What Do Hot Vampires Mean for Human Society?
The Huffington Post interviewed Dr. Rebecca Housel, editor of both Twilight and Philosophy and True Blood and Philosophy, and asked the question we keep hearing: What’s responsible for the sudden interest in vampires?
Her answer is one we’ve also heard before. Dr. Housel explains, “Similar to the post 9-11 surge in superhero films, people are looking for escapist entertainment that reclaims some sense of agency and power over the impermanence in life that’s been so exaggerated in recent years with things like the situation in the Middle East, the uncertain global economy, and widespread unemployment in the States … The vampires of today, like Stephenie Meyer’s vegetarian vamps who can live in the sunlight or L Jane Smith’s characters who can do the same, make being one of the undead consequence-free, or at least free of the more awkward consequences of old. Dracula and older vampire counterparts, like Lestat de Lioncourt from Anne Rice’s 1976 novel and the 1994 film adaptation starring Tom Cruise as Lestat, show a darker side to their immortal life that today’s audiences have been spared.”
There’s much more to this interview, as Dr. Housel digs in to talk about the dangers of having romantic heroes like Bill Compton, Eric Northman, and Edward Cullen. Read on for more.
Philosophically speaking, coming to terms with all the consequences in life is extremely important, but this is entertainment, not a college class on existentialism. When asked “Why can’t audiences have their cake and eat it, too?” Dr. Housel replied, “They can. And they do. The problem really arises with what Jean Baudrillard called simulacra, artificial representations of reality that through pop culture mediums like television and film, begin to actually replace the real… Edward Cullen. On paper, he’s this romantic, protective boyfriend. But in reality, a good looking 100-year old guy digging on a 17-year old, who climbs through an unsecured window of her home to watch her sleep at night, is just a stalker of the worst sort. Vampires from Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Mysteries and Alan Ball’s True Blood are equally deceptive. You have this young, pretty, blonde–26 years old–dating a guy from the Civil War era? Or, worse, in Harris’s novels, a vamp who’s a thousand years old? Not even Hugh Hefner could get away with that. I hope. And the violence in all these relationships too closely mimics domestic violence.”
Dr. Housel continued with, “Buddhists recommend accepting impermanence in life to get closer to enlightenment. But when the simulacra or artificial realities of pop culture get involved–we might begin to romanticize our own realities in a delusional way. Suddenly, nothing is impermanent when you’re an immortal vampire, especially a vampire from today’s pop culture. Maybe it becomes easier to excuse violent behavior. Maybe the idea of dying in order to live doesn’t sound so crazy anymore….”
The value of human life, with all its actual limits, is something many philosophies discuss. Dr. Housel was asked, “Are the currently popular vampire stories playing any role in decreasing or degrading a sense of that value?”
She replied, “In my opinion, just like with rock music being blamed for suicides or video games being blamed for an increase in violence, vampires in pop culture today haven’t had a causal role in the disregard for human life we see all over the world. But what is a concern is that some parts of the population are more susceptible to the simulacra then others–particularly the young girls who see Edward Cullen as the perfect boyfriend or life partner, or who see Bill Compton from True Blood as the ultimate Southern gentleman…with fangs.”
“It’s hard to resist [this particular fantasy],” Dr. Housel continued. “With True Blood, there are parallels between the vampires living as citizens after “coming out of the coffin” – which, of course, mimics the struggle for gay rights, like legalizing gay marriage. The difference is, vampires who are treated unfairly through legislation can act out against their oppressors with seemingly consequence-free violence via super-speed and strength. But what about the rest of us regular-folk? We can’t exactly create a fake hurricane to cover up the murder of “bad” people who hurt us, and even if we could, what right would anyone ever have to make a judgment like that over another human life?”
"Honey, if we can't kill people, what's the point of being a vampire?"
When asked about how the fantasy of the vampire in popular culture has broader philosophical implications than just the problems of dating a really old stalker (like the more existential questions about the nature of the human condition), the notion of being vulnerable is at the crux of our humanity was raised, and that, for vampires, vulnerability is practically non-existent, and that this has implications for behavior.
Dr. Housel answered, “In True Blood, there is a distinct difference between human morality and vampire codes of behavior. When you can live to be over 1,000 years old, where is the value in a human life of, say, 85 years? It seems, too often, there isn’t. A good parallel might be how we feel about stepping on an ant or a spider. How many of us have existential angst over murdering a bug?… The recent surge in vampires in popular culture is a great venue for studying a number of philosophical quandaries faced in the twenty-first century. Hopefully, we can learn a little something about ourselves while still enjoying the escapist entertainment of the undead.”
I’m pretty sure “Interview with the Vampire” came out 1994 not 1984. Maybe a typo
I agree with her about young females who become too obsessed and want boyfriends just like the characters, this is a problem for young twilight fans. But then again, I think this is the problem with most romance stories who don’t have a realistic storyline and try to define what “romantic” is.
The Twilight novels actually reflect their author’s Mormon housewife mentality very strongly. Not that I have anything against Mormons, I just don’t think young girls should be ok with being spineless damsels waiting to be whisked away by old perverts. Then again, that trope comes up so often in romance novels that it’s nauseating.
Nice article, I’ve thought about a lot of these topics before and it’s neat to see some different interpretations of pop culture.
TeamSookie, thanks for pointing out the typo.
I love these things that dig beyond the surface. I have to say, I don’t see that vampires are any more dangerous than, say, Danielle Steel novels, which is what I was reading in junior high (my parents probably should’ve been paying more attention). They’re just as unrealistic, only that reality looks more like ours.
Huffington post should really check their facts lol
Oh I agree, I think those novels are just as bad. By not having a realistic storyline, I mean plotlines where people know eachother just days but its called “true love” and a bunch of other plots I can’t think of lol.