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Virgin Vampires
Starting with Nosferatu (1922), vampires in film have always been powerfully magnetic, and in later versions appear young, handsome men. Bela Lugosi's Dracula (1931) set the mold, and later screen actors Christopher Lee, Frank Langella, Louis Jordan, Tom Cruise, and television actors like David Boreanaz exude sex appeal and dangerous thrills. Their "attacks" have—traditionally—been as much about seduction as about neck marks. An early critic of Bram Stoker’s 1897 masterpiece, Dracula, said that the book would shock and disgust, but admitted that he read the whole thing with rapt attention. Victorian audiences saw the book as soft-core pornography, reeking of sexual innuendo with several highly-charged scenes of kissing, sucking, and biting. For the Victorians, reading about vampires was like delving into the pages of Playboy.
An original Dracula: Bella Lugosi.
When vampires were sexy.
Curiously, Twilight is almost devoid of sexual content. Meyer is reportedly a devout Mormon, and this plays into every aspect of the story. The movie is advertised heavily as romantic, but there is exactly one screen kiss in the film, and a complete absence of sexual exploration. Edward is constantly described as a powerful babe-magnet, causing women to rush to fulfill his every desire, but when he briefly kisses Bella, she passes out.
Meyer imagines the curse of the vampire as the difficulty of restraining the monster within, overcoming the desire to consume human blood. It is easy to see this as her metaphor for premarital sex, a conservative agenda masked as a vampire tale. In both book and film, Edward struggles manfully not to be attractive to his object of desire, and he represses any expression of physical affection. Despite the frantic reaction of his teen fans, Robert Pattinson’s Edward makes this struggle uninteresting. His performance (perhaps it’s his forehead or his limited dialogue) reminded me of Lon Chaney’s Frankenstein-monster rather than a Byronic hero.
Admittedly, it’s hard to construct an appealing film from a story devoted to sincere efforts to have nothing romantic happen. There’s also little to make this an enthralling vampire story—the most successful versions have always included sex and gore, or both. Meyer’s book contains not a single scene of blood-sucking, and the film is equally shock-free. In truth, Meyer’s focus on self-denial left me ultimately bored. Perhaps my tastes were fixed by an early exposure to the traditional image of Dracula—a man dripping with bravura and danger as much as he is with blood—but escaping the ancient monster seems much more interesting than avoiding the company of the dull modern breed.
Leslie S. Klinger is considered to be one of the world’s foremost authorities on those twin icons of the Victorian era, Sherlock Holmes and Dracula. His new work, The New Annotated Dracula, was published by W. W. Norton on October 31, 2008.
John Talks Joe
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Amateur Hour at the White House
Leslie H. Gelb, a former New York Times columnist and senior government official, is author of Power Rules: How Common Sense Can Rescue American Foreign Policy (HarperCollins 2009), a book that shows how to think about and use power in the 21st century. He is president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Going Rogue: The Index
Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
I haven't seen the movie yet, but I've read all of the books and found them to be intriguing. The writing style was a juvenile, but that was appropriate for the target audience. Yes, the books were predictable, but there was still an appealing plot and a sweet, innocent story. The story really escalates as the books progress, so this movie will be better appreciated by those who read the books, because they will be able to anticipate what's to come.
I have yet to see the movie, but the book is well written and the story very plausible. As a junior high teacher, I see the appeal to my students. It's a sad commentary when we believe that sex and romance are one and the same. And is it such a bad thing to present a love story to pre-teens and teens that doesn't involve sex?
As I have not yet read this series, I can only say I'm deeply interested. I'm a huge fan of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and believe them to be the new benchmark regarding vampires. I do wonder if the succeeding storylines delve deeper into what a vampire is. Most times, in my opinion, the first book is merely the author setting the groundwork for their new universe. I'm going to get the book this weekend. I hope to have a better understanding by Monday.
@nclark499: There's nothing wrong with it. It's just highly unrealistic. I suppose I have an easier time swallowing the prospect of special-skinned vampires who are practically immortal than teens not ripping each other's clothes off.
Teenagers have sex. And that's an okay thing. It's not scary or un-natural or weird. It's normal, healthy and expected. There are, of course, always bad circumstances that occur. But those arn't privy to just teenagers. I know plenty of 25-30 year old woman who sleep with loser after loser.
And when two teenagers love eachother so much that theyd rather "die then live without you" they're gonna be taking off eachothers clothes.
Sorry but without the sexual heat, this is just lame.
What concerns me more then the sex is that this movie involves a relationship where the man's instinct is to kill his lady love. And that's part of the 'sexy' danger? I always find it hot when my potential mate has to fight his impulse to end my life. Hot indeed.
Instead of the creators, writers and fans focusing on sexuality (which is healthy when expressed between two loving partners and in this case, unhealthy because it is not expressed) as the big evil...perhaps they should look at how the show reaffirms that whole "if he wants to harm you that just means your love is much more intense' sterotype for our girls.
Just sayin...
satyricaldude: While I understand your disbelief, I can name a large crowd of kids that don't rip each other's clothes off - and I teach in a public school. The mainstream media would have us think that every kid in America over the age of 12 is having sex on a regular basis. It's just not true. While sex among teens is quite prevelant (and alarming), there seems to be a recent shift. Kids are actually waiting. And I think this book is good even for the ones that aren't - it shows them that romance and attention don't have to mean having sex. I mean, the relationship between Edward and Bella is all about protecting each other (he protects her physically and she protects him emotionally) without being sexual. It can be done.
I don't want to be pedantic but Lon Chaney never played the role of Frankenstein's monster - Lon Chaney Jr. played the role in several B film sequels (most notably "The Ghost of Frankenstein") after Boris Karloff originated the role in 1931. Still the Mormon vampire film is bound to suck. Pun intened.
Having sex all the time is not a "normal" teenage pursuit. I was a virgin until I was married, and so was my husband. We are in our 20s. Sleeping with boyfriend after boyfriend in high school is the fastest way to be that 30 year old sleeping with loser after loser she finds at any given bar. Because I waited to have sex, I know our relationship is deep enough to last. We don't mate, like we're teaching high schoolers, we make love, and there's a world of difference.
Exactly! This movie is so clean it hurts! It is like a fifty's movie in the era of the witch hunt. I am afraid this is not going to sell in other countries and other age spans. Give me a break. This could have been made by Disney. Vampire wise men and women should be laughing their a**** off at this bland imitation of a vampire movie/book.
I find the books irritating as someone in the target age group. I find the writing cliched and trite. I hate that Stephanie Meyer is being compared to one of the icons of my childhood, JK Rowling. I also find it annoying that adults assume those who read this book are sexually frustrated teenagers. Having just recently finished high school, most girls who read it are not virgins and are the kind of girls who throw themselves into relationships and believe they'll be together forever when they'll break up in a couple of weeks. I'm someone who is going to wait to have sex until I truly feel like an adult and am not depending on my parents for financial support, perhaps that won't be till I get married. I'm also not a christian or remotely conservative in my world view. So, I find the media's assumptions really presumptious.
My attempts to read the first book were unsuccessful. I found her writing to be overridden with cliches, her vampires as you mentioned, dull, and most importantly her characterization of the leading female character sexist. Meyer's mentality of women seems to reflect the ideologies of the 50's, with the lead character's unwavering and sickening adoration and obsession of Edward, that borders on unhealthy and nauseating. I cannot believe that such mediocre material has garnered such attention, and praise. There is nothing refreshing, or captivating about her books, and I find it insulting that they are compared to the Harry Potter series.
I write and read vampire books and have enjoyed Stephenie Mayer's tales. I think one of the reasons they are popular is that they contain a lot of introspection and character depth -- not your usual constant biting and fighting. But the movie was a huge yawn. I lasted as long as my popcorn before exiting the theater.
Mr.,hey, you are yet another older guy writing about a story aimed at KIDS, that was appalled at the lack of sexual content! Go pour a glass of wine, re-watch your copy of "Interview~with the Vampire" and RELAX!
I'm currently reading the books with my 12 yr. old daughter.
My husband and I took her to see TWILIGHT Saturday. We enjoyed it and felt it was romantic, funny and original. As for Robert's performance. Have you read the first book? He really brought Edward to life-or undead! -Not an easy task.
It's laughable to me that so many critics seem to have "rules" for vampires! Ahh...aren't they FICTION?! And so therefore can be re-imagined any way Ms. Meyer chooses?
WHY is it so terrible to allow kids to have a couple of heroes that practice restraint for a reason? People who hate the lack of sex in the story seem to mainly be childless &/or disconnected from the media's hyper-sexuality and sexual pressure our kids are bombarded with today. Stephanie's little world is an island away from all that. Her critics just don't get it. Hence your sarcastic "Virgin Vampires" title.
It cracks me up that on one side, conservatives slam TWILIGHT for being unChristian-and on the other side critics slam it for being too un-sexy! I don't think it's either!(we're Catholics) It's full of values we can appreciate and the sexiness IS there-just not in a typical blatant teen-movie way-and that's BAD?! It's a sensuality that comes through without totally being in your face.
This movie should be celebrated for many reasons-not the least of which I believe it's the first major motion picture written, produced, and directed by women.
*spoiler alert! Don't read this if you intend to read the books and don't want to know what happens!*
I enjoyed the books, some more than others, but I did think that there was a theme that was disturbing from a standpoint of male/female relations: the domineering manner in which Edward "loved" Bella. His way of protecting her was to try to control and dominate her and she was willing to commit the ultimate act of selflessness - giving up her life and her willful self. The only way she could have Edward fully was to become his wife and a mother to his child by becoming a vampire herself. I agree with the author of this piece that there was a conservative agenda beneath the storyline of prohibited love.
Witless, vapid, bloodless, boring. Sounds like a perfect meal for the average American. I suppose you could fill a bowl with sand and call it ambrosia.. But what would be the point? I think I'll pass on the book and the film.
Discover Ann Rice.
I think it is accurate to say that Meyer's Mormon faith accounts for several of the elements that differ in her contribution to the vampire mythos and its portrayal in Twilight. I have touched on this myself in my review at Theofantastique:
http://www.theofantastique.com/2008/11/24/twilight-literary-phenomenon- becomes-cinema-sensation/
I would point out that it is not unusual to expect an author's cultural influences to color their writing. No idea springs up in a vacuum. In addition, the vampire mythology is an evolving mythos, and the romantic and largely bloodless aspect can be seen in precedents such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, the Underworld Films, and Moonlight. This romantic and largely "toothless" take on the vampire story might not be everyone's cup of tea (it surely isn't mine), but it is an increasingly popular aspect which is featured alongside more violent and bloody depictions such as 30 Days of Night.
I have just discovered there is a naughty version -- shooting now in the notorious "San Fernando Valley" - here's a link .. don't worry, its just info - nothing 'graphic' ... http://xesenta.com/twilight_spoof
Thank you.
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