Why are there so many Draculas

I have heard and see stories and movies either related or about Dracula, but I haven’t until this class actually read the novel Dracula. From what I have heard and see from both experiences prior to the novel, the legend of Dracula has been around for a while and is continuously being retold and changed like many other well know stories throughout history. Whether it is Romeo and Julie, Pride and Prejudice, Sherlock Homes, and many others that still peeks the reader’s and audience’s interest and imagination. These stories have certainly peeked my interest and imagination. My favorites have been Sherlock Homes and so far, Dracula as well.

Dracula was indeed a spooky for the first four chapters and continues to do so. Then again, what is there anything about Dracula that isn’t spooky. Despite the different versions of Dracula, some common themes and characteristics remain purity much the same. His desire and need for human blood, his scary appears from his sharp teeth and tall, shadowy, undead like figure. And of course, his and other vampire’s weaknesses, from sunlight, crosses, etc. There are differences in the look and appearances whether it is seeing him on a video screen or imaging him as you read. In the 1931 Dracula and in the 1948 Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein 1948, he is in the time-period of the 1930’s and 1940’s and dressed in the typical with black and white suite rather than just the black cape.

My favorite versions of Dracula are from the movies Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein 1948, mostly because I grew up watch the comedies of Abbott and Costello films. But for the more actions packed ones are Van Helsing 2004 and Dracula Untold. Both did a good job of maintaining the well-known characteristics and look of Dracula, but also did well in changing some things about him, but for the most part, the story he is involved in. In most stories, Dracula is portrait as the villain and Van Helsing is the hunter that fights against him, as well as, in the novel in our reading. I liked how in Dracula untold, it puts him on a more human part of him and a good side to him as well. Regardless on how the story of Dracula, which is mostly based on fiction, changes from version to version. It continues to interest the spooky and horror of the audience’s imagination.  

Our Pride, Prejudice, and Relationships.

Looking back on what I saw during the Lizzie Bennett Diaries, there were some things that I found interesting, as well as, no so interested. It was an interesting to me that the fan made story based on the book Pride and Prejudice, since it had modern ways of communication through email, text, and phone calls. All of which may be a great deal faster than writing and sending paper messages, it is still a way for people to express their thoughts and feelings to each other in many ways. For example, the letter that Lizzie received from Darcy just like in the book, greatly affected the way Lizzie view both Darcy and George. Then there was the holiday video card Lizzie and her closest friends Charlotte and Jane did together to wish her views happy holidays and encourage others to express themselves likewise. Though I do prefer and like the book version of Pride and Prejudice, I do like the way Lizzie used her diary videos what she wanted to express about herself and her view on different things. Communication has and always will be a very important part in how humans interact with each other, whether it is face to face or by other means of communication.

As for the way, the characters were portrait in this version, Lidia did come across at first to be an immature young teen. But as she did turn about to be o.k. after her sister Lizzie helped her through her embarrassing mistake. We all make mistakes, we all have in one way, shape, or form of pride about yourselves and prejudice to others we may not like. But if we look passed your first impressions whether it is good or bad, relationships both big and small can build up. And I guess that is still one of the things that makes any Pride and Prejudice related story appealing to readers and in this case viewers. We all have good and bad experiences when it comes to relationships, but I do think both are important in learning who your true friends and family are. That is what I think is the main point that the Lizzie Bennett dairies and Pride and Prejudice novel that I took from both. Life is full of uncertainties and new experiences both good and bad, but it helps to have someone to be there for you no matter what may happen. After all, if is sharing those experiences that I think truly make life worth living. And that is what life being for every person who has, is, and will live, is a journey. Our own life story. 

The characters and morals of P. P.

So far, I think Pride and Prejudice has been an interesting story and mostly because of the characters in the story.  Like mostly if not all stories, there are some I like and others I don’t like. Elizabeth Bennett is one of the characters I do like because she is a woman who is very aware of who she is and what makes her happy. (self-awareness).  Also, unlike most of the other women in her society, she will only marry to someone who she will be happy with and not just of their wealth nor good looks. So much so that she refused two marriage proposals from Mr. Collins despite the possibility of being able to inherit the estate if she were to do so.  Then she refused Mr. Darcy’s proposal because he said that ever though it is against his good reason and his character to marry her despite his feelings toward her. Mr. Darcy did it in a way that made it uncomfortable for both, but what really bothered Elizabeth was that Mr. Darcy said it was against your reason and will to marry her, and his involvement in Elizabeth’s sister’s affairs. Elizabeth is one of those characters that I think is trying to find love and look after her family. Family is the most important thing in my life, and I think it is one of Elizabeth’s important things she values as well.

As for the characters, I don’t like in this story so far, Ms. Bennett is someone who although wants the best futures for her five daughters by marrying them quickly and as soon as an opportunity to be married to someone wealthy. She does it in a way that seems pushy and she is easily unsettled by her husband’s opinions about what is good for their daughters and who doesn’t push his daughters if at all to marry in a hurry. Not to mention that I can’t stand that way she speaks in a high-strung voice.

 As for the story, I do like how that story has different characters with different temperaments and their own views and goals in this Victorian, English society. It lets me get a better look and understanding of each character in this story rather than just the main and supporting characters. As for the matter of how marriage is done in that time period, it is similar to women are compelled to marry for their own as well as for their family’s benefit and wishes like in Romeo and Juliet when Juliet’s parents wanted her to marry Paris. But in this story, the women seem to have more sway and more choices to who they want to marry in terms of good looks and wealth. Still, I am glad I don’t live in a time where anyone is compelled or forced to marry anyone, but rather marry for love and the relationship between to people. Love is an important and precious thing in anyone’s life. I guess that is what this story is mostly about, his what makes people happy, their feelings of love, and their views and pursuits of them. 

The appeal to Sherlock Homes

Before this class, I had some experience with Sherlock Homes. I never read the books before this class, but I have heard of Sherlock Homes and seen an animated movie based on Sherlock Homes theme. That movie is called Basil of Barker Street. Now looking back, I do notice a lot of similarities between this movie and what I have read so far. Baker Street is the same resistance of Sherlock Homes and had talents for science of investigation and disguise. The characters were all mice except for villains which were a bat (Fidget /Rattigan’s agent) and the rat (Professor Rattigan/ Professor Moriarty). Sherlock Homes character of the movie was Basil and his new friend Dr. Dawson who in this case is like Watson. It was one of my favorite movies as a kid.

As I grew up I experienced similar mystery movies like the Scooby-Doo cartoon movies, TV series Sleepy Hollow and Grimm, which is a mystery and supernatural themed. In all three, it involved a group of individuals rather than just two partners, the goal was the same, to find solve the mystery of the unknown truth. I guess that is what make any good mystery story appealing to the audience, including me. On a funny note, there was very similar aspects of Sherlock Homes in a comedy and adventure movie called Shanghai Knights with Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson. I think you’ll find this video clip both funny and interesting. I couldn't find it on the search to post it here, but if you like to see it, it is called Shanghai Knights - A Tribute to Sherlock Holmes on youtube. 

After reading the Sherlock Homes stories, I have a new appreciation of the imagination that goes into creating mystery story/movie. The whole point of a mystery is to keep the audience guessing is to what is the truth behind the secret or mystery until the end. All the Sherlock Homes stories I read in this class did keep me guess. It really made me think how is Sherlock Homes going to achieve success in his cases and who is the guilty one and why. The one story that was my favorite of the Sherlock Homes reading, was A Scandal in Bohemia. Mostly because even after going through all that trouble to finding out where Irene Norton was keeping the photo of the King of Bohemia, she found out what Sherlock Homes was up to. It is one of those situations when Sherlock Homes is in a way out smarted, which is little hard to believe, give how smart and clever he is. But, it goes to show, you should never underestimate anyone and in this case, and equally smart woman. 

The Three Stories/Movies About Love

I thought the movies Warm Bodies and West Side Story were both interesting stories that had some parts from The Romeo and Juliet play/story, mostly in the West Side Story.  But, there was one important thing that I found that they all have in common, is the main plot and I guess the one message that each one had. That plot/message of all of them is that love has no boundaries and if two people can find love, then nothing can stop it, not even feuds between any two groups. Despite the different ways of the movies/stories were shown or played, they all seem to be a trend of telling and retelling the same story about love.  

In West Side Story, I liked it when the setting of the story was different from the R and J play/story. In this case, 1950’s New York U.S.A., and the feuding groups were two different ethic gangs, the Americans/Jets and the Portuguese/Sharks.  Since it was a musical, there was a lot of dancing which is just another form of expression through movement instead of poetical speech in R and J.  There were scenes of the movie that were like Romeo and Juliet like the dance scene where Tommy and Maria meet for the first time and the balcony scene were both meet again. Both movies had both scenes happen in the order it happened. I think that West Side story did well in having enough parts from the Romeo and Juliet movie and enough changes in the setting, the characters, and different ending.

In Warm Bodies, the setting was also different in a fictional, future, and apocalyptic world of two feuding sides of humans and zombies. The movie had the balcony scene with the two main characters R and Julie meet, though it happened towards the end of the movie compared to Romeo and Juliet where it happened towards the beginning.  The way the characters spoke also was more casual and not really any poetic speech nor lengthy dance scenes. That helped me get a better understanding on what was going on in the movie and I liked the happy ending that resolved the feuded compared to Romeo and Juliet where it had a sad ending and resolution to the feud. I also like the small bits of humor in the movie. If any one like bloopers as much as I do, I'd look at the bloopers for Warm Bodies. 

In my opinion, West Side Story was a good movie, even though I do have trouble liking musicals, I do appreciate the work and effort that goes into the dancing scenes. I liked Warm Bodies the most out of the three since the characters spoke the way I and most others around me would speak, which makes it easy for me to pay more attention and understand. There was no Shakespearean/poetic speak to stop and listen to carefully to understand what each character communicated to each other. Though I haven’t seen the Romeo and Juliet at a stage/play setting, after seeing all of three stories of love, I gained more understanding and appreciation for how love stories where and are now shown, played, and written. I would like to see different plays of the same story Romeo and Juliet and see the differences and similarities between them. 

Romeo and Juliet Impact on Me

It has been awhile since I read Romeo and Juliet in middle school and high school. It was less interesting for me at the time. But know looking back and reading it again as an adult, it is a different and in my opinion a better experience of this story for me. I figured out and understand mostly what was going on in the story and especially now that I get to talk about the story with my fellow students. Last Wednesday in class, I noticed that the more I and my fellow classmates really looked deeper into what each of us thought, the more we all learned and understood the story. 

Now that I am reading this story again, I still don't really like the story much, plus the ways the story is written more like poetry, rather than a narrative way that I am used to. But I understand at this point in my life/age, this story was written in a time when English was spoken differently than today and I took something from experiencing reading this story again. I connected with what I learned and know about history and connected it to the time and place of where the story seems to take place. Though I don't know the year or country, the ways and traditions of that time were very different to how things are now. 

For example, marriages back than were more based on what the two families wanted from each other and the husband and wife were ways of showing that the two families agree and secure their agreements rather than actual love matches between the husband and wife. I must say, that if I did live in that time, I won't force that on anyone, nor would I let anyone force others to do the same, especially since people got married at very young ages, like in their teens if not younger. In the story, Romeo and Juliet, both main characters are like 12 years old, maybe a couple years older. they seem to have such inexperience with love. I remembered when Juliet said that she thought it was too quick to know if Romeo really did love her, and weather she loved him. Juliet said, "It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden, too like the lightning, which doth cease to be Ere one can say "It lightens."(Romeo and Juliet Act 2. sc. 2 page77 #125). It did seem to me that Romeo was forcing his love on her and she seemed overwhelmed. But in time we did seem to love each other.

 I wish they did managed to run away with each other, rather than die at the end. Sorry I this is a spoiler for anyone who doesn't know what happens at the end. This another reason why I don't like this story, nor a story that is a tragedy, whenever I do read a story, I certainly don't like sad endings. Also, although it did serve a purpose in the story, the feud between the families of Rome (Montague) and Juliet (Capulet) with no reason other than they hate each other. That is just foolish and unfortunately, many people both in the past and present tend to want to fight and emotionally feud between each other rather than stop, think, and decide to resolve whatever their grievances are in a peaceful and reasonable manner. But, Shakespeare's purpose of this story, like any story is to play on the audience’s emotions. I have to say, this story was one that did play with my emotions, angry for the two families and sadness for Romeo and Juliet.

All and all, even though I don’t like the story, I do appreciate how the story was written and the experience of reading it and discussing the story with my fellow classmates which makes it enjoyable for me. And I hope it makes it enjoyable for them as well. Romeo and Juliet certainly made an impact on me, my classmates, and anyone else that has seen or read the play/story, each one takes something from it. For me it is a greater appreciation and actual enjoyable experience talking about it with others.