GIGO

Too Much Sparkle? The Vampiric Epidemic

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I wrote this article for a small youth-run newspaper that will probably not get any exposure at all. I’m hoping it’ll do better here :P it has to do with the recent jump in vampires’ pop culture run.

It is the year 2009, and in this hectic, problem-ridden world, about three things we can be absolutely positive. First, vampires are supernatural creatures. Second, there is a part of humans, and we’re not sure how potent that part is, that has a slight obsession with the paranormal. Third, we are (or the preteen female demographic of us are, anyways) unconditionally and irrevocably in some kind of love with them.

Bad Stephanie Meyer spoof aside, there is definitely something strange going on here. Why are vampires so big in pop culture now, when writers have been implementing them into their work for a few centuries? After Stephanie Meyer’s hit book series Twilight, detailing the romantic escapades of an insecure mortal girl and her effeminate boyfriend with a taste for vital fluids, was released, countless TV producers and authors alike have been cashing in on the huge popularity wave that is vampires. In the years following Twilight, we’ve seen True Blood, a romantic drama further exploring mortal/undead relationships (which many people have already had enough of), Jennifer’s Body, an attempt to combine arguably America’s two biggest attractions—Megan Fox and vampires, and another TV show, Vampire Diaries, which differs in substance from the others by a total factor of zero.

One wonders why vampires were never this big before. When works like Dracula have been around for a few centuries, and a little less than a decade ago Buffy the Vampire Slayer, both generally agreed upon as quality productions, what is it about Twilight and Co. that makes vampires so appealing all of a sudden?

As the general public sees it, the rise of the vampires has been integrated into our lives by Robert Pattinson, the apparently gorgeous-beyond-belief actor who plays the male protagonist Edward Cullen in the wildly successful movie adaptation of Twilight. The series’ ubiquity is astounding, almost to the point of annoyance. “I’m tired of having our entire world revolve around vampires, because frankly I’ve had one too many teenage girl quote True Blood or Twilight to me,” one student said.

It’s not just Robert Pattinson. Jennifer’s Body tries to draw on the appeal of Megan Fox, undoubtedly America’s biggest actress right now. But critics alike have pounded it, dismissing it as a lazy attempt to throw two things together that aren’t completely compatible. However, both have garnered widespread acclaim by the general public—because vampires are what the public wants to see—despite its generally negative reviews.

But before we start grabbing our garlic and holy water, there are some other factors we need to take into consideration. For one, the city of Forks, Washington, with a tiny population of 3,275, has seen unprecedented economic growth since using its status as the setting of Twilight to its advantage. By implementing dozens of “landmark areas”, including a reserved parking spot for vampire patriarch Carlisle Cullen, Forks has overcome the recession through its newfound audience, garnering three times as many visitors since Twilight was launched.

Perhaps Robert Pattinson has beaten the recession already, and the nation should take advantage of the vampiric fanbase to rise out of our coffin of debt.. But one can’t help but wonder why vampires appeal so much to us Americans. Is it simply that (almost) every girl’s fantasy is to have their own Edward Cullen, or is it more complicated than that? Whatever it is, we’ll have to wait a long time to find out, because it’ll take a while for our stake to be driven in.