Vampires are everywhere. They’re on TV, in bookstores and even on the magazine stand at the local convenience store. It’s a cultural phenomenon. Vampires have risen from the dead to fulfill entertainment needs.
Vampires give audiences their desired dose of violence and sex, elements that have always been staples in entertainment.
Adventures and dramas feature fighting sequences or car chases followed by a hot make out scene. Even comedies spoof people fighting and make fun of sex.
Vampires continue the trend. What is more violent than sucking somebody’s blood until the person dies? And at the same time, the exchange of fluids – blood – and the penetration of the fangs is a metaphor for sex. In some fiction, they don’t even bother with the metaphor.
These bloodsuckers rose to fame in the 21st century with Twilight and True Blood. They were a great concept.
Twilight, a book turned movie by Summit Entertainment, made vampire entertainment mainstream. The franchise targets teenagers with a climactic fighting sequence and sexual tension between the protagonists, but no sex.
Becoming better known is the cult success True Blood, a book turned HBO TV series. True Blood is aimed at adult audiences with bloody death scenes and nudity during sex scenes.
But new vampire material has become redundant, uncreative and over-publicized.
Example: The Vampire Diaries, a new CW TV series. The series seems to be a rip-off of Twilight and True Blood. All these stories are about love between a male vampire and a human girl in high school.
But many critics are quick to defend The Vampire Diaries. They say the series is based on the L.J. Smith book series that predates Twilight and its plot and characters are original.
However, some critics have ignored the fact that TV series only appeared after Twilight created hoards of vampire lovers.
The Vampire Diaries has also changed specific plot details to appeal to Twilight fans, which diminishes some of the originality the show would have had.
In the book, Elena, the female protagonist, is an independent girl who pursues Stefan, the vampire love-interest. The book screams girl power. However, the TV show has Stefan make the first move. He shows up when Elena falls in a cemetery.
Similarly, Twilight’s blood-thirsty Edward initiates contact when he speaks to Bella, the human protagonist, in the book’s and movie’s biology class.
Book publishers are also riding the coattails of Twilight and True Blood. Books like How to Date a Vampire, Vampire Haiku and many others are only seeing the day of light due to the flourishing vampire market. The specific concepts themselves may be new but the mere fact they are about vampires is lackluster.
But none of this even compares to the publicity that Twilight has received from gossip magazines. Tabloids suggest Twilight actors Kristen Stewart, who plays Bella, and Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward, are starting a secret relationship.
The two have repeatedly said to entertainment media they are not dating but the people’s desire to translate the fictional love into reality has fueled the tabloids almost every day for almost a year. The writers and editors seem to be stuck in the redundant cycle of vampire related gossip.
But unoriginal vampire mania is impossible to avoid all together, especially when many people are snatching it off shelves. A person would need to isolate him- or herself in a house without cable. And that would be no way to live.
Instead, people who dislike abuse of the vampire motif should discourage it. They will have to point out to their vampire-loving friends how uncreative some of that entertainment is. And more importantly, they must refuse to consume it themselves. They will be putting a stake through the heart of one copycat vampire at a time.