Author Topic: The current popularity of vampires  (Read 28118 times)

Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,165
  • "He somebody you cowboy'd with?"
The current popularity of vampires
« on: June 19, 2009, 10:22:22 am »
OK, I'm venting a bit here, so either indulge me or move on. ...

I'm more than a little pissed off at the hoo-ha over Twilight and True Blood and the consequent current popularity of vampires in entertainment. What I wanna know is, Where were all these vampire lovers during the 2007-08 TV season, when Moonlight lasted only one season in prime time? Thank God for DVD.

Alex O'Loughlin, as "vamp" L.A. P.I. Mick St. John, and Sophia Myles, as Internet news service reporter Beth Turner, were so good together and so much fun to watch--as was Jason Dohring as Mick's millionaire "vamp" friend Josef Kostan. The show was well written, witty, even a little quirky at times, and sophisticated. And maybe that was it's problem.  :-\

Alex O'Loughlin was incredibly masculine and sexy as Mick, in his form-fitting knit shirts, though not nearly as pretty, I suppose, as Robert Pattinson--at least in the eyes of tweeny-bopper girls, anyway. On the other hand, there was no explicit sex (it was broadcast TV at 9 p.m. on a Friday, after all)--which, I gather, is one of the drawing cards of True Blood (plus, I've seen photos of Ryan Kwanten with a--presumably fake--hard-on in his tightie-whities).

So maybe that was the problem with Moonlight: It was too adult and sophisticated for the tweeny-boppers but didn't have enough sex to satisfy the folks who would make True Blood a hit.  :-\

Like I said, Thank God for DVD.

Mick and Beth rule!!!!!  ;D
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Kd5000

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • Brokeback Got Me Good
  • *****
  • Posts: 910
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2009, 11:22:31 am »
Where were you for DARK SHADOWS (1991)?   :D   I really liked that show, but vampire tv series don't seem to do well. TRUE BLOOD does seem to be the exception. 

Vampires have been popular for some time.  It's interesting to see how they evolved from Bram Stoker to Anne Rice's version to the ones in TRUE BLOOD.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,165
  • "He somebody you cowboy'd with?"
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2009, 11:28:02 am »
Where were you for DARK SHADOWS (1991)?   :D   I really liked that show, but vampire tv series don't seem to do well. TRUE BLOOD does seem to be the exception. 

Vampires have been popular for some time.  It's interesting to see how they evolved from Bram Stoker to Anne Rice's version to the ones in TRUE BLOOD.

Friend, Dark Shadows goes back a lot farther than 1991. I remember of the original version, afternoon soap opera, with Kate Jackson before she became a big star, from when I was a kid. It showed afternoons before I got home from school.

"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Kd5000

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • Brokeback Got Me Good
  • *****
  • Posts: 910
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2009, 11:34:10 am »
Yeah, I used to watch it when I came home from school (1rst grade). One day, the show was gone. My mom had to explain to me that it got "cancelled" and I didn't really grasp the concept.  I use to have the board game DARK SHADOWS and we'd play it outside an old abandoned house for atmosphere effects.  We never saw no vampires. 

Offline louisev

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 16,107
  • "My guns and amo!! Over my cold dead hands!!"
    • Fiction by Louise Van Hine
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2009, 10:14:14 pm »
I was a Dark Shadows fan !  The original series ran from 1966 to 1971, but I saw it in reruns in the mid 1970's.  One of the best things about the series was that it did not glorify vampires, but rather it was treated as a curse which Barnabas and his friend Dr. Julia Hoffman, tried to cure.  I find the entire premise of these latecomer vampire stories to be rather laughable, with the "glittery" vampires and the type of teenager plot obsessions they put into "Twilight."  The more I read about the plot of these recent ones the more I think about back when we had REAL vampires!



“Mr. Coyote always gets me good, boy,”  Ellery said, winking.  “Almost forgot what life was like before I got me my own personal coyote.”


Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,165
  • "He somebody you cowboy'd with?"
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2009, 08:46:04 am »
I was a Dark Shadows fan !  The original series ran from 1966 to 1971, but I saw it in reruns in the mid 1970's.  One of the best things about the series was that it did not glorify vampires, but rather it was treated as a curse which Barnabas and his friend Dr. Julia Hoffman, tried to cure.  I find the entire premise of these latecomer vampire stories to be rather laughable, with the "glittery" vampires and the type of teenager plot obsessions they put into "Twilight."  The more I read about the plot of these recent ones the more I think about back when we had REAL vampires!

I didn't know that about Dark Shadows. That was basically the tack taken with Mick St. John in Moonlight. Mick was "turned" against his will by his ex-wife (  :laugh: ) and was a "vamp" who was not happy in his own skin. One of the ongoing story arcs in the series was Mick's quest for a "cure."
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline delalluvia

  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *******
  • Posts: 8,289
  • "Truth is an iron bride"
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #6 on: July 05, 2009, 11:13:28 am »
I was a Dark Shadows fan !  The original series ran from 1966 to 1971, but I saw it in reruns in the mid 1970's.  One of the best things about the series was that it did not glorify vampires, but rather it was treated as a curse which Barnabas and his friend Dr. Julia Hoffman, tried to cure.  I find the entire premise of these latecomer vampire stories to be rather laughable, with the "glittery" vampires and the type of teenager plot obsessions they put into "Twilight."  The more I read about the plot of these recent ones the more I think about back when we had REAL vampires!

 :laugh:  My friend is a vampire fan and she gets annoyed at all these modern takes on vampires.  She got really upset with the Blade series because they didn't follow the "vampire rules".  ;D

What a coincidence!  Just saw a blurb in my town's Sunday magazine where it states that not only are there "Dark Shadows" conventions and fans, Johnny Depp is apparently in talks to reprise the role of Barnabas Collins.

Personally, I don't get the big vampire craze. There's even a vampire anime coming to the movies Blood.  Personally, last time I liked vampires was with Anne Rice's books and of course, the movie Interview with the Vampire.

Offline Sophia

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 2,574
  • Your elbows, try to lick them
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #7 on: July 05, 2009, 11:39:17 am »


  Don't forget Buffy the Vampire slayer and Angel two awesome vampire series that went on for 7 years. For some people they may have been a bit teenaged focus but for me they have been so much more. Feminist, cool, hot, sophisticated, unique and much more.   :)

Offline CellarDweller

  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • ********
  • Posts: 38,301
  • A city boy's mentality, with a cowboy's soul.
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #8 on: July 05, 2009, 09:41:35 pm »
I did enjoy Buffy and Angel.....but stuff like Twilight doesn't do much for me.

Vampires are supposed to be feared, and we're supposed to be sustenance for them......not potential lovers.


Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!

Offline oilgun

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,564
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #9 on: July 06, 2009, 11:48:07 am »
here's an interesting New Yorker article on the allure of the vampire:

In the Blood: Why do vampires still thrill?
by Joan Acocella
March 16, 2009

Vampires; “Dracula”; Bram Stoker; “The New Annotated Dracula” (Norton; $39.95); Leslie Klinger; “Twilight”; Stephenie Meyer “Unclean, unclean!” Mina Harker screams, gathering her bloodied nightgown around her. In Chapter 21 of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” Mina’s friend John Seward, a psychiatrist in Purfleet, near London, tells how he and a colleague, warned that Mina might be in danger, broke into her bedroom one night and found her kneeling on the edge of her bed. Bending over her was a tall figure, dressed in black. “His right hand gripped her by the back of the neck, forcing her face down on his bosom. Her white nightdress was smeared with blood, and a thin stream trickled down the man’s bare breast which was shown by his torn-open dress. The attitude of the two had a terrible resemblance to a child forcing a kitten’s nose into a saucer of milk to compel it to drink.” Mina’s husband, Jonathan, hypnotized by the intruder, lay on the bed, unconscious, a few inches from the scene of his wife’s violation.

Later, between sobs, Mina relates what happened. She was in bed with Jonathan when a strange mist crept into the room. Soon, it congealed into the figure of a man—Count Dracula. “With a mocking smile, he placed one hand upon my shoulder and, holding me tight, bared my throat with the other, saying as he did so: ‘First, a little refreshment to reward my exertions . . .’ And oh, my God, my God, pity me! He placed his reeking lips upon my throat!” The Count took a long drink. Then he drew back, and spoke sweet words to Mina. “Flesh of my flesh,” he called her, “my bountiful wine-press.” But now he wanted something else. He wanted her in his power from then on. A person who has had his—or, more often, her—blood repeatedly sucked by a vampire turns into a vampire, too, but the conversion can be accomplished more quickly if the victim also sucks the vampire’s blood. And so, Mina says, “he pulled open his shirt, and with his long sharp nails opened a vein in his breast. When the blood began to spurt out, he . . . seized my neck and pressed my mouth to the wound, so that I must either suffocate or swallow some of the—Oh, my God!” The unspeakable happened—she sucked his blood, at his breast—at which point her friends stormed into the room. Dracula vanished, and, Seward relates, Mina uttered “a scream so wild, so ear-piercing, so despairing . . . that it will ring in my ears to my dying day.”

That scene, and Stoker’s whole novel, is still ringing in our ears. Stoker did not invent vampires. If we define them, broadly, as the undead—spirits who rise, embodied, from their graves to torment the living—they have been part of human imagining since ancient times. Eventually, vampire superstition became concentrated in Eastern Europe. (It survives there today. In 2007, a Serbian named Miroslav Milosevic—no relation—drove a stake into the grave of Slobodan Milosevic.) It was presumably in Eastern Europe that people worked out what became the standard methods for eliminating a vampire: you drive a wooden stake through his heart, or cut off his head, or burn him—or, to be on the safe side, all three. In the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, there were outbreaks of vampire hysteria in Western Europe; numerous stakings were reported in Germany. By 1734, the word “vampire” had entered the English language.

from the issuecartoon banke-mail thisIn those days, vampires were grotesque creatures. Often, they were pictured as bloated and purple-faced (from drinking blood); they had long talons and smelled terrible—a description probably based on the appearance of corpses whose tombs had been opened by worried villagers. These early undead did not necessarily draw blood. Often, they just did regular mischief—stole firewood, scared horses. (Sometimes, they helped with the housework.) Their origins, too, were often quaint. Matthew Beresford, in his recent book “From Demons to Dracula: The Creation of the Modern Vampire Myth” (University of Chicago; $24.95), records a Serbian Gypsy belief that pumpkins, if kept for more than ten days, may cross over: “The gathered pumpkins stir all by themselves and make a sound like ‘brrl, brrl, brrl!’ and begin to shake themselves.” Then they become vampires. This was not yet the suave, opera-cloaked fellow of our modern mythology. That figure emerged in the early nineteenth century, a child of the Romantic movement.
[...]


Continues: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2009/03/16/090316crat_atlarge_acocella?currentPage=all




Offline Monika

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,587
  • We are all the same. Women, men, gay, straight
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #10 on: July 06, 2009, 12:07:22 pm »
I watched Moonlight too - and liked it - even though it never came close to the originality of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in my opinion. I liked Mick and Beth though, and of course Jason Dohring (Veronica Mars - talking about shows cut way too early).

I didn't care much for Twilight. I'm used to Buffy and to watch Bella faint every other second therefor didn't do much of an impression on me...
True Blood however has a lot of things to recommend it - it's original, has a very cool and no-nonsense heroine and is damn sexy to boot. And then there is Alexander Skarsgard as Eric....woho. It´s the only show on tv that I´m currently following.

Offline oilgun

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,564
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #11 on: July 06, 2009, 02:48:38 pm »
I've never seen MOONLIGHT but i did catch BLOOD TIES a couple of times which played around the same time, but it was too cheesy for me.  I also remember FOREVER KNIGHT, another modern-day vampire show from 20 years ago.  None of them compare to TRUE BLOOD though, that's the best!  I was so upset that there was no new episode yesterday, i didn't know what to do with myself.  I've watched episode three, like, 5 times already!  Man, I need it bad!


Offline Lynne

  • BetterMost Supporter
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 9,291
  • "The world's always ending." --Ianto Jones
    • Elizabeth Warren for Massachusetts
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #12 on: July 06, 2009, 02:52:05 pm »
I watched the first two episodes of True Blood this weekend and enjoyed them tremendously.  I'm looking forward to more - Netflix hurry up now!!

And thanks for the tips about Moonlight, Dark Shadows and Blood Ties - none of them were on my radar screen.

I agree that I use Whedon's Angel and Spike as my vampire archetypes, so everything else gets compared to them...which is why I really really did not like Twilight (movie).  I haven't brought myself to read the book, but I thought the film completely excruciating in that teenage angst way.  Whedon had much teenage angst, but they didn't wallow - they moved on.

 8)
"Laß sein. Laß sein."

Offline Monika

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,587
  • We are all the same. Women, men, gay, straight
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #13 on: July 06, 2009, 03:11:03 pm »
I've never seen MOONLIGHT but i did catch BLOOD TIES a couple of times which played around the same time, but it was too cheesy for me.  I also remember FOREVER KNIGHT, another modern-day vampire show from 20 years ago.  None of them compare to TRUE BLOOD though, that's the best!  I was so upset that there was no new episode yesterday, i didn't know what to do with myself.  I've watched episode three, like, 5 times already!  Man, I need it bad!
Oh yes, Blood Ties. I watched it when it was on and quite liked it. I thought Vicky was a good character and she had a lot of chemistry with Henry. I even read the series of books the series is based (by Tanya Huff) and they were quite good. They are quite different from the series though in that that they contain much more sex and overall are a lot darker. I can recomend them.
I agree though, that True Blood is better.

Offline oilgun

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,564
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #14 on: July 06, 2009, 03:33:05 pm »
Here is Alexander (Eric) in the shower!:



Does anyone know where it's from?  Is it Generation Kill?

Offline Mikaela

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,229
  • Unsaid... and now unsayable
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #15 on: July 06, 2009, 03:58:34 pm »
Does anyone know where it's from?  Is it Generation Kill?

No idea where it's from, but this is my reaction:  :P



I unfortunately haven't seen True Blood because AFAIK it hasn't been picked up by any local network (yet).

But I've been a vampire story fan since I was a kid. I read the original "Dracula"while still a kid and I remember how I had real nightmares after the scene where Dracula makes Mina Harker drink his blood. I was so scared!

Later on I saw Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and detested it mightily - what pathetic misogynistic drivel!! But Gary Oldman was way cool as the fanged Count, nevertheless.

I read a number of Anne Rice's vampire novels back in the day - I remember the tiff when Ms. Rice objected to Tom Cruise's casting as Lestat. And her eventual retraction of the objection as Tom did a very decent role there. The film version of Interview with the vampire wasn't all that, despite the presence of Cruise, Banderas and Pitt I thought it was boring.

But Buffy - OMG I still love Buffy. And the Angel spinoff was so great for its first 2-3 seasons. I'm a total Buffy/Angel shipper to this day. I've got a lot of Buffy and Angel comics too. And of course it's completely impossible to not love and adore Spike.  :-*

I've read "Twilight" because someone who knew my past obsession with vampires figured I would like the book and gave it to me. Wrong! It's absolutely abysmal, a sort of pathetic Mary-Sue fanfic where Bella (who tells the story) goes on and on and ON over hundreds of pages about the physical beauty and beautiful eyes and sculpted chest etc etc. of her vampire boyfriend-to-be. And throughout the book she is and remains nothing but a damsel in distress, to be saved over and over by said boyfriend. UghUghUgh. But in a way I admire Robert Pattinson for taking on that role as Edward - there was a risk of not being deemed sufficiently sculptedy-chesty, with howls from enraged fangirls as a consequence if so. He must have known that that role was all about looks. Only about looks. His looks. Fulll stop. (But I gather he rose to the sculpted chest occasion. I haven't seen the film.)

So to end my reminiscing, I'd say vampire stories and movies have been popular and in the cultural mainstream continually since I was a girl, and looooong before that of course. "Nosferatu" and all.

I suppose it's the heady mix of themes such as the unknown, danger, eternal " life"and not least dark, strong sexuality that make vampires so captivating and fascinating and see them reinvented again and again in popular culture.

Offline Monika

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,587
  • We are all the same. Women, men, gay, straight
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #16 on: July 06, 2009, 04:02:51 pm »
Here is Alexander (Eric) in the shower!:



Does anyone know where it's from?  Is it Generation Kill?

*high-pitched giggle*


Offline Monika

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,587
  • We are all the same. Women, men, gay, straight
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #17 on: July 06, 2009, 04:07:43 pm »


But Buffy - OMG I still love Buffy. And the Angel spinoff was great for its first 2-3 seasons. I'm a total Buffy/Angel shipper to this day. I've got a lot of Buffy and Angel comics too. Of course it's completely impossible to not love Spike, too.


Oh..I got Buffy comics too. And...Buffy action dolls...several O0 :laugh:

Offline Mikaela

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,229
  • Unsaid... and now unsayable
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #18 on: July 06, 2009, 04:13:44 pm »
Oh..I got Buffy comics too. And...Buffy action dolls...several O0 :laugh:

I even bought various spin-off novels. Both Angel and Buffy ones. But all that I read felt sloppy and without any passion for the subject matter. They  sucked worse than any vampire!   ;) There were so many fantastic fanfics that were many times better.


Offline Monika

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,587
  • We are all the same. Women, men, gay, straight
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #19 on: July 06, 2009, 04:23:20 pm »
I even bought various spin-off novels. Both Angel and Buffy ones. But all that I read felt sloppy and without any passion for the subject matter. They  sucked worse than any vampire!   ;) There were so many fantastic fanfics that were many times better.


Oh I definately agree. One novel I did like was "Spike & Dru; Pretty Maids all in a row", but generally I always prefered fan fiction.



Before Buffy, I was never interested in vampires. I remember reading Bram Stoker´s Dracula as a child, and didn´t find it very interesting. I never liked those seventies movies either.
But then Buffy came along and suddenly I totally got it. :)

I think that people in general are fascinated with death and the though of eternal life. Mix that with blood and sex and you got yourself a winning concept.
I don´t think the vampire theme will ever get out of fashion.

Offline Sophia

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 2,574
  • Your elbows, try to lick them
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #20 on: July 06, 2009, 04:30:22 pm »

  [youtube=425,350]<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="
&hl=sv&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="
&hl=sv&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>[/youtube]

  Alexander Skarsgård in a swedish movie called Hundtricket (The dog trick)

Offline Monika

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,587
  • We are all the same. Women, men, gay, straight
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #21 on: July 06, 2009, 04:36:54 pm »
Alexander´s dad - Stellan Skarsgard (Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean, Breaking the Waves...)




Offline Mikaela

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,229
  • Unsaid... and now unsayable
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #22 on: July 06, 2009, 04:43:19 pm »
I don´t think the vampire theme will ever get out of fashion.

No - at least not as long as the vampires are so drop-dead gorgeous.

I mean, back in the day they looked like this:





But then popular culture caught on to how a vampire *should* be, and noone's looked back since, I guess.  ;)






Oh my. Stellan Skarsgård. I had a huge crush on him. He played Carl (?) Hamilton in a white uniform and I was like  :P :P :P

Offline Monika

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,587
  • We are all the same. Women, men, gay, straight
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #23 on: July 06, 2009, 04:50:03 pm »
No - at least not as long as the vampires are so drop-dead gorgeous.

I mean, back in the day they looked like this:





But then popular culture caught on to how a vampire *should* be, and noone's looked back since, I guess.  ;)






Oh my. Stellan Skarsgård. I had a huge crush on him. He played Carl (?) Hamilton in a white uniform and I was like  :P :P :P
*lol*
Great visuals there Mikaela. Yes, the vamps of today are definately more hot than scary. The chances are that they will want to sleep with you rather than to kill you. :D

Offline southendmd

  • Town Administration
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,962
  • well, I won't
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #24 on: July 06, 2009, 04:51:22 pm »
Sorry, OT, I couldn't resist.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omF-bvymNso[/youtube]

Offline Mikaela

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,229
  • Unsaid... and now unsayable
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #25 on: July 06, 2009, 04:52:42 pm »
   Alexander Skarsgård in a swedish movie called Hundtricket (The dog trick)

The final proof that subtitles are distracting and only get in the way, if you ask me!!  ;)

Offline Mikaela

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,229
  • Unsaid... and now unsayable
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #26 on: July 06, 2009, 04:56:39 pm »
The chances are that they will want to sleep with you rather than to kill you. :D

Yep. And I won't mind taking my chances!   ;)

 ;D

Offline Sophia

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 2,574
  • Your elbows, try to lick them
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #27 on: July 06, 2009, 04:59:39 pm »
Sorry, OT, I couldn't resist.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omF-bvymNso[/youtube]

 :laugh: :laugh: :'( :'( :'( :laugh: :laugh:  Thanks

Offline Monika

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,587
  • We are all the same. Women, men, gay, straight
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #28 on: July 06, 2009, 05:05:05 pm »
The final proof that subtitles are distracting and only get in the way, if you ask me!!  ;)

 :laugh:

Offline Sophia

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 2,574
  • Your elbows, try to lick them
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #29 on: July 06, 2009, 05:09:44 pm »
  
  Finally the British people have got the vampire idea and come up with a 3in1 teveseries called Being human and there you not only get vampires, verewolfs, you also get ghosts. And they all try to coexist.

  [youtube=425,350]<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="
&hl=sv&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="
&hl=sv&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Offline Mikaela

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,229
  • Unsaid... and now unsayable
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #30 on: July 06, 2009, 05:11:49 pm »
 
  Finally the British people have got the vampire idea and come up with a 3in1 teveseries called Being human and there you not only get vampires, varwolfs, you also get ghosts. And they all try to coexist.

Is that aired in Sweden? Do you like it? Sounds interesting!

Offline Sophia

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 2,574
  • Your elbows, try to lick them
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #31 on: July 06, 2009, 05:19:52 pm »
Is that aired in Sweden? Do you like it? Sounds interesting!

 First episode was aired yesterday in Sweden. If you wanna have a sneak peak you can see it on youtube. Being human S01E01

Offline Sophia

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 2,574
  • Your elbows, try to lick them
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #32 on: July 06, 2009, 05:40:56 pm »
Is that aired in Sweden? Do you like it? Sounds interesting!

Its different from both True blood and Buffy more low key and lower speed. Haven´t really decided yet if I like it. But I am going to give it another chance. 

Offline Sophia

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 2,574
  • Your elbows, try to lick them
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #33 on: July 06, 2009, 05:56:47 pm »

  [youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="
&hl=sv&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="
&hl=sv&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

  So what do you think of Alexander Skarsgård as a Swedish Danceband king, hot right  :P

Offline southendmd

  • Town Administration
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,962
  • well, I won't
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #34 on: July 06, 2009, 07:28:05 pm »
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

OMG!  That guy is hot!

I know, Gary, I always like Ernie.

Offline southendmd

  • Town Administration
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,962
  • well, I won't
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #35 on: July 06, 2009, 08:24:05 pm »
Here's a link to a rather comprehensive survey of vampires and psychological thought.  From Freud to Jung to Kohut.


http://www.answers.com/topic/psychological-perspectives-on-vampire-mythology

Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,165
  • "He somebody you cowboy'd with?"
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #36 on: July 07, 2009, 08:59:12 am »
Later on I saw Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and detested it mightily - what pathetic misogynistic drivel!! But Gary Oldman was way cool as the fanged Count, nevertheless.

Very petty, but what annoyed me about Coppola's film was that I thought the costumes, or some of them, at least, were too "early" for a story supposedly set in the 1890s.

Gary Oldman was very good, however, and I remember liking the "backstory" of how Dracula became a vampire.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline oilgun

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,564
Vampires are Americans too
« Reply #37 on: July 07, 2009, 10:32:55 am »
American Vampire League PSA:
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-EgBLcQneQ[/youtube]

Offline oilgun

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,564
The Perspective's Vampire Report #2
« Reply #38 on: July 07, 2009, 04:40:06 pm »
The Perspective's Vampire Report #2


[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJeEd1MqTBE&feature=channel[/youtube]

And the trailer for  season 2-episode 4:
Oooh, looks gooooood!

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Y-82QiBXo[/youtube]

Offline delalluvia

  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *******
  • Posts: 8,289
  • "Truth is an iron bride"
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #39 on: July 08, 2009, 12:18:40 am »
Vampires are supposed to be feared, and we're supposed to be sustenance for them......not potential lovers.

Agree.  But of course, the literature and movies/shows about suave vampires have always really been about sex.  Back in the Victorian era you couldn't really write about that kind of open sexuality in decent society, but you could if it was a vampire story.

That's why I like Anne Rice, her vampires don't really hang around with humans or fall in love with them and keep them around because they're food.  They either convert them or kill them or leave.  They don't do this 'struggling to be human/express their human side' tension thing while keeping their human loved ones around.
« Last Edit: July 20, 2009, 08:52:12 pm by delalluvia »

Offline oilgun

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,564
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #40 on: July 20, 2009, 08:11:30 pm »
I'm not sure I agree with this (badly written & old) essay but she makes some interesting points directly related to the topic.

MSU Scholar: Popularity of Vampires Reveals Cultural Values
by Evelyn Boswell

5/16/01 BOZEMAN -- Enjoy vampire books and movies? Wear plastic teeth for Halloween?

Go ahead. But when you're done, look deeper. The popularity of vampires reveals something important about our culture, says Gwendolyn Morgan, an English professor at Montana State University-Bozeman. It shows that people still hunger for immortality even though they live in an atheistic age. It indicates that people want to avoid responsibility for their actions.

"If this is true (and I can see why she thinks so), then the academic tendency to regard all this as merely ephemeral and beneath one's dignity is seriously mistaken," says Tom Shippey of Saint Louis University. Shippey co-edited a book on "Medievalism in the Modern World." It includes a chapter Morgan wrote on immortals in popular fiction.

Vampires made their first appearance in literature around 2000 B.C. in Egypt. They were fertility figures, says Morgan, whose course on vampires is one of three she rotates under the general heading of "Popular literature." As Christianity developed, vampires quickly became associated with the devil and the undead. They stole souls. They were "horrible in the worst ways. They were truly miserable, repulsive things."

That image started changing in the late 1960s, however.

"All of a sudden, we made heroes of them," Morgan said.

To find out why, Morgan started studying vampire literature, television shows and movies. She discovered that the switch seems related to the sexual revolution and an increasingly godless society.

"I think it's a shirking of responsibility. I think it's a substitute for religion. It's vastly popular because it's sexy," Morgan said of the genre.

The image of vampires started to change with the book "Dracula" by Bram Stoker, Morgan said. It was enhanced in novels by Anne Rice and Michael Romkey, movies like the Highlander trilogy and television shows like "Forever Knight."

"All such tales involve the assumption that these powerful beings create our greatest art, pioneer our greatest medical and social advances, articulate our greatest scientific discoveries," Morgan wrote in Shippey's book. "On the negative side, they perpetrate the greatest oppressions and wholesale slaughters of humanity and engineer economic disasters."

Vampire novels have a common theme--that everything in history happened because of vampires, Morgan explained. That includes the Holocaust, scientific discoveries and medical breakthroughs. Likewise, all the major players (like Hitler, Stalin and Thomas Jefferson) in the novels were either good or bad vampires.

Since ordinary people lack the enhanced intelligence and abilities of vampires, the novels give the message that they shouldn't feel remorse or take responsibility for any historical tragedies. Neither can they be expected to make important contributions to society.

"It shows up again and again in these novels," Morgan said. "It's the same kind of motif. Vampires and other immortals become a way ... of saying, ‘I can't do anything. I'm not responsible. It's not my fault.'"

Morgan is internationally known for researching medieval ballads and translating Old English poetry. She continues that work and was recently honored with the prestigious Charles and Nora L. Wiley Faculty Award for Meritorious Research and Creativity from MSU. But she added vampires to her plate after noticing how popular they had become in the past 20 to 25 years. Ballads were part of the popular culture in the 14th through 16th centuries.

"Everything I do is about popular culture," Morgan said.

Morgan treats herself by reading Stoker's "Dracula." "Interview with a Vampire" is her favorite vampire movie. Most other novels and movies don't measure up, she said, but "I'm interested in voices of the whole culture, not just the intellectual or cultural elite."


Offline delalluvia

  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *******
  • Posts: 8,289
  • "Truth is an iron bride"
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #41 on: July 20, 2009, 08:57:23 pm »
Quote
Since ordinary people lack the enhanced intelligence and abilities of vampires, the novels give the message that they shouldn't feel remorse or take responsibility for any historical tragedies. Neither can they be expected to make important contributions to society.

I remember this discussion in one of Anne Rice's book.  I think it was Queen of the Damned.  The vampires felt they had the right to exist as well.  If they were one step up the food chain from humans, was that their fault?  And also, the discussion went on that the world was mostly populated by humans, so it was their world and the vampires shouldn't interfere.

So it wasn't a matter of taking no responsibility for their actions or not contributing to society but that it wasn't their society to influence.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,165
  • "He somebody you cowboy'd with?"
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #42 on: July 20, 2009, 09:03:08 pm »
Vampire novels have a common theme--that everything in history happened because of vampires, Morgan explained. That includes the Holocaust, scientific discoveries and medical breakthroughs. Likewise, all the major players (like Hitler, Stalin and Thomas Jefferson) in the novels were either good or bad vampires.

They certainly followed along in that vein in Moonlight, where in one episode the French Revolution was depicted as a "Holocaust of vampires."  :P
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline oilgun

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,564
Downey Jr. to Take on Lestat?
« Reply #43 on: August 17, 2009, 07:00:56 pm »
From: 
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid105812.asp

August 17, 2009
Downey Jr. to Take on Lestat?

With blood-thirsty vampires capturing the imagination of Hollywood and mainstream America alike, it’s no surprise that Oscar-nominated actor Robert Downey Jr. is reportedly in talks with Universal Pictures to play the polyamorous vampire Lestat de Lioncourt in a new film based on Anne Rice’s popular trilogy of novels The Vampire Chronicles. 

If the rumors turn out to be true, Downey would be the third actor to take on the role of the bisexual bloodsucker Lestat, which was previously and most famously portrayed by Tom Cruise (initially against Rice’s wishes) in Neil Jordan's 1994 film Interview With the Vampire.

British actor Stuart Townsend also sank his teeth into the character in 2002’s Queen of the Damned, directed by Michael Rymer.

In recent years, Downey has proved to be one of Hollywood’s most versatile actors, bouncing from dramas (The Soloist) to comedies (Tropic Thunder) to action/adventure vehicles (Iron Man) with relative ease, earning critical raves at every turn. The actor next appears in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming Sherlock Holmes, in which the sexually ambiguous bromance between the fictional detective and his famous sidekick Watson (Jude Law) is explored.


retropian

  • Guest
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #44 on: August 18, 2009, 08:44:30 am »
I like RDJr alot, but he's too old to play Lestat! So was Tom Cruise when he played him back in '94 (god I'm old). Wasn't Lestat about 20 or so when he was made a VP? Wasn't he a fey young thing? I had read somewhere that Anne Rice modeled Lestat on David Bowie.

didn't Lestat become a Rock Star in the novel? I hav'nt read it in years. But I think Anne Rice had this in mind.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD3d_GHlYAA[/youtube]
« Last Edit: August 18, 2009, 11:09:12 am by retropian »

Offline delalluvia

  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *******
  • Posts: 8,289
  • "Truth is an iron bride"
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #45 on: August 18, 2009, 12:57:31 pm »
Robert Downey, Jr. as Lestat?  :P

He can certainly be fey, but he doesn't come across as high class nor charismatic, IMO as Lestat is supposed to be.

Is there no good blond 20 something actor they can find for this part?

Anne Rice said she imagined Rutger Hauer in his good years as Lestat, but he was too old at the time to play the part.


Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,165
  • "He somebody you cowboy'd with?"
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #46 on: August 18, 2009, 01:11:19 pm »
Robert Downey, Jr. as Lestat?  :P

He can certainly be fey, but he doesn't come across as high class nor charismatic, IMO as Lestat is supposed to be.

Is there no good blond 20 something actor they can find for this part?

Give Zac Efron a blond dye-job.  ;D
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline delalluvia

  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *******
  • Posts: 8,289
  • "Truth is an iron bride"
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #47 on: August 18, 2009, 01:14:18 pm »
Give Zac Efron a blond dye-job.  ;D

 :laugh:  I also thought of him, but he's a bit too young.

I thought Stuart Townsend a good replacement, but now he's too old.

Offline oilgun

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,564
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #48 on: August 18, 2009, 04:50:27 pm »
I like RDJr alot, but he's too old to play Lestat! So was Tom Cruise when he played him back in '94 (god I'm old). Wasn't Lestat about 20 or so when he was made a VP? Wasn't he a fey young thing? I had read somewhere that Anne Rice modeled Lestat on David Bowie.

didn't Lestat become a Rock Star in the novel? I hav'nt read it in years. But I think Anne Rice had this in mind.


I think Robert Downey Jr. is too old as well.  As much as i like him I don't think he should be in EVERY movie, lol!

I have the perfect actor for the part of Lestat, he's 25, sexy & French: Gaspard Ulliel
He's beautiful but he also has an edge which was in evidence when he played the young Hannibal Lector (Hannibal Rising)


He looks like a cross between Channing Tatum and Gael Garcia Bernal?

Offline delalluvia

  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *******
  • Posts: 8,289
  • "Truth is an iron bride"
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #49 on: August 18, 2009, 05:48:23 pm »
I think Robert Downey Jr. is too old as well.  As much as i like him I don't think he should be in EVERY movie, lol!

I have the perfect actor for the part of Lestat, he's 25, sexy & French: Gaspard Ulliel
He's beautiful but he also has an edge which was in evidence when he played the young Hannibal Lector (Hannibal Rising)


He looks like a cross between Channing Tatum and Gael Garcia Bernal?


Heh.  I was about to comment that Gaspard looks too Gallic to play Lestat, but Lestat was French, wasn't he?

Offline Mikaela

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,229
  • Unsaid... and now unsayable
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #50 on: August 18, 2009, 06:06:33 pm »
Yes, French aristocrat, even. I think Oilgun's proposed Lestat would work well.

I do agree that RDJ is in any case too old for the role.

Offline oilgun

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,564
Re: The current popularity of vampires
« Reply #51 on: December 29, 2009, 03:55:27 pm »
There's a new werewolf in Bon Temps.  So far, I'm not impressed...

http://socialitelife.celebuzz.com/archive/2009/12/29/new_blood_for_true_blood.php