The aim of this thesis is to explore the vampire motif using the psychological framework of C. G. Jung, which suggests that the vampire is an expression of archetypal contents from the collective unconscious, and that vampire narratives are variations on the theme of Self. Having established the reasons why analytical psychology is a particularly suitable approach for investigating this kind of popular phenomenon, the examination of the vampire motif falls into three main areas. Dicounters with Shadow Vampires looks at vampires which display characteristics particularly associated with the shadow archetype. This section begins with an examination of the vampire in folklore, with particular attention to the Eastern European vampire, making a careful distinction between the vampire of folklote and the later vampire of Romantic literature. A modern example of this kind of vampire imagery is explored in the film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horrors (1922). Encounters With Animus Vampires is a three part investigation of the vampire as an expression of the contrasexual archetype. The first, Creation: Origins qf the Modern Pampire, concentrates on the male vampire created by the Romantics. The second, Evohilion: Dracula the Novel, is a Jungian reading of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. The third, Elaboration: Dracula the Movies, shows how the novel has been altered in the numerous film versions of that novel in a way which relates very closely to the prevailing culture of the time. Underworld Quests, is a two part examination of the quest'myth structures of more recent vampire films: The Lost Bgys and Near Dar (both from 1987) and Interview with the Vampire (1994). These are examples which particularly foreground this structure and where vampires, as contents from the unconscious, are read as heralding a new ofientation or possibility for the mortal hero.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Texas at Arlington, 2009.

Ina Yee. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-90). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgements --- p.i / Table of Contents --- p.ii / Abstract --- p.iii / Introduction --- p.1 / The Gendered Vampires in Contemporary Culture / Vampires and Contemporary Culture --- p.1 / Woman/Lesbian as Vampire --- p.7 / "Ortner and ""the Angel in the House""" --- p.9 / "Mulvey, Postfeminist Media Critics and the Female Body" --- p.10 / Butler and the Lesbian Phallus --- p.12 / Feminism and Postfeminisms --- p.14 / Chapter Chapter One --- The Woman Vampire: The Fallen Angel --- p.18 / Woman and Nature --- p.18 / The Angel and the Woman Vampire --- p.23 / The Postmodern Dracula --- p.33 / Conclusion --- p.39 / Chapter Chapter Two --- The Girl Vampire: The Resistant Female Body --- p.40 / The Male Gaze --- p.40 / """When the Woman Looks"" at a Woman" --- p.47 / The Postmodern Female Body --- p.56 / Conclusion --- p.58 / Chapter Chapter Three --- The Lesbian Vampire: The Female Desire --- p.60 / The Lacanian Phallus --- p.60 / The Lesbian Phallus --- p.64 / The Lesbian Vampire --- p.67 / The Dark Kiss and Female Sexual Pleasures --- p.70 / Conclusion --- p.78 / Conclusion --- p.81 / Towards an Autonomous Representation of Womanhood / Bibliography --- p.87

M.A (Audiovisual Communication) / In 2008 a film about a Gothic Romance between a teenage girl and a vampire became a pop culture phenomenon (Edwards, 2009:26). The ‘chick flick’ or ‘women’s film’ genre was suddenly in the spotlight at the box office as droves of female spectators of all ages were entranced by the neo-Gothic fantasy-Romance entitled Twilight (2008) (Em & Lo, 2009; Parekh, 2009:16; Puente, 2009:1; Ryan, 2008). More than 75% of the audience members were female with 55% being under 25 years (Ryan, 2008). Despite Twilight’s (2008) soaring status as a pop-culture phenomenon, much debate has ensued emphasizing the problematic representations and thematic elements that surround the gender roles and relations depicted in the film. As Lezra (2009:1) argues: “The cultural and social values…are so regressive that they would make people in Victorian London stand up and angrily defend the rights of women and minorities”. Twilight (2008) has been criticized for perpetuating traditional, oppressive, patriarchal values and glorifying a female character who has been termed “a feminist’s nightmare” (Czech, 2009) and “a 1950s-robot housewife” (Gassley, 2009). In 2009 the second instalment of the Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) was released which had far more success than Twilight (2008) at the box office, as well as attracting a slightly older demographic (Gray, 2009a:1; Gray 2009b:1; Puente, 2009:1; Seltzer, 2009:1). The thematic conventions surrounding heterosexual relationships depicted in New Moon (2009) make the film particularly interesting. The film shifts focus from the relationship between Bella and her vampire love-interest Edward, as seen in Twilight (2008), to the relationship between Bella and her best friend Jacob, a werewolf. This relationship has been praised as the ‘ideal’ heterosexual relationship and Jacob, the ‘ideal’ partner: “Edward is not the ideal boyfriend-lover. In fact, Jacob is…Edward will only lead to black eyes, rape, torture, and possibly even death” (Housel, 2009a:188). Thus the representation of heterosexual relationships and gender roles within those relationships is brought into question in New Moon (2009). What makes the situation more complex is that despite these criticisms, so many women of multiple age groups are fans of the films. While there are many elements of the film which may contribute to this mass interest, such as fascination with the ‘undead’, or film being a temporary escape for spectators in times of economic instability and uncertainty (Olson, 1995:16), the appeal of this neo-gothic romance for women in particular needs to be examined more closely: “What did it mean that millions iv of girls were fantasizing about men who could barely repress the desire to kill them? In 2008?” (Mann, 2009:132). By integrating genre analysis and audience ethnography, this study explores the representations of gender roles and heterosexual romance in the films Twilight (2008) and New Moon (2009) and the perception of these representations by selected, female South African viewers. It further aims to situate the films within the sociocultural context in which it emerged and thus uses postfeminism as a theoretical framework.