Thursday, December 31, 2009

Vampire Frenzy



The last post I wrote was dedicated to the debate surrounding the books and movie adaptions of Harry Potter and Twilight, this theme will be continued to further discuss the phenomenon surrounding the intrigue and unmistakable likeness for creatures of the dark. Twilight which is the biggest franchise containing vampires since the 90's release of Buffy the Vampire slayer and the spin off Angel. All of which follow a long history of displacement of vampires being either banished or welcomed into society.

Lets start at the beginning shall we?

The first identifiable vampire is the legendary, Dracula which before being adapted to the movie screen was a literary creation. Despite their being over 200 movie adaptions that have either been inspired by or use the character of Dracula, Nosferatu remains as the original. Nosferatu was released in 1922 as a completely silent movie which added darkness, mystery and intrigue creating dimensions of vampires other than what had already been written or assumed. However consumerism and advertising has added to the overwhelming consumption of books, movies and television series that use vampires as either main characters or reference to another plot.


The most popular television show using vampires was the 90's series Buffy which starred Sarah Michelle Galler as the slayer, a person or persons destined to hunt creatures that are harmful to the human existance and in this case, Vampires. The show indulges in the life of  a teenage girl who is to fulfil her destiny as those who came before her, but her life is turned upside down when by surprise she falls for Angel who unknown to her, Giles and her friends is a Vampire formely know as Angelius. As the series continues it becomes apparent that through past events Angel has a soul and can feel remorse and pain which in effect causes him to be a positive for the hunters instead of the hunted. Although paradoxically this seems to be ok it convolutes the original expressions of vampires who in most depictions before Buffy which of course was censored, had a relationship of love and commitment not just SEX or the idea that death was Angels only intention towards Buffy.



However, television shows containing Vampires have since changed with the 2009 releases of True Blood and The Vampire Diaries which are both adaptions from successful book series. True Blood concedes to the idea that vampires are an accepted part of society and they can walk into a bar and order artificial blood as a surrogate for your average beer or alcoholic beverage. The setting advocates that in the Western states of America, normality is a word that can be associated to Vampires and their existance and lifestyle which has continued throughout centuries. Like Buffy there is a romance between Bill (Vampire) and Sookie (mortal) which is drastic and distorted and contains a physicality which was previously unshown in Buffy or Angel as the censoring provisions have now been changed and True Blood has marketing value on the sexuality and roughness of love that it displays.


The most recent television show to be marketed to vampire loving audiences is The Vampire Diaries.

The plot revolves around two brothers, Stefan and Damon and their shared love for Elena a reincarnation or so they think of the woman they once loved and the one who delivered the fate of them being vampires. Like Buffy their home is a small town with no knowledge of the existence of vampires and are frightened when Damon becomes the source of attacks on townsfolk but the twist comes when like Angel and Edward, Stefan does not feed on humans which weakens him but to betray his soul in that way is not an outs for him, the only object he has to live for is Elena. Despite these three television series being different they share a commonality in that all three women overcome the boundaries, that the men they love are vampires but to "have loved and lost is better than to never loved at all".


Beyond television shows dedicated to having vampires as either recurring or permanent roles there are paranormal shows such as the X Files and Supernatural. The X Files which was the original paranormal exploration show used Vampires in all their glory including melting techniques, the thirst for human blood and the exceptional sex drive which Agent Moulder succumbs to. Whereas in Supernatural the myths surrounding vampires are dispelled, those portraying the vampires claim that sunlight does them no harm and the only form of destruction they can face is by the colt. A revolver which Sam and Dean must find in order to kill and defeat them. There is no one television show that has continuous line of thought when it comes to vampires and in particular their manifestations.


However, there are more movies containing Vampires then television shows made. The character of Dracula spawned many movies devoted to him specifically and then others who took inspiration from the morbid, drab and hollow existence he inhabited. In recent years there have been films that have looked at the specific tales of vampires which includes the underworld trilogy, pitching werewolves against vampires in what has a been a never ending war.The Twilight saga following a similar route but detours leaving readers to wonder about the relationship between what have traditionally been enemies.



Those franchises are considered to be more of a conventional plot of vampires compared to the recent release of Lesbian Vampire Killers which plays on the sex appeal of not only women together but the sexuality that Vampires resinate as seen by others. These films were all made in America but there is one pre teen Vampire film which is Swedish called let the right one in. This film follows a young girl and boy and although you might consider it to be innocent and playful despite what its about, it contains darkness and a very bleak outlook on their lives compared to Twilight or Underworld were there is some hope but this establishes none of those elements.



Vampiristic themes (that even a word, lol), are broad with the exploration beginning with the Vamp which is a term used to describe women and not men. In the 1920's the term Vamp was used when describing aggressive young sexual women who was classified as being unsettling for society. Although in cinema the Vamp type is rare it can be considered to appear in the femmefatale era where women are in control and the domineering sex compared the meek men who fall into their traps. Quite different compared to Bella, Buffy, Sookie and Elena.



Saturday, December 12, 2009

Vampires VS. Wizards

Which side are you on?

As of late I have noticed that there are a lot of comparisons being made between the Twilight Saga franchise and Harry Potter. Despite being Team Twilight I was intrigued by the fascination with both enterprises and their elaborate attempt to bring back the dichotomy of magical and traditionally violent creatures.

Harry Potter which was released in 1997 established a format for imagination and the spectacular within both the human and wizard world. J.K did not isolate just the enviornment of Hogwarts as being the only inhabitation of these teenagers but included good and bad experiences that had happened in the mortal realm. This crossover of worlds led to Harry's memories of both living with an indulgent and mean aunt and uncle but also having time spent with the Weasley's in their small but homely house. These patterns gave dimensions to the character, book and movies and allowed audiences of all ages to enjoy the adventures of Harry Potter and the expident trio in which Hermione and Ron create. However, it has taken years for the movies to be realesed and with the last to be in two parts. Despite the importance this novel has played since it's release it has less of an affect personally once I read Twilight and became overwhelmed like all those who believe in romance.

Twilight which was released in 2005 has taken the world by storm. Their are those in America who have tattoos of quotes such as "The lion fell in love with the lamb" or the symbolism of the hands holding the apple which also appears in the first film. However the popularization of vampires began with Bran Stokers Dracula and contnued with the 90's series of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and the spinoff 'Angel'. Although the world has been introduced to allusive and conjured up view of vampires through the X files and Supernatural, it is Edward Cullen and family who are a different description to those previously created. So Edward does not drink human blood, can go out in sunlight but crystallizes instead of dies or is horribly disfigured, does not have a vampire face like angel, can read minds and has fallen unconditionally in love with the most plain Jane of forks high school, Bella Swan. His struggle to control himself around Bella makes it even more heart wrenching when he decides to leave in the second book to allow her the freedom and life he think she deserves and would have if he were not in her life. This view changes when through false news of her death he realised he has one love and without her the life of immortality he is leading is worthless.

This move shows that though he his the undead he is not without a heart. The franchise is phenemonial in money made and the book sales and has had two sucessfull movies with a third to be released next year. Whilst Harry Potter was good when you were 12-14 it is Twilight that is aimed at teenagers and an older generation willing to accept that Love even if imaginary can come in many forms.

But I also see the advantages and disadvantages to the film through critical analysis. I did my final assignment on the topic of  'Genre' and the misrepresentation given to films by their labelling. Twilight for example is classified as being horror and yet their are little sequences that make an individual shriek or shut their eyes in fear. The simple classification of a film helps an audience member decipher their enthusiasm towards that film and if their afraid of mythical creatures who suck blood which is only a partial part compared to the love story then their less likely to see that film. However, the sequencing in which Twilight is labelled can be complicated through sub categorization which may include romance, comedy and become ambiguous in what the plot is actually directed towards. Harry Potter which was established as a sem- teenage film has become darker with every director and release causing children who like the books to be disbaled in their attempt to see the film because it is rated according to national standards of content. There is another element that complicates how we categorize films, special effects. In cinema studes there is a term called 'Mise en scene' and it includes costuming, lighting, shot angles and so forth and when a director has a specific image in mind for a scene these techniques are used to establishe the overall effect which is meant to add character and depth to an otherwise childrens fairy tale and due to this Harry Potter has become about darkness, Power and the invetiability of death.



Monday, December 7, 2009

Small Budget


The new and ecentric horror film paranormal activity has grossed over 100 million dollars in the month of october this year and yet it was considered to be a low budget cinematic endevour. Paranormal activity follows two college students and their beyond normal experiences in their home, convinced she is haunted Katie and boyfriend Micah film the unexplained happenings hoping to prove their not insane or imaging the occurences.

Paranormal activity heavily linked to the Blair Witch Project which became a huge success through the intimidation of fear and the suprising elements of the films rather than the stereotypical ending or plot. A critique of these films may be that their not conventional hollywood movies but they connect with a type of filming which has been surpassed by technology and the ability to want the next blockbuster. Made on a budget of $15,000 Paranormal Activity has minimal special effects as it relies on the convincing acting of those experiencing these fears and thrills. This film was a 97 minute short film shown in 2007 and changed and edited to suit a different audience and ended up being one of the best movies released this year.

As a cinema studies student I recognize that technology has created a new history for films and consumerism of films but it does take away from the plot and concentration that should be placed on the characters. The new Spike Jones film based on the book Where the Wild Things Are displays a film where special effects are not used to create the alternate universe in which Max escapes into and by doing this he adheres to the nature of the book and familarity with a style of film making.