Vampires defanged
Along the lines of what Tammy was talking about, here’s an article about the defanging of Vampires.
I hope that there’s a vampire pendulum, swinging from tortured and broody to bloodthirsty and vicious, because I’m personally of the opinion that Angel knocked the shit out of the tortured and broody, and we need a decade of viciousness to get us back on track.
I mean, it’s a bad sign when they come up with Moonlight, a series about a vampire detective in LA who is good, instead of evil, a scant 3 years after Angel went off the air. Angel, of course, being about a vampire detective in LA who is good, instead of evil.
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I remember Forever Knight! That was 1989? Jinkies.
This is an interesting article, but I think it’s oversimplified. I think there are a lot of other factors that have been in play: different genres putting pressure on the vampire myth and tweaking it to create new conventions; the sexualization of the myth (and the author is way off base if she thinks Bram Stoker’s novel isn’t chock full of Victorian obsessions with sex and body fluids); and expanding media (vampires in film and television are created for very different audiences than the Victorian novel). And lots, lots more.
I also think the author oversimplifies a good/evil paradigm. Vampires can be used in super thoughtful and interesting ways. For instance, one of the best vampire films made in the last 20 years is ‘Near Dark’ (and it’s actually very much a Western). In that film, vampirism is all about making a living and welfare paranoia… not terrifying, but a very complex and articulated way to use the myth that does not rely on reducing vampires to either monsters or redemption-seekers.
Anyway, the point is well taken.
I also think that detective shows are THE network show of choice. We just can’t seem to get enough of detectives and hospitals. So maybe we’ll get a show about a handsome vampire doctor next?
I’ve also been pondering our actual desire to be scared anymore. Popular films (even the ones that call themselves horror) seem to trade in something very different these days. The unbelievable number of serial killer films and ‘Saw’ flicks being produced (which really aren’t any kind of typical horror film – or maybe they represent an evolution in horror) emphasize the visual pleasure of gore and rationalize it with pop psychology or moral equivalence. That’s terrifying in its own way, but it’s not horror.