What is an archetype and what is a stereotype? This is the question I was asked on the first day of class. It was something I had never thought about for more than a minute, but I would soon learn that archetypes and stereotypes manifest in everyday media and have walked hand in hand through the time. Of the many archetypes and stereotypes that came to mind, one that held true throughout the quarter was the idea that we as a society make monsters out of these people or of these cultures that we fear or do not understand. This is seen throughout time, but the most notable are: the myth of vampires, particularly Dracula, from Eastern Europe, the urban legends that surround homosexuals and the stereotypes that society maintains about the Muslim religion. MythOne of the most interesting and misunderstood cultures is that of the Eastern Europeans and, in particular, the myths of vampires. The vampire myth has its greatest hold among the Western and Southern Slavs (Willis 2006). The vampire was created for different reasons, but the two main ones were to "curse" those who were evil and to explain the natural decay of the body. Those who are most affected are also the most misunderstood: werewolves, wizards, sinners and the ungodly. In some places, such as Bulgaria, there are murderers, thieves, prostitutes and other socially undesirable people (ibid.). Vampires were thought to roam the earth at night, biting their victims and sucking out their souls, ultimately leading the individual to withering and death. They were also linked to many premature deaths of mothers, with a belief that vampires could even kill family members by chewing on their burial clothes (Barber...... middle of paper ..... .y LA: the Intersection of Place and Politics. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 2001. Print.Lemiwinks the gerbil inside "Mr. Slave" Digital image March 10, 2011. "Elizabeth Bathory: Bram Stoker, Elizabeth Bathory. and Dracula (Elizabeth Miller, Matt Stone and Kristen Miller, 2004. DVD “Vlad Dracula Web” March 9, 2011)., 2006..