I am aware that I am extremely late in commenting on the following trend, and don't so much want to critique it as just... comment. The trend, or what could be better known as craze, of which I speak, is vampires. What is it about vampires that has teenage girls screaming and fainting in fits of orgasmic fantasies? What is it about vampires that has pretty much all of us, watching or reading something about vampires? What is it about them that is so goddamned sexy?
First of all, I kind of hate the vampire thing (what a surprise). Because as soon as Twilight hit cinemas it suddenly became a cult. The kind of cult formed entirely of the teenage girls I mentioned above. It's not because I hated the very idea. Quite the contrary, I have 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King in illustrated hardback, and I have read a fair few of Anne Rice's books. I have the film adaption of Interview With the Vampire on DVD (Queen of the Damned was fucking shit but let's not go there), I like the older vampire films like The Lost Boys and Fright Night etcetera, etcetera. At university my affinity for horror waned. But nevertheless, I still remember what I really liked about the vampire genre that I had experienced: they were traditional. There was no freaky vampire sex. Just blood and gore. Because isn't that what being a vampire is all about?
Evidently not, because then it all changed. Twilight came along. And gave us vampires in the format of love and chastity, which is not exactly surprising when the author in question is a mormon. And what we have is a fairly ridiculous tale about a girl who falls in love with someone she can't have (a vampire), and it's all very allegorical and metaphorical blah blah blah. It's shit. The idea is unbelievably dull, and I imagine the producers of the film recognised this fact, since the film seems to rely almost entirely on the appearance of the characters. I don't know why anyone would find Robert Pattinson attractive, but clearly it was a master stroke, because young girls screech at the pasty sight of him (vomit). And it appears that with each new film, all that the Twilight saga does is add another few half naked guys to the cast, to keep the interest of it's fanbase (what more do you need when your fanbase is a teenage female cult?). What you have is a boring love affair between a girl and a vampire, and throw in a werewolf or two for good measure, and they manage to drag this out for film after film (and book after book I suppose) by showing the characters with their shirt off (and glittering: what the fuck is that about exactly?). Perhaps the intent of Stephanie Meyer was simply to promote her dogmatic religious agenda. It clearly wasn't because she's a passionate writer. To quote Stephen King, "[she] can't write worth a darn". What she succeeded in was creating a cult of teenage girls who want to fuck vampires and werewolves. Well done.
So is that all there is to it? Vampires are now sexy, and lovely, and tragic? No longer murderous and terrifying, they are things of beauty, and thus have gained a wider acceptance in popular culture? This would be a perfectly mundane and believable reason I suppose, but apparently it is not the case...
I'm not exactly sure whether it is precisely because of Twilight that Vampires have become the "in thing" recently, but it's certainly not unconnected. It's not all bad however, because at around the same time in 2008 that Twilight was released in cinemas, True Blood hit TV screens. Now, I admit that when I watched the first episode of True Blood, I hated the cliche storyline (which is almost exactly the same as Twilight) until I realised that is was all very satirical, and was actually very original. And with each new episode I grew to like it more. In many ways it is the exact opposite of Twilight. Whereas Twilight seems to be about chasitity, and preserving your virginity and a lot of sappy bollocks, True Blood gives in to urges, natural instincts, passions. Whereas Twilight is a love story and frankly nothing more, True Blood comments on various cultural and social issues, not least gay rights ("God hates fangs; Coming out of the coffin" - pure genius). Whereas Twilight is all very feminine, and gentile, and quaint (boooring), True Blood is gritty, and violent, and edgy. Two franchises based around exactly the same narrative, and where one fails so miserably, the other succeeds in being absolutely brilliant.
True Blood is most certainly not just another vampire show. I have been very much an avid fan of Allan Ball since watching Six Feet Under and American Beauty, and he certainly doesn't fail to deliver. It is both one of the darkest, and most hilarious shows I have ever seen; one of the most violent, and one of the soppiest; one of the most cliche, and one of the most original. And although it doesn't need to rely on the cast getting naked to win over its audience, it certainly doesn't hurt every now and again either (Hello Jason, Eric and Alcide). I have already mentioned what I like most about it, and that is the social issues involved (alongside the setting). Its harsh critique of humanity is TV at its best.
So the original stereotype of vampires being cold, and terrible and dangerous isn't completely done away with then. They are not integrated into modern society, at least not fully. What they are is trying, and raising a lot of questions about humanity's tendency to ostracise groups of people as demonstrated throughout history. I think the reason that vampires have become such a large part of modern entertainment is because of this questioning. They are the perfect critique of how human beings behave toward and treat each other. The big question that both Twilight and True Blood raise, is should vampires be treated the same as everyone else? Just as the same question has been raised about so many groups of people throughout history. And they are the perfect metaphor. They question humanity, and their anachronistic existence questions modern culture. The following quote from True Blood is a great example:
"Now the American Vampire League wishes to perpetrate the notion that we are just like you and I suppose in a few small ways we are. We're narcissists. We care only about getting what we want, no matter what the cost, just like you. Global warming, perpetual war, toxic waste, child labour, torture, genocide, that's a small price to pay for your SUVs and your flat-screen TVs, your diamonds, your designer jeans, your absurd garish McMansions. Futile symbols of permenance to quell your quivering spineless souls. But no, in the end, we are nothing like you. We are immortal. Because we drink the true blood. Blood that is living, organic and human. And that is the truth the AVL wishes to conceal from you because let's face it, eating people is a tough sale these days so they put on their friendly face to pass their beloved VRA but make no mistake, mine is the true face of vampires. Why would we seek equal rights? You are not our equals." Russell Edgington
Vampires are metaphors for groups of people worldwide who are demonised and treated with prejudice. Both now, and throughout history, blacks, Jews, homosexuals, women, Muslims, the list goes on, have faced prejudice and genoicide at he hands of humanity. I think there are a number of reasons for the surge in popularity of the vampire genre in the last year or two. Presenting them as shirtless hotties for teenage girls to drool over is one reason. Presenting them not so differently from people, and raising the question of whether it is okay to fall in love with them is another, and this is when it begins to break into modern society; race relations, sexuality etc. The most obvious one that True Blood focuses on is homosexuality, with all its stereotypes. The quote above gives the opinion of just one vampire, not an entire race, which is extremely applicable in a society dominated by generalised prejudice. But this is getting a bit deep...
Basically, I think vampires are popular because yes, I guess they are quite sexy, I'd like a vampire to drink my blood as much as the next person. But more importantly, I think the status of the vampire genre has risen in popularity because of this change or attempt to change perceptions from monsters or objects of fear/hate, to members of society. This is exactly what minorities have done throughout history, and continue to do now. Personally, I am all too familiar with this concept. Gay people are still branded as sick and immoral by religions the world over (exactly as vampires are branded in True Blood), and although we can be open about sexuality in the UK, other countries have a long way to go. It is the sense of struggle, or overcoming obstacles that people love to see so much in films. Harry Potter is another example of this. Honestly, I've dropped Twilight as an example because it's just not that meaningful:
"Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity [...] Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend" Andy Futral
So altogether, vampires have changed their image. They have a had a makeover. Now they can walk down the street and oh... they are hot. Sure, some people still hate them. The Westboro Baptist church have added another website to their list (www.godhatesfangs.com), but on the whole they are more accepted. You can even have a relationship with one now and (most) people won't judge you for it. My, what a progressive world we live in.
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