Vampire Meta for themonkeytwin : comments.
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(no subject)
Okay, so, thanks for this. I think it really did help me get a handle on the specific appeal of vampires; I guess the romance/sex allegory is fairly unsurprising as a huge draw. Thanks for spelling that out for me, because I've never been interested enough in vampire stuff to read/watch it enough to spot those meta-patterns, if that makes sense? I mean, the sexual aspect is hard to miss, but the allegory you have to be paying attention for. This will probably help me out a lot in terms of viewing intelligence the next time a vampire thing crosses my path.
So, if I'm understanding this right, the split between romance and sex that vampires embody (and I understand that most works fall along a scale) is an interesting one, and makes even more sense of their appeal. Vampires divide the two in their very nature, and take on one aspect, while (it seems) retaining the tantalising possibility of the other.
Which makes reading/watching them a "safe" yet titilating experience regardless of whether it's the physical or the emotional/mental intimacy that someone is wanting to avoid. Safe because the romance/sex is vicarious, and titilating because the aspect that is perceived as risky or frightening (and I know as many people for whom romantic intimacy is far more confronting than sexual intimacy as the other way around) is always teased – it doesn't even have to be overt, because it's in the nature of vampires themselves. What a vampire can't do, then, is hold romance and sex in a healthy unity, which is something that our culture seems to struggle with a lot too.
So, that's my initial (delayed) understanding from what you wrote, and you've helped it make a lot more sense to me. Did I miss anything or get it wrong? I ask not just because it's good communication protocol especially when you're not in familiar territory, but also because the flat-out, ugly, predator side of vampires is a minor squick for me. Not so much that I can't watch this stuff, but enough to filter my perception of the story and them through it. So if that's coloured my understanding of what you said, I'd like to know :)
(no subject)
I think the authors/writers for the various vampire media use the negative ways vampires and their like are immediately viewed - as you mentioned - to do some of the storytelling for them in a couple of ways. It allows them to very easily guide the audience into a 'switch' in perception - where the character that your instinct encourages you to think of as 'bad' or 'evil' is actually the hero or romantic interest - which can be very neatly done in all genres but has been recently rather overdone in that it has become expected and some lazy storytelling has resulted (I am tempted to cite Twilight here).
I think this general technique in storytelling has come about (not that I'm suggesting that it's in any way new or innovative, just highly prolific at the moment) as a result of people trying to redefine the world as one in which there is no prejudice - not that I'm in any way saying this is wrong, just that some storytellers tend to slap it in place to avoid having to actually tell someone they're writing a story about prejudice. (And sometimes to cover up the fact that there's a fair amount of prejudice in the story anyway and they want at least one counter example).
That reply to your comment went a bit sideways, sorry. I agree with everything you said, and you said it much more concisely and eloquently than I did. Hehe! :D
What I think we agree it comes down to is that vampire stories are a substitute for our own (and the population as a whole's) intimacy and sexuality issues.
(no subject)
Linking the idea of a 'safe' lover and the idea that as soon as that intimacy barrier is broken the man has the potential of becoming 'unsafe' or out of control, dangerous. I guess this would clarify why the classic vampire stories are all male vampire with female human. The 'vampire' side of the man is actually his sexuality, and intimacy is a temptation that leads to danger. Crosses are the thing that ward the vampire off, but only work when the wielder has strong belief in their own faith...
I am now feeling dense, went hunting for some better meta than my own and came up short, 99.9% Twilight discussion. Picked up a couple of things that might interest you though. :D
http://julieclawson.com/2008/08/17/vampires-myth-and-christianity/
http://utu.academia.edu/LydiaKokkola/Papers/444697/Virtuous_Vampires_and_Voluptuous_Vamps_Romance_conventions_reconsidered_in_Stephenie_Meyers_Twilight_Series