Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the end of the vampire. You may remember when these creatures of the night were objects of terror, ruthless, intelligent, predators that were cursed with vestiges of humanity while simultaneously obliged to be amoral in order to survive. You may have associated them with dangerous taboo sexuality and the price one must pay for immortality and power. Scenes like Lestat and Louis simultaneous draining a barmaid, leaving two gold coins next to her corpse and then casually walking off may even spring to mind.
Not anymore right?
Now, it's Edward Cullen and his awkward lust for a teenage girl, he's vampvegan, he sparkles and can most often be found stalking (Edwards Diary: 12:14pm: bella is having lunch at the school cafeteria, she's so cute when she chews! <3).
So what gives? The sad truth is simply that Edward is more marketable than Lestat (and his brand of vampire). Although sexy in his own right, Lestat kills, often and with pleasure, he has love affairs (plural!) both hetero and homosexual, he subverts authority and in general does icky things (The Tale of the Body Thief opens with Lestat tenderly sucking a grandmotherly woman dry and in Memnoch The Devil he goes on for pages about how yummy menstrual blood is). Edward on the other-hand only strives to "protect" Bella while still being an ultra cool, achingly beautiful, superhuman with sparkles. Therefore Edward is easy to sell as a 'bad boy' romantic icon to tweens and above. The insidious thing about Edward is that he takes on all the trappings of subculture edge without any of the exploration or thought. Lestat tests readers limits and forces them to look in on the darker sides of humanity's desires for fame and bloodlust while Edward is another player in reinforcing traditional gender roles. [Those being guy is Protector, girl is Nurturer, etc.]
Yes, it pisses me off when people assume that I like "Twilight" when they figure out I like vampires, but what's sadder is that so many are willing to buy into a series that's so badly written and essentially shallow.
Some Links
The Vampire Lestat (Satan's Night Out) - Redeemer (It was a terrible movie but at least it made good music videos)
The Wisdom of Crocodiles & Interview with the Vampire - vampire movies done right
Buffy vs. Edward Remix
Harry Potter vs. Twilight (takes itself a tad bit too seriously but offers insightful perspectives on both books)
Last but not least Look For Me By Moonlightt - my first vampire novel which I read in 3rd grade yet still far smarter and better written than Twilight.
Enjoy
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