What is with our society’s
obsession with the supernatural and undead? Year round there are novels, television
shows, and films about ghosts, zombies, vampires, and anything else that goes
bump in the night. Although my generation grew up with some interest in the
paranormal as evident in the Goosebumps series
and the television show “Are You Afraid of the Dark?”, popular culture has now
turned this simple fascination into a full blown industry and obsession. It
seems as though there is no longer a need to save scary films and television
specials for Halloween, as year round a new horror film or teen novel is out
giving teenage girls, and even a few guys, the idea that vampires, werewolves,
and the like are simply interesting and sexy.
The supernatural creatures that have experienced this the
most is the vampires. No longer are these bloodsuckers seen as terrifying
creatures of the night that seduce their victims in order to maintain youth,
vampires are now perceived to be misunderstood creatures looking for love with
a few benefits (blood, sex, etc.) that sparkle when exposed to the sun as
opposed to burning to ashes. Although not all vampires have been introduced as
such in popular culture, this is just the general perception of this particular
category of undead. One aspect that apparently has not been altered is the
vampires’ ability to seduce victims or lovers simply by utilizing their looks.
Although that is what the literal interpretation of a
vampire has become, we fail to acknowledge there is more to a “vampire” than
being extremely attractive and sucking one’s blood. There is the idea of
draining the life, or youthfulness, out of a person so that the vampire may
maintain their looks and appear younger than what they truly are. Once all the
life is drained from the victim, the victim is disposed of entirely as they are
seen to be of no use to the vampire any longer as well as others. This can be
interpreted in a realistic sense. Vampires do what they want to make sure that
they survive and care for no one else’s needs but their own. Sound familiar? So
often we hear about the ridiculous conditions workers of other nations are
forced to go through simply because the CEO or head of the particular
department could care less what actually happens to the workers so long as the
amount of money received continues to increase for themselves. This level of
selfishness and draining of one’s energy and life shows the prominence of
symbolic vampirism.
This new outlook reminds me of Lord of the Flies in such a way I would have never understood back
in 7th grade. The young boys stranded on the island are stripped of
their simple adolescence and are forced to become mature young adults that can
take care of one another. Before you know it, these same young boys become
corrupted with the demand for power and respect that they can no longer be seen
as youthful and exuberant, but as cruel and demanding. It is terrifying to
think that responsibility has symbolically drained the life from the older set
of boys, while the naïve younger boys are forced to suffer the consequences for
not maturing as swiftly as the others. This vampirism is quite similar to that
in which Foster explained in the book.
Now that I understand vampirism can be interpreted
symbolically and literally, it is easy for me to see that we live in a world
full of vampires, whether we like to admit it or not.
http://stottilien.com/2013/07/24/6805/
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