Chapter 4: A Look to the Future

In the last three decades, the influence of American culture has helped vampires to transform themselves from solitary, disorganized killers to the highly organized, complex predators that dominate current vampire media (Auerbach, p. 161; Gordon & Hollinger, p. 106). Cultural attitudes about spirituality, technology, disease, gender and sexuality have all contributed to these changes. As vampires have developed, they have continued to represent humanity’s constantly changing attitudes, behaviors and fears. Though we have come to understand and appreciate the impact of culture on these creatures, there remains one question begging to be answered. What does the future hold for the vampire genre?

In the early 1990s, several scholars of vampire media began referring to the vampire as an archetype in decline. Many insisted that the genre was becoming redundant, that no new blood is circulating in the veins of these creatures (Auerbach, p. 192, Heldreth & Pharr, p. 102, Wolf, p. 1). This opinion developed due to the perceived weakening of the vampire that occurred in the 1980s.

Throughout much of the decade, the shadow of conservatism from the Reagan and Bush political administrations saw a mutation in the genre (Auerbach, p. 176). Many of the progressive attributes seen in vampire media of the 1970s momentarily vanished. As vampires became the "casualties" of the AIDS epidemic and the war on drugs, the genre became as sterile as possible and any sense of eroticism vanished (Auerbach, p. 167). As fear paralyzed the nation, the growth of mainstream vampire media became anemic and stunted. In films like The Lost Boys, which was released in 1987, blood was consumed from a bottle, rather than an unwilling victim (Lost Boys).

Because of the implied connection between homosexuality and the AIDS epidemic, homoerotic themes were referred to only in the most general of terms. Homosexual vampires became "givers, not killers" (Auerbach, p. 184). They were benevolent creatures who spent a great deal of time protecting humans from the renegade killers that lived among them (Auerbach, p. 183).

Though the threats of AIDS and drug addiction prevented the genre from enjoying the explosive growth it had experienced during the 1970s, the assessment that the genre was fading was premature. Given the approach of the millennium, and the belief of religious scholars that such an event always impacts humanity’s relationship to the larger questions of life, death, good and evil, it was unlikely that interest in the genre would suddenly dissipate.

The influence of the beginning of a new millennium and the changing political climate of the 1990s cannot be underestimated. As the "anxieties of the Persian Gulf war" and other social stressors of the 1980s and early 1990s faded under the "looser, more [relaxed] climate of the Clinton administration," the vampire genre regained its strength (Auerbach, p. 5). Without the global threat of violence that accompanied much of the eighties, the focus of the nation shifted inward, allowing the genre to return its focus to the concepts of gender and sexuality that had played such a dominant role in vampire media of the 1970s. As we looked at the more unsavory elements of American society, the vampire came to reflect smaller, more intimate fears, some of which Americans were only beginning to recognize. And, as the millennium approached, American culture began to reconsider the larger social, moral and spiritual issues that were facing humanity.

Due to these changing cultural values, I believe that the vampire genre will continue to flourish for several more years. The relatively strong cult audiences of television series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel have already secured the success of vampire series in the immediate future. In addition, Anne Rice is currently in talks with the NBC television network to bring a series to network television sometime in the 2001-2002 television season. Even if the show is not centered around vampires, it is likely to bring renewed interest to her body of work.

Film adaptations of Rice’s novels The Queen of the Damned and The Feast of All Saints are also currently in production, with planned release dates of October, 2001 (cnn.com, imdb.com, upcomingmovies.com). In addition, sequels to at least two major vampire films, Blade and John Carpenter’s Vampires, will also be in production. Four other vampire films are currently expected to be released within the year.

As the previous chapters have shown, the future of vampire media is dependent on many factors. Cultural attitudes about gender, sexuality and spirituality have all contributed to the changing face of the vampire in the modern era. Given the manner in which these themes have influenced the genre over the last twenty-five years, it seems certain that they will remain important elements in the immediate future. The four most important significant facets of the vampire genre in coming years include sexuality, gender, urbanization, and the internet.