{"title":"The vampire in late communist cinema: from internal enemy to foreign threat.","authors":"Anca Simina Martin","doi":"10.1007/s11212-025-09734-w","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The vampire trope's connection to socialism originates in Karl Marx's <i>The Communist Manifesto</i> (1848), where it symbolizes capitalism. This interpretation has dominated vampire studies, often narrowing the discourse on the semantic dimensions of the vampire in communist states. This article examines the evolution of the vampire myth in Eastern bloc cinema from Lenin's 1917 October Revolution to Romania's 1989 communist collapse. By comparing socialist vampire movies to Western counterparts, the study reveals that Eastern European vampires usually embody the haunting legacy of communism's earlier phases. The article's final section contrasts vampire depictions in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia, and Romania during the cinema of late communism. While Romania-known as the vampire trope's birthplace-avoided the myth in cinema, other countries embraced it during this period to critique consumerism and shifting gender roles in Soviet societies. Through this exploration, the article illuminates the cinematic interpretations of the vampire across different socialist contexts.</p>","PeriodicalId":43055,"journal":{"name":"Studies in East European Thought","volume":"78 3","pages":"657-673"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13004721/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Studies in East European Thought","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11212-025-09734-w","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/6/11 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"ETHICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The vampire trope's connection to socialism originates in Karl Marx's The Communist Manifesto (1848), where it symbolizes capitalism. This interpretation has dominated vampire studies, often narrowing the discourse on the semantic dimensions of the vampire in communist states. This article examines the evolution of the vampire myth in Eastern bloc cinema from Lenin's 1917 October Revolution to Romania's 1989 communist collapse. By comparing socialist vampire movies to Western counterparts, the study reveals that Eastern European vampires usually embody the haunting legacy of communism's earlier phases. The article's final section contrasts vampire depictions in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia, and Romania during the cinema of late communism. While Romania-known as the vampire trope's birthplace-avoided the myth in cinema, other countries embraced it during this period to critique consumerism and shifting gender roles in Soviet societies. Through this exploration, the article illuminates the cinematic interpretations of the vampire across different socialist contexts.
期刊介绍:
Studies in East European Thought (SEET) provides a forum for impartial scholarly discussion of philosophical thought and intellectual history of East and Central Europe, Russia, as well as post-Soviet states. SEET offers a venue for philosophical dialogue in a variety of relevant fields of study. Predominantly a philosophical journal, SEET welcomes work that crosses established boundaries among disciplines whether by bringing other disciplines to respond to traditional philosophical questions or by using philosophical reflection to address specific disciplinary issues.
The journal publishes original papers by scholars working in the field without discriminating them based on their geographical origin and nationality. The editorial team considers quality of work to be the sole criterion of publication. In addition to original scholarly essays, SEET publishes translations of philosophical texts not previously available in the West, as well as book reviews.
* A forum for scholarly discussion on philosophical thought and intellectual history of East and Central Europe, Russia, and post-Soviet states
* Includes analytic, comparative, and historical studies of thinkers, philosophical and intellectual schools and traditions
* In addition to original papers, publishes translations and book reviews
* Although formatting is not crucial at the review stage, authors are strongly advised to refer to the Submission Guidelines of SEET to which articles accepted for publication must conform