Holiday GreetingsWelp, it's that time of year again. Time to spend way too much on candy and costumes, all the while embracing what christians do best: coopting pagan beliefs into their own, while using it as a gigantic excuse to get drunk off their asses while spending way too much money. And believe it or not, but in spite of that admittedly cynical opening, I do genuinely enjoy All Hallows. No, i'm not the biggest Halloween fan, but I do have a killer Halloween playlist on youtube that I've already gotten tired of, despite of currently listening to it. And so, being the all American Halloween lover that I am, I decided to take this opportunity to discuss a theory that came to me over the years: the idea that vampires and zombies both come from the same sort of archetype: the undead. The undead symbolize humanity's ill-at-ease with death, coupled with a pervasive sin that society itself may be guilty of, but don't want to admit. But when I tried to sit down and break things down, I made that classic writer mistake and my words became so entangled by my own mind, that I didn't know where to even start with such a large, overbearing, all-consuming topic. So, like the director of a shonen-anime desperately waiting until the next chapter of the manga comes out, I decided to split things up a little. Today, I'll be breaking apart vampires like they were just exposed to sunlight, and the next post will be about everyone's favorite symbols of rampant consumerism that has, ultimately, become the very thing that they were satirizing. You got all that. Now, let's get analyzing. Vampirus: bloodborn (not that one)Just like their fellow contemporary life takers, zombies, vampires originally, and arguably, were meant to be sort of explanations of disease, as well as a way to sort of explain certain unexplainable (at the time) phenomenons related to death. If someone's hair and skin had grown in spite of being dead,, they may have been tormented by an evil. It makes sense when you don't have access to electron microscopes or . It’s telling, as well, that in early vampirism stories, it was said that people who were being fed on were “falling ill.” It certainly didn’t hurt that the Victorian era, when vampirism as we know it, was being codified, was when tuberculosis a large influx of tuberculosis. You know, that disease that makes you cough up blood. And of course, I'd be remiss to mention the appearance of aristocratic, as well as sexual elements in Vampire stories, and how, at least from what I can tell, certain STDs were associated with the exceptionally powerful. After all, that tall, brooding type is all interesting and fun, right up until strange sores start forming on your body (warning, the following link is NSFW). One of the earlier cinematic versions of this symbolism came in the form of F.W. Murno’s classic loose adaptation of the Dracula story, Nosferatu. Count Orlock, with his hunched, thin form, and shrewish bat-like face, was a far cry from the handsome, manipulative, Dracula who would regularly appear in public. It’s telling, also, in this version that Orlock’s creature of choice was not the bat, but the rat, that classic spreader of disease and death. It’s also telling that upon his arrival in Germany (Nosferatu was a German flick after all), the villagers come to slowly get infected with some mysterious disease, one that may or may not have something to do with the empty ship that recently made port, with a bunch of boxes full of rats. Now, while it’s easy to assume that this symbolism had died out over the years due to the invention of vaccines and the proliferation of safe sex techniques, it actually does occasionally show up now and then in the modern era. Take the Stephen King classic, Salem’s Lot for example. Here, the way that the citizens of the Lot find themselves slowly but surely becoming something inhuman sounds uncannily like some sort of illness, with them not wanting to get out of bad or feeling rather under the weather. And then we have Del Toro’s The Strain, which, while not perfect, combines many of the older traits of vampirism with many of it’s modern takes. The vampires of this tale act more like zombies (with goddamned probosces) than what you'd traditionally associate with a vampire. Even so, in the first season at least, we really do get a feeling for how the initially infected find themselves slowly but surely becoming less human right before their eyes. On that note, one of the major precursors of the zombie apocalypse is none other than "I am Legend," which itself is about how the world is ravaged by a virus that turns people into vampires. You even see echoes of this theme in the likes of schlocky action movies like Day Breakers and Ultraviolet. Sunlight and KryptoniteI think it was around the mid 2000s that the show Mr. Meaty premiered. Now, while the show lasted little more than a season from what I can understand. For whatever reason, one particular episode sticks out in my mind. The two main characters, sick and tired of being told not to do things at work like grill their underpants (don’t even ask me how that’s supposed to work) when they come across a vampire who allows them to live as immortal creatures of the night, free from the oppressions of social norms… right up until they slam into a glass barrier for trying to enter somewhere they didn’t get express permission to. While I didn’t bother watching the rest of the episode (TBH, that was one of those shows that was exceptionally grating) I do remember kind of getting what they were getting at. You see, when you’re a vampire, there are all sorts of hokey rules and regulations that come along with the territory. Initially, this might have been as a way to appease those who may have been afraid of the prospect of eldritch creatures that came to feast on your vital juices and turn you into one of their kin from thinking that their lives are meaningless when they could any moment rise from the grave, and start eating everyone they ever cared for. It also makes sense that garlic, one of those plants that were used for almost anything, would be used as a way to ward off the undead. It’s also reassuring that a dark creature like a vampire would be deterred simply by saying “this is my house, you’re not welcome.” When Dracula came along and added the concept of the vampire hunt to our cultural understaning, many of these things were undoubtedly brought along to make sure that normal humans had a decent chance against an eldritch abomination who could slip through doors with the ease that most people cross a threshold, or transform into fucking mist when he felt like it. Not unlike how superman could be made humble with a goddamned green rock. Before I continue, I get the innate feeling that you’re wondering where a primary vampire weakness is in all of this. After all, when most people think of a vampire’s primary weakness, they not only think of Garlic, steaks to the heart, manners (we'll get to that later), and anal retentive tendencies, but also that which I myself don’t get enough of: sunlight. Here’s the thing, though. Vampires being deathly averse to sunlight was only really a thing rather recently. While vampires always were nocturnal creatures, it was only with the creation of Murno’s “Nosferatu” that sunlight was bad for vampires, if only so that the main characters wife could have the most pre-feminist self-sacrifice imaginable. Over the years, and with the advent of better special effects, people decided to make it so that vampirism resulted in what happens to a chihuahua in a microwave when exposed to sun. The seventies and eighties brought bloody brutal special effects into the foray of cinema, allowing for werewolf transformations to be all the more visceral, and for vampire deaths to be all the more satisfying, or, later on, tragic. And while I don’t have the most info on the subject, my assumption is that part of this came with the advent of everyone’s favorite horror company, Hammer. Of course, like many things about the vampire myth, this has been turned on it’s head over the years, and I’m not talking about how certain vampire myths have been rejecting this whole notion over the years. I’m talking about how Interview with a Vampire gave us a look at how much it would suck if you weren’t able to see the sun at all. I think the film that explored this to the fullest was the aptly named “Let the Right One In.” In it, aside from the typical aversion to sunlight, there's also the fact that vampires cannot enter a domicile without express permission from those within. The primary vampire, Eli, is dared by their(I'm being gender neutral with Eli, due to the ambiguity of their gender within the film) friend into entering his house without permission, and when they reluctantly oblige blood start spilling from several of their orifices. This, along with a scene in which poor Eli pukes up candy, because she can’t eat anything that isn’t human blood, really shows just how much of her childhood has been taken by her vampirism. It a way, what was once a weakness to be exploited, is now a heavy price to pay for immortality. It has become a constant reminder of their condition. They cannot be a part of a part of humankind, no matter how hard they try. They are forever trapped in the night, forced to hunt down their next meal, which sadly, turns the poor person they've fed on into the thing that the vampire was to begin with, a miserable monster Something, Something, Carpetbagger PunAlright, confession time. I was a little reluctant to add in this particular trope, particularly because it didn't really show up until recently, and even then wasn't the most popular of vampire tropes (which is coming up). But I figured I'd cover it, nontheless, if only because it'd be a chance to give a shoutout to some classic Stephan king. Now, say what you will about Stephen King, but you’ve got to admit that the guy is undeniably influential. While his stories may, undoubtedly, get a little repetitive here and there, and his later work can be iffy, there are fewer books as influential of his as his second opus, ‘Salem’s Lot... at least when it comes to vampires. Aside from setting up his standard tale of the writer returning to his home town somewhere in Maine, which is conveniently hiding some dark secret, it put a genuinely unique, yet old school, twist on the Vampire. The tale went from one of a vampire who was sexy, to a monster who slowly but surely sets up the corruption of the town over a series of decades, so that his moment of triumph is so squick and brutal that it almost feels like you’d miss it if you blinked. the inhabitants of the titular Lot, until barely any of the citizenry isn’t a vampire. The comparison to the 50s classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers had been made, one which I don’t think it undue. The slow corruption of the citizenry becomes a character in and of itself, as characters feel sick and unable to get out of bed one minute and become shambling, twisted versions of themselves in the length of a few pages. Salem’s Lot also set up the idea of vampirism as the consumption of the smalltown. While this arguably had it’s roots in Nosferatu, with the good Count exploiting the disease that he brought with him to the small German town to drink up the, this was more a classic take on the fear of the foreigner that caused the alien invasion story to flourish during the Red Scare, when people were afraid that someone other than us would be invading a place that wasn't their and acting like it was. While Lot and similar stories certainly retain certain elements of the invasion story, not to mention share the original take on vampires as creatures who retained barely anything of their former lives, Lot, at least, was more an exploration of the Vampirism as the town’s past coming back to effect the present, another theme that would become horse meat in King's bibliography. It also gave us how one man’s own greediness can ultimately lead to everyone’s downfall. We see the themes and motifs of Lot in several of the vampire tales that took inspiration from it, specifically, John Carpenter’s Vampires, 30 Days of Night, and The Strain. While Vampires was more about vampirism extermination as a business, it also explored how greed can, ultimately, corrupt even the most devout individuals. It also shared Salem’s Lot smalltown sensibilities, with the vampire killers sticking to small towns, and the vampires barely acting human. As for 30 days of Night, what made it interesting was the fact that it was, to a degree, Salem’s Lot—vampirism as a hiveminded invading force—but with the twist of being during a snowstorm. In this case, the blood suckers represent the cold itself, the film becoming more of a zombie tale than anything else. They are an oppressesive, never sleeping, never stopping force that kept trying their damndest to end the lives of the poor denizens of Barrow. Ask anyone who's ever had to live in cold conditions and they'll tell you that the cold is an ever present entity. And, of course, how can we forget the infamous “Strain.” Strain ups the ante considerably, adding more infected and more people, specifically in the form of New York, where we watch the infection go from localized disappearances into a full blown pandemic. Stupid Sexy VampiresNow, I want you to think of the average vampire. Now, you’ll either think of two things: a hunched monstrous thing with glowing red eyes and fangs like daggers, or you’ll think of a well quaffed gentlemen in dark attire who most likely doesn’t have a tan. But chances are more likely that you think of latter (although if you think of the latter sparkling, then you need hep), thanks to our good friend Dracula. While the vampire as sexual being existed before big D--just look at our lovely lady Carmilla--it was really Dracula that pushed the idea of Vampire as sexual desires made form, some of which were already covered and one which we shall cover later. Now, the reasons for this can vary. You could argue that it’s an evolution of the theme of vampire as symbol for disease, with the disease in this case being venereal in nature. After all, a disease that’s spread via the exchange of bodily fluids, exchanges typically done to the neck in a manner similar to kissing. Why does that sound so familiar? It could certainly be argued, as well, that this just a continuation of the Succubus/incubus myth, in that rampant sexuality is something to be shunned, as it is inherently dangerous, something that was a real thing during the time that Dracula’s time. It could also be argued that vampirism represents what could be violent sexuality, i.e., the predator/prey relationship that we typically see. Of course, it could be argued that Dracula was a reflection of that old-school myth that some outside force come and take away our women, one that is still brought up whenever our president (*gag*) brings up how Mexico is bringing over murders and rapists, and gosh darn it, if no one’s allowed to sexually exploit woman except for him. After all, Dracula is brainwashing his victims into “loving him.” It’s also telling that the aforementioned Carmilla, one the major influences for Dracula over the years, had a coded Lesbian as the titular antagonist, nor that her preferred victims are other young women. Of course, as the years went by, and the sexual revolution became a thing, vampirism as sexuality became an increasingly more complicated subject. It was, of course, during that interesting time called the seventies that gave us things like Blacula and the Vampire lovers, the latter of which itself itself was a loose take on the tale of Carmilla. Both of these films, in spite of their inherently exploitative nature, portrayed vampirism as a complicated topic. It was also around this time that we got what is probably one of the more unique versions of vampirism in the form of the book “Interview with a Vampire.” This, along with the film version that came along a couple of decades later, as well as the goth aesthetic movement of the 80s, were what really transformed the vampire into the object of sexual desire, as opposed to something to be shunned. Now that tall, mysterious figures were interesting, as opposed to off putting, vampirism became something almost rebellious in nature, not unlike witchcraft or Satanism. After all, most vampires, if they’re portrayed in modern times, are often portrayed as having a gothic sensibility, such as the baddies of Blade, or the Vamps of Underworld. This ultimately, and arguably, reached what could be called a point of parody with the Twilight series. See, Edward is a creep. He is. He ticks off several of the "problamatic" spouce check list. He watches Bella while she sleeps, gives creepy mixed signals, etc. And yet, this is played as a good thing. It would interesting, if Meyer wasn’t so unaware of just how toxic their relationship is. It takes all of the things I’ve discussed here, and confuses their use. Edward arguably represents the tension that comes with being unsure of whether or not it’s okay to have sex after marriage, which is hilarious, when you think about it. After all, it isn’t his sexuality that makes him someone to be afraid of, but his possessiveness with regards to Bella. The weird way he “compliments her,” the way he watches her while she sleeps. He, inadvertently, becomes a representation of the toxic possessiveness that can come with certain relationships. Without properly thinking it through, he’s supposed to be the ideal, but becomes the exact opposite. He’d arguably be a vampire in a very different way, if not for the fact that Meyer seems excessively unclear about what she was talking about. A Drinking ProblemSo I was talking with an old friend the other day, and I brought up how one of my OCs was a vampire who was the farthest thing from the classical “vampire aristocrat.” And he brings up the fact that, originally, vampires were a sort of cypher for the alcoholism. According to him, vampires, like many old school undead types, were the resurrected bodies of those who’d sinned. In this case, though, they were those who’d indulged just a bit too much in alcohol. Naturally, I was intrigued, and decided to do a bit of digging. While my digging didn’t get me quite get me what I wanted, it did make me realize one very major thing: the symbolism of vampirism equaling alcoholism has never truly gone away. In recent years, as well, I’d argue that it’s expanded to incorporate the concept of addiction in general. This makes sense, when you think about it. After all, in recent years, how is a vampire’s requirement for blood portrayed? Typically, they’re portrayed as a hunger, an insatiable desire that’s always there, and, in many variants, is something that could weaken our vampire if they’re not careful. In essence, an addiction (keep in mind that addiction messes with the desire part of your brain on a chemical level). Ask any recovering addict, especially when it comes to alcohol, and they’ll tell you that that is a challenge they face every day. They’ll also tell you that the alcohol recovery process is one that is always there. That’s why no one is ever a recovered addict. They’re just someone who happens to be someone who has to deal with the daily struggles of addiction, but is no longer that dependent upon the stuff. Now say what I will about Being Human (at least the UK version, I didn’t watch the US version), it did give us a clever look at how the main bad boy vampire was just a guy trying to get over what is quite apparently a rather troubled past, not to mention with how his slipping up ruins one poor girls future. This is reflected, as well, in The Strain, with Ephraim Goodweather, who’s alcoholism is most likely a callback to such symbolism, seeing as how the series crams several classic ideas about vampires, as well as some new ones into it's four seasons. Even Cassidy from Preacher, of all places, is arguably an exploration of this theme. I mean, it only makes sense that a man who puts more substances in his body than you’d find at a Columbian drug bust would also be a vampire. In the comics, he’s portrayed as manipulative asshole who’ll likely trick whoever he’s with at the time into getting into a drug-fueled stupor, no doubt a reflection of how people really act when they’re an addict. And then there’s the role of religion in the vampire myth. A vampire’s greatest weakness, at least classically, isn’t garlic, or even sunlight, but Christianity. A vampire coming your way? Make a cross with a pair of pencils and hope for the best. While this could certainly be a callback to the age when vampires were thought of to be unholy beasts, it could also be argued that its also a reflection of the classic idea that all you really need in life is God, not alcohol. To be fair, there is some basis in the role of religion in the recovery process. It isn’t uncommon for former addicts to be deeply religious in nature. There’s even the importance of the prayer for serenity in AA circles. It’s telling that the underlying import of religion stayed present in some, if not many, vampire myths. You see it in the likes of ‘Salem’s Lot to John Carpenter’s Vampires as well, both of which had heavy overtones of religion. Now, while a cynic would argue that the decline of the vampire as addict happened with Dracula, and that a very real argument could be made that while the original vampire (read: the decayed, corpse type) represented the sheer viciousness that can be addiction, it could also be argued that Dracula, and his sexy variants, are just a very different take on the same old same old. You see, to many budding addicts, addictive substances can appear as alluring, almost sexy. I mean, how often do you see sexy people in alcohol ads, or old school cigarette ads (before that whole illegality thing). I mean think about. Vampires, at least post-Dracula, were a sort of metaphor for an addictive substance’s evolution from enticingly seductive to horrifying monster over a period of time. This is also why vampires are always associated with sex. After all, it could be argued that vices tend to come in packs, so to speak, and where there’s a desire for illicit substances, there’s desire for sex. I mean, when it’s Tom Cruise pushing your vampirism, this sort of thinking only makes sense. We also have the ever abundant rules that vampires are forced to follow. I suppose it could be argued that this is, as well, a reflection of how restricting life can be when you're substence dependent. All of your life revolves around making sure you get another drink, another fix, etc. The less of it you have, the less clearly you can think, and the more you have, the more powerful you feel. You even, arguably, see this in the less traditional, modern vampire stories. As I mentioned above, one of themes of the vampire myth, especially in modern day stories, is how it can ravage communities. Now while this could arguably be seen as the classical fear of the outsider, it could equally be seen as the way that the introduction of illicit substances can ravage communities. After all, the east India Company, classically got an entire goddamned country addicted to opium. In modern times, the pushing of opiates has ravaged communities like you wouldn’t believe. Say what you will about Daybreakers, I wouldn’t blame you, but it did give us a great portrait of how Drug companies aren’t afraid to get people addicted for profitI wouldn’t blame you, but it did give us a great portrait of how Drug companies aren’t afraid to get people addicted for profit. It's telling, too, that the so-called blood riots in that film started with someone wanting more blood in their coffee (no, seriously). And then you have the relationship between vampires and children. It’s telling that many of the scariest so-called vampire hunters in fiction were either the children of vampires themselves or were infected at a young age. Everyone from Blade, to Castlevania’s Alucard, to The Strain’s Quinlan have nothing but anger towards their fellow vampires. After all, does this not echo the rather complicated relationship that the addicted have with their children, something that’s even brought up with sometimes recovering, sometimes currently, alcoholic Ephraim Goodweather and his son, Zach. Perhaps it’s only one’s children that can help someone remain sober? More likely, it shows just how much being the child addict can fuck up a child's childhood. Not to mention how addiction can almost be passed down from generations, if one isn't careful (keep in mind that there are people who are genetically inclined towards alcoholism) It could also be argued that Dhampirism is sort of like fetal alcohol syndrome, except not at all. We also have examples like Claudia from Interview with a Vampire to Eli, who is from one of my favorite vampire stories, Let the Right one in. It could be thoroughly argued that each represents the relationship that addictive substances has with children. As many a former addict will tell you, alcoholism started in childhood. In Claudia’s case, it’s how alcohol was often used to make children go to sleep in early days. It’s telling as well that, Lestat, at least, tries his best to keep Claudia a perfect little girl. I mean, Claudia even makes a rucus about the fact that he’s always getting her dolls. And then we have poor Eli. While vampirism is arguably more symbolic of sexual deviancy in this version, the effect that it has on poor Eli is everprsent. They are a slave to many of the things that make being a vampire so sucky. They’re unable to eat actual food, they’re reliant upon others to let them into an outside domain (hence the title) and they need an outside fellow to get blood for them. It could be argued that this represents how, for those who are hooked young, being substance relient at a young age destroys any hope of having a proper childhood. Something that I’m sure is a real issue for anyone who is an actual addict.
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AuthorHello all and Welcome to Jacob's Latter. Here I will be giving my opinions on everything from movies, video games and books to my general outlook on the world. Archives
January 2018
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