Joseph Darnell's Blog

I don’t have to tell you what’s clogging up the young adult fiction section at Barnes & Nobles these days. Everywhere you turn, there is another display with overloaded stacks of books of teen vampire and werewolf stories. Apparently, they’re selling, and all the publishing houses want in on the profits. Culturally centered media outlets are saying all sorts of things about how this reflects on American youth. It’s assumed the vampire craze is a trend that is repeated every time monsters stories — especially vampire related ones — rise to the forefront of pop culture (as they have in the past with the introduction of classic monster stories like Dracula).

Fascinated by the living dead we are, so it seems. Who doesn’t like living forever — even though vampires are not really “living?” Superpowers thrown in to boot for these immortal beings… their stories are soul-searching, introspective, and sucking the life out of, well, the readers’ interest in the living. Escapism takes on an infinite number of forms. This escapism into the dark of night surrounded by bloodsuckers is just one form that’s grabbing pop culture. So why are we captivated by them now? For that matter, are we captivated by them, or something else in their stories more specific we’re not finding in other fiction and real life?

Seems most news sources have an opinion about this. Most writers credit Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga for precipitating the cultural enthusiasm for the living dead. I don’t know if this is true, but I’ve gathered from many sources that Twilight is to thank for the vampire craze. Seeing as how Twilight came out and became popular just before most of the rest of the contemporary vampire stories hit the new arrivals, I’d say there is some merit to this position.

If this is the case — Twilight (read my review here ») started the vampire craze — something is strangely overlooked from those that are quick to point out the success of vampire moral/ethical depravity with today’s youth. The story of vampires in the Twilight series supports little traditional vampire evils. Unlike Count Dracula, Edward Cullen and his family (the primary vampires of Twilight) have essentially a Christian ethic. I know that’s terribly ironic, but this is the case in this series of fiction. In Twilight, murder is wrong, violence is condemned, abstinence is virtuous, true love and loyalty are ideal in every romantic relationship. Do these values sound like norms in vampire tales? They’re not, but they are steadfast in the Twilight series.

So, when pop enthusiasts are quick to exalt vampire lifestyles as culturally acceptable based on book sales of Twilight and the rare few that are like Twilight, they are wrong. A great deal of today’s youth do not admire bloodsuckers for their traditional qualities, but admire the vampire minority that support a highly conservative moral ethic (like those in Twilight). So in reality, the case is quite the reverse of popular opinion. Youth aren’t interested in impulsive blood-sucking — rather, they are interested in withstanding strong temptation, overcoming moral adversity, and a true love never dies view of life.

What does this mean for the books out there that have already been printed to draw the crowds for traditional vampire stories? What about The Vampire Diaries, Vampire Academy, Vampire Kisses, House of Night, and the others? Will these sell? Will masses of teens read them? Will they hit the top 40 reads this year? Yes. There will be many that will read anything. There will be some that rave about these and other vampire stories like them. Do they represent the majority of vampire story readers? Maybe. Do they represent all that enjoy Twilight? No; not by far. Are those that read vampire stories a reflection of this entire generation of teens and young adults? Definitely not.

I don’t believe that monster stories are the best medium of fiction for learning deep truths about the real world, but they can be enlightening nonetheless. The Twilight series has much more to it than critics will tell. Seeing as how it usually takes a fan to pillage all the possible nuances of a story, and how they relate to the reader’s own life, those voicing their criticism and admiration of this generation of youth don’t have all the facts to elaborate on what is compelling the youth to indulge in vampire lore.

Speak Up

I’m no expert on statistics and popular opinion, but these are my observations. Too many swing the pendulum too far to either extreme. Twilight is not altogether pure or the guide to all other youth fiction. But do you see Twilight as no different from other vampire stories? How so? And, are the youth in America really consumed with monsters, you think?

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