This weekend I saw my first movie of the year (I know, I know. Things have gotten crazy busy): Nosferatu, the newest addition to the vampire genre. I won’t spoil anything but if you don’t like rats….maybe skip this one? And watching it made me start wondering. Are vampires sexy? Certainly this one (Count Orlock) was not. He looked like he just crawled out of his grave and had been doing it for centuries. He was practically decaying as he…nope. Won’t go there. I’ve seen many vampire movies. The original Dracula of course (and I loved the book by Bram Stoker). Fright Night. Do we have to include Twilight as a “vampire” movie where the dialogue makes me giggle because quite frankly it’s just so bad and everyone looks like they have gas?
"Dracula isn't sexy. At least not in the original book by Bram Stoker. You must realize that we are essentially talking about an undead corpse. His original appearance early in the novel described him as thin old man, with pointed ears and sharp teeth with a long white mustache, with a cruel demeanor. Yes, he regains his youth throughout the novel, but I would be hard pressed to find any mention of any attractive characterization. If anything, the characters are physically repulsed by them” said Justin, a former film student (and my current boyfriend). But I’m not entirely sure I agree. You men gotta understand we women are drawn to tall, dark and mysterious men. Whether they spend the day sleeping in coffins is another matter entirely.
“I personally find sexualizing vampirism in the light of twilight is irresponsible given what vampirism is an allegory for." Justin says. He goes on to say traditionally vampirism has been an allegory for rape/sexual assault. It is understandable why this could be interpreted as such. Vampires (in the movies and book I have outlined above) usually seem to have a desire for innocent maidens (that is to say often virgins). This was most obviously revealed to me in the 1985 movie Fright Night. I will then assume that fangs are a metaphor for penis although that is not what we see on screen. These vampires take these women, violate their bodies as a common rapist might with the same degree of evil.
I suppose women could find an erotic aspect to this which could have inspired Twighlight. I understand what people desire in movies is not necessarily what they want in real life. To have some monster prey upon your in your sleep, to possess you in moments of unconscious, to steal your life source from you (aka your blood) is not something I have met in any gender. For some reason we return to it again and again in cinema and literature. And I have to wonder….why? And that is the reason I seek the truth…..the truth about vampires.
Comentarios