Vampire love stories are all around us. If you look hard enough, you will find out that your friends and neighbors are having the time of their lives. They are falling in love and carrying open relationships with vampires.
Now pop culture is pushing this type of mysterious love. We are telling ourselves it is OK to love the cute, paly-faced vampires. The following article gives you a brief history of desires and why some women fall in love with vamps.
.....Meanwhile “True Blood” is a hit on HBO. Vampire jewelry, vampire fashion, and vampire make-up are outfitting bloody stylistas. Club kids can now mix their designer vodkas with a blood-like energy drink that comes in hospital blood bags, and recently a New Jersey newspaper ran a long feature about real-life vampire wannabes in suburban Montclair organizing themselves into the “Court of Lazarus.” Next month the “Twilight” movie sequel will hit theaters.
So with Halloween upon us it seems like a bloody good time (sorry) to ask a question:
“Huh?”
After all, vampires have been around awhile. So why this new burst of enthusiasm for the undead?
For starters, they're a sinister catch-all who can symbolize everything from sex fantasies to escapism from swine flu worries to darker social issues, experts say.
“Vampires are convenient vessels, convenient metaphors, to play out all kinds of things,” explained Anne Stiles, an assistant professor of English literature at Washington State University and an expert on Bram Stoker and Victorian-era fiction. For example, some have viewed F.W. Murnau’s great 1922 silent movie “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror” as anti-immigrant or anti-Jewish propaganda.
And, among other things, vampires are usually inherently hot — at least since the modern vampire era began 200 years ago.
In 1816, an associate of Lord Byron named John Polidori wrote “The Vampyre” (published in 1819), possibly inspired by Byron himself. Byron, for those of you who chose an economically viable major in college, was a dark, brooding romantic bad boy who appealed to women in the same way that Edward does, the male lead in “Twilight,” played by Robert Pattinson.
“Edward is a very romantic, smoldering figure,” explained Carrol Fry, professor emeritus at Northwest Missouri State University and author of “Cinema of the Occult: New Age Satanism, Wicca and Spiritualism in Film.” “He’s like Byron, or, say, James Dean.”
Young women and tween girls, Fry argued, love the image of a damaged, morally questionable young man who nevertheless can serve as her protector while she reforms him. What better way to invest a character with such qualities than to make him a protective vampire, bad by nature, but good by inclination?
Ravaged by a vampire
Some vampires are even more overtly sexual. In 1872 Irish writer J. Sheridan Le Fanu, who was acquainted with Stoker, wrote a vampire novel called “Carmilla.” In it, Carmilla, the vampire, tries to initiate a lesbian affair with the narrator, but the sex was couched in metaphor because it was 1872.
“Sometimes,” the narrator tells us of her dreams, “there came a sensation as if a hand was drawn softly along my cheek and neck. Sometimes it was as if warm lips kissed me, and longer and longer and more lovingly as they reached my throat, but there the caress fixed itself. My heart beat faster, my breathing rose and fell rapidly and full drawn; a sobbing, that rose into a sense of strangulation, supervened, and turned into a dreadful convulsion, in which my senses left me and I became unconscious.”
That’s a pretty good description of an orgasm. Yet we hold the narrator blameless for what was then considered deviant sex because she was unwillingly mesmerized.
“It’s the idea that women can’t be blamed for desire,” Stiles suggested about “Carmilla” and Stoker’s “Dracula,” published in 1897.
Fetishism, deviance, perversion all play out in vampire literature, Stiles said. “The sexual undercurrents are not hard to see. You have penetration, an exchange of bodily fluids. He has mesmeric powers. He is very seductive. It’s an easy, veiled way to write about sex without censorship.”
Starting about the late 1950s through the Anne Rice novels of the 1970s and 1980s, Fry said, vampires in pop culture became something of authority-defying heroes and the sex became much more explicit. In vampire-themed B-movies “the girl always had to get her shirt ripped off,” Fry said, and as time went on vampires began showing up in porn, culminating in 1990’s immortal “Wanda Does Transylvania.”
A return to mystery
But in this day and age, with a preponderance of easily-accessible online porn, if we want to see sex, we don’t need to do it through a screen of vampire metaphor.
That sheer pervasiveness of sex, and of science, may be exactly what’s motivating us to rediscover the mystery inherent in vampires.
Fry believes that in a rational world with science triumphant we like to scare ourselves with the spooky. Vampires appeal to our primitive fears, not only of death, but our mutating human natures. Vampires are not fully human, nor fully animal, neither fully alive nor fully dead. In some ways they are superior beings.
Stiles, who has become an expert in the melding of 19th century scientific discoveries about the brain and literature, suggested that Dracula was Stoker’s rebellion against “bio-determinism when you had scientists telling us this is the way the world works, the way things are. Vampires resist that. They are spiritual beings and do not conform to the laws of science.”
We have stopped regarding mental and emotional problems as spiritual or even Freudian personality traits honed by our histories, she said. Instead we have reduced them to imbalances of chemicals like serotonin and we medicate them. Even attraction, lust, love have become scientific subjects. Vampires are a way to pretend we don’t know what we know and to luxuriate in mystery......
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Tiger Woods Is Human; He Cheated on Swedish-born Wife, Elin Who Caught Him
This Photoshop Picture shows how Elin would like to be seen. A woman who knows how to use a club on a cheating spouse. Taking into account the relentlessness of the media, they would probably want to see Tiger emerging from his looking like this. She would have to have loved him so much to trash the man like this.
If all the tabloid stories are true, then, this would be seen as domestic violence. The authorities would like to have a few words with Elin. Let us hope this is not the case at all!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Twilight and Real-life Vampires from New Orleans to the Next-door Neighbors
They roam our streets and tend to the sick. People who describe themselves as real-life vampires have found ways to live quietly among us.
"I'm not going to worry and waste sleep at night over who might think I'm a little kooky, because I think I'm a vampire," said Kiera, a registered nurse who works in a hospital in Atlanta. She did not want to be identified by her real name.
Throughout the country and all over the world, a hidden subculture of people believe they are real vampires. They claim to have an "energy leak," which makes them feel sick and lethargic. To offset this energy imbalance, they say they need to feed on other people's energy or blood.
"I try to be very ethical about what I do. I feed predominantly from crowds, so as not to cause harm," said Kiera, a founding member of the Atlanta Vampire Alliance.
Watch the full story on "20/20" Friday at 10 p.m. ET
Kiera considers herself a "psychic" vampire. Other vampires known as "sanguinarians" or "blood-drinkers" claim to feed on the blood of consenting donors. Kiera said she has tried this before.
"I have bitten people and had a very small taste of it, but I don't seek out blood donors to collect blood from and ... drink," she said.
Doctors caution that ingesting or donating blood without the proper medical equipment is very dangerous, as it puts participants at risk for infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis.
In fiction from the classic novel, "Dracula" to the HBO hit series "True Blood," vampires are portrayed as immortal predators with supernatural powers. When they feed on human blood, they kill.
Today's self-described vampires do not claim to be immortal or have superpowers. And they say they don't prey on strangers. They have willing donors, who often are friends or lovers.
CLICK HERE to meet "real-life vampires" featured in the "20/20" piece.
Misfits May Embrace Vampire Subculture
"Some people are misfits. Some people are just creative people who don't feel they fit into normal society," said Katherine Ramsland, professor of Forensic Psychology at DeSales University and author of "The Science of Vampires," who spent two years undercover investigating the vampire subculture. "Some people find the vampire a very empowering figure, and they want to identify with that."
People who identify as vampires often meet at underground clubs, but "they're all over the place," said Ramsland.
"I met people who were in professions, like attorneys, stockbrokers, jewelers, fashion models," she added.
Being a vampire for Kiera is not a choice; she believes it's passed down genetically. Yet for others in the community, it's a lifestyle, which almost always must be kept secret.
"I'm a detective, a police detective. I work in robbery/homicide," said Stephen, who asked "20/20" not to reveal his identity to protect his job.
"I'm a lifestyle vampire. I like the look. I like the archetype of what the vampire is, the power, the sexuality, of what that represents," he said.
'Coming Out of the Coffin'
Stephen, who claims to have psychic abilities, agreed to an interview to shed light on what he calls the real vampire community; but he says he is not ready to "come out of the coffin," as some vampires call it. "I would probably be ostracized for this, and that's what I think is terrible. If I'm a good person, if I am a good officer of the law ...j udge me for that."
Many say being honest about their "vampiric" nature can be a tricky balancing act.
"My family and I have a 'don't ask don't tell' policy. They don't really want to know, and I'm OK with that," said a freelance writer and mother of two who calls herself Sylvere. She lives on a quiet street in Kansas City and says she doesn't really discuss her vampirism with her 8-year-old son, at least, not yet. "I probably won't sit him down and say, 'OK honey, look, I'm a vampire. You need to know.' It will be more if he asks, I will answer."
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
New Moon Movie Merchandise Available at Amazon.com, Nordstrom and Other Stores: Edward and Bella Barbie Dolls, Jacob Black Barbie Doll
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
November 22 Release of Highly Anticipated New Moon Movie: All New Moon Tickets on Sale
According to various sources, the early sales of New Moon are going fast. Groups of teenagers are talking about getting their tickets ahead of time for the release. They do not want to miss something so meaningful like that. Twilighters are going to see this new movie in the series too.
The tours and merchandise will be bestsellers. So far, anything that bears the name of this movie is a huge sale potential. DazzledbyTwilight is making good business. And many other twilight related stores are offering all things Twilight and New Moon for the holiday season.
The tours and merchandise will be bestsellers. So far, anything that bears the name of this movie is a huge sale potential. DazzledbyTwilight is making good business. And many other twilight related stores are offering all things Twilight and New Moon for the holiday season.
Get more hot twilight merchandise at OneStopShop Twilight Merchandise and New Moon Series
Podshoppingblog Hot Twilight Fashion
Promdressesrock Twilight Prom, Quinceanera Gowns and Dresses from Celebrity Wardrobe
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Bella Swan's Blue Prom Dress Will Be a Hit in 2010 Prom Ceremonies
More and more designers are trying to come up with the look-alike or knockoffs of the dresses worn by Bella Swan in Twilight and Blue Moon. They are responding to a high demand for these dresses. More and more girls and young women want the copies or replicas of these hot dresses. Passion fashion fans or twilighters are determined to dress like Bella Swan. All over the country, more and more theme parties are taking place.
The dress Bella Swan was wearing at the prom is blue, having a V cut neck, fancy stitches on the chest and fancy cut hem.
The dress Bella Swan was wearing at the prom is blue, having a V cut neck, fancy stitches on the chest and fancy cut hem.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Unwanted Attention from Female Fans for Taylor Lautner: Best Male Fresh Face
The 17-year-old martial arts expert featured in a much smaller role in Twilight, but has beefed up for the sequel and may about to eclipse Robert Pattinson in the teen heartthrob stakes.
The 'Twilight: New Moon' star - who was named Best Male Fresh Face at the recent Teen Choice Awards - tried desperately to avert his eyes when the woman began stripping off so he could autograph her underwear.
Taylor, 17, told Fox News: "I had this 40-year-old woman trying to find a way to take her panties off for me to sign them. They had my name imprinted on them. So that was kind of strange. But you can't expect anything from these 'Twilight' fans."
Get more hot twilight merchandise at OneStopShop Twilight Merchandise and New Moon Series
Podshoppingblog Hot Twilight Fashion
Promdressesrock Twilight Prom, Quinceanera Gowns and Dresses from Celebrity Wardrobe
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Are Your Halloween Costumes Hot Enough? Find Out What's Hot on the Shelves
Are Your Halloween Costumes Hot Enough? Find Out What's Hot on the Shelves
What do boys find hot this Halloween season? How about what s find y and hot? According to various sources, vampires, Disney characters, tabloid celebs and head-turners such as Amy Winehouse and stars such as Michael Jackson are very hot.
I have been to various Spirit Halloween shops in many cities. I have been able to take a look at the shelves. I have been able to see the rush of customers buying up anything related to Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Sarah Palin, Britney Spears, Bernie Madoff and Kate Gosselin. Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson who died this year remain hot. At least their costumes are.
With the success of the Twilight Saga, princesses and witches are very popular too. Off course, boys will go toward the action movies characters such as Power Rangers, Superman, Star Wars, Batman and other favorites. Among costumes, vampires, clowns and pirates remain the top choices.
Many mothers will go out and spend on their daughters. They will find Sleeping Beauty and Snow White costumes. They will dress their infants in Tinker Bell, lady bug, blossom/flower, Elvis and Pebbles outfits.
As far as s are concerned, they will wear the Tiana Deluxe Costume which is a replica of what Princess Tiana wears in the upcoming movie " The Princess and The Frog." Keep in mind that Disney will usher its first black princess. Some s will go for Minnie Mouse, Toy Story, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, Mulan and Pocahontas outfits.
Boys will always be boys. They tend to gravitate towards the heroes of blockbuster movies such as Transformers, G.I. Joe costumes. Among other hot costumes, you will find the Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 costumes. SpongeBob SquarePants, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Batman, Star Wars, Star Trek, Wicked Jester and Scary Mummy are very popular too.
Graphic Novels by Robert Venditti and Alternate Reality, Narrative and Storytelling
Alternate Reality: Is there a technology that allows people to fulfill that basic human need to be someone other than yourself? What would that world be like?
Telling Stories with pictures is the domain of Graphic Novels;
Titles of important comic books: Surrogates, Author Robert Venditti, Sin City, Watchman, Astro City: The Confessor.
Venditti wrote the comic book series "The Surrogates," a grimmy commentary on our times, a prequel was just released after the success of The Surrogates (Flesh & Bone). Another one is "The Homeland Directive" that is in the works.
Venditti's Borders-to-Hollywood story via comic book company, Top Shelf Productions, should be an inspiration to anyone hoping to break into comics. He worked his way up.
Telling Stories with pictures is the domain of Graphic Novels;
Titles of important comic books: Surrogates, Author Robert Venditti, Sin City, Watchman, Astro City: The Confessor.
Venditti wrote the comic book series "The Surrogates," a grimmy commentary on our times, a prequel was just released after the success of The Surrogates (Flesh & Bone). Another one is "The Homeland Directive" that is in the works.
Venditti's Borders-to-Hollywood story via comic book company, Top Shelf Productions, should be an inspiration to anyone hoping to break into comics. He worked his way up.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
List of all Scary Movies of all Times: The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Actvity and More
[Find the List of all Scary Movies of all time, New Movie Channel, All Prom Dresses Info, Top Movie Reviews & Oscar Nominated Movies, Top Quality Sweet Sixteen Dresses Info, Quincenera, Prom & Cocktail Formal Dresses, Podshoppingblog Autoblog: Ford Trucks, Toyota Trucks, Lexus, BMW Car Reviews, MovieReviews: Basic Instinct Risk Addiction, The Simpson Movie Video & Review, Go to Borat: Cultural Learnings...Movie Review, Batman Movie Review: Is it too Dark for Kids? ]
A Top List of SCARY Movies of All Times
Shaun of the Dead, 2004
Red Dragon, 2002
Audition, 1999
Braindead/Dead Alive, 1992
Men Behind the Sun, 1988
The Fly, 1986
Alien, 1979
Halloween, 1978
Carrie, 1976
Jaws, 1975
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, 1974
The Exorcist, 1973
Night of the Living Dead, 1968
Blood Feast, 1963
Black Sunday, 1960
Psycho, 1960
Peeping Tom, 1960
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956
Diabolique, 1955
Bambi, 1942
Freaks, 1932
Frankenstein, 1931
The Phantom of the Opera, 1925
Nosferatu, 1922
Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat, 1896
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