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The four children pedaled so hard that their bikes stumbled over cracked sidewalks and uneven curbs. Laughter and cries of which mystical creature could be defeated echoed through the quiet streets. Carrying backpacks filled with well-worn paperbacks (comic books and fantasy novels), each child wandered into a private world of monsters, magic, and secret codes. The air tingled with the kind of adventure that exists only at the edge of imagination, shaped by imaginary worlds created elsewhere on Earth.

This is not a depiction of “Stranger Things,” or even 1980s American suburbia. This is a small Russian village in the early 2000s. There were no paved roads, and most homes had no running water or central heating. I spent every summer there during my childhood. Those kids were my friends, and the world we were obsessed with was Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles.

We didn’t yet know that one of us would soon be openly bi, or that the other, me, would become an LGBTQ activist. We were reading Anne Rice’s first strange story. My first strange story. It felt wrong. And it felt very right. I still haven’t accepted that I’m queer, but it helped that it was briefly discussed in the book.

Now, on AMC’s “Interview with the Vampire,” Something old is coming back to life, with Jacob Anderson playing Louis de Pointe du Lac (a seemingly human, openly gay, pain vampire) and Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt. Louis continues to struggle with who he is and what he has done. Lestat, on the other hand, is neither a hero nor a villain. He desires without apology and survives without shame.

I remember a bi friend of mine who was dealing with a difficult family empathizing with Lestat. Long before she came out, I was already seeing her queerness reflected in it. The Vampire Chronicles made it incredibly easy for both of us to come out, at least to each other, despite the queerphobic environment.

As I watched and re-watched the series this winter break, I kept thinking about what this story has meant and still means to queer youth and queer people around the world. Once again, this is not just a “Western” story. I read comments from queer Ukrainian teenagers living under bombing and found joy in the show. I saw Russian fans getting furious over the absurdity. censored Amediateca’s translation translated “boyfriend” as “friend,” or even “friend,” turning the central relationship between two queer vampires into almost cartoonish nonsense. References to President Vladimir Putin have also been removed from the modern version, part of Russia’s broader effort to completely eliminate visibility and political criticism of gay people.

Still, fans continue to learn the true story. Even people outside the LGBTQ community can find uncensored translations or watch with subtitles. A new generation of queer people from Eastern Europe is discovering themselves through this series.

It got me thinking about the global role of mass culture, especially American mass culture. I’ll take Ukraine and Russia as an example because I’m from Ukraine, spent much of my childhood and youth in Russia, and speak both languages. But the impact is clearly far-reaching. The evolution of popular culture changes the world. In the context of queer history, Interview with the Vampire is one of the brightest examples. This is precisely due to its international influence and the fact that it was never marketed as “gay literature” but as gothic horror for a general audience.

AMC is currently producing Season 3 of The Vampire Lestat, which has seen new speculation about Lestat’s homosexuality and discussion about how explicit the show depicts same-sex relationships. In the book, it’s said that vampires can’t have sex in the “traditional” way, but that didn’t stop Anne Rice from portraying a deeply homosexual relationship full of unmistakable homosexual tension. After all, this is a story about two men who “adopt” a child and form a de facto queer family. And this is just the first book. Later novels feature many openly queer couples and relationships.

First novel “Interview with the Vampire” ” was published in 1976, so it’s not surprising that there are no explicit gay sex scenes. Later, Anne Rice, who identified as queer, said she lacked “love.” sense of gender,look myself as a homosexual and seeing the world from a “bisexual perspective.” She openly admitted that all vampires are bisexual. This is a benefit of the Dark Gift, which makes gender irrelevant.

This is why her work resonates with queer readers around the world, and why so many recognize themselves in her vampirism. For many young people I know in Eastern Europe, Interview with the Vampire It was the first book in which they encountered a same-sex relationship.

But the real power of this world lies in the fact that it wasn’t created just for queer audiences. I know a conservative Muslim with very traditional views who loved “The Vampire Chronicles.” As a teenager. I know such a heterosexual Western couple. People who are initially apprehensive about homosexuality often become more tolerant after reading books or watching movies or TV shows. It’s hard to hate someone who reminds you of a beloved character.

That’s the strength of this story. This story is clearly not framed in a way that a queer, purely romantic, gothic, or nerdy audience would like. The Vampire Chronicles is not a cure for queerphobia, but it is a powerful tool for making queerness more accessible. Pop culture provides a window into queer lives, and the wider the window, the more powerful it becomes.

Another example is Will from Stranger Things.,Ellie and Dina from “The Last of Us” (both the game and the series), or even the non-mainstream but influential sci-fi show “Severance.” These stories allow audiences around the world to see queer people beyond stereotypes. That is the power of expression, not just for queer people themselves, but for society as a whole. It makes queer people seem like real people, even if it’s a controversial blood drinker with fangs or two girls surviving in a fungal apocalypse.

Popular culture is a universal language and is spoken all over the world. And that’s exactly why censors often try and fail to silence them.