Our Obsession With The Beautiful and The Bloody

If there's anything at all that we can credit the Twilight series for (other than the opportunity to look at Taylor Lautner's abs) it's that it brought about the revival of "monsters" in our "literature." I use quotes to emphasize the fact that I am letting monsters be an all encompassing term and more importantly to emphasize the fact that I do NOT consider Twilight, to be literature.


It's hard to trace the origin of the growing obsession with zombies, vampires, and more. Or maybe it's not hard at all, maybe I'm just lazy. I speculate that each generation has its own introduction to the undead. Maybe a movie, a TV show, or a book breaks through to the mainstream and before long there's a full blown period of obsession. Even though these things come and go in cycles, I think it's fair to say that our most recent items in pop-culture have brought us face to face with a new level of obsession. Even in China, my students cannot get enough of vampires and zombies. We are infiltrated with The Vampire Diaries, The Twilight movies, Jennifer's Body, The Walking Dead, Zombieland, True Blood, The Cabin in The Woods, Dark Shadows, Daybreakers, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,
Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters, Resident Evil, Gossip Girl...oh wait...that's a whole other kind of monster.


Last weekend the movie, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter came out in theaters. Now of course, I haven't seen it, but I was surprised at how many of my friends seemed interested in the film. Our society is so ripe for it, that if this movie fails it will be simply because it takes itself too seriously or doesn't deliver a clever twist.

Just a sampling of the comments on my "how will i survive the zombie apocalypse in China" picture I drew recently.

I have some theories that are much too complex for this blog about how in times of uncertainty, bad economy, bad politics, polarized ethics, and war, our culture tends to embrace this kind of entertainment. We need a clear and common enemy. Vampires and zombies are about as clear as you can get. They will eat you and me and everyone we know...we must work together! It really is something we can all get behind. It's something that you can't help but think about if you are at all plugged into TV or Movies. Sure it seems silly and extreme, and maybe some of it is all in fun, but it never hurts to have a plan. There are entire websites dedicated to surviving the impending doom. Also, Bangor Maine decided to do this recently. We really are a culture obsessed.


So what is it about these monsters that gets us so caught up? I propose three things:
1. We are fascinated with the concepts of death and living forever. 
It's true, no one really wants to die. And if someone you love dies, it's a fabulous thought to consider that they might come back. We love ghost stories and hauntings. Our history is steeped in them. I think it's because no matter what our religious beliefs, ultimately what happens after we die is unknown. Vampires and zombies play on our greatest fears, because they are dead and yet undead. They are enemies yet we want to be them. They are mythical and have origins that go so deep into our past that it's hard to just pack them away in the name of "that could never happen" or "you know better" statements.

Bite me. No, really, please, bite me.

2. Vampires live the lives we want to live.
From perfectly pale skin and ruby red lips to glowing eyes, Vampires look good. Even before Edward sparkled, vampires have always been beautiful. It's one of the reasons they make our skin crawl. To see something so stunning react in such a primal way and end up with blood all over its face is a frightening image, and yet one we see a lot. They are so beautiful these days that my friends and I have joked in regards to Twilight and TrueBlood...I wouldn't mind having one of THOSE vampires bite me. Even the environments of vampires are better than ours. I saw Daybreakers yesterday and was very aware of the minimalist modern furniture in the home of the vampires. They have had hundreds of years to make money and they all seem to be rich. It's proven by the sleek lines and impressive technology that each vampire seems to have access to. Who doesn't want to live at the Cullen's house? And even digging back to Interview with a Vampire, Louis and LeStat live lives of pure glamour. And lastly, they live it forever. At first you might deny that you would be interested in life forever. But think about it. Say you get to be 25 forever and with access to all that money and those looks? You could do all of the things you never got to do. Admit it, it's appealing.

Suddenly your mother in law doesn't seem so bad huh?

3. Zombies make us like each other better.
We are not very likable at times. We think too much or feel too much. We piss each other off and hurt each other's feelings. We get jealous and betray each other. Sometimes the only thing we have going for us is the fact we are not trying to eat each other, and in recent weeks even that seems to be up for grabs. Humans suck. EXCEPT when faced with zombies. Then...we are the shit. Nothing makes you appreciate your fellow man (woman) more than being chased by a bloody mindless body with one goal, to eat you. As we've seen in The Walking Dead, Zombieland, and other zombie classics, people tend to pull together and the best in all of us comes out when there is a mob of the risen dead chasing you. It also teaches us to cut our losses and fast when we are watching zombie entertainment. So your boyfriend was talking to you about forever a few minutes ago then he got bit and now he's passed out. You know what you have to do. Sure it's hard to say goodbye, but ultimately it's just somebody that you used to know and it's time to shoot him in the head. No room for that kind of baggage. In the midst of a zombie apocalypse you will be thrilled to see your high school rival or Ann Coulter even. You won't mind snuggling up to that homeless man to stay warm. When zombies attack we have a common enemy, and that makes us all friends, right?