Dessert

What does it all mean?

After close inspection of specific scenes, it is noticeable that modern television shows, such as Criminal Minds, often draw inspiration from classic Gothic literature. Several Cannibalistic acts, physical characteristics, and opportunistic tendencies of Bram Stoker's Dracula were indubitably present in the ten clips provided. From intimidation of prey, to forced and coerced cannibalism, Dracula's influence in present-day popular culture is apparent. Bram Stoker's novel, written in 1897 has gone on to affect the way vampirism and cannibalism are perceived in the world today. Preying on the modern fear of consumption, cannibalism terrifies, as well as horrifies, its readers and viewers. 

My process...

I began watching Criminal Minds in high school, as a way of bonding with my mother. We both enjoy crime dramas to a questionable extent (some might call it unhealthy). As one might imagine, this research stemmed from my true love for these dramas. Criminal Minds has always been one of my favorite shows. With my knowledge of the series, I limited my topic to cannibalism because of its stigma as a taboo topic. The idea of one human eating another human is incredibly uncomfortable to most people, myself included, however, the Gothic is popular because of its ability to safely allow participants to explore their darkest, most socially unacceptable interests.  

I scoured search engines, attempting to find a list of all episodes in the series that involved cannibalism of some form. Through Wikipedia I was provided with my desired list. I spent the next week meticulously watching the mentioned episodes, often times more than twice in a row, picking out parts of them that reflected my readings of Bram Stoker's Dracula. I had actually noticed similarities in Dracula to Criminal Minds when we were assigned the readings in class. I wanted to prove that elements in novels written centuries ago still have the power to inspire fear, horror, and terror.

When I finished isolating the clips of interest, I sat down with my copy of Dracula, matching each clip to a specific instance in the novel. Because the novel and the television series are so alike in aspects of cannibalism, it was not difficult to find peculiarly similar themes. Each clip was paired with a passage that supported Victorian Gothic influence in pop culture today.

So what?

Not many people would believe this topic holds much weight. So, Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula, inspired a select number of scenes in Criminal Minds, a modern crime drama focusing on psychoanalysis of serial killers. Big deal, right? Who cares?

You should! 

Stoker wrote Dracula in 1897; that's 117 years ago, and the Gothic novel is still influencing the way people perceive vampirism, cannibalism, murder, and number of other Gothic elements. This project exemplifies that works written centuries ago continue to shape the way society functions. Literature and other societal contributions are much more valuable than what most people believe. Considered to be trash literature during its time, Dracula was almost universally hated by people of influence and power. Now, 117 years later, it is used a solid example of Gothic fiction in a vast number of undergraduate and graduate literature courses.

The point is, the things we as a society do today will likely affect our views as a society tomorrow. Novels we see as trash literature could very well end up altering the way the Gothic is portrayed 117 years from now. What will be studied in literature courses in the year 2131? Will it be Harry Potter? Maybe Twilight? Regardless, we know literature is able to stand the test of time, no matter how despised the work is at its beginning. Everyone interested in the future views of society is a target in this project. Novels being produced as you read this may end up in the hands of your children, grandchildren, even your great grandchildren. Would you encourage their desires to explore dark topics through a safe channel, or would you rather they venture out into the world, searching for appeasement? This project's goal was to simply remind readers that actions taken today affect the production of popular culture and mass media coverage tomorrow.





Works Cited

Stoker, Bram, and Leslie S. Klinger. The new annotated Dracula. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2008. Print.