Pounding my head against a wall (Need Scholarly Criticism of Dracula!)

kuwisdelu · Dec 7, 2011

Bartholomew said:
There's definitely something there. Eli/Abby is a mere inversion of Dracula. She's a female child, he's a male adult--while both are centuries old. He forcefully preys on women, she lures men with her helplessness. He brings Renfield food, she forces her Renfield-like slave to bring her food. The comparison part is stupidly easy.

Good. The next step is to figure out what this accomplishes, or why it was done, or what effect it has, etc.

There are so many articles saying that Dracula is effective because of the sexual horrors he must have played on a conversvative Victorian mind, that it makes me question the validity of ALL such arguments when the sexual element is completely removed in "Let Me In," (and made non-Heteronormative in the Swedish versions) and the film(s +book) still manage to be terrifying.

I definitely wouldn't say that the sexual element is removed at all. Far from it. It's certainly toned down in the American movie, but there is absolutely a pervasive sexual undertone throughout much of the story. In many ways, the sexual issues it raises are just as challenging today as the sexual issues Dracula might have raised in its day. I mean, the main character constantly wets himself, we have Eli's backstory and gender issues, the Renfield is a pedophile, etc. Hell, the sexual nature of vampires is made utterly and painfully explicit when the pedophile, after transforming into a vampire, despite his thirst for blood, when he has the secondary male character cornered, does not seek out his blood but is rather reduced to his carnal urges and instead tries to rape him.

I'd say the "sexual horrors" are a primary common element between the two stories, and despite the inversions on many other levels, is what really gives them their power and ties them most together as commentary on not only on society, but also on the nature of the vampire mythos itself. The apprehension in portraying that particular side of the horror is the primary flaw of the movies, but I would say that that is certainly one area that the Swedish version does it better, I think, and potentially why many fans of the book prefer it to the American version.

JSDR · Dec 7, 2011

I thought they were both about revolution. That's probably just me and my sugar high...

Glad to see you've found your footing.

ETA: I found the Swedish film version of Let the right one in to highlight sexuality by not mentioning it explicitly, but constructing scenes that allude to it. Been a while since I saw the movie, but I think I remember a moment where she asks the boy if he would still feel the same way about her if she wasn't a girl.
The same kind of thing that happens when you tell someone *not* to think about sex.

shaldna · Dec 8, 2011

Terie said:
Seriously, it shouldn't be possible to get 'locked into' a thesis statement in a paper. What if your research were to disprove your thesis or change your mind about it? You wouldn't be able to complete the paper????

From my experience getting a result that disproves your initial thesis hypothesis is almost better than getting one that agrees with you. It shows that you were impartial to the information presented and were able to analyse it without trying to bend it to your own agenda.

Probably about two thirds of the thesis that I have read in my time have disproven the initial hypothesis.

From what I can tell from all your posts, you are approaching this the wrong way. You've developed a thesis statement and are looking solely for sources to back it up.

That's not the way good research papers are written. You go into the paper with an idea, yes, but then you research the topic from all angles. This process might lead to a different, even opposite, thesis statement from what you started with.

I'll agree with this, mainly for the points I made above.

The way to research a paper, thesis or not, is to look at BOTH arguments, and be open to the idea that your pov may be challenged.

Thesis here have two hypothesis usually, a hypothesis (the basis of your paper) and a null hypothesis (which is where your original thought was wrong) and the conclusion will explain which was right, if either.

Literary critisism is slightly harder in that it's mainly opinions, and not hard fact. So you need to try and work on a fact angle, and not a wooly opinion based topic.

Alitriona · Dec 8, 2011

JSDR said:
ETA: I found the Swedish film version of Let the right one in to highlight sexuality by not mentioning it explicitly, but constructing scenes that allude to it. Been a while since I saw the movie, but I think I remember a moment where she asks the boy if he would still feel the same way about her if she wasn't a girl.
The same kind of thing that happens when you tell someone *not* to think about sex.

****SPOILER****SPOILER*****SPOILER****

Wasn't that because she wasn't a girl? In the movie it seems like she's admitting to being a Vampire but in the book she was actually a boy, as far as I recall.

Bartholomew · Dec 8, 2011

Alitriona said:
****SPOILER****SPOILER*****SPOILER****

Wasn't that because she wasn't a girl? In the movie it seems like she's admitting to being a Vampire but in the book she was actually a boy, as far as I recall.

In the book, she's castrated by the vampire that turns her. It's quite gruesome.

Bartholomew · Dec 8, 2011

kuwisdelu said:
Good. The next step is to figure out what this accomplishes, or why it was done, or what effect it has, etc.

I definitely wouldn't say that the sexual element is removed at all. Far from it. It's certainly toned down in the American movie, but there is absolutely a pervasive sexual undertone throughout much of the story. In many ways, the sexual issues it raises are just as challenging today as the sexual issues Dracula might have raised in its day. I mean, the main character constantly wets himself, we have Eli's backstory and gender issues, the Renfield is a pedophile, etc. Hell, the sexual nature of vampires is made utterly and painfully explicit when the pedophile, after transforming into a vampire, despite his thirst for blood, when he has the secondary male character cornered, does not seek out his blood but is rather reduced to his carnal urges and instead tries to rape him.

I'd say the "sexual horrors" are a primary common element between the two stories, and despite the inversions on many other levels, is what really gives them their power and ties them most together as commentary on not only on society, but also on the nature of the vampire mythos itself. The apprehension in portraying that particular side of the horror is the primary flaw of the movies, but I would say that that is certainly one area that the Swedish version does it better, I think, and potentially why many fans of the book prefer it to the American version.

I started writing an argument against this post, and ended up with my paper instead. So thanks! =)

Pounding my head against a wall (Need Scholarly Criticism of Dracula!)

kuwisdelu

Revolutionize the World

JSDR

wants moar baddassery.

shaldna

The cake is a lie. But still cake.

Alitriona

Attends The School of AW

Bartholomew

Comic guy

Bartholomew

Comic guy