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Film: The Lure of the Vampire
Steinberg, Julie.
Wall Street Journal [New York, N.Y]
19 Nov 2009: D.6.
If you step out of your house late Thursday night, you'll witness an overwhelming scene. At 12:01 a.m., movie theaters will release "New Moon," the next film in the "Twilight" series. Anxious viewers will finally discover whether mortal Bella Swan will choose Jacob's werewolf den over Edward's sparkly coffin. Clearly, creatures of the night have returned to societal consciousness. As a testament to their adaptability, vampires are front and center on the pop-culture stage. Television shows such as "True Blood" and "The Vampire Diaries" feature titillating exchanges between fanged supermodels. Movies like "Twilight," "Let the Right One In" and "Blood: The Last Vampire" explore vampirism through teenage, independent and gore-tinted lenses, respectively. Even the BBC can't withstand Bram Stoker's lure, and has come up with "Being Human," a show that focuses on three housemates who happen to be ghost, werewolf and vampire. What accounts for this 21st-century obsession? Less than 30 years ago, dealing with blood was considered a risky and unclean business as society encountered the AIDS-laced transfusions of the 1980s. And even though those fears have mostly abated, having blood drawn at the doctor's office is still enough to bring out the squeamish adolescent in all of us. How, then, have vampires been able to influence cultural discourse without activating our gag reflex? Sex plays a part, undoubtedly -- today's pop culture champions infinitely virile vampires who resemble Abercrombie & Fitch models. And perhaps equally salient is the appeal that comes from vampires' eternal first-hand knowledge. Creatures that have experienced the Civil War instead of just reading about it are hot commodities. While you might think that all that blood-pooling would drive down ratings, vampires touch on more tempting taboos. That first bite of flesh echoes the very first bite of a certain fruit in a certain garden. Pointed teeth, then, seem to awaken a longing that overrides queasiness. Proponents of "Twilight" may claim that the series is driven by romance, but sex dominates the franchise. Though the characters aren't having it, the whole premise of the book rests on its lure. It's clear that the connection between Bella and Edward isn't based on a mutual love for, say, Derrida -- or even for each other. It's a physical attraction, at most, that's already drawn $380 million in movie-ticket revenue from fans who crave Edward as much as Bella does. Indeed, to say the sexual machinations between human and vampire are the stuff of romance misses the point entirely. Vampires inspire lust. Confusing sex with romance sugarcoats acts that appeal because of their unfamiliarity -- which may be the more salient reason why vampires resonate so deeply. Vampires are innately antideath, so they hover in a permanent purgatory that eschews reason; they know how things started and how they might end. Thus freed from the constraints of mortality as well as morality, vampires can put our existence into perspective. More knowledgeable than encyclopedias, they're worth an infinite number of years in grad school. It doesn't hurt that in vampires' pop-culture incarnations their wisdom is combined with eternal good looks. But vampires aren't mere pastiches of 21st-century projections and fears. There have been multiple iterations in myriad cultures, ranging from the Caribbean Loogaroo to the ancient Indian goddess Kali. Curiously, vampires make an appearance in most, if not all, societies. Insofar as they're repositories of information, our attraction to them seems to lie in all they contain, not just in their ability to drain the lifeblood from mortals. Inherently resilient, they come back in different forms -- standing in for racism, sexism, individual traumas, sexual promiscuity and more. Indeed, they're the ultimate metaphor. Their malleability facilitates their artistic depiction, whether they are representing theatrical self-consciousness in "Interview With the Vampire" or functioning as another minority on "True Blood." And if movies like "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead" and the Korean thriller "Thirst" are any indication, vampires won't be departing any time soon. This may not be a bad thing. For an audience that's stimulated by sex and knowledge alike, vampires are a perfect -- if still frightening -- match. --- Ms. Steinberg, a recent Robert L. Bartley Fellow, is a reporter with WSJ.com. Credit: By Julie Steinberg (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Steinberg, Julie.
Wall Street Journal [New York, N.Y]
19 Nov 2009: D.6.
If you step out of your house late Thursday night, you'll witness an overwhelming scene. At 12:01 a.m., movie theaters will release "New Moon," the next film in the "Twilight" series. Anxious viewers will finally discover whether mortal Bella Swan will choose Jacob's werewolf den over Edward's sparkly coffin. Clearly, creatures of the night have returned to societal consciousness. As a testament to their adaptability, vampires are front and center on the pop-culture stage. Television shows such as "True Blood" and "The Vampire Diaries" feature titillating exchanges between fanged supermodels. Movies like "Twilight," "Let the Right One In" and "Blood: The Last Vampire" explore vampirism through teenage, independent and gore-tinted lenses, respectively. Even the BBC can't withstand Bram Stoker's lure, and has come up with "Being Human," a show that focuses on three housemates who happen to be ghost, werewolf and vampire. What accounts for this 21st-century obsession? Less than 30 years ago, dealing with blood was considered a risky and unclean business as society encountered the AIDS-laced transfusions of the 1980s. And even though those fears have mostly abated, having blood drawn at the doctor's office is still enough to bring out the squeamish adolescent in all of us. How, then, have vampires been able to influence cultural discourse without activating our gag reflex? Sex plays a part, undoubtedly -- today's pop culture champions infinitely virile vampires who resemble Abercrombie & Fitch models. And perhaps equally salient is the appeal that comes from vampires' eternal first-hand knowledge. Creatures that have experienced the Civil War instead of just reading about it are hot commodities. While you might think that all that blood-pooling would drive down ratings, vampires touch on more tempting taboos. That first bite of flesh echoes the very first bite of a certain fruit in a certain garden. Pointed teeth, then, seem to awaken a longing that overrides queasiness. Proponents of "Twilight" may claim that the series is driven by romance, but sex dominates the franchise. Though the characters aren't having it, the whole premise of the book rests on its lure. It's clear that the connection between Bella and Edward isn't based on a mutual love for, say, Derrida -- or even for each other. It's a physical attraction, at most, that's already drawn $380 million in movie-ticket revenue from fans who crave Edward as much as Bella does. Indeed, to say the sexual machinations between human and vampire are the stuff of romance misses the point entirely. Vampires inspire lust. Confusing sex with romance sugarcoats acts that appeal because of their unfamiliarity -- which may be the more salient reason why vampires resonate so deeply. Vampires are innately antideath, so they hover in a permanent purgatory that eschews reason; they know how things started and how they might end. Thus freed from the constraints of mortality as well as morality, vampires can put our existence into perspective. More knowledgeable than encyclopedias, they're worth an infinite number of years in grad school. It doesn't hurt that in vampires' pop-culture incarnations their wisdom is combined with eternal good looks. But vampires aren't mere pastiches of 21st-century projections and fears. There have been multiple iterations in myriad cultures, ranging from the Caribbean Loogaroo to the ancient Indian goddess Kali. Curiously, vampires make an appearance in most, if not all, societies. Insofar as they're repositories of information, our attraction to them seems to lie in all they contain, not just in their ability to drain the lifeblood from mortals. Inherently resilient, they come back in different forms -- standing in for racism, sexism, individual traumas, sexual promiscuity and more. Indeed, they're the ultimate metaphor. Their malleability facilitates their artistic depiction, whether they are representing theatrical self-consciousness in "Interview With the Vampire" or functioning as another minority on "True Blood." And if movies like "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead" and the Korean thriller "Thirst" are any indication, vampires won't be departing any time soon. This may not be a bad thing. For an audience that's stimulated by sex and knowledge alike, vampires are a perfect -- if still frightening -- match. --- Ms. Steinberg, a recent Robert L. Bartley Fellow, is a reporter with WSJ.com. Credit: By Julie Steinberg (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
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主题 Motion pictures;Television programs;Popular culture;Vampires
标题 Film: The Lure of the Vampire
作者 Steinberg, Julie
出版物名称 Wall Street Journal
页 D.6
出版年份 2009
出版日期 Nov 19, 2009
出版年 2009
章节 LEISURE & ARTS
出版商 Dow Jones & Company Inc
出版物地点 New York, N.Y.
出版物国家/地区 United States
期刊主题 Business And Economics--Banking And Finance
ISSN 00999660
来源类型 Newspapers
出版物语言 English
文档类型 Commentary ProQuest
文档 ID 399140781
版权 (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
最近更新 2010-06-26
数据库 ABI/INFORM Complete
标题 Film: The Lure of the Vampire
作者 Steinberg, Julie
出版物名称 Wall Street Journal
页 D.6
出版年份 2009
出版日期 Nov 19, 2009
出版年 2009
章节 LEISURE & ARTS
出版商 Dow Jones & Company Inc
出版物地点 New York, N.Y.
出版物国家/地区 United States
期刊主题 Business And Economics--Banking And Finance
ISSN 00999660
来源类型 Newspapers
出版物语言 English
文档类型 Commentary ProQuest
文档 ID 399140781
版权 (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
最近更新 2010-06-26
数据库 ABI/INFORM Complete
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