Right? I almost didn't click on this because of that. How can anyone be an expert in a fantasy creature? Gothic literature makes a whole lot more sense.
If you all think being a vampire expert is crazy, as a fellow literature PhD, i know people who are experts in gothic insects 🐜 literature is the space to study the stories that shape our cultures!
Being an expert isn't crazy, but not everyone has the credentials to back it up (like Dr Westerngard does.) And especially in an area like vampires, lots of wackadoos call themselves "experts" online. So choosing to title the video with "vampire expert" rather than "mythology researcher" or something like that is a little strange. It calls to mind the Ancient Aliens guy, rather than actual academic research.
Crazy is not the word I would have chosen, stupid is the word I would have chosen. Then again, why get a PhD. if you're gonna waste it on literature? That's a lot of money to read some books you can get at the library....
The fact that her credentials were reduced to just "a vampire expert" should be a crime lol I could listen to her talking about literature analysis any day. This is extremely insightful!
"Living forever doesn't make you glamorous; it makes you out of touch, like a dad times a thousand" 🤣 This lady was so fascinating to listen to. Definitely enjoyed her interview/segment.
She was not fascinating to listen to. The books and lore she refers to is fascinating, in itself. But not her. Not when she's trying to force her own world views and biases onto everything she sees and reads. And living forever would not make you, "out of touch, like a dad times a thousand". When you have all the time in the world you would be very in touch, because you would be present to experience everything that is going on. People that age become out of touch, because once you get old you are not spending time experiencing the new fads of young people, etc. If you could be young forever, you would always be out in the world, experiencing things as they change. The only way that living forever could cause you to be out of touch would be if you just shut yourself in and never did anything at all. This woman is not as intellectual as people seem to think she is. People here seem to be impressed by her, credentials. What credentials. Anyone could have the same knowledge as her on English literature and folklore just by simply reading the subject matter. That is all it would take. There are plenty of people out there that don't have degrees that probably read more than she does. Her, "credentials", are all pretty worthless as well. Nothing she has a degree in would be of any use, whatsoever, out in the real world. And, not to mention, her comment was pretty sexist. If she were a guy and said that you'd be out of touch like a woman, or a mom, times a thousand, people would be jumping all over it. The double standards in these things is ridiculous.
This needs part 2. I can't believe they included Twilight not The Vampire Diaries/The Originals. You can do a entire video on tvdu lore especially about the birth of the Originals.
@@agusdwiriyanto1854 Have you seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin off, Angel the series? If not, you should. And if you already have, then perhaps give it a rewatch.
Yes! What We Do in The Shadows is my favorite comedy right now! It has ingrained itself in my head like a worm, and I’m always thinking about it. Every time I watch it I find something new. It’s everything I love about the vampire genre, tied up in a messy bow and thrown at me like a fastball to the face. And it’s amazing. And after the season 4 ending, I am even more excited to see where they go with it!
You are missing one of the better vampire movies, Only Lovers Left Alive. A real stunner of a film, with some very profound things to say. Needs to be added to the conversation.
They mentioned that we all know Vampires don’t like silver. Do we? I know in Blade the vampires have an allergy to it but I always thought silver was anti-werewolf in myth. I would love to hear more about where it became a vampire deterrent. Also no mention of Van Helsing or Underworld? Definitely need a part 2
Silver is known to have properties that will destroy either bacteria or viruses (I don't recall which off the top of my head). Silver as a counter to vampires plays to the "disease" element that Dr. Westerngard was talking about; they would fear and be repulsed by something that combats disease. There's also an argument to be made about the silver being something natural that does that, while the vampire is typically seen as unnatural.
This theme with vampires versus werewolves is very recent thing that Hollywood came up with .Silver is used in church to turn water into ''holy water'', it's an old trick the church used by keeping a silver spoon in water, killing the bacteria and making the water stay fresh for longer, so people believed it was holy.It translated into vampire literature by its connection with the church.
Werewolves and vampires actually weren't that distinguishable in old folklore, particularly in Easter Europe. Even Bram Stoker touches this topic in Dracula: "'vrolok' and 'vlkoslak'-both mean the same thing, one being Slovak and the other Servian for something that is either werewolf or vampire" (chapter 2).
One of my favourite vampire films is Byzantium featuring Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan. Such a unique take on vampirism as she only feeds on people ready to die. An exemplary lesser known and highly underrated film
Buffy kicked off so many supernatural and vampire themed movies, series and books and because of its influence on popculture definitely should've been included! You should make a part 2 and fix this list...
Bram Stoker's Dracula was phenomenal, for me the best version, great production, great acting (maybe except for Keanu even tho I do love him), but Gary Oldman's performance was just *chef's kiss* ❤️
I just rewatched it. Also a Keanu fan and I've defended his acting before (anybody who says he can't act should go and watch My Own Private Idaho and River's Edge) and Point Break is an all time favorite, but yeah, you're not wrong, he isn't at his best in this.🙂
I feel the same. This movie was great. Yet although I love Keanu, he was awful in this movie! I always wonder what it would have been like if they had cast someone else. Maybe Johnny Depp or Christian Bale. Or Val Kilmer. Hmmmm.
That was so interesting and filled with foundation. And she analyzes and describes clearly based on research and academic experience. The title of the video did a great service to the researcher's extensive curriculum.
@@cantthinkofaname750 take your complaints to the university then. Lecturing gender studies in gothic literature or whatever may be a joke, but hey, she’s still a professor.
@@Tvsn66666 "she’s still a professor" Sure. She's a "professor" in the same sense that North Korea is a democracy because they call themselves "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea".
@@staceygram5555 as already stated, she is a professor because she literally occupies the role of a professor at a university. Whether or not she deserves or is worthy of that title is a different debate. Again, that’s up to the university to decide. If you’re not happy with that choice its kind of irrelevant. Fact is, she’s a professor. You’re just not happy with that fact.
This is so perfectly timed as 2 days ago I showed my wife Bela Lugosi’s Dracula. She had never seen any of the old black and white Universal monster movies so we’re working our way through them. Thankfully and happily she enjoyed Dracula. Frankenstein is next on our list.
While I find Dr. Westerngard's expertise on pop culture and vampires fascinating, I did notice a small inconsistency in the chronology of her narrative. 'Dark Shadows' could not have sparked the pop culture moment that led to the 'The Munsters' and 'The Addam's Family' because they both premiered before 'Dark Shadows.' I only mention this because I noticed that the date of each show's premiere was shown at the bottom of the screen as the clips were shown. It's not a huge deal, but, as she is a scholar, I imagine it is a detail that she would like to be aware of and correct.
She actually gets a lot of information wrong in this video I’m surprised she has a phd and yet I’m about to call out inconsistencies as a above casual vampire fan
Plus, no one the Addam's Family is a vampire. Sure, there's a disembodied hand named Thing, but Thing is really the only supernatural being in the show as far as I know.
Interesting set of breakdowns. However, I must disagree with the take of "Let The Right One In". It maskerades as a touching love story. This is a very old being, wearing the guise of a child, in order to groom a new minion. The vampire needs a young, isolated soul to become infatuated with them. That makes the new carer easier to control. The saddest part of this movie, is that the old man was once a young boy. This end is what awaits our protagonist. It's truly a horrifying story.
This is a very common interpretation of the text, and death to the author and all that, but this isn't the reading that the author intended. He even wrote an epilogue where Oscar gets turned into a vampire as a short story!
@@jultejock7185 yes and the "poor old man" is actually pedophile who is sexually attracted to Ellie just like the person who mutilated him and turned him into a vampire Ellie is just exploiting that for protection (e.i. a place to stay and a daytime Guardian/minion which he needs when vulnerable as we can see in the scene where Ellie would have died if Oscar had not woken him)
"This is a very old being, wearing the guise of a child, in order to groom a new minion" Actually, Eli WAS just a boy when they were turned into a vampire. It's in the book. They actually paired with a human adult because it made it easier to get properties- you can't rent a room as a child. Unfortunately, those adults (in the book) preyed on children and Eli let them pray on him as payment for safety services. Not that Eli needed a human to be SAFE as they had extreme strength... but, rather, safety as in fitting in with society better.
There are some inconsistencies with some of the things she said. For example she said people only began attribute bats to Dracula/vampires because of the 1931 movie starring Bela Lugosi. However I’m currently reading Bram Stoker’s novel and they do mention a huge bat flying outside Lucy’s window while Dracula is in the process of vampirizing her and it’s even implied more than once that the bat is Dracula after shapeshifting into a different form.
Spike Lee's "Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus" was the first thing that came to my mind, but I have NO idea why. It would be interesting to hear their opinion on it, it was certainly different! It was the weirdest vampire movie I've ever seen, and I've seen *all* of them, lol! I would also love to hear them discuss "Only Lovers Left Alive".
I had to scream into a pillow when she started talking about Vlad the Impaler. We have Stoker's notes. We know for a FACT that he knew next to nothing about Tepes. Why are we still doing this? 😑
Watched expecting to see Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel the Series and True Blood. Underworld would have been an interesting mention as well. The video could have been longer to squeeze in the vampires featured in those TV shows as they were interesting and unique.
I don't blame them for labelling her a "vampire expert" because the title made me laugh and made me curious about the video, and now I want a part 2, with TVD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Daybreakers. EDIT: And Underworld!!
She have a PhD in gothic literature. So yeah, you can very much call her a "vampire expert" since vampire literature have traditionally and generally been attributed to the gothic genre.
I think part 2 could easily be just about Buffy and Angel, those two shows have more lore in them than all the movies and shows in this video combined.
World of Darkness, Vampire:the Masquerade-Bloodlines and Legacy of Kain of would blow all of these out of the park if video games and tabletops were included.
I loved this video so much!! It was informative and fun to see the evolution of vampires through pop culture and where certain tropes started. She was a great host and perfectly explained the queerness rooted into vampires and why it’s so present in these stories! Do a part 2 please!
I liked how most were formed by counter culture while twilight was the outlier that ascribed to capitalist ideals. It's probably why so many folks who enjoy vampires hated them (besides the terrible story, acting and visuals).
@@DA-js7xz lol, story , acting and visuals for great for what it was trying to be. Just a blockbuster flick about human girl falling in love with a vampire and a werewolf. It is not on the level of Shakesperian literature, because it doesn't even pretend that it is. It knows what it is and does it very well.
Also take into consideration that "count" and other noble titles can allude to the idea of blood illnesses that were often found in royal families, nobles, as they often married within those few families and throughout their own families-- the "incest" in regards to biological concerns.
Yes, I was a little confused when she said that too. It was touching in some ways, but that also made it more disturbing because of how unhealthy their bond was. And how the vampire had clearly groomed a young boy before to help in killing people. To me, it really showed how mistreating and neglecting a child sets them up for exploitation.
The touching part I think she was referring to was (and she briefly mentioned it) that it was the humans who treated Oskar horribly and the actual monster was sympathetic and understanding to his status as an outsider. I certainly found that part of the film touching
I'm writing a book where the protagonist is an asexual vampire woman who works as a pharmacy tech, and I think part of the book would explain that the pandemic happened during her Junior year of high school (I was in my Junior year when the pandemic started).
I did a more in depth breakdown of the lore behind Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) a while back but I loved this and loved Dr. Westerngard's take on all these films.
Dark Shadows was a huge part of my childhood. My dad insisted that I watch it. We had the first few seasons on VHS and you had to jiggle the tape down into our player or it would pull out all the tape and you'd have to wind it back in by hand. Fun times. This makes me want to rewatch it. Jonathan Frid was exceptional. As were Roger's horse blanket looking jackets.
I’d love to take a class with this woman and dissect all my favorite books and movies🖤 also, we definitely need a part two that discusses: van helsing (2004), blade more in depth, the underworld franchise, daybreakers, and midnight mass please!
I just had to come on here and ask "Vampire Expert"?...... and I thought Influencer was made up. The crew deserve kudos for keeping a straight face, I wouldn't have been able to
When she was talking about 'The Lost Boys' and 'Blade' and half-vampires, I just realized that Buffy is actually a half-vampire. The Slayer is to fight the vampires and stop the spread of their darkness and the shamans created the Slayer by filling a girl with the dark or rather the same powers that vampires have. In the seventh season they offer to give Buffy enough power to destroy the Turok-Han but she refuses because it would make her more demon than human.
I'm lgbt but I disagree on the bert and ernie take. they are (for) kids. none of them are lovers. just friends please. If ernie was female i'd still say the same.
I really enjoyed her breakdown of the symbolism and characteristic of vampires in our cultures. I remember taking a class in college where it talked about vampires and zombies in this aspect. I really liked her breakdown on twilight.
How does everything have to do with sexuality? It’s so cringe that someone can warp everything into their own perspective and it be called scholarly. Nothing wrong with what she believes, but don’t force it in everything please.
It's a very good film, but a better musical - Tanz der Vampire. I'd love to see a reaction to vampires in theatre video as well, since it could cover Tanz, Lestat, Dracula (the musical and the separate stage play), Seal of Roses, Silver Rose Chronicles....
HOW are we not talking about Buffy! Part 2 please! I would also love to hear about Uta on The L Word and shows that have really well-developed vampire mythos like The Vampire Diaries etc
The movie that best depicts how bad eternal life can be is “The Ritual”. They are promised eternal life to worship this creature but they show a room full of people that are 200 years old but they can’t move bc they’re a literal skeleton and have decayed over time but still alive. Anyways, such a fantastic movie. One of the best practical movie monster effects ever.
Imagine having all these qualifications and being titled as Vampire Expert.
When I read Vampire Expert I did not think serious literary academic. They definitely did her dirty there.
word they should put a lil more respect on her name
They should really change the title, yeah. It makes her sound like the Ancient Aliens guy, which she clearly is not.
@@Aelffwynn Agreed
Right? I almost didn't click on this because of that. How can anyone be an expert in a fantasy creature? Gothic literature makes a whole lot more sense.
If you all think being a vampire expert is crazy, as a fellow literature PhD, i know people who are experts in gothic insects 🐜 literature is the space to study the stories that shape our cultures!
Being an expert isn't crazy, but not everyone has the credentials to back it up (like Dr Westerngard does.) And especially in an area like vampires, lots of wackadoos call themselves "experts" online. So choosing to title the video with "vampire expert" rather than "mythology researcher" or something like that is a little strange. It calls to mind the Ancient Aliens guy, rather than actual academic research.
Crazy is not the word I would have chosen, stupid is the word I would have chosen. Then again, why get a PhD. if you're gonna waste it on literature? That's a lot of money to read some books you can get at the library....
The 'cult' of culture deserves no respect ... especially when it's engineered for idiots still in these liberal arts universities.
@@aick "Expert in Vampires" seems more credible to me than "professor of gender and sexuality" 🤮 ... give me a break with that crap.
The actual term is Vampirologist it's a real mini degree that was fun to do
The fact that her credentials were reduced to just "a vampire expert" should be a crime lol I could listen to her talking about literature analysis any day. This is extremely insightful!
Vampire historian
She was off the mark on a lot of things
She has no credentials.
Still better than gender studies expert.
And not true. Shes just pushing hers political agenda.
"Living forever doesn't make you glamorous; it makes you out of touch, like a dad times a thousand" 🤣 This lady was so fascinating to listen to. Definitely enjoyed her interview/segment.
She was not fascinating to listen to. The books and lore she refers to is fascinating, in itself. But not her. Not when she's trying to force her own world views and biases onto everything she sees and reads. And living forever would not make you, "out of touch, like a dad times a thousand". When you have all the time in the world you would be very in touch, because you would be present to experience everything that is going on. People that age become out of touch, because once you get old you are not spending time experiencing the new fads of young people, etc. If you could be young forever, you would always be out in the world, experiencing things as they change. The only way that living forever could cause you to be out of touch would be if you just shut yourself in and never did anything at all. This woman is not as intellectual as people seem to think she is. People here seem to be impressed by her, credentials. What credentials. Anyone could have the same knowledge as her on English literature and folklore just by simply reading the subject matter. That is all it would take. There are plenty of people out there that don't have degrees that probably read more than she does. Her, "credentials", are all pretty worthless as well. Nothing she has a degree in would be of any use, whatsoever, out in the real world. And, not to mention, her comment was pretty sexist. If she were a guy and said that you'd be out of touch like a woman, or a mom, times a thousand, people would be jumping all over it. The double standards in these things is ridiculous.
@@daemonthorn5888 u are so right I love u
@@daemonthorn5888 please touch grass
She's not fascinating, but her relationship to her father may be of interest to certain professionals.
@@GodsCosmicBollock this is so weird.... do you realize how fck weird you sound
This needs part 2. I can't believe they included Twilight not The Vampire Diaries/The Originals.
You can do a entire video on tvdu lore especially about the birth of the Originals.
also discovery of witches
@@ElliePorges oh yes I haven't watch season 3 yet.
and true blood!!!
OR BUFFY
I agree but you can’t deny twilight’s cultural impact
buffy the vampire slayer NOT being here is the most blasphemous thing to exist
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Buffy the vampire slayer is not homosexually related, that's why...
@@agusdwiriyanto1854 Have you seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin off, Angel the series? If not, you should. And if you already have, then perhaps give it a rewatch.
I had the same reaction!
@@agusdwiriyanto1854 really? Are we talking about the same show? XD
Just to here before Metatrons video release
Let me know when it's out, thanks
It's out
I'm not even kidding it's out.
Like six minutes ago.
Yes. I'm here because of Metatron.
@@walkawaycat431 same lol
So glad she brought up What we do in the Shadows! The movie was great; the TV show is arguably better. Definitely the best show set in New York Citay!
It's filmed in Toronto lol, but I definitely heard that in Berry's voice.
Man hattah
Everybody needs to see What we Do in the Shadows!
Should've been set in Pennsylvania because it sounds like Transylvania and we all know that sounds cool.
Yes! What We Do in The Shadows is my favorite comedy right now! It has ingrained itself in my head like a worm, and I’m always thinking about it. Every time I watch it I find something new. It’s everything I love about the vampire genre, tied up in a messy bow and thrown at me like a fastball to the face. And it’s amazing. And after the season 4 ending, I am even more excited to see where they go with it!
Theres no way these top comments are real the FFF???
Feel the same way. They don't even seem like something a human being would write of their own volition
Fr bro 😂
I guess the title brought all the tumblr degens or something, and yea they really communicate like that 😂
@@randomdude45123 yeah exactly, and the amount of likes they get makes no sense at all.
You are missing one of the better vampire movies, Only Lovers Left Alive. A real stunner of a film, with some very profound things to say. Needs to be added to the conversation.
YAAAAS
I almost booked a flight to Morocco after watching.
Loved this film ❤
Yes!! Please!! I think we need a part 2
Here before the coming of The Metatron…
It has been done
I'm amazed that people are lapping up this nonsense.
Vanity Fair has curated a bizarre audience.
yeap!
At a quick glance, they’re nearly all women and “women”
This video is basically clickbait for a political agenda. For some reason, everything has to be identity politics nowadays.
filtered comments i reckon
What's the nonsense? It's just explaining literature and mythology stuff. It's not that deep, lmao
These "experts" have neither my respect nor pity. They have my condolences
What a sad life they live.
The fact they cover Morbius but completely ignore Buffy the Vampire Slayer
the strain would have been nice!
For real
Question I have before watching: What the heck is a vampire expert?
Question I have after watching:
How do I become a vampire expert?
That was me as well! Quite literally exactly how you worded it!
I started laughing like histerical huena,when she introdused herself as a vampire expert
@@theevilpinkkitten6345 *hysterical
*hyena
*introduced
Gothic literary professor and gender and sexuality studies
@@annabaked2954... pretty much
They mentioned that we all know Vampires don’t like silver. Do we? I know in Blade the vampires have an allergy to it but I always thought silver was anti-werewolf in myth. I would love to hear more about where it became a vampire deterrent. Also no mention of Van Helsing or Underworld? Definitely need a part 2
Silver is known to have properties that will destroy either bacteria or viruses (I don't recall which off the top of my head). Silver as a counter to vampires plays to the "disease" element that Dr. Westerngard was talking about; they would fear and be repulsed by something that combats disease. There's also an argument to be made about the silver being something natural that does that, while the vampire is typically seen as unnatural.
Watch what silver can do to ice…
This theme with vampires versus werewolves is very recent thing that Hollywood came up with .Silver is used in church to turn water into ''holy water'', it's an old trick the church used by keeping a silver spoon in water, killing the bacteria and making the water stay fresh for longer, so people believed it was holy.It translated into vampire literature by its connection with the church.
Most paranormal creatures are said to have an aversion to silver :)
Werewolves and vampires actually weren't that distinguishable in old folklore, particularly in Easter Europe. Even Bram Stoker touches this topic in Dracula: "'vrolok' and 'vlkoslak'-both mean the same thing, one being Slovak and the other Servian for something that is either werewolf or vampire" (chapter 2).
One of my favourite vampire films is Byzantium featuring Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan. Such a unique take on vampirism as she only feeds on people ready to die. An exemplary lesser known and highly underrated film
I love that film too ☺ such a creative interpretation of vampires- its brilliant and so well done
Buffy kicked off so many supernatural and vampire themed movies, series and books and because of its influence on popculture definitely should've been included! You should make a part 2 and fix this list...
There would be no twilight, vampire diaries, origionals, or probs what we do in the shadows without buffy paving the tropes
"I don't care what they told you in school, Dracula was a pansexual 2 spirit trinary goddess."
- someone probably
Her grandmother I believe
@@peterfyal4998Polar bears are black too😂😂😂
I would love to see a part 2 with the Castlevania series!
And Hellsing!
Oh, and Vampire Hunter D.
And My Babysitters a Vampire lmao
And with only lovers left alive!!!
Yes! I’d love to hear her take on Castlevania!
No True Blood or Vampire Diaries? We need a part 2
Cause those are caca.
@@TECfan1 Tru Blood is great. Sorry not sorry!
@TECfan1 No, they aren't 💀
@@ok.4720 They're literally a campy soap opera with vampires.
@TECfan1 Girl, no one talking about the quality of the show, we are talking about the vampires in of itself and lore
Bram Stoker's Dracula was phenomenal, for me the best version, great production, great acting (maybe except for Keanu even tho I do love him), but Gary Oldman's performance was just *chef's kiss* ❤️
Yes my favourite adaptation!
I just rewatched it. Also a Keanu fan and I've defended his acting before (anybody who says he can't act should go and watch My Own Private Idaho and River's Edge) and Point Break is an all time favorite, but yeah, you're not wrong, he isn't at his best in this.🙂
Remember, our ways are not your ways.
I feel the same. This movie was great. Yet although I love Keanu, he was awful in this movie! I always wonder what it would have been like if they had cast someone else. Maybe Johnny Depp or Christian Bale. Or Val Kilmer. Hmmmm.
Agreed 100%! Love the movie! Specially Gary Oldman and the sublime soundtrack!
Gender and sexuality, that's all I needed to ear. I can close this now. Vampire expert.... ffs seriously?
Would loved to have seen her take on Dracula Untold and Underworld.
Still can't believe Buffy isn't there. You can't talk about tv vampires without Buffy the vampire slayer.
I'm with you random person
@@soso-mx8nb me too
@@soso-mx8nb YOU ARE THE RANDOM PERSON
That was so interesting and filled with foundation. And she analyzes and describes clearly based on research and academic experience. The title of the video did a great service to the researcher's extensive curriculum.
Bianca R.P. do not reply to the text below. It's a spoof account.
@@marieroberts5458 thanks Marie. I wouldn't, but the warning was VERY thoughtful 💕
Amen 🧛
Not really, because she got a lot stuff wrong
No way you are being genuine haha
Vampire Expert is probably one of the most badass titles you can ever have
While I agree, imagine having that as a title and trying to explain it to family and friends.
Also, these Telegram bots need to f off.
seriously! I want to be a vampire expert, that would be so cool
It's more like ''expert in literature that includes vampires'' than a ''vampire expert''.
@@somngreu4800 look who's the party-pooper
@@friendlyneighbourhoodbridg1354 What can I say, vampires suck !
Phd in "Pushing all agendas in one video"
She's an activist, not a "professor".
My friend, she literally works as a professor at a university.
@@Tvsn66666she shouldn’t
@@cantthinkofaname750 take your complaints to the university then.
Lecturing gender studies in gothic literature or whatever may be a joke, but hey, she’s still a professor.
@@Tvsn66666
"she’s still a professor"
Sure. She's a "professor" in the same sense that North Korea is a democracy because they call themselves "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea".
@@staceygram5555 as already stated, she is a professor because she literally occupies the role of a professor at a university.
Whether or not she deserves or is worthy of that title is a different debate. Again, that’s up to the university to decide. If you’re not happy with that choice its kind of irrelevant. Fact is, she’s a professor. You’re just not happy with that fact.
This is so perfectly timed as 2 days ago I showed my wife Bela Lugosi’s Dracula. She had never seen any of the old black and white Universal monster movies so we’re working our way through them. Thankfully and happily she enjoyed Dracula. Frankenstein is next on our list.
I was surprised to find that my mom, who is 79 years old, had never seen Frankenstein! She just watched it this Halloween!
@@lisaspikes4291 I hope she enjoyed it!
While I find Dr. Westerngard's expertise on pop culture and vampires fascinating, I did notice a small inconsistency in the chronology of her narrative. 'Dark Shadows' could not have sparked the pop culture moment that led to the 'The Munsters' and 'The Addam's Family' because they both premiered before 'Dark Shadows.' I only mention this because I noticed that the date of each show's premiere was shown at the bottom of the screen as the clips were shown. It's not a huge deal, but, as she is a scholar, I imagine it is a detail that she would like to be aware of and correct.
She actually gets a lot of information wrong in this video I’m surprised she has a phd and yet I’m about to call out inconsistencies as a above casual vampire fan
Plus, no one the Addam's Family is a vampire. Sure, there's a disembodied hand named Thing, but Thing is really the only supernatural being in the show as far as I know.
Interesting set of breakdowns. However, I must disagree with the take of "Let The Right One In". It maskerades as a touching love story. This is a very old being, wearing the guise of a child, in order to groom a new minion. The vampire needs a young, isolated soul to become infatuated with them. That makes the new carer easier to control. The saddest part of this movie, is that the old man was once a young boy. This end is what awaits our protagonist. It's truly a horrifying story.
Same i think she just uses them idk 😂
This is a very common interpretation of the text, and death to the author and all that, but this isn't the reading that the author intended. He even wrote an epilogue where Oscar gets turned into a vampire as a short story!
@@jultejock7185 ok did not know about that part just said by watching movie idk the back story or the book either :D
@@jultejock7185 yes and the "poor old man" is actually pedophile who is sexually attracted to Ellie just like the person who mutilated him and turned him into a vampire Ellie is just exploiting that for protection (e.i. a place to stay and a daytime Guardian/minion which he needs when vulnerable as we can see in the scene where Ellie would have died if Oscar had not woken him)
"This is a very old being, wearing the guise of a child, in order to groom a new minion"
Actually, Eli WAS just a boy when they were turned into a vampire. It's in the book. They actually paired with a human adult because it made it easier to get properties- you can't rent a room as a child. Unfortunately, those adults (in the book) preyed on children and Eli let them pray on him as payment for safety services. Not that Eli needed a human to be SAFE as they had extreme strength... but, rather, safety as in fitting in with society better.
There are some inconsistencies with some of the things she said. For example she said people only began attribute bats to Dracula/vampires because of the 1931 movie starring Bela Lugosi. However I’m currently reading Bram Stoker’s novel and they do mention a huge bat flying outside Lucy’s window while Dracula is in the process of vampirizing her and it’s even implied more than once that the bat is Dracula after shapeshifting into a different form.
... more than* once ...
@@einundsiebenziger5488 Thank you! 😊
Ready for part two! Most of these were historic references but we have so many more recent pop cultural references to pull as well
Spike Lee's "Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus" was the first thing that came to my mind, but I have NO idea why. It would be interesting to hear their opinion on it, it was certainly different! It was the weirdest vampire movie I've ever seen, and I've seen *all* of them, lol!
I would also love to hear them discuss "Only Lovers Left Alive".
30 Days of Night!
She is a gothic literature professor, that is so freaking cool
Shame she's woke AF.
Came for a breakdown of vampire movies, got a lecture in modern identity politics. Thanks Vanity Fair.
Most horror movies have an underlying subtext commenting on the current society
Minor subtext doesn’t mean you make the entire video about it 🤣 She’s just an NPC with one dialogue tree
What an interesting and knowledable person, could listen to her for hours. Hope you bring her back for more reviews
Please no, she was cringe AF.
tell me you were sarcastic. please
I had to scream into a pillow when she started talking about Vlad the Impaler.
We have Stoker's notes. We know for a FACT that he knew next to nothing about Tepes.
Why are we still doing this? 😑
Watched expecting to see Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel the Series and True Blood. Underworld would have been an interesting mention as well. The video could have been longer to squeeze in the vampires featured in those TV shows as they were interesting and unique.
Woman who hasn't managed to outgrow the Goth stage desperately seeks modern themes in vampire fantasy because we told her to. There. Fixed it for you.
Looks like we need a part 2!
I don't blame them for labelling her a "vampire expert" because the title made me laugh and made me curious about the video, and now I want a part 2, with TVD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Daybreakers. EDIT: And Underworld!!
She have a PhD in gothic literature. So yeah, you can very much call her a "vampire expert" since vampire literature have traditionally and generally been attributed to the gothic genre.
I think part 2 could easily be just about Buffy and Angel, those two shows have more lore in them than all the movies and shows in this video combined.
This is the first time I've heard about Morbius being a vampire
I am living for Dr. Westerngard.
"Un-living" given the topic? I hear you! Seriously! Like nerdy, Gothic Rockstar level 😊
World of Darkness, Vampire:the Masquerade-Bloodlines and Legacy of Kain of would blow all of these out of the park if video games and tabletops were included.
I loved this video so much!! It was informative and fun to see the evolution of vampires through pop culture and where certain tropes started. She was a great host and perfectly explained the queerness rooted into vampires and why it’s so present in these stories!
Do a part 2 please!
I liked how most were formed by counter culture while twilight was the outlier that ascribed to capitalist ideals. It's probably why so many folks who enjoy vampires hated them (besides the terrible story, acting and visuals).
@@DA-js7xz lol, story , acting and visuals for great for what it was trying to be. Just a blockbuster flick about human girl falling in love with a vampire and a werewolf. It is not on the level of Shakesperian literature, because it doesn't even pretend that it is. It knows what it is and does it very well.
@@DA-js7xzcapitalism has nothing to do with it. People hated vampires because they are bloodsucking monsters.
we need a part 2 because i need to hear what she has to say about Only Lovers Left Alive !🥀
Wow, I was a little shocked to not see Underworld or True Blood on this. We need a part 2!
I had no idea that there was a mythology around vampires counting!! I thought The Count’s name was just a pun! Mind blown!
Also take into consideration that "count" and other noble titles can allude to the idea of blood illnesses that were often found in royal families, nobles, as they often married within those few families and throughout their own families-- the "incest" in regards to biological concerns.
Only alpabethpeople sees sexuallity in everything. Other then that I enjoyed hear her talk about vampire movies.
I mean, it's been a thing in vampire stories since 1872. If there's any piece of media to see heavy sexuality in, it's vampire media.
@@deadlvrs but not sesame street.
@@swedesweeper huh?
@@deadlvrs You're high on estrogen if you think modern politics have been in vampire stories since the 1800's....
Wait, Let the Right One In is not touching, it's terrifying. Or more precisely it processes all it's touching elements in a terrifying whole.
Yes, I was a little confused when she said that too. It was touching in some ways, but that also made it more disturbing because of how unhealthy their bond was. And how the vampire had clearly groomed a young boy before to help in killing people. To me, it really showed how mistreating and neglecting a child sets them up for exploitation.
The touching part I think she was referring to was (and she briefly mentioned it) that it was the humans who treated Oskar horribly and the actual monster was sympathetic and understanding to his status as an outsider. I certainly found that part of the film touching
Need a followup with True Blood and Underworld!
Lost boys hands down my number 1 vampire film. Such a perfect film to just throw on and have fun with.
And awesome soundtrack! 🫶🏻🦇🖤
Yes!! The Lost Boys fandom is very much alive even with the younger generation 🦇
The fact this "thing" is called a doctor tells me everything I need to know.
Even if I've watched and known about vampires all my life. Loved listening to her talk..😊
This was amazing. Please discuss Buffy and Only Lovers Left Alive in a part 2. :)
MORE, PLEASE! WE NEED BUFFY AND TRUE BLOOD, AND MORE!!!
Her comment about vampires and covid, the new interview with a vampire series is set during the pandemic!
I'm writing a book where the protagonist is an asexual vampire woman who works as a pharmacy tech, and I think part of the book would explain that the pandemic happened during her Junior year of high school (I was in my Junior year when the pandemic started).
We need a part 2, I d really love to see her take on the Vampire the Masquarade universe. It s pretty unique among the vampire lore.
every movie like "this movie is.... very homoerotic" 😂
Yeah, that was lame. One track mindset
Came to find out what makes one a vampire expert, was not disappointed. How cool.
We have to have Van Helsing in the part 2.
I did a more in depth breakdown of the lore behind Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) a while back but I loved this and loved Dr. Westerngard's take on all these films.
NEED a part2 w/ QUEEN OF THE DAMNED! 😍
I love that there's an academic expert on this trope. Also love that What We Do In The Shadows is discussed!
Yup. She probably watched all of these films at least twice!
I'm so glad she shouted out the AMC interview with the vampire show and Anne Rice's legacy :)
I would love to see her reactions to vampires in anime.
ME TOO
Or vampires in webtoons/(kpop) music videos!
Oooh yes
A vampire review without 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'? Blasphemous!
I am so surprised Buffy, Underworld, and even American Horror Story Hotel were not included! Please have Laura back for a part 2!
I wished you could show her the first scene of Netflix's Castlevania, where Dracula meets Lisa for the first time.
Dark Shadows was a huge part of my childhood. My dad insisted that I watch it. We had the first few seasons on VHS and you had to jiggle the tape down into our player or it would pull out all the tape and you'd have to wind it back in by hand. Fun times. This makes me want to rewatch it. Jonathan Frid was exceptional. As were Roger's horse blanket looking jackets.
I’d love to take a class with this woman and dissect all my favorite books and movies🖤 also, we definitely need a part two that discusses: van helsing (2004), blade more in depth, the underworld franchise, daybreakers, and midnight mass please!
Recently read Carmilla, so coming here I really was expecting to hear her mention it, I'm glad she did.
Interesting how she presents her own views on some topics as facts
I just had to come on here and ask "Vampire Expert"?...... and I thought Influencer was made up.
The crew deserve kudos for keeping a straight face, I wouldn't have been able to
Love it. Please do one on werewolves too!
Zombies!!! We have had SO 👏 MANY 👏 ZOMBIE 👏 FILMS/SHOWS
When she was talking about 'The Lost Boys' and 'Blade' and half-vampires, I just realized that Buffy is actually a half-vampire. The Slayer is to fight the vampires and stop the spread of their darkness and the shamans created the Slayer by filling a girl with the dark or rather the same powers that vampires have. In the seventh season they offer to give Buffy enough power to destroy the Turok-Han but she refuses because it would make her more demon than human.
I love Interview with the Vampire. It sucks to know it was so horrible to film.
Have you seen the tv series?
Would love to see her analyse We Are The Night
I'm lgbt but I disagree on the bert and ernie take. they are (for) kids. none of them are lovers. just friends please. If ernie was female i'd still say the same.
We need to see more videos like this! On this topic in particular, there is so much more to be discussed
the glazing on some of these comments are crazy.
I have always been obsessed over vampire culture and everything about it ever since I was 5 years old:’))) literally my favorite thing to research!!
the only tv show they did was Sesame Street? no buffy/angel, true blood or vampire diaries?
I really enjoyed her breakdown of the symbolism and characteristic of vampires in our cultures.
I remember taking a class in college where it talked about vampires and zombies in this aspect.
I really liked her breakdown on twilight.
How does everything have to do with sexuality? It’s so cringe that someone can warp everything into their own perspective and it be called scholarly. Nothing wrong with what she believes, but don’t force it in everything please.
If we’re talking about homoerotic vampires, Polanski’s Dance of the Vampires (1967) is a missed opportunity
It's a very good film, but a better musical - Tanz der Vampire. I'd love to see a reaction to vampires in theatre video as well, since it could cover Tanz, Lestat, Dracula (the musical and the separate stage play), Seal of Roses, Silver Rose Chronicles....
I'm so down for a part 2! She is awesome!
Honestly would love to see her go even more in depth with Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt
idk about yall being called a vampire expert is the biggest compliment
Surprised again like everyone that this highly credentialed Dr. is simply stated as a Vampire Expert... Wowed by all of this! Great guest.
"Being immortal makes you out of touch, like a dad x1,000" I died 🤣
I would love hear Laura talk about Mike Flanagan’s “Midnight Mass.” this video needs at part 2!
I think they should definitely talk about the Castlevania.
And Legacy of Kain, Blood Omen, or Soul Reaver.
@@Quileryn I have never heard of these, are they movies?
Props for talking about Morbius with a straight face.
HOW are we not talking about Buffy! Part 2 please! I would also love to hear about Uta on The L Word and shows that have really well-developed vampire mythos like The Vampire Diaries etc
Yes!! I am devastated that there was no Buffy (specifically TV Buffy!!)
I just love listening to people who have such narrow area of interests in science. This video was a joy to watch!
For about 5 minutes it was. Then she went on a delusional queerness tirade rather than an objective analysis.
@@KristopherPrime stfu and never interact with me ever, thanks
I've never heard of the counting things myth. That's So interesting!!
The movie that best depicts how bad eternal life can be is “The Ritual”. They are promised eternal life to worship this creature but they show a room full of people that are 200 years old but they can’t move bc they’re a literal skeleton and have decayed over time but still alive. Anyways, such a fantastic movie. One of the best practical movie monster effects ever.
I can't believe that they skipped Buffy which has had such a huge influence on popculture and how we view vampires. The list feels kinda invalid now.