The Red and Black

Issue date: 11/12/08 Section: Opinions

CAROLYN CRIST

Vampires. They're everywhere.

On T-shirts. On coffee mugs. In books. And now on television.

TV commercials and Facebook events are boasting the culminating event: next Friday it comes to movie theaters across the nation.

The Twilight series craze continues.

What seems to be an angsty series on teen love has conquered the hearts, minds and backpacks of women between 10 and 92.

And it's become yet another downfall for men everywhere. Why?

A whiny, annoyingly normal and plain girl is somehow irresistible and a hell of a catch.

An inexplicably handsome and fit 17-year-old without acne somehow has the intellect, charisma and manners of a man from the 18th century?

Oh that's right. He was born in the 18th century and was turned into an eternal vampire.

Because he can't sleep, he passes the time by reading, listening to music and becoming cultured by improving his cooking or dancing skills.

No wonder 21st century men hate this book - he's impossible. He's perfect. He's the new Mr. Darcy.

The image isn't a new one. This "Byronic hero" has been a stock character since novels began.

He's the gorgeous, brooding smartie who seems too good to be true and has a secret in his past.

He's the ultimate "bad boy" who speeds down the highway in a sports car one moment and sings you to sleep the next. He shows up outside your window and showers you with gifts. Hey, no girl minds being swept off her feet.

I must admit I'm one in the throng of ladies who can't seem to put the books down.

Imitators can't seem to either.

This fall, HBO welcomed a new sexy vampire series to its valued time slots - "True Blood," which is based on Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire novels.

Once again, a normal hometown girl draws the attention of the brooding, handsome vampire with a secret.

What strikes me about the two series and the original teen vampire craze of our generation - "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" - is the insistence on making the supernatural more human.

The vampires look like humans (only a bit paler) and express human emotions - love, anger, sadness. It wasn't always that way.

Consider the tale of Dracula. Vampires were scary, and that was that. Stay away from them. Use garlic. Holy water.

But in Twilight, the "good" vampires have found a way to survive on animal blood instead of human blood. In "True Blood," scientists invent synthetic blood so vampires can coexist with humans.

So what has changed? To me, it's how society has become more accepting. Accept everyone and treasure them for who they are.

Society teaches us now that we all have good and bad parts - nothing's black and white anymore. We're all a healthy shade of gray.


- Carolyn Crist is the news editor of
The Red & Black.

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