Are Vampires Recession Indicators?

Please ask for parent permission before you watch the movies mentioned!

Pop culture and economics are tied to each other more closely than we may think. Films, music, and books are heavily influenced by the current state of the economy. These arts are used as an escapism when times get hard and society wants a distraction from the real world- bring in the fantasy worlds. The same works of media are produced when the economy is booming, The Great Gatsby, for example. The 1920s roared so loudly that the celebration leaked into entertainment, reminding society of its well-being. 

We all learned about the lows of the 1930s, the times weighed down by The Great Depression. The economy was depressed, and so were the people. In 1931, the first Dracula movie came out and entertained the public beyond their wildest dreams. Dracula became the box office’s most profitable release of the year, grossing $700,000 for Universal Pictures. This sum of money is equivalent to about $14,804,309.21 today, an increase of $14,104,309.21 over 94 years. The movies gave the public a few hours to forget about their troubles, which helped the fantasy/fiction films succeed so tremendously. 

The popular series Twilight was released in the Great Recession of 2008, feeding society with escapism once again. Our main character, Bella Swan, has issues and insecurities that readers could effortlessly relate to. Twilight comforted its fans in much the same way that Dracula did in 1931. Edward and Bella’s romance also gave the series a comfortable undertone, instead of fully focusing on the horrors of vampires. The Cullen family (the vampires) remained mostly humanlike, but were clearly flawed in relatable ways. Fans could choose to relate to the vampire more than the humans within an escapist framework. 

Vampires can be viewed as a reflection of the unglamorous fragments of humanity we possess. This makes it easy for an artist to paint a morally gray creature that we can all recognize and understand immediately. Psychologists suggest that engaging with frightening content can serve as a therapeutic tool, offering catharsis by triggering adrenaline and emotional release, as described by horror writer Stephen King. Beyond personal benefits, vampire narratives often reflect deeper societal anxieties — such as economic collapse, exploitation, and powerlessness — making them especially resonant during times of financial crisis and widespread uncertainty. 

This theory is not scientifically proven, but it is important to piece the similarities of this world together. We can learn a lot from the media we are entertained by, and it helps us understand social structures accurately.  

Sources:

Photo- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1099212/

Dracula numbers- https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dracula-(1931)#tab=summary