Feasey, R (2007) 'Investigating Angel: the hair, the car and the wardrobe.' Intensities: The Journal of Cult Media, 4.
Abstract
Although the recent popularity of the vampire genre confirms the power of this creature as a modern-day cultural icon, it is also worth noting that a body of academic scholarship (in fields such as sociology, psychology, feminist, gay and lesbian studies) has developed in order to examine the meanings and pleasures of this figure in the contemporary period. Such literature has frequently made reference to the vampire as a symbol of the enduring problems of sex, power and violence in society (See Hollinger and Hollinger 1998; and Ashley 1998), paying particular attention to the ways in which the unassimilated and deviant vampire can be seen to act as a metaphor for the homosexual experience (See Gelder 1994; and Benshoff 1997). However, although existing work on the vampire is revealing in its discussion of sex, violence and sexuality, it is also important to consider the role of performance, style and desire as it has been presented in the vampire genre. After all, although the politics of appearance is a growing area of scholarly interest (See Brunsdon 1997; Epstein 2000 and Moseley 2002), a consideration of the role of clothing and the power of consumption to a debate over masculinity is long over-due. Moreover, if one considers that the roots of the much- touted ‘crisis of masculinity’ lie in the ‘damaging psychological split in so many men between their ... feelings ... and their public ... performances’ (Clare 2000: back cover), then it is necessary to consider the role that dress and performance has to play in a debate over identity politics for the contemporary male.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Note: | Full text available from URL above. |
| Divisions: | Bath School of Art, Film and Media |
| Date Deposited: | 07 Jul 2015 16:38 |
| Last Modified: | 06 Jan 2022 19:40 |
| ISSN: | 1471-5031 |
| URI / Page ID: | https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/5558 |
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