Vampire Diaries as Postmodern Storytelling

Kimberley McMahon-Coleman has a PhD in literature from the University of Wollongong and is an associate professor (academic development) at Charles Sturt University in Australia. Her research interests include the Gothic, Indigenous literature, popular culture, and academic language and learning. Nina Vanessa Weber has a Master’s degree in English and philosophy from the TU Dortmund University. She is a high school teacher of English and philosophy in Bergkamen, Germany. Her teaching and research interests include media studies, fan fiction, fantasy literature, as well as vampire fiction. Iris-Aya Laemmerhirt holds a PhD in American Studies from the Ruhr-University Bochum. She is an assistant professor for American Studies at TU Dortmund University. Her teaching and research interests include Pacific studies, refugee studies, media studies, and popular culture.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgments“Dear Diary”: An Introduction to The Vampire DiariesKimberley McMahon-Coleman, Nina Vanessa Weber and Iris-Aya LaemmerhirtPart I. Genre: “I live in the real world, where vampires burn in the sun”Once Upon a Time… Reading The Vampire Diaries as a Postmodern Fairy TaleIris-Aya Laemmerhirt and Nina Vanessa WeberLoss and Redemption: Marketing Romantic Love in American Paranormal RomanceMaria Marino-Faza“We have history together”: The Rhetoric of Adaptation in The Vampire DiariesN. René HoffPart II. Gender: “I like being the eternal stud”The Monster in the Mirror: Adolescence and Masculinity in Television’s The Vampire DiariesKimberley McMahon-ColemanThe Female Villain and Gender TroublePraveena ThompsonPart III. Fan Reception: “Hashtag, you’re welcome”#Stelena vs. #Delena: The Vampire Diaries Fan Commentary on Gender, Sexuality, and Toxic RelationshipsMelissa AmesBonnie Bennett and the Magic of FandomAshley K. SmallsEthics in The Vampire Diaries Fan FictionMalin IsakssonPart IV. (Moral) Choice and Identity: “I may just need to go get a hero hairdo of my own”Antithetic Characters in the CW’s The Vampire Diaries: When Heroes Become Villains and Villains Become HeroesMichelle Nicole BoyerThe Dreaded “C” Word: Choice, Identity, and the Postmodern Vampires in The Vampire DiariesHannah Hansen“One by friend, one by foe, and one by family”: How Prophecies and Curses Influence Identity Construction in the World of The Vampire DiariesKari SawdenConclusionKimberley McMahon-Coleman, Nina Vanessa Weber and Iris-Aya ­LaemmerhirtAppendix A: List of NovelsAppendix B: List of Television EpisodesWorks CitedAbout the ContributorsIndex