Vampire Crazy
Today, people seem to be interested in anything vampire or supernatural. Some think it started with Twilight, yet others take it back to Anne Rice and her vampire novels.
I remember reading a couple Anne Rice novels (Interview With A Vampire and The Vampire Lestat) when I was younger and thinking that the whole vampire storyline was a neat idea. In Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, vampires are a very secretive society of the undead, doing anything to protect their secret from leaking to the humans. The vampires are centuries old, their dialogue often spoken in an older, more proper manner. The secrecy of the vampires in the novels meant, to my young mind, that vampires could really exist. This was an amazing, cool concept for me to imagine.
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” was next. The hit television show ran for seven seasons and drew the attention of millions, inspiring books, a movie, a spinoff television show and even Buffy trading cards. I have to admit, I got into it and watched it for years. This show not only had vampires and a slayer but had very brief appearances of werewolves, witches, demons and other types of supernatural characters, taking the supernatural world to a whole new level. With Buffy being the hit that it was, the producers decided to create the spinoff show “Angel,” revolving around Buffy’s (ex-)boyfriend. This show was more focused on the supernatural world and its different beings with few appearances from human beings.
Then, recently, Stephanie Meyer came out with the Twilight series, which seemed to gain overnight stardom right before the release of the first movie, Twilight. The Twilight craze (shall I dare say compared to the Harry Potter craze?) spread like wildfire through middle schools, high schools and colleges across the nation. In this series, the vampires still wish to remain secret, but Meyer added plenty of new twists to the age-old story of the secretive vampire: they don’t die from sunlight, they sparkle and glow (it’s a little creepy, if you’ve ever seen the movie); they don’t hide from people but mingle with them, secretively; and the main vampire family, the Cullens, drink animal blood instead of human blood. I got sucked into the Twilight series because of the quick sensation with it. I was curious and had to know what the fuss was all about. As it was, I immediately got into the story and read through the four novels within a little over two weeks. With just werewolves and vampires as prominent characters, there were more details put into their personalities and overall “species” characteristics. It was interesting and offered a new spin to the vampire story. When the Twilight movie came out, it was like another mad rush, only this time to the movie theaters. I waited until it came out on the Comcast box and ordered it. I was glad I didn’t spend my money on the theater. Don’t get me wrong, the movie wasn’t bad and I would watch it again…for free. I just don’t think it’s worth the money. The books are much better, as they almost always are, and the very fast vampire running graphics looked so fake, I laughed out loud. I was the only one to laugh and I’ve been challenged on this opinion plenty of times, so maybe it’s just me. The second movie, New Moon, had better and more interesting graphics with the transformation from human to werewolf.
Now, since Twilight, everywhere I look there’s a new TV show, a new movie, a new novel series brought to the limelight to share in the vampire craze. In these vampire media, they construe many different versions to the vampire and other supernatural beings. And people are into it.
Two of my roommates, who wish to remain anonymous, have posters upon posters of Twilight, and of course, the books. They also have books and other merchandise from “Trueblood” and “The Vampire Diaries.” I can understand the fascination with vampires but I consider myself neutral in the whole vampire craze. I’ll read it or watch it; I’ll give it a fair chance but I won’t go out of my way to read and watch everything that involves vampires. And so far, I haven’t come across one that I haven’t liked. But, I’m not into it like my roommates. An opinion from my roommates on behalf of the vampire craze side: “We’ve both had an interest in vampires before the craze. We enjoyed shows such as ‘Moonlight)’and ‘Buffy’ that were pre-Twilight. It seems as if everything became about vampires all at once and it is what’s selling right now. We fully expect the craze to die down eventually but, until then, we are enjoying as much vampire stuff as possible. We like it because it’s a brief escape from reality, just like any other entertainment media, and it’s fun, exciting and a tad dangerous.” Two roommates of mine last semester had gotten so excited about the release of Twilight, that they wore “Team Jacob” and “Team Edward” shirts to the movie theaters on opening night at midnight with pre-bought tickets, standing in a line for a while just to get in. I wouldn’t go to those lengths. But, instead of thinking that those people are weird or going a little over board, first think of Star Wars, Star Trek and Harry Potter. Make a little more sense?
My other roommate, Sam Usalis, a junior Social Work major, is on the other side of the craze, the side that refuses to be a part of it. “I’ve never seen the movies or read the books because I’m not into vampires at all. I mean, I watched ‘Buffy’ a couple times, and it wasn’t bad, but I was young. I don’t see what the big deal is about; vampires aren’t realistic, that’s just childish.” I also understand Usalis’s point of view. It’s her personal preference; she doesn’t like vampires. But, for the people that don’t read Twilight just because of its fame, I say, get over yourself and at least try it. If you don’t like it, then you have a right not to, but you never know, you just might like it. If you ignore the experience just because everyone else is trying it, then you’re just being ignorant of pop culture. I am not a part of, nor have I shunned, the vampire craze. I think it’s neat that so many people get into it the way they do.
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