Comparing Dracula And Coppola's The Castle Of Otranto
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"Texts are always embedded in context and thus reflect the culture and societal norms of their historic period" (Campbell). Likewise, the modernization of a classic text offers insight into the current culture as much as the original text does. For centuries, common themes of gender roles and homosexuality permeated the gothic horror genre. Though the themes have remained constant, the cultural context which surrounds them, have not, as exemplified in Dracula, a novel by Bram Stoker, and Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film adaptation. Gothic horror is a well-known genre, believed to have been invented by Horace Walpole in 1764 when he wrote The Castle of Otranto. This novel, and all gothic novels written afterwards, have multiple characteristics in common that make them part of the gothic horror genre. These characteristics include a setting in a castle or other ruined, abandoned area, an atmosphere of mystery and suspense, omens or visions, supernatural and unexplainable events, and women in distress (Harris). With the advent of television and digital media, gothic horror has been transformed. Gothic horror characteristics used to only be present in the literary…show more content… Homosexuality has been a part of vampires in popular culture, “mostly as subtle undercurrent, since at least the 19th century” (Primuth). Dracula was used as a metaphor for Stoker’s own hidden sexuality during a time when being gay was repressed and feared. At the time Dracula was written, Oscar Wilde was being sent to prison for gross indecency, a fact that shows how scared the public was of open homosexuality. Though it is thought the character of Dracula is Wilde, the vampire represents not so much Oscar Wilde and “the complex of fears, desires, secrecies, repressions, and punishments that Wilde’s name evoked in 1895”