Blood, Fire, and Pillars of Smoke: The Rise of Vampires in Pop Culture
Guest Post By Rona Sharon Author of Royal Blood
As popular themes go, vampires may very well win the prize of "most commonly resurrected." You may love them, hate them, or are trying very hard to ignore them, but surely you have wondered at least once what made the damned princes of darkness so bloody interesting.
If you prefer "real world" storylines and are observing the phenomenon as a baffled bystander, you might be interested to know that thousands of years before achieving mass popularity in movies such as Underworld and Twilight, and TV series like True Blood, vampires had manifested in pagan mythology, monotheistic demonology, and spiritual rituals.
Evidently the public's fascination with vampires is not an original fad. The vampire is the most popular fiction character of all times. What is it about vampires exactly that appeals to so many people? And why, being familiar with this totally fictitious half-man, half-monster icon, people are still happy to spend their time on movies, books, and TV series that feature vampires?If you prefer "real world" storylines and are observing the phenomenon as a baffled bystander, you might be interested to know that thousands of years before achieving mass popularity in movies such as Underworld and Twilight, and TV series like True Blood, vampires had manifested in pagan mythology, monotheistic demonology, and spiritual rituals.
Entertainment and escapism come to mind. As much as we are riveted by "real world" plots, sometimes the brain needs to zone out in fantasyland. This explanation is plausible, but it fails to prove why the vampire in particular outperforms any other fantastical creature.
We should keep in mind that the vampire has only recently assumed the role of the compelling, gothic, martyred, seductive, gorgeous, off-limits, struggling, sympathetic, romantic outcast in love with a human. The slick hunk in black leather pants, driving a sports car in a metropolis by night, was not the bloodcurdling image that had haunted the graveyards of our ancestors.
Granted, the spooky effect has value. Sexologists believe that scary moments stimulate the libido and therefore couples may bond effectively having watched a horror movie together. However, while this theory is bound to stick in your memory, it does not offer sufficient evidence, either.
Vampires, whether pale and beautiful or ghoulishly foul, have always been identified with death, blood-drinking, and sex, feeding on emotions such as love, guilt, dread, desire, pity, and sadism.
Far be it from me to undertake psychoanalyzing why we are obsessed with death, blood, and sex. In my capacity as a historical novelist, I choose to explore the mysteries of the human psyche through stories in the hopes of understanding why we were put on this earth and how we may improve our lot in life. Ironically, as I study the tapestry of man's fleeting existence, I see how the fruits of one generation's labor -- art, science, architecture, etc. -- are reaped by its successors.
Now, a vampire -- omnipotent, never-aging, and immortal -- may travel the centuries unscathed, unconstrained by a deadline in his pursuit of enlightenment and happiness. Would he or she be a cheerful voyager or one cursed with loneliness? Then there is the future to consider. What if the world and/or mankind are doomed to a cataclysmic end? Would anyone care to witness that?
The vampire -- a human lookalike possessed of superior abilities, as well as frailties, dependent on man for sustenance, multifaceted and obscure -- remains an enigmatic figure. Friend or foe? Through him, we get to experience latent fancies and scenes in which the secrets of creation are unraveled. Thank heavens for fiction, I say. The world, I predict, has not seen the last of the vampire crazes. The undead are here to stay, our prolific imagination will undoubtedly continue to produce them, and even the most discriminating realist may yet cross over to the dark side.We should keep in mind that the vampire has only recently assumed the role of the compelling, gothic, martyred, seductive, gorgeous, off-limits, struggling, sympathetic, romantic outcast in love with a human. The slick hunk in black leather pants, driving a sports car in a metropolis by night, was not the bloodcurdling image that had haunted the graveyards of our ancestors.
Granted, the spooky effect has value. Sexologists believe that scary moments stimulate the libido and therefore couples may bond effectively having watched a horror movie together. However, while this theory is bound to stick in your memory, it does not offer sufficient evidence, either.
Vampires, whether pale and beautiful or ghoulishly foul, have always been identified with death, blood-drinking, and sex, feeding on emotions such as love, guilt, dread, desire, pity, and sadism.
Far be it from me to undertake psychoanalyzing why we are obsessed with death, blood, and sex. In my capacity as a historical novelist, I choose to explore the mysteries of the human psyche through stories in the hopes of understanding why we were put on this earth and how we may improve our lot in life. Ironically, as I study the tapestry of man's fleeting existence, I see how the fruits of one generation's labor -- art, science, architecture, etc. -- are reaped by its successors.
Now, a vampire -- omnipotent, never-aging, and immortal -- may travel the centuries unscathed, unconstrained by a deadline in his pursuit of enlightenment and happiness. Would he or she be a cheerful voyager or one cursed with loneliness? Then there is the future to consider. What if the world and/or mankind are doomed to a cataclysmic end? Would anyone care to witness that?
Vampire symbolism is tied in heavily with the awareness of the powers of darkness, chaos, and the occult – ancient mysteries and doomsday prophecies that add a chilling dimension to the rich layers of history. “A nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion… And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.” – Book of Joel
©2009 Rona Sharon, author of Royal Blood
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I did not read the whole thing but, I think it is because they have added this romantic flair to the vampires, and they never strayed away from it since. A comparison would be Nostfaratu, which was a hideous rat-like vampire. Then we have Dracula which was this seductive, rich guy. That type of vampire became popularized and it was good money for the vampire to be alluring rather than, a freak like nostfaratu.
People have an uncontrolled desire to seek and to imagine better circumstances and environments in which to live in. When you sum up a fictional being such as a vampire, you find many characteristics that are pleasing and fascinatingly desirable. Whether it is the ability to stay young, have supernatural powers or just being a immense superior being above the rest of the average men, vampires have turned peoples' fears such as death, not having any unique abilities in which you stand out and that makes you more superior to others, into a thing of the past. Everyone desires self acceptance, being noticed by others and living in World where you are in control. Therefore, when people see or hear about the desired features of a vampire, they tend to fantasize about "How it would be like as a vampire" and these are only a hand full of reasons why vampires have become such popular fictional characters desired by our world that we call, reality.
I am a Vampire fan and have been since I was a teen.For me it's the air of mystery surrounding them, whether it be the legend, the facts or what not, it's just bloody awesome. Also, it can be an escape to another world, alien to us and unusual. And we must admit pop culture has portrayed them sexily and sensually.
Vampires are so popular in today's culture as a result of the transformation of the Vampire from a ghastly creature to the representation of modern man. Writers and researchers believe that this began with Bram Stokers "Dracula" who became a seductive, sensual creature of the night.
In today's society, the vampire is simply a new type of advertisement, advertising what we should look like and what we should have. The modern vampire is rich, beautiful, seductive, powerful, desirable and seductive. These characteristics of the vampire can be argued to be an advertisers dream as the success behind the television program “True Blood” targets the adult audience and “Twilight and the vampire diaries” target the teenager audiences. Even children are targeted from cartoons such as “Duckula” and the Count in Sesame Street, so there is no wonder that vampires are popular as they are marketed and advertised to through each stage of your life.
I do not agree that the one of the possible reasons behind the popularity of vampires is because of “escapism” as discussed here. I think that the Vampire represents the desire of modern man to possess these seductive, immortal, powerful qualities and the darker side of human nature.