As an adult female who has grown up on horror, I am increasingly fascinated by the ways in which men and women view the genre differently. I just finished reading “Nosferatu, where are you?”, courtesy of The Blizzard and I am compelled to respond.
While I mostly agree with his sentiments, I feel this is a perfect example of how men and women see things quite differently. I agree that it’s most unfortunate that an entire generation of girls will believe that Edward Cullen is the bee’s knees. As an independent woman, I am personally offended by the character of Bella Swan. She is needy, whiney, morose, selfish, indecisive, oblivious and worst of all, boring. The thing of it is, Stephanie Meyer didn’t only capture the hearts of tween girls, but of women as well. I know of so many women over the age of 30, 40, 50 etc. who would love to have Edward sweep them off of their feet. Why? Because vampires present the all too irresistible notion that a man could be consumed by his love for you. Forever.
I grew up with Fright Night, The Hunger and The Lost Boys. At age 14, a friend suggested I read “Interview With The Vampire”; well, that sealed the deal. I wanted a vampire for a boyfriend and I wanted him five minutes ago. Yes, “Interview” is a love story between two men, or even a love triangle, if you will, between Lestat, Louis and Armand. I couldn’t get enough of the idea that Louis and Lestat could have such a tumultuous, almost unconditional love that, literally, spanned centuries. What adolescent female can resist such an outlandish notion of what love is? When I was that chubby girl listening to Morrissey and Bauhaus, the fantasy of a person existing who could see past all of my shortcomings was intoxicating. You might be complaining, awkward looking, depressed about nothing, completely inexperienced in life and everything else that accompanies puberty, but your vampire will love you to the moon and back!
So, while I do agree that anyone falling in love with Nosferatu ,specifically, should question their reasoning, I think we should all give these girls a bit of a break. No, they should absolutely, under no circumstances, for any reason, look to Bella Swan for life guidance;however, wishing and hoping for someone to accept you with all of your perceived negative qualities is a lovely notion. Some varieties of vampires are just the David Cassidy, Corey Feldman, New Kids On The Block and Backstreet Boys of horror.
Is there not an equivalent for the boys? Maybe the “Final Girl” is particularly alluring;she’s unblemished, sweet and will kick ass when the time comes. That sounds pretty good to me as well.
L.C.