Adam Kassem

English 1102
Jessica Schley
21 April 2014

The Historic Roots of Werewolves and its Modern-Day Pop Culture Fascination

Im a werewolf. Are you alright? I dont know. Ill let you know the next
full moon (Landis). These shape-shifting creatures of horror have the capability to turn
from a friendly face to a terrifying monster. Vampires get the joy of flying around and
being immortal and zombies shuffle around in their undead stupor, so where do
werewolves fit into the picture? The idea of the werewolf has been around for over a
millennium, but recently it has become a pop culture phenomenon. It has been the subject
of many stories and fairytales that develop into some very influential films in pop culture
today. By looking at the history and different decades of werewolf films, one can see the
changes from the beast as a historical monster to its transformation as a contending player
in the genre of horror and pop culture.
The Origin
Werewolves have been a part of legend for over a millennium. The first
appearance of this mythological creature first came about in 1550 BC. The first records
of the werewolf can be seen from the story of Mount Lykaions Curse. This Greek story
describes the King of Arcadia, King Lycaon, serving human flesh to the god Zeus. For
the kings punishment, Zeus turned King Lycaon into a wolf. (Lawrence) This gave
birth to another common name for the werewolf, lycan. A vast amount of folklore and
written texts about the werewolf began to emerge
during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth
century.
One of the most well known stories written in
1812 by the Grimm Brothers was Little Red Riding
Hood. This was a popular childrens story during the
time. The emergence of the werewolf began to gain
societal appeal. The wolf began to take on negative connotations from stories such as
these and the creature would later take the role of a more horrific yet captivating subject
of entertainment. The depiction of the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood was not horrific
but it did have characteristic traits that made it seem villainous.
In more recent times, such as in the twentieth and twenty first century,
werewolves have taken a new role as compared to their original historical view.
The pop culture fascination with the beast in todays world had its debut with the film,
The Wolf Man, in 1941. This is a classic werewolf tale that focused on a man named
Larry Talbot who was bitten by a wolf and subsequently turned into a werewolf himself.
The appearance of the werewolf as well as its level of savageness change as society
develops later in the twenty first century. These changes focus primarily on the beasts
physical features.
Appearance Changes
With the rise of the full moon comes the transformation of man into wolf. This is
one thing most werewolf films have held true to. When it comes to the wolves look, it
King Lycaon depicted as a wolf
has some differences from time period to time period. In
1941, The Wolf Man was shown as a man who had wolf-like
qualities. These qualities include the stereotypical sharp
claws, mouthful of pointed teeth, obsessive amounts of hair,
and a nose resembling that of small canines. This view of the
werewolf was frightening for people during this time period
because it was something that had never been shown before
in the horror genre.
In the movie An American Werewolf in London,
David is bitten by a wolf and turns into a werewolf during the next full moon. What is
different from this werewolf and Larrys form from The Wolf Man is the amount of
ferociousness. Forty years later, this 1981 film showed a revolutionized picture of what a
werewolf looked like. This new creature was four-legged, completely hairy, and
resembled a beast more than a man. Some differences that made it more terrifying than
that of its predecessor were also its elongated jaw full of sharp fangs, its snout, and
pointed ears. He feels invigorated and his body seems
very strong. The beasts superior strength to humans
also made it horrific.
By comparing these two werewolves, it can be
seen that there is a significant difference in what scares
viewers depending on the time era. After the release of An
American Werewolf in London, the werewolf genre was
beginning to change. Werewolves wouldnt just be viewed as subjects of horror anymore.
Larry Talbot as The Wolf Man
Dave changing into a werewolf
They would be used for something drastically different on the genre spectrum. With the
1985 release of the film Teen Wolf, werewolves could also be funny.
A Changing Genre
In recent years, the approach to how werewolves and other monsters are presented
has morphed from that of a one-dimensional to a multi-dimensional view. This means
that the character of the werewolf has been developed past its monstrous form. It has
shifted into an almost human and understandable creature. Society has started to give our
villains and monsters a more dynamic persona. In the case of Teen Wolf, the werewolf is
not terrifying and bloodthirsty. We can see this example from the quote, You don't scare
me, freak. Underneath all that hair, you're still a dork, Scott. It is s source of comedy and
entertainment.
When comparing this film to The Wolf Man, the character Scott is not shunned
and removed from society because of being a
werewolf. He is actually glorified and
encouraged for his power. An example of this
glorification is the basketball scene in the
film. Here his classmates chant Wolf! Wolf!
Wolf! (Daniel) There are also comedic
undertones that were not formerly presented
with the traditional representation of the werewolf in this movie. An example of comedy
present in the movie is when Scott is talking to his friend Stiles and he says, Got his dick
caught in a vacuum cleaner. (Daniel) This is not a typical scenario that would occur
Scott as a werewolf athlete
within a typical horror movie. It is a scenario of pure comedic value, nothing more,
nothing less.
More recently, the film and book series Twilight has begun the age of the
romanticized and glamorized view of the ex-thriller villain. Within this world created by
Stephenie Meyer, the werewolf is in actuality a main protagonist, although still a force to
be feared. Jacob, the main werewolf character is shown as a highly sexualized teen with
his main interest in wooing the main female protagonist, Bella. This is very different
from the archaic lust for blood and destruction experienced by his preceding werewolf
counterparts in much earlier decades.
The gruesome appearance of the werewolf in An American Werewolf in London
has been replaced in this series with the attractive and aesthetically pleasing form of a
highly toned young male that appeals to the human standard of beauty. Even the full wolf
form that Jacob assumes after transformation is a beatified version
of the original vision of the terrifying beast. Meyer removes the
ugly snarling faces and replaces them with what can be considered
a more majestic fearsomeness held not by abominations, but by
actual animalistic wolves.
This would be the reason that Twilight appeals to a younger
audience of teenage girls because of the use of sexuality portrayed
by the young men. The werewolves in this series have strength and
the looks without the viscous man-eating habits. This is the reason that it appeals to this
specific discourse community of teen girls. One tweeter posted Because not all of us like
our men pale, cold and undead. Werewolves are just sexier. (Walsh) Without the
Jacob as a werewolf
romantic and sexual side to these creatures in the films, there would be nothing to set it
apart from the original horror classics.
Conclusion
The werewolf has developed into many different forms over the last century due
to pop culture. It can be a ferocious creature just waiting to sink its teeth into you at the
first sign of a full moon or it can be a romantic sexual being with self control. Societys
view of the werewolf seems to be constantly changing. It will always be a symbol of
horror in its genre, however pop culture is shifting what we think of the creature to fit
into what is popular at the time. We will just have to see what the werewolfs next
transformation in pop culture will be.













Works Cited
An American Werewolf in London. Dir. John Landis. Perf. David Naughton, Griffin
Dunne. Universal Pictures. 1981. DVD.
Lawrence, Elizabeth A. "Werewolves In Psyche And Cinema: Man-Beast Transformation
And Parodox." Journal Of American Culture (01911813) 19.3 (1996): 103.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.
Teen Wolf. Dir. Rod Daniel. Perf. Michael J. Fox, James Hampton. Metro-Goldwyn-
Mayer. 1985. DVD.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Dir. Chris Weitz. Perf. Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson,
Taylor Lautner. Summit Entertainment. 2009. DVD.
Walsh, Jim. Wolf Blitzers: Werewolves Taking over Pop Culture. Chicago Tribune.
Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2009. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
The Wolf Man. Dir. George Waggner. Perf. Claude Rains, Warren William. Universal
Pictures. 1941. DVD.