It is common in any academics university education that the subject of vampires and a contextual public fear of contamination will come up at some point. For me, it was, naturally, studying Bram Stokers Dracula although from speaking to people it has also come up in psychology (Psychoanalysis) literature and media studies.
We all listened to earnest lecturers harp on about how humankind’s fascination with vampires is always highest at a time of a public fear. They will talk about the fear of black people mixing with white people at the time of Dracula’s publication. They will then back this up with films such as ‘the lost boys’ in the 80s gaining popularity when fear of AIDs was at its peak. A few of them, I am not sure as I am no longer at university, will no doubt be talking about how the current vamp culture is coinciding with illegal immigration fears or even, at a push, the fear of computer viruses infecting our home computers.
I think there may be more to it than this. I think if we look at the likes of True Blood and Twilight we may get a prettier picture of our collective attitudes to difference.
Vampires in the past have always been lustful, aggressive, exotic and dangerous. Incapable of feeling romantic love. This was always seen as a metaphor for how black slaves were seen and represented after the abolishment of the slave trade. I think it would be a correct analysis of the times. People were certainly worried about being contaminated or raped or beat up by black men, who were seen by the whites as lustful, aggressive and dangerous. (Of course this is not true, but at the time it was accepted as gospel)
I want to look at the Twilight series especially in relation to this. Edward is not your typical historical vampire. He can feel romantic love and he protects Bella from all sorts of danger. This is the kind of boy meets girl story that people are accepting in the deigesis of the film and also in the real world (we can tell this by its almost cult like popularity among the younger generation) I think that this may mean, finally, we are getting over our fears of skin deep racial difference and are generally starting to not only tolerate mixed race couples, but celebrate them. Of course some of the people in the world of twilight object to Bella and Edward being together (Interestingly from the vampire side) but they are seen as obstacles that the viewers and the protagonists want to overcome. It is a universally accepted ‘happy ending’ when they are together at the end.
More recently (when fear of AIDs was at its height) vampires have been seen as a metaphor for fear of homosexuals. The whole blood infection thing and the misguided assumptions that all gay men just want to have debauched, casual sex with as many partners as possible, and again, not being able to feel true love, only aggressive lust makes the analogy to vampires easy. Of course, this has changed, and with it, so have our vampires.
True Blood’s stratospheric popularity is testament to how the majority of the population now feels about homosexuality. It is no coincidence that True Blood was made shortly after gay marriage was made legal. True Bloods vampires, for those who haven’t had the pleasure of viewing, have made themselves known to humans and want equal rights. The metaphor deepens when, in the title credits we see how some people in the true blood parallel universe feel. We see signs from religious groups stating ‘God hates fangs’ only a one letter difference to real signs recently seen in America ‘God hates fags’. It is said over and over again in episode one that the vampires are ‘coming out’ of their coffins. My intellect cannot take this analogy much further but there has to be something in the whole popularity of true blood that we are now, on the whole, accepting of homosexuals. The fact that it was written by a gay man should really drive home this point, and further investigation into the show is warranted.
Vampire Bill is, like Edward, in love with Sookie and protects her. He feels love. He is a hero. The viewers love him. In conclusion I have to say that the whole scope of vampire literature has, thankfully, moved with the times. The vamps are no longer the feared, they are the loved. And that makes me optimistic about the world we live in.
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Mehdi Hasan, in the New Statesman, is very unimpressed with our new coalition. He calls the PM and his deputy "TweedleCam and TweedleClegg", and accuses the Lib Dems of "surrender". He claims Mr Clegg "has betrayed progressives across the length and breadth of Britain" and "betrayed the longer-term strategic interests of his party, for crude and short-term tactical gains".
Mehdi Hasan should get of his high horse. This is exactly the kind of cynicism and back-stabbing that this country doesn’t need. Frankly, from a top journalist at the
Statesman, a publication that influences a lot of people, it is very irresponsible.
It sounds bitter more than anything, and while many people will feel short changed. WE have to look at the good that these two men will do us.
Nick Clegg has done brilliantly. He will be able to do much of what he said he would do if he were in power. One of the reasons I was passionate about the Tories not getting into office was the inheritance tax. Which meant an extra £200,000 for the 3000 richest families in the country at the expense of the working majority. Clegg has stopped this with his deal. On the flip side, Clegg’s proposed ‘Mansion tax’ has also been abandoned as part of the compromise which, to be fair, is one that makes everyone happy.
While I admit, I can be bitter about certain things in this blog. But where my readership is in the 10s of people, the Statesman’s readership is in the 1000s.
Although it is pretty funny calling Cameron and Clegg TweedleCam and TweedleClegg it would have been more at home and less damaging if it were to be in a satirical cartoon.
Another great thing about this Con-Lib alliance is that Clegg has had to give up his bizarre ‘Trident’ policy, however Cameron has agreed to attempt to make the defense less ‘money hemorrhaging’
He will however get a referendum on the democratic process to make the whole system fairer.
All this when he only managed 57 seats. It is a masterstroke. I really hope it works. Clegg has become almost Obama-like during the last month. He insists on being listened too and he gets it, he makes people feel they are getting a good deal even though it is him that is getting his way. I can guarantee that it is not just Cameron that will want a picture opportunity with him
Anyone that is upset, or that agrees with Hasan’s jibe of Clegg ‘betrayed the longer-term strategic interests of his party, for crude and short-term tactical gain’ should look at how much Clegg has single-handedly changed the whole landscape of conservative policies. While Clegg has gained power from his deal I think, and I say this without hindsight and I very much could be wrong, I think he is a stand up guy that has the interests of the country at heart.
Clegg hasn’t surrendered Mehdi, it was this (which is a lot) or absolutely nothing. We do not have the conservatives in power. We should all be happy. Failing that, we should at least be optimistic.
Having said that, I still wish that it was Brown in power as he had proven it was for the country and not him. His farewell speech was emotional and dignified. He is a family man and the best man for the job and I am very sorry to see him go. But this is what we voted for. Let’s just hope it works and we end up like Germany, who have an allied government and have the strongest economy in Europe. And not end up like Greece.
*This is my opinion only and I have never studied politics, so take this with a huge pinch of salt.
Statesman, a publication that influences a lot of people, it is very irresponsible.
It sounds bitter more than anything, and while many people will feel short changed. WE have to look at the good that these two men will do us.
Nick Clegg has done brilliantly. He will be able to do much of what he said he would do if he were in power. One of the reasons I was passionate about the Tories not getting into office was the inheritance tax. Which meant an extra £200,000 for the 3000 richest families in the country at the expense of the working majority. Clegg has stopped this with his deal. On the flip side, Clegg’s proposed ‘Mansion tax’ has also been abandoned as part of the compromise which, to be fair, is one that makes everyone happy.
While I admit, I can be bitter about certain things in this blog. But where my readership is in the 10s of people, the Statesman’s readership is in the 1000s.
Although it is pretty funny calling Cameron and Clegg TweedleCam and TweedleClegg it would have been more at home and less damaging if it were to be in a satirical cartoon.
Another great thing about this Con-Lib alliance is that Clegg has had to give up his bizarre ‘Trident’ policy, however Cameron has agreed to attempt to make the defense less ‘money hemorrhaging’
He will however get a referendum on the democratic process to make the whole system fairer.
All this when he only managed 57 seats. It is a masterstroke. I really hope it works. Clegg has become almost Obama-like during the last month. He insists on being listened too and he gets it, he makes people feel they are getting a good deal even though it is him that is getting his way. I can guarantee that it is not just Cameron that will want a picture opportunity with him
Anyone that is upset, or that agrees with Hasan’s jibe of Clegg ‘betrayed the longer-term strategic interests of his party, for crude and short-term tactical gain’ should look at how much Clegg has single-handedly changed the whole landscape of conservative policies. While Clegg has gained power from his deal I think, and I say this without hindsight and I very much could be wrong, I think he is a stand up guy that has the interests of the country at heart.
Clegg hasn’t surrendered Mehdi, it was this (which is a lot) or absolutely nothing. We do not have the conservatives in power. We should all be happy. Failing that, we should at least be optimistic.
Having said that, I still wish that it was Brown in power as he had proven it was for the country and not him. His farewell speech was emotional and dignified. He is a family man and the best man for the job and I am very sorry to see him go. But this is what we voted for. Let’s just hope it works and we end up like Germany, who have an allied government and have the strongest economy in Europe. And not end up like Greece.
*This is my opinion only and I have never studied politics, so take this with a huge pinch of salt.
Monday, 10 May 2010
Why I am giving up smoking
I am a hypocrite in more ways than one. This is why I am giving up smoking from tomorrow (for the third time). You will have to ignore this self-indulgent post but I feel it needs to be written.
There are many good reasons to give up smoking. Cleaner breath, clothes that smell of washing powder and meadows instead of stale smoke, teeth without stains, a heavier wallet and better health. Not to mention stronger and harder erections. All these, on their own, are good enough to warrant a smoke free life.
Something dawned on me today though and it was the final nail in the coffin for my smoking days. Smoking makes me an irrational person and there is nothing I hate more than irrationality and a lack of common sense.
It is a classic case of short-term fix at the expense of long-term health. At least with other vices there are upsides. With cocaine you get a feeling of happiness and a sense of wellbeing, albeit only for the duration of the night but that is something. With alcohol it at least helps with social lubrication. With gambling it can be enjoyed as a leisure activity and you get the occasional win. Hell, even with prostitutes you at least get an hour of fun. With smoking there is absolutely no upswing but it has more drawbacks than any of the others.
I get slightly annoyed when people say they are religious as it flies in the face of common sense, I get even more annoyed with people preaching the values of homeopathy and alternative medicines. I can’t bear it when people insist on supernatural happenings. The reason I get on my high horse about these things is purely based on evidence. You can, on these matters, say that your opinion carries more weight than believers of such fallacies as it is backed up by evidence. It wouldn’t take much for me to believe in God, ghosts or psychics. Hard proof and evidence is all I would require. Alternative medicine would be simply medicine if it was proven to work.
‘Smoking is bad for you’ has a massive amount of evidence but I choose to ignore it. I have no excuse, which makes me as bad as anyone who believes a horoscope, or holocaust deniers.
I don’t want cancer more than I want a cigarette. It should be easy to give up on the single fact that smoking causes cancer.
They say the best way to give up is by telling everyone you have quit. So this is me telling you. If I ever smoke again I will also apologise for every rant I have made about other peoples irrational views on God, astronomy, ghosts, psychics, acupuncturists (although the evidence is getting stronger on the practise of acupuncture*) and any other examples of bad science and bad thinking I have picked you up on. Because, if I ever smoke again, I will be just as bad as you.
*While there is a growing case for acupuncture as being better than a placebo it is still a load of rubbish about aura and balance of chi energy in the body. Tests showed that while inserting needles into the body slightly affects nerve endings and can relieve pain, it doesn’t matter where you put the needles as There is no such thing as Chi energy or meridians
** It certainly doesn’t help with child birth though, apart from a placebo effect.
There are many good reasons to give up smoking. Cleaner breath, clothes that smell of washing powder and meadows instead of stale smoke, teeth without stains, a heavier wallet and better health. Not to mention stronger and harder erections. All these, on their own, are good enough to warrant a smoke free life.
Something dawned on me today though and it was the final nail in the coffin for my smoking days. Smoking makes me an irrational person and there is nothing I hate more than irrationality and a lack of common sense.
It is a classic case of short-term fix at the expense of long-term health. At least with other vices there are upsides. With cocaine you get a feeling of happiness and a sense of wellbeing, albeit only for the duration of the night but that is something. With alcohol it at least helps with social lubrication. With gambling it can be enjoyed as a leisure activity and you get the occasional win. Hell, even with prostitutes you at least get an hour of fun. With smoking there is absolutely no upswing but it has more drawbacks than any of the others.
I get slightly annoyed when people say they are religious as it flies in the face of common sense, I get even more annoyed with people preaching the values of homeopathy and alternative medicines. I can’t bear it when people insist on supernatural happenings. The reason I get on my high horse about these things is purely based on evidence. You can, on these matters, say that your opinion carries more weight than believers of such fallacies as it is backed up by evidence. It wouldn’t take much for me to believe in God, ghosts or psychics. Hard proof and evidence is all I would require. Alternative medicine would be simply medicine if it was proven to work.
‘Smoking is bad for you’ has a massive amount of evidence but I choose to ignore it. I have no excuse, which makes me as bad as anyone who believes a horoscope, or holocaust deniers.
I don’t want cancer more than I want a cigarette. It should be easy to give up on the single fact that smoking causes cancer.
They say the best way to give up is by telling everyone you have quit. So this is me telling you. If I ever smoke again I will also apologise for every rant I have made about other peoples irrational views on God, astronomy, ghosts, psychics, acupuncturists (although the evidence is getting stronger on the practise of acupuncture*) and any other examples of bad science and bad thinking I have picked you up on. Because, if I ever smoke again, I will be just as bad as you.
*While there is a growing case for acupuncture as being better than a placebo it is still a load of rubbish about aura and balance of chi energy in the body. Tests showed that while inserting needles into the body slightly affects nerve endings and can relieve pain, it doesn’t matter where you put the needles as There is no such thing as Chi energy or meridians
** It certainly doesn’t help with child birth though, apart from a placebo effect.
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