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Monstrous America: HBO’s True Blood as a Gothic/Fantastic Allegory

Year 2017, Issue: 46, 85 - 116, 01.04.2017

Abstract

This article analyzes HBO’s True Blood as a subversive Gothic allegory for 21st century America. In its polysemic, excessive and hybrid universe, the show allows for different power discourses from American society to be explored. True Blood can be seen as a gothic/fantastic allegory that shows that the current debate surrounding American identity today—which is based on the idea that America entered a postracial phase—is nothing but a myth

References

  • Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York: The New Press, 2012.
  • Blayde, Ariadne, and George A. Dunn. “Pets, Cattle, and Higher Life Forms on True Blood.” True Blood and Philosophy: We Wanna Think Bad Things With You. Eds. George A. Dunn and Rebacca Housel. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. 33-48.
  • Cherry, Brigid. “Introduction: Before The Night Is Through: True Blood As Cult TV.” True Blood: Investigating Vampires and Southern Gothic. Ed. Brigid Cherry. London: I.B. Tauris, 2012. 3-21.
  • Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. “Monster Culture (Seven Theses).” Monster Theory: Reading Culture. Ed. Jeffrey Jerome Cohen. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1996. 3-25.
  • Fiedler, Leslie. Love and Death in the American Novel. 1960. New York: Anchor Books, 1992.
  • Foy, Joseph J. “Signed in Blood: Rights and the Vampire-Human Social Contract.” True Blood and Philosophy: We Wanna Think Bad Things With You. Eds. George A. Dunn and Rebecca Housel. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. 51-64.
  • Halberstam, Judith. Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters. Durham: Duke University Press, 1995.
  • Hanson, Ellis. “Undead.” Inside/Out: Lesbian Theories, Gay Theories. Ed. Diana Fuss. London: Routledge, 1991. 324-340.
  • Hogle, Jerrold E. “Introduction: the Gothic in Western Culture.” The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction. Ed. Jerrold E. Hogle. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 1-20.
  • hooks, bell. “Eating the Other.” Black Looks: Race and Representation. Boston: South End Press, 1992. 21-39.
  • Huntington, Samuel P. Who Are We?: The Challenges to America’s National Identity. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2004.
  • Hurley, Kelly. “British Gothic Fiction, 1885-1930.” The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction. Ed. Jerrold E. Hogle. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 189-207.
  • Ingebretsen, Edward J. “Staking the Monster: A Politics of Remonstrance.” Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation, 8. 1. (1998): 91-116.
  • Jackson, Rosemary. Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion. London: Routledge, 1981.
  • Jameson, Fredric. Postmodernism, Or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1991.
  • Kilgour, Maggie. The Rise of the Gothic Novel. New York: Routledge, 1995.
  • Kymlicka, Will. Multiculturalism: Success, Failure and the Future. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2012.
  • Lloyd-Smith, Alan. American Gothic Fiction: An Introduction. New York: Continuum, 2004.
  • Marable, Manning. Beyond Black & White. 1995. London: Verso, 2009.
  • Margulies, Joseph. What Changed When Everything Changed: 9/11 and the Making of National Identity. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013.
  • Mercer, Kobena. “‘1968’: Periodizing Postmodern Politics and Identity.” Cultural Studies. Eds. L Grossberg, C. Nelson and P. Treichler. London: Routledge, 1992. 424-449.
  • Punter, David. The Literature of Terror. 2 Vols. London: Longman, 1996.
  • Rothermel, Dennis. “Minoritarian Romantic Fables In HBO’s True Blood.” True Blood: Investigating Vampires and Southern Gothic. Ed. Brigid Cherry. London: I.B. Tauris, 2012. 90-106.
  • Ruddell, Caroline and Brigid Cherry. “More Than Cold and Heartless: The Southern Gothic Milieu of True Blood.” True Blood: Investigating Vampires and Southern Gothic. Ed. Brigid Cherry. London: I.B. Tauris, 2012. 39-55.
  • Savoy, Eric. “The Face of the Tenant: A Theory of American Gothic.” American Gothic: New Interventions in a National Narrative. Eds. Robert K. Martin and Eric Savoy. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1998. 3-19.
  • True Blood: Seasons 1-6. HBO, 2014. DVD.
  • Williamson, Milly. The Lure of the Vampire: Gender, Fiction and Fandom from Bram Stoker to Buffy. London: Wallflower Press, 2005.
  • Wise, Tim. Color-Blind: The Rise of Post-Racial Politics and the Retreat from Racial Equity. San Francisco: City Lights Books, 2010.

Monstrous America: HBO’s True Blood as a Gothic/Fantastic Allegory

Year 2017, Issue: 46, 85 - 116, 01.04.2017

Abstract

Bu makale, HBO’nun 21. yüzyıl Amerika’sını anlatmak için ortaya çıkardığı True Blood adlı devrimsel Gotik alegorisini incelemektedir. Çokanlamlı, aşırılıklar içeren ve melez bir evrende geçen bu dizi, Amerikan toplumunda yer alan farklı güç söylemlerinin incelemesine olanak sağlamaktadır. True Blood, günümüz Amerikan kimliği çevresinde dönen ve ABD’nin ırkçılık-sonrası bir döneme girdiği düşüncesi üzerine kurulu mevcut tartışmaların bir efsaneden ibaret olduğunu sergileyen bir gotik/fantastic alegori olarak görülebilir

References

  • Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York: The New Press, 2012.
  • Blayde, Ariadne, and George A. Dunn. “Pets, Cattle, and Higher Life Forms on True Blood.” True Blood and Philosophy: We Wanna Think Bad Things With You. Eds. George A. Dunn and Rebacca Housel. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. 33-48.
  • Cherry, Brigid. “Introduction: Before The Night Is Through: True Blood As Cult TV.” True Blood: Investigating Vampires and Southern Gothic. Ed. Brigid Cherry. London: I.B. Tauris, 2012. 3-21.
  • Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. “Monster Culture (Seven Theses).” Monster Theory: Reading Culture. Ed. Jeffrey Jerome Cohen. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1996. 3-25.
  • Fiedler, Leslie. Love and Death in the American Novel. 1960. New York: Anchor Books, 1992.
  • Foy, Joseph J. “Signed in Blood: Rights and the Vampire-Human Social Contract.” True Blood and Philosophy: We Wanna Think Bad Things With You. Eds. George A. Dunn and Rebecca Housel. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. 51-64.
  • Halberstam, Judith. Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters. Durham: Duke University Press, 1995.
  • Hanson, Ellis. “Undead.” Inside/Out: Lesbian Theories, Gay Theories. Ed. Diana Fuss. London: Routledge, 1991. 324-340.
  • Hogle, Jerrold E. “Introduction: the Gothic in Western Culture.” The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction. Ed. Jerrold E. Hogle. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 1-20.
  • hooks, bell. “Eating the Other.” Black Looks: Race and Representation. Boston: South End Press, 1992. 21-39.
  • Huntington, Samuel P. Who Are We?: The Challenges to America’s National Identity. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2004.
  • Hurley, Kelly. “British Gothic Fiction, 1885-1930.” The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction. Ed. Jerrold E. Hogle. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 189-207.
  • Ingebretsen, Edward J. “Staking the Monster: A Politics of Remonstrance.” Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation, 8. 1. (1998): 91-116.
  • Jackson, Rosemary. Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion. London: Routledge, 1981.
  • Jameson, Fredric. Postmodernism, Or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1991.
  • Kilgour, Maggie. The Rise of the Gothic Novel. New York: Routledge, 1995.
  • Kymlicka, Will. Multiculturalism: Success, Failure and the Future. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2012.
  • Lloyd-Smith, Alan. American Gothic Fiction: An Introduction. New York: Continuum, 2004.
  • Marable, Manning. Beyond Black & White. 1995. London: Verso, 2009.
  • Margulies, Joseph. What Changed When Everything Changed: 9/11 and the Making of National Identity. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013.
  • Mercer, Kobena. “‘1968’: Periodizing Postmodern Politics and Identity.” Cultural Studies. Eds. L Grossberg, C. Nelson and P. Treichler. London: Routledge, 1992. 424-449.
  • Punter, David. The Literature of Terror. 2 Vols. London: Longman, 1996.
  • Rothermel, Dennis. “Minoritarian Romantic Fables In HBO’s True Blood.” True Blood: Investigating Vampires and Southern Gothic. Ed. Brigid Cherry. London: I.B. Tauris, 2012. 90-106.
  • Ruddell, Caroline and Brigid Cherry. “More Than Cold and Heartless: The Southern Gothic Milieu of True Blood.” True Blood: Investigating Vampires and Southern Gothic. Ed. Brigid Cherry. London: I.B. Tauris, 2012. 39-55.
  • Savoy, Eric. “The Face of the Tenant: A Theory of American Gothic.” American Gothic: New Interventions in a National Narrative. Eds. Robert K. Martin and Eric Savoy. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1998. 3-19.
  • True Blood: Seasons 1-6. HBO, 2014. DVD.
  • Williamson, Milly. The Lure of the Vampire: Gender, Fiction and Fandom from Bram Stoker to Buffy. London: Wallflower Press, 2005.
  • Wise, Tim. Color-Blind: The Rise of Post-Racial Politics and the Retreat from Racial Equity. San Francisco: City Lights Books, 2010.
There are 28 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language Turkish
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Pembe Gözde Erdoğan This is me

Publication Date April 1, 2017
Published in Issue Year 2017 Issue: 46

Cite

MLA Erdoğan, Pembe Gözde. “Monstrous America: HBO’s True Blood As a Gothic/Fantastic Allegory”. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, no. 46, 2017, pp. 85-116.

JAST - Journal of American Studies of Turkey