Escape to UF Mountain
I’ve heard loads of people talking about the recent upsurge in the popularity of urban fantasy, especially UF based on vampires. Obviously, series such as Twilight have had a huge impact on the perception that fantasy, especially urban fantasy, and especially urban fantasy with vampires, is on the rise. From a quick search of the internet (and I mean very quick), I haven’t been able to find statistical proof for this assertion. However, at a cultural studies conference I just attended, the sheer number of panels on both Buffy and Twilight attests to the fact that the people who consider themselves experts on American culture assume that vampires are Big Business, not just in terms of best seller lists and box office numbers, but also in terms of cultural capital. Our culture, these multitudinous panels imply, is invested in images of the vampire and of the supernatural, in general. I’ve also heard a lot of reasons for this upsurge in interest. One I hear quite often is that, in...