Was Twilight's sparkle vamps just the evolution of vampires or a completely missing the point?

[Chogg Van Helsing]

in my esteemed opinion, i think mayer completely lost the point with the vamp mythos.

yeah, vamps are supposed to be alluring to human, and superior at night time, as the sun dims their powers. but as someone mentioned i think, there seems to be no real drawback to becoming a vampire in twilight. if vamps were like that, everyone wouldn't mind being one! in the books (which im ashamed to say i've read) edward goes on about the fact the being a vampire means he has no soul and it all very *crycry*, but there seems to be no reference to any of this, as the transformation from human to vamp is simply enhanced human abilities (eyesight, speed, strenght etc) and u sparkle in sunlight! oh, and immortality. but that isnt evena big deal, coz all vamps find their 'mate', so dont have to spend eternity alone. there is actually no downside to being a vamp! that what i think is rediculus about the twilight vamps. oh, and edward still manages to be depressed half the time

EDIT: DAMN IT! the post above me beat me to the chase...

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Vampo Novis...KILL THE SPARKLY ONES!

*guess the reference, I dare you*

I'm going to go with... Metro 2033!

OT: I just hate sparkly disco balls... if they had a good reason for being sparkly maybe I'd care less.

 

[NickCaligo42]

Is Twilight not Meyer's guilty little masturbatory tale where she stars as "Bella" and is wanted and desired by the most beautiful and perfect? (I would consider this a "MarySue", where the writer injects themselves into the story).

Forget the sparkly skin or the broody emo bullshit. Why, if you were sort of immortal, or at least long-lived, would you bother hanging out at High School if not to eat the bloody students?

More to the point, if you were over a hundred years old would some over-emotional attention-mongering teen ***** really appeal to you?

It's just full of plot holes. No use talking about them all, Twilight is a fad that'll die out in a couple of years. Even the author herself has admitted to not giving a shit.

 

[Keava]

Twilight wasn't the first to create 'good' vampires, the theme was appearing in happy-fun-times child stories previously.

Now as for evolution of vampire in fiction, it was just seeking new ways to show it. There was never any single one 'ideal' vampire, because it evolved form urban myths. History of vampirism is as old as history of human culture and in different parts of the world it was described differently.

The current, most commonly accepted image of vampire is not that old itself, it actually got imbued into culture in 18th century which is quite recent. Originated form pagan Slavic beliefs it managed to made its way throughout the Europe eventually mixing with Victorian era and leading to creation of Count Dracula by Bram Stoker at the end of 19th century.

The sexual theme among vampires was however tightly tied to the beliefs concerning other supernatural beings like incubus/succubus. Again during the Victorian era, human sexuality started to emerge once more as an important topic. Repressed for centuries it found its vent in the fiction involving vampires. Thrill of danger, mystery of a lover, the very ritual of drinking ones blood was a perfect metaphor for sexual intercourse outside of the mundane life they led in marriage.

 

[zombiejoe]

Vampo Novis...KILL THE SPARKLY ONES!

*guess the reference, I dare you*

I'm going to go with... Metro 2033!

OT: I just hate sparkly disco balls... if they had a good reason for being sparkly maybe I'd care less.

DING DING DING! YOU WIN SIR, YOU MAY TAKE WHAT'S BEHIND DOOR NUMBER ONE OR DOOR NUMBER TWO!

 

[Irridium]

I have less issue with the vampires, and more issue with the movies and books being so shitty.

If they were actually good, perhaps the sparkly vampires wouldn't be so bad.

 

[Benefactor]

The sexual theme among vampires was however tightly tied to the beliefs concerning other supernatural beings like incubus/succubus. Again during the Victorian era, human sexuality started to emerge once more as an important topic. Repressed for centuries it found its vent in the fiction involving vampires. Thrill of danger, mystery of a lover, the very ritual of drinking ones blood was a perfect metaphor for sexual intercourse outside of the mundane life they led in marriage.

I've heard this, and is what I find most interesting about vampire folklore. It almost makes me want to read classic vampire novels, but I just find myself to busy to invest the time.

A short message for anyone who really finds things like this to be annoying, or worse, the death of a genre: It's a fad perpetuated by teenage girls. The movies are close to being done. Think about other terrible fads like Twilight, and how they're not around anymore. This fad shall pass.

 

[AceAngel]

I call Bull on anyone who says that Twilight is the 'evolution' of vampires. I mean really, how is that logical and sparkling is a hindrance, not something that would make sense.

No one watched Daybreakers? I mean c'mon! As farfetched as that movie is, it's still 'good' vampire movie and makes much more sense with decent back-lore.

As much as vampires are written with sex and lust, it's pretty limited still. Vampires are the ones who are supposed to be like Zorro, and seduce the person in question, not simply walk around and have 25 girls walking behind them without as much as lifting a finger.

 

[Imat]

As for how this applies to the OP: sparkly vampires suck, but vampires being able to survive in sunlight is okay by me, because it's actually closer to the original myth.

I'm curious to know what you consider the original myth. Dracula is by no means the original myth. I think definitively identifying the original Vampire myth would be impossible.

However, the common myths of vampires throughout history agree that vampires feed during the night. Doubtless this is where the negative reaction to sunlight originated.

I would say either have negative consequences for exposure to sunlight or have no consequences at all. Sparkling just is not an option...

EDIT: BTW, like the name. Good reference.

 

[FinalHeart95]

How the hell is sparkling evolution? In what way did sparkling benefit vampirekind for it to emerge as a common trait?

Well, they don't burst into flames when they step into the sun anymore. Sure, they could just as easily NOT sparkle... but I'd still rather sparkle than burst into flames.

Also, you have some good points I suppose. However, the book in itself is still godawful. The story is stupid and is rife with horrific messages, the characters are one-dimensional and obnoxious, and the writing itself is below a third-grade level.

 

[SturmDolch]

It's the natural course of human creation. It eventually turns into a sex symbol. Just wait, in 2050, kids will be watching "Ultimate Jesus", a movie about Jesus tearing off heads and having sex with the hottest new celebs. He'll be played by an actor that strangely resembles Jake Gyllenhaggis.

As for the vampires, at least we'll all rest confident in the knowledge that:

 

[crimsonshrouds]

dracula everybody knows where that fiction came from.

Vampires were part of folklore be cause people feared the night and the unexplained. A person gets killed or mysteriously vanishes in the night and the fears led people to believing corpses would comeback from the grave and were drinking the blood of the living.

They would go to a recently deceased persons grave where they would find "signs" that the person may have become part of the undead. They would drive a stake into the victims chest and cut off the head to make sure they wouldn't come back.

The reasons the vampire could turn into a bat was because most cultures considered the bat to be demonic. The reason vampires drink blood was because blood was considered part of a persons soul.

Sometimes i love the history channel

quite a few years back their were a gang of "vampires" near where i live that went to florida and killed a girls family. sad thats the only reason a place in my area is mentioned on the history channel.

I love Hellsing's vampire

Stephanie meyer didn't write about vampires, she wrote about emo fairies who have fucked up eating habits.

 

[Miumaru]

According to Shakespear logic, they are not vampires.
A rose by any other name, would smell as sweet. Well, a lame teen "monster" called a vampire is still a lame teen thing. I could call them waffles. Doesnt mean they taste good.

Edit: I am hungry though...

 

[PoliceBox63]

snip

I like to read it through Nerimon

 

[Randvek]

Sparkling aside, I was annoyed at how they were basically God Mode people, and they didn't even have to suck blood or stay out of sunlight

Some times the death by sun either required some decent amount of exposure, could be circumvented with technology or simple became an irritation.

Tut tut, do some research. "Death by sun" was an angle added in by Nosferatu; in Stoker's original work, the sun didn't even harm vampires! It merely temporarily took away their powers during the day, leaving them fairly human until night fell again.

 

[Pac Induvidual]

The issue with True Blood is that it tries to make Vampires exactly what they aren't: Human. The allure of the Vampire is not sex, as seems to be the case these days, but sacrifice. By going on "living," the "traditional" Vampire can never see a sunrise or sunset, can not eat any of the food or drink any of the drinks they might have liked, and if you go by Vampire: The Masquerade rules, can never see or talk to your friends and family again. They are a cursed being that continues to go on living. It's an analogy of underlying human perseverance, even.

In short, Vampires are monsters, not teddy bears.

 

[Aurgelmir]

The problem with the twilight vampires isn't just the sparkling. Movie Bob has talked about this, and the bigger problem is that they have none of the characteristics of a more "traditional" vampire.

Apparently you loose your soul when you become a twinlepire, and yet you retain your affection for other beings, you can control your bloodlust, and you can actually go into the sun... so you get immortality and super strength, but none of the side effects of being a vampire?
Hell only the "bad" vampires drink human blood... the "good" ones drink animal blood. Hell there are cultures today that does that and we don't call them vampires now do we?

Now lets compare this to Angel in Buffy. He got his soul back, which means he now feel again. But he if he does the hanky panky with a girl he loves he will revert to the monster he was. This turns him into the dark and brooding "hurt puppy" that all the girls used to love.

Now lets look at Twilights Edward. He seems to have all that brooding emoness that Angel has, but for no good reason. Which makes him such a poor character, and it makes the plot so much more unbelievable.

Granted this is based on what I have been told about Twilight, I have not read the books myself, so I might have missed some parts of the plot...

In the end I am not against the "good" vampire story, just make it believable.

 

[JEBWrench]

Apparently you loose your soul when you become a twinlepire, and yet you retain your affection for other beings, you can control your bloodlust, and you can actually go into the sun... so you get immortality and super strength, but none of the side effects of being a vampire?
Hell only the "bad" vampires drink human blood... the "good" ones drink animal blood. Hell there are cultures today that does that and we don't call them vampires now do we?

Actually, the whole soul thing was just Edward's angsting. No other vampires believe that. Also, the bloodlust is what attracted him to Bella according to the flimsy plot. (She smelled delicious.)

Also, there were plenty of perfectly "good" vampires who drank human blood as well.

 

[Queen Michael]

I like how The Gates are handling it. Just dab on a lot of sunscreen lotion and you're good to go.

No really, that's how they handle it... and I like it.

As for sparkly vampires, I've already said that if you're against sparkly vampires you're against evolution.

Thing is, evolution hasn't so far produced a perfect being. Meyer's vampires are flawless. (Looking extra beautiful in the sun isn't a flaw.) That's just dull.