From Dracula to Twilight

In the past, works of fantasy have not been excluded from high culture. Works such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) or Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) have been studied at the collegiate level and are praised by scholars for their literary merit. At the time of their release, however, these works of fantasy literature were not as widely praised or accepted as they are today. In general these books were regarded as literary for the masses and unworthy of serious study. It has taken time for them to grow into the literary classics that they are known as today.

It seems that most works of fantasy begin this way, as works of fiction intended for consumption by the masses. It is usually the exception to see a work of fantasy rise from mass culture into high culture. It is not unprecedented, however, to see a work of fantasy become a product of the culture industry. Culture industry is the technique by which mass culture is taken as a product, packaged, and sold back to the masses for a profit. Works of fantasy are birthed as products of mass culture, and then marketed and sold to millions as a very lucrative business.

The Twilight Saga is a series of fantasy teen novels that depict vampires as major characters. Twilight has become a huge commercial success. It has sold over a hundred million copies and been translated into over 38 different languages around the globe. The film adaptations have earned over one and a half billion dollars. This is an example of the culture industry taking something that is a product of mass culture and creating profit out of selling it to the masses. Fans will spend millions of dollars purchasing the official Twilight t-shirts, posters, buttons, and the DVD’s. Whereas Stoker used Dracula to explore important social problems such as the role of women in Victorian culture, immigration, and colonialism, Stephanie Meyer has used Twilight to tell a story about a girl who falls in love with a vampire and a werewolf. Scholars study Dracula as high culture but look at Twilight as trash literature even though, and possibly because, it has appealed to the masses and made millions of dollars.

This does not make Twilight any less a part of popular culture, nor does it mean that Twilight has less value than Dracula. What it means is that in this era of technology and capitalism it has become easier and more profitable to mass produce literature that appeals to the largest audience instead of creating social commentary. Theodor Adorno, who first identified the concept of culture industry, would argue that it makes the masses more passive and less critical of popular culture. Culture industry does not strive to further the human condition or to improve our social interaction but merely aims to make a profit. The fantasy genre has struggled to attain a status as anything more than mass culture suited for the culture industry. Of course, Twilight fans appreciate the novels without the approval of any scholars.