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The vampire is an ancient figure in the Western canon, whether it be in literature or film. Before the technological explosion of the 20th century, a fear and even reverence for supernatural figures like vampires was understandable—the vampire was a mirror for the darker aspects of human nature, ideas repressed by puritanical values. The potent cocktail of sensuality and violence that the vampire represented captured the imagination, and it was easy to see why.
The genre had a brief reappearance in the ‘80s with movies like The Lost Boys and Fright Night, but it went into hibernation shortly thereafter. In the 2000s, the genre has re-exploded into mass popularity, first with the Twilight novels and their film adaptations, as well as with television shows like True Blood and The Vampire Diaries. It might be a fad, but it begs the question- why now? Why has pop culture suddenly shifted back into a giddy, gothic mindset when it comes to mythical blood-suckers?
It would be too easy to write off the phenomenon by breaking down “the vampire,” although some of the oft-cited reasons for the vampire’s appeal do ring true to some degree. Vampires are powerful, sexy creatures—for men and women. They are strident and aggressive, and they possess the lack of restraint that everyone yearns for at some point. And, of course, they’re immortal. Conquering death is about as Jungian as pop fantasy gets, but all of these reasons- though compelling- fail to answer the question of why now.
These questions always have an answer in the culture du jour. Today’s world is more fast-paced than it has ever been. With the telecommunications explosion, everything is fast, gratification is instant, and human relationships, for the most part, are trivial. Think about day-to-day interactions. Probably three-quarters of human communication is done by text message. Even the telephone call is becoming obsolete compared to these fast and disposable methods of communication. With all the buzz and chatter of day-to-day life, Western life has settled into a comfortable ennui. The irony is that although we’ve all never been more connected, we’ve also never felt more alone.
The vampire taps into this mindset. Vampires are solitary, pained creatures, and they are permanent and eternal rather than ephemeral. More importantly, every moment of life for them has purpose. The average TV or movie junkie can easily escape into the gothic fantasy of a vampire world, both for the potent combination of sex, violence, and nihilism that is already present in Western culture, but also because buried under all that darkness is the desire for meaning, a reason to keep existing.
Whether the vampire phenomenon will stick around for much longer is a harder question to answer. While it seems unlikely that the growth of technology will slow down in the near future, every cultural change is born out of action-reaction situations. If our society changes, there’s a good chance that vampires will recede back into our imagination. If things keep up, there’s a good chance we’ll see more of the same.
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