"All writing and telling belong to one big story." I recall reading this part in Foster's book, stopping, highlighting the section, even going so far as to mark the page with a sticky note. I have read so many books over the past five years, mostly fantasy, that I have had to obtain more bookshelves, as I filled the ones I had up with books. All my reading has gained me, apart from an arsenal of random factoids, the understanding that no book can be wholly original - no story ever is. Despite an author's whole hearted attempts at creating their own unique universe - and many do quite well - there are always elements of other stories embedded within the text. Fiction can only be so original. There could be new characters, a fresh setting, an entertaining writing style on the part of the author, but there are always echoes of stories come before, no matter the book or story. One point I often make - the realm of supernatural beings. For me, that genre screams Buffy the Vampire Slayer. To others, Twilight or Supernatural are the creations popping to mind. When I look at it, if it weren't for Buffy becoming wildly popular internationally, none of today's supernatural shows would hold the merit they do. But one must then think about what came before Buffy: Dracula. A century before Buffy went a-slaying, Stoker was enticing readers with tales of the vampire that was Dracula. But even stoker did not create the myth of the vampire; he simply popularized the creature. Buffy's season five opener was a nod to Dracula, and even Dracula was not a wholly original work! Works that intertwine such as those works did and continue to do only make the viewing or reading experience deeper, as everything matches up with everything else in some way. I mean to read Dracula when I get the chance, and I cannot wait to see what parallels I can make between Stoker's 19th-century work and the 20th-century Buffy. The experience will undoubtedly be deepened and enriched upon making such connections between works.
Friday, July 4, 2014
How To Read Literature Like a Professor Prompt 4 Blog
"All writing and telling belong to one big story." I recall reading this part in Foster's book, stopping, highlighting the section, even going so far as to mark the page with a sticky note. I have read so many books over the past five years, mostly fantasy, that I have had to obtain more bookshelves, as I filled the ones I had up with books. All my reading has gained me, apart from an arsenal of random factoids, the understanding that no book can be wholly original - no story ever is. Despite an author's whole hearted attempts at creating their own unique universe - and many do quite well - there are always elements of other stories embedded within the text. Fiction can only be so original. There could be new characters, a fresh setting, an entertaining writing style on the part of the author, but there are always echoes of stories come before, no matter the book or story. One point I often make - the realm of supernatural beings. For me, that genre screams Buffy the Vampire Slayer. To others, Twilight or Supernatural are the creations popping to mind. When I look at it, if it weren't for Buffy becoming wildly popular internationally, none of today's supernatural shows would hold the merit they do. But one must then think about what came before Buffy: Dracula. A century before Buffy went a-slaying, Stoker was enticing readers with tales of the vampire that was Dracula. But even stoker did not create the myth of the vampire; he simply popularized the creature. Buffy's season five opener was a nod to Dracula, and even Dracula was not a wholly original work! Works that intertwine such as those works did and continue to do only make the viewing or reading experience deeper, as everything matches up with everything else in some way. I mean to read Dracula when I get the chance, and I cannot wait to see what parallels I can make between Stoker's 19th-century work and the 20th-century Buffy. The experience will undoubtedly be deepened and enriched upon making such connections between works.
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Sarah, Dracula is an absolutely phenomenal book and I recommend you read it as soon as possible. You will note several similarities between Stoker’s novel and Whedon’s show, and I believe that is what Whedon was wanting when he created Buffy. Also, the show itself is not only a copy from Stoker’s novel, but from a movie which was released in the 80’s, chronicling Buffy’s beginnings as a slayer. So the intertextuality phenomena is not only present in novels, but also in television and film. All things are connected in way way or another, even the most outrageous of ideas, including vampires.
ReplyDeleteYes, I find Foster's statement concerning "one big story" very true. While it can be enjoyable to read a story and simply take it at face value; it can be intriguing to then look at possible origins of the story, or as Foster puts it, the "intertexuality" between old and new stories. I am not real familiar with the Buffy series; although I am sure there is that connection between "Buffy," and the Bram Stoker character of Dr. Van Helsing. They are both "vampire hunters." To look at a different sort of connection you only need to look at the intent between the vampire characters. Foster discussed the gothic nature of the "Dracula" character; he was intended to be passionate and even sexy. At a time when discussing blatant sexuality would not have been socially acceptable. However, his desire was to destroy the young women's bodies and their virtues. To a larger degree it was about "selfishness, exploitation, a refusal to accept the autonomy of other people" (Foster,16). To contrast this pattern concerning vampirism would be to look at Stephanie Meyers Twilight series. There is certainly a sexuality and passionate connection between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. Nevertheless Edward fights the hunger of his tortured existence, and does not want to violate or inflict that on Bella. I suppose that unlike that Victorian mentality which was behind Dracula, Meyers chose to make the Bella character a stronger and more "in-control" female. On another level you could once again compare the Van Helsing/Buffy characters to that of Meyers Werewolves. Being that they were capable and driven to destroy the vampire creatures.
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