P.S. on Vampire Post

P.S. I had a thought after writing the vampire post that maybe the whole deal with vampires is they are focused on satisfying their own desires, completely independent from others. [In Twilight, one of the things that makes the Cullens so unusual is that they have formed a "family". And also, they do not kill and drink the blood of humans, only animals.] They live in isolation and from gratification.

I think the idea of vampires has taken hold and taken off at the same time that people have pulled back from religion, or a spiritual life that is outward-focused. Instead of trying to work for something greater than themselves, people are fixated with their own needs and wants.

Need time to mull.....

Vampires & Christianity

A Facebook friend just asked for opinions on this WashPo article. I had to take some time to collect my thoughts - it's been a busy day - and I felt like Arnold Horshack ["OOoooh, Oooohhhh!!!] I have a lot of ideas about vampires.

The gist of the article is that vampires are the mirror image of Christianity, and the subtext is that Mormons are in the thick of it (I'll get to that in a minute).

I agree. Here's how I see it in the breakdown, Christianity vs. the vampire myth:

Blood: First things first. Christians "drink Jesus' blood" every time they participate in communion (the ritualized remembrance that Jesus gave his life for us, to redeem our sins, and to show God's enduring love for the world.) Through this blood, we humans are given everlasting life.
Vampires drink blood to survive - it is the only nourishment they can handle. They can never get enough, and must feed. Some vampires are called immortal, some "undead." Only through death/killing* are able to drink blood. To become a vampire, they need to share blood, or be bitten by another vampire, often, it seems, through trickery. [To me, this "shared blood" imagery has always reminded me of AIDS, "Share the love, don't share the needle."]

Love/Lust: Love is important to Christians (as it is to most religions), but we are explicitly told that through Christ's blood we have proof of God's love. We must "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength and with all your mind.’(Deuteronomy 6:5) And, ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself." Luke 10:25-28. This is a chaste love, or a love that encourages us to help others (feed the poor, help the sick, etc.) It is not carnal love; lust is considered a sin.
But for vampires, lust is a great tool. Like the image above, a succubus is similar to a vampire - seducing humans to (spiritually) weaken them. Vampires use lust to lure their prey and feed. The opening scene from The Hunger [nsfw], one of my favorite movies of all time, shows this. I thought Twilight handled teenage desire so well. I mean, the books are terribly written, but you get it! And I thought the first movie was excellent at showing lust: [sigh], Edward.

Human Weakness/Vampire Strength: Humans are weak. We struggle, especially with lust, and generally with things we desire.
Vampires use lust and our other desires to ensnare, but they also have "super-human strength."

Light/Dark: Christians talk about "seeing the light." Each of us "has the light of God within us."
Vampires move in the dark, and can't go out into the light. In some vampire stories they will be burned if they go out into sunlight, or will turn to stone. In Twilight, they sparkle. What can I say there, other than the author, like me, grew up in the age of Disco?


* Which brings me to Twilight. I was not aware of the specific reference to Mormonism in vampire lore that is described in the WashPo article, but it does make Stephanie Meyer's take a little more interesting.

Edward Cullen is her vampire hero. He turns most of the dichotomies I've described above on their heads. He's a "vegetarian" vampire, meaning, like "Louis" in Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, he feeds only on animals, not humans. Edward inspires terminal lust in Bella Swan, but refuses to let her act on her wild desires. He begs her to reconsider her wish to "become like him" because he is "concerned for her soul." He believes he is damned to hell for his undead state. The Cullens, like all vampires, have incredible speed and strength, and some of them even have "super powers." Edward's is that he can read other people's and vampires' thoughts - all except Bella's. And lastly, yes, he sparkles in daylight, but he also wants to help humans. He's one of the good guys.

I usually agree with Jung, and I think that vampires do "embody aspects of ourselves that we reject, hide or are ashamed to confront." But now, with Edward being so darned good, what are we to do with this myth?

Rumor: New New Moon Poster

Rumor has it this is the new New Moon poster:

Nice, right!?

Good Times!

So, I first heard this song on the Twilight soundtrack - BUT - the film is set in Berlin, Germany. It brings back so many memories for me. I had a great time visiting a cousin in Berlin in 1991. Ah, so awesome. I want to go back!

Love Conquers All?

Fair warning: this post is LONG!

So, All, I have finished reading the Twilight Saga. I will say that it would have happened sooner if I'd bought the last book when I first saw it at the Last Word used book shop, here in Philly. Instead I waited 'til I was ready to read it and then had to wait 2-3 weeks or so until another copy arrived. I have to say, though, that the Last Word is definitely the place to get used books. They remember you, and what you want, and are great about continually getting new stuff in.

With that endorsement out of the way, here's what I thought: The Twilight books are not the best-written books ever. If I read the words "perfect," "sculpted," "stone" or "cool" in reference to a vampire again, I think I'll gag.

What I liked best about Twilight was the description of Bella's crush on Edward. It reminded me so much of the crushes I've had, and the way I felt when the object of my affection was near me, or touched me. That electric, inept feeling was so clear. What's NOT so clear is why Bella is in love with Edward, "in LUST" yes, that's obvious. But it was also very easy to understand why the story was so chaste, given the fact that Edward is a vampire. It was refreshing to see feminine desire described, and played out, even if there was a fair amount of repression that had to happen so that nobody died. Edward seems like the logical extension of Anne Rice's character, Louis de Pointe du Lac, from "Interview with a Vampire," as a vampire who feeds only on animals, not humans, to survive. I also think the choice of Rob Pattinson was inspired, even if it means that poor (human) Rob will be hounded to the ends of the earth forever because of it.

Out of the whole series I liked New Moon best, because I loved the character of Jacob. I admire steadfastness as a trait, and Jacob is nothing if not loyal. I think he gets pretty shafted throughout the story, but he's my favorite character.

I thought Eclipse was really just a bridge to the last book. It was nice to see the characters of Edward and Jacob have a rapprochement, but really, it read like a comic book, without pictures of gorgeous vampires and werewolves.

And then there's Breaking Dawn. It's interesting, because here I am, in my late 30's, with children in my life, and if I were writing about vampires, is this also where I would end the story?

SPOILER:
Bella becomes pregnant with Edward's child. It's a very difficult pregnancy - how could it not be, really - and several people consider ending the pregnancy. Bella, however, joins forces with her former nemesis, Rosalie, in order to keep the fetus alive. The delivery is gruesome, and in order to save Bella, Edward must turn her into a vampire with his venom. Bella becomes the vampire she always wanted to be, is married to Edward, and has a half human-half vampire daughter. I thought it was a pretty convenient plot device, but in a "Hollywood ending" way, Jacob "imprints" on Reneesme immediately, and so will always be protective of and present in Reneesme's life, in whatever form that needs to take - caretaker, friend, lover, husband, etc.

My first thought when I finished reading Breaking Dawn was that the idea I was meant to take away from this saga was that "love conquers all." Bella becomes a vampire after many struggles and transforms from a truly awkward human to a truly amazing, powerful vampire - she was klutzy, even for a human, as a human, and has an extreme super power for a vampire, as a vampire. Even though I think Bella was taken in by Edward's (and the rest of the vamps') camouflage (attractive looks, smell, strength, sound, etc.), she never seemed to really analyze what she was doing until Rosalie confronted her. She was mesmerized by Edward, and I thought in a shallow way just wanted to become a vampire so she could be with him forever. She never really seemed to consider the real consequences until it began to affect her physical relationship with him.

Edward "made a deal" with her that he required her to marry him. Once married, she understood the awesomeness of sex, and most especially, sex with Edward. So, she started making deals of her own - more years as a human, more sex, before ending her life (e.g. becoming a vampire). And he agreed, because he never wanted her to become a vampire in the first place. It's interesting to me how her awakenings happen through physical means. And that her human sexuality is what makes her powerful (even though she is completely in the thrall of Edward and his family, and is entirely defenseless if another vamp is nearby). It's when she becomes pregnant that the paradigm shifts again. Everyone is concerned about the "monster" she is carrying. And she starts acting, in my opinion, like many pregnant women - forms an attachment with the fetus, takes care of it as best she can, even if she starts doing weird stuff. [The whole thing about her pregnancy diet is gross, so I won't go there.] Interestingly, that section of the book is told from Jacob's point of view, so, it's not as intimate, but of course, he's upset during her pregnancy because she's in so much pain. There IS an inordinate amount of time in the whole saga when Bella is suffering physically, and it gets a little tiring to read through.

But whether it's a plot device, or it's really the "message" of Twilight, Bella becomes powerful through her child. She would have died because of the baby, but now she's immortal. She can hold her own with Edward now in bed (no limits once she's a vamp). She discovers that she's got a vampire super-power, which she hones quickly in order to save her family. Is this the new "coming of age" story for young women?

I sort of jest. But, seriously, I think it's interesting that the woman who wrote these books has kids and is in her 30's. As you may know, I am struggling with my upcoming (big) birthday. And I'm trying to make sense of my "self" so far. I realize that my youth is gone. And while I am happy with my life, and my family, I sometimes struggle with day-to-day responsibilities and commitments, and I wonder what the future will have in store for me. What I can relate to in Bella's story, is the desire to have "a perfect forever." I wish and hope that my family will be safe and happy and whole forever, and Bella is able to achieve that. She is a strong lover and mother. She becomes MORE sexy with motherhood, and powerful in ways that are hard for even vampires to fathom. It's a nice fantasy for a character who started out so average and normal. What do you all think?? Leave me a comment or two.

There are other critiques to be made, and I have copied some of them below, all from Wikipedia's Breaking Dawn site:

Breaking Dawn has received generally negative reviews. Publishers Weekly stated that the main problem was that "Essentially, everyone gets everything they want, even if their desires necessitate an about-face in characterization or the messy introduction of some back story. Nobody has to renounce anything or suffer more than temporarily--in other words, grandeur is out."[10] In an article by The Associated Press journalist Sara Rose posted on NewsOK.com wrote that fans of the series would love "engaging characters, great humor, a distracting obsession with beauty, focus on the minutiae of emotions", however "casual readers may be disappointed with a lot of build-up and little action."[11] The Independent called the book, "shockingly, tackily, sick-makingly sexist" and said that "Bella Swan lives to serve men and suffer." [12] Entertainment Weekly graded Breaking Dawn with a D, criticizing the birth scene and Bella's "unwavering passion for Edward" and having no other goals.[13] The Washington Post also responded with a negative review, making comments such as, "...Meyer has put a stake through the heart of her own beloved creation," and, "Breaking Dawn has a childbirth sequence that may promote lifelong abstinence in sensitive types."[14] However, an article in The Daily News Tribune, a small town newspaper, Margaret Smith says of Breaking Dawn "You too might fall in love with its suspense and moving sensitivity -- and with the unlikely couple struggling to find light within their world’s heart of darkness."[15]