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What Is The Cultural Significance Of Dracula  Essay

¶ … Dracula's cultural impact Dracula's Immortal Cultural Impact

Nearly five centuries after his death, Vlad "Tepes" Dracula's reputation continues to intrigue, inspire, and terrorize people. Vlad the Impaler, as he was often referred to as, was the Prince of Wallachia in Romania and a three time Voivode of Wallachia, and was born in 1431 and killed in action near Bucharest in 1476. Vlad the Impaler is known for his leadership as well as his extreme cruelty. It is this terrorizing historical figure, and the lore surrounding him, that inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula. Dracula holds an important place in popular culture thanks to the literary work of Bram Stoker who published Dracula in 1897.

While Stoker's novel is not based upon the historical figure of Dracula, it does draw upon the legend surrounding the prince and provides an insight into Romanian culture, their superstitions, and the area surrounding Transylvania and Wallachia. Additionally, Stoker's novel provided...

While Dracula was published in 1897, it served as inspiration for 2009's Dracula: The Un-Dead, written by Stoker's descendent, Dacre Stoker.
In addition to being a successful and popular work of literature, Dracula also inspired scholars to look further into the historical Dracula's background and socio-political impact. There are many important texts that recount the tales of Dracula's cruelty and hail his military and political exploits. Dracula's exploits have also inspired renowned scholars, such as Raymond T. McNally and Radu Florescu, to investigate Dracula's historical impact in Romania and Hungary. Also, it can be argued that Stoker's novel helped to influence other fiction writers such as Anne Rice who is best known for her Vampire Chronicles and Stephanie Meyer, who is known for her popular vampire series, Twilight.

Stoker's work was also adapted into a play and was subsequently used as…

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Stoker's work was also adapted into a play and was subsequently used as inspiration, albeit without Stoker's widow's consent, for the German Expressionist masterpiece, Nosferatu. Despite a court order to have all copies of the German film destroyed, several copies escaped and have allowed for the once-forbidden film to be hailed as a cinematic masterpiece. Not only did the novel inspire others to interpret it cinematically, but also helped to influence the creation of horror cinema. What is more, the novel and Nosferatu, helped to influence the 1931 Hollywood film Dracula starring Bela Lugosi -- who, like the historic Dracula, was from present-day Romania. Christopher Lee in 1966's Dracula: Prince of Darkness played another memorable cinematic interpretation of Dracula. Lee's Dracula films helped to launch a Dracula franchise that lasted from 1966 to 1976. The latest Dracula film was released in 1992 and follows Stoker's novel the most faithfully. It can also be argued that Stoker's novel helped to influence

In addition to being a literary and cinematic icon, Dracula has served as an inspiration for television. The image, or concept of Dracula, can be seen on television shows such as Sesame Street in which a puppet called The Count has been designed to emulate Lugosi's Dracula, yet helps children learn to count. An interpretation of Dracula was also used on the cult television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer; moreover, the premise of the entire show is the destruction of vampires and other supernatural demons. Most recently, vampires on television can be seen on the CW television show The Vampire Diaries, which is based on a popular book series of the same name.

Stoker's Dracula not only provided insight into the Victorian conventions and fears, but also provided a terrifying and intriguing masterpiece of Gothic literature. Through the novel's success, Stoker has inspired and influenced other writers, influenced cinema and the horror genre, and has even had an impact on television programs and characters.
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