Fads have always been a super goofy topic to me.  I thought the resurgence of snapback hats, vans, and argyle in fashion was just everybody’s way of honoring Carlton off the Fresh Prince.  However the cycles of our cultures tastes are most evident in our entertainment.  Early 20^th century Dracula had Americans frightened to go to sleep for decades, and afterwards near the moon landing it seemed we went into an alien fixation, then ninjas became pretty big in the seventies and eighties.  The pirate craze came next lasting up until just recently, but now we have settled on a new product of affection: the modern vampire.

we really have zero imagination

I’ve already written, at length, about New wave feminism and vampires here, and the connections just keep on coming.  I don’t know maybe I have a vampire fetish or something.  But anyway, Any column on vampires wouldn’t be complete without starting out with a homoerotic Edward Cullen reference.  However, since I don’t plan on putting my 100% into this essay, I’ll leave it out and do you the favor of hearing one more horrible joke about the Stephanie Myer’s awful Twilight series.  Vampires are quickly on the rise as the number one protagonist in novels, TV shows and movies.  Media buffs have probably already ordered their season 4 Trueblood DVD’s that went on sale this Tuesday (the 29^th) and vampire aficionados most definitely saw the midnight premiere of the new vampire thriller starring Johnny Depp, Dark Shadows.

These fantasies touch home with us whether we realize it or not.  Underneath the surface, we are all a little bit like a vampire and this may be a huge part of the reason people love them so much.  Vamps are portrayed as individuals struggling to survive in a world where everyone is out to get them.  Antagonists are always hunting them, trying to rid the world of their bloodsucking kind one at a time, when all the poor vampire wants to do is sip on some sweet nectar – mainly human blood.  In my experience, nearly everyone I know has insecurities arising out of some area of self esteem that has taken a hit.  We are often misunderstood creatures just like a vampire, trying to survive in a horrible world where everyone is pitted against us.

In reality, if you are a perfect human being you should feel like the oddball, because life is tough and there are so many things that can stand in your way of survival.  The few individuals who have kept their lives together are legends, and these corporate millionaires as they often are, do everything to keep the little people down.  The vampire has many enemies, but this is the worst, but regardless I’m going to enjoy my sweet nectar whether my companions would like to join me or not.  There isn’t much point in worrying about the things you cant control, and being misunderstood is a phenomena that will always effect individuals of the human race.  All you can do is sit back and enjoy the ride.

Lpowell