Monday, June 22, 2009

And So The Vampire Has Got Us Hooked

There were two big questions that had me standing up in anger when I saw those final credits pop up after the second episode of this season’s True Blood. Is Lafayette going to become a vampire at the fangs of Eric and Pam? And also, is Bill going to let his inner killer take a visit on Jessica’s family? Even now, only a couple hours after the episode finished, I can’t get these questions out of my head.
True Blood has already become the show now keeping it’s fans through cliff hangers and sex appeal. Instead of the rant I would like to go on about this episode and how it has changed my ideals of where the plot is going to go completely, I am going to stray a bit. I’d like to bring a question to the table. What is it about vampires that has taken popular culture by the throats, keeping humans begging for more? It’s not like we are being forced to pick up romance novels with pictures of half naked women in the arms of her foe. But, when it comes to television we don’t have much of a choice anymore.
Over the past decade, television broadcasting companies have brought us shows with paranormal intrigue. Beginning with the infamous Buffy, and going on to Charmed, Supernatural, and now True Blood. And it’s not even television. Not one person can clearly say that they have never heard of Twilight before. It has become a norm, a fad that has played it’s part in keeping us ’brainwashed’.
Is the thought of being held in a vampire’s arms and the fantasies that come along with this idea what makes us watch these shows? I personally don’t swoon at the thought of Edward Cullen or Bill Compton, but many people do. The thought of a corpse walking around seducing women just doesn’t go there for me. Now Sam Merlotte is a different story…
I suppose anything that keeps us from thinking about our actual lives and the difficulties we possess will gain our interest. A show about a human, mind-reading bartender who falls in love with a vampire has got us tuning into HBO every Sunday or continually refreshing the screen of their favourite streaming website to see if the owner has uploaded it yet. And until our own community vampires come out of the cellar and let their existence be known to the public, we will continue to watch.
It’s human temptation; a need to have our wildest fantasies come true, even if it be in a fictional character’s life. It’s in our nature, and we can’t keep ourselves away. Like a vampire to blood, we crave the unbelievable because our lives are too dull to live without it.

Still haven't jumped on the True Blood boat? Check out this promo and tell me you don't want to catch up?