.

Team America: World Police. By Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Perf. Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Kristen Miller. Paramount Pitures, 2004. DVD.

"Vlad Dracula." Monstrous Vampires. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. .

Willis, Roy, ed. World Mythology. New York: Oxford UP, 2006. Print.

Show More
Related

  • What Role Does Facework Play In Intercultural Communication Essay

    920 Words  | 2 Pages

    How are stereotypes formed? Why do we stereotype whole cultures? What role does popular culture play in this process?

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Dracula In Stoker's Dracula

    1456 Words  | 3 Pages

    In a world with ghosts, monsters, demons, and ghouls, there is one being that resonates in everyone’s mind. The idea of these creatures can be found in almost every culture on the planet in one form or another. They prey on the weak and they feast on the blood of their victims. They are compared to a fox for being quick and cunning, but also rather seductive in their nature. With their unholy existence one can only describe them as almost demonic. So what is this horrid creature? Well it is none other than the vampire, a creature as old as time itself. Throughout history there have been many different variations of the vampire, each with their own unique abilities. But one cannot help but mention

    Read More

  • Vlad III Dracula And Dracul Vlad The Impaler

    1802 Words  | 4 Pages

    Bram Stoker’s Dracula has increased the number of vampires in media exponentially, partly because of one man: Vlad the Impaler. He, as well as other various sources, led to what is known as the vampire today.

    Read More

  • Essay On Mexican Stereotypes

    427 Words  | 1 Pages

    Chinese people eat cats or dogs. Blue is a color for boys. Women are bad drivers. Those are the most common phrases I've heard about stereotyping. However, stereotypes are assumptions that are assigned to groups of people because of their religion, nationality, gender, race, clothing, among others. In our daily life, there are negative and positive stereotypes, and it is possible that we all use stereotypes, all the time, without knowing it. Also, in my life I experienced this issue because of my ethnicity and my gender.

    Read More

  • Hawaiian Stereotypes

    1246 Words  | 3 Pages

    The term “stereotype” originally referred to a stamp used in the printing industry to make multiple copies from one single block. The first one to adopt this notion, to describe the way society categorized people, was social psychologist Walter Lippmann in 1922, in his book on media democracy, Public Opinion. He described the term as “the picture (of the world) that a person has in his/her head”. He was convinced that a picture it is definite, and reduces the world to simple characteristics which are represented as permanent by nature (Lippmann, 1997 [1922], p. 233).

    Read More

  • Comparison Between Dracula by Bram Stroker and Twilight by Stephen Meyeres

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    Peters, Sarah L. "Repulsive to Romantic: The Evolution of Bram Stoker’s Dracula." Henderson State University. N.p., Mar. 2002. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • The Inherent Dangers of Stereotyping

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    “What is a stereotype? Stereotypes are qualities assigned to groups of people related to their race, nationality and sexual orientation, to name a few. Because they generalize groups of people in manners that lead to discrimination and ignore the diversity within groups, stereotypes should be avoided” (“What Is a Stereotype”). Both positive and negative stereotypes exist, but both are equally dangerous. All stereotypes, whether positive or negative, limit whatever group of people it is assigned to to a certain set of traits, and let’s face it, a human being’s personality is far too complex to be limited to a mere set of three or four traits. A stereotype creates a preconceived notion of how an individual belonging to a certain group should look, act, dress, and even speak. A prime example of this would be the very recent happenings in the case of Trayvon Martin. Trayvon Martin was a seventeen year old African-American male, profiled as a criminal.

    Read More

  • The Causes of Stereotypes

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the modern era, stereotypes seem to be the ways people justify and simplify the society. Actually, “[s]tereotypes are one way in which we ‘define’ the world in order to see it” (Heilbroner 373). People often prejudge people or objects with grouping them into the categories or styles they know, and then treat the types with their experiences or just follow what other people usually do, without truly understand what and why. Thus, all that caused miscommunication, argument or losing opportunities to broaden the life experience. Stereotypes are usually formed based on an individual’s appearance, race, and gender that would put labels on people.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes: Consequences and Controversies

    2114 Words  | 5 Pages

    What is stereotype? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines stereotype as “believing unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same.” Stereotypes are everywhere. Stereotypes cover racial groups, gender, political groups and even demographic. Stereotypes affect our everyday lives. Sometimes people are judged based on what they wear, how they look, how they act or people they hang out with. Gender and racial stereotypes are very controversial in today’s society and many fall victims. Nevertheless, racial and gender stereotypes have serious consequences in everyday life. It makes individuals have little to no motivation and it also puts a label about how a person should act or live. When one is stereotype they

    Read More

  • Dracula Research Paper

    1768 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ally Maher Dr. Robin Werner English 2090-002 November 30, 2017 The Psychological Point of View: Vampires Are Scary Vampires are embedded into pop culture as beautiful bloodsuckers. However, despite sparkles and parodies, many still fear the concept of the vampire. The concept of a human-like creature lurking in the dark, waiting for an opportunity to attack and drink its victim’s blood is haunting and definitely deserving of fear. It is not a new concept, but instead very embedded into everyday culture.

    Read More

  • Language, Gender, and Culture in Society

    1684 Words  | 4 Pages

    In many circles of the world, various groups of people distinguish themselves from one another through religion, language, culture, and sometimes gender. People also develop stereotypes about a particular group of people in order to identify them. However, most of the time, these stereotypes hold true for only some members of a group. Sometimes, these stereotypes are just plain misconceptions that do not even apply to the group they claim to be. Stereotypes are placed on people because it is a way to easily identify what type of person or ethnicity an individual is.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes In the Media

    483 Words  | 1 Pages

    Stereotypes In the Media Stereotypes play an important role in today's society and particularly in propaganda. According to the Webster's Dictionary, stereotyping is defined as a fixed conventional notion or conception of an individual or group of people, held by a number of people. Stereotypes can be basic or complex generalizations which people apply to individuals or groups based on their appearance, behaviour and beliefs. Stereotypes are found everywhere in the world. Though our world seems to be improving in many ways, it seems almost impossible to liberate it from stereotypes.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes and The Merchant of Venice

    1627 Words  | 4 Pages

    Stereotypes are a fixed image of all members of a culture, group, or race, usually based on limited and inaccurate information resulting from the minimal contact with these stereotyped groups. Stereotypes have many forms: people are stereotyped according to their religion, race, ethnicity, age, gender, color, or national origins. This kind of intolerance is focused on the easily observable characteristics of groups of people. In general, stereotypes reduce individuals to a rigid and inflexible image that doesn't account for the multi-dimensional nature of human beings. One example of stereotypes is the categorization of the Jews in the Elizabethan era.

    Read More

  • The Twilight Saga: Redefining the Vampire

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    Simply searching through articles, databases, and other resources, vampires are depicted as malicious and monstrous creatures. First off, the vampire is famous for its dark and mysterious image affiliated with fear and death. In many ways, “the vampire can be seen through its most basic characterization as the bringer of death”(Stevens par. 3) and evokes a “marginal world of darkness, secrecy, vulnerability, excess, and horror” (Stevens par. 6). Obviously, the vampire has adopted a dark, fearful, and mysterious image. Next, vampires are famous for their unique characteristics. Dictionary.com defines the vampire as “a preternatural being, commonly believed to be a reanimated corpse, that is said to suck the blood of sleeping persons at night”(dictionary.com). Vampires are also known for their distinct weakness suck as “various tailsmans and herbs”(Funk and Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia) but the only way to kill a vampire is “only by cremation or if a stake is driven through their hearts”(Funk and Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia). Another distinct and commonly known characteristic of the vampire is their fear of the light as it could potentially kill them. Emotionally, the vampires are almost viewed as sex symbols as they “indulge in their desires ...

    Read More

  • Dichotomy The Devil Essay

    1626 Words  | 4 Pages

    Stereotypes are assumptions that are made about an entire group of people based on observations of a few; they act as scapegoats for prejudice behaviour and ideologies.

    Read More

More about Mosters Misunderstood: How Fear Creates the Moster Archetype in Myhology

Open Document