Vampires as Metaphors for Banality
UPDATE: I’m not the only one who thinks Vampire Knight is emotional porn. Lianne at Sleep is for the Week talks about the melodrama and SEXY VAMPIRES that have young teens hooked – and some adults too 
Thanks for pointing me to the post, MangaBlog.
I was working on this post last week to coincide with shojo head-meet-wall manga Vampire Knight topping the New York time bestseller list but then some other news happened and I had to write about that just to show everyone I knew what was going on. See! See! I know what’s happening, I do – wah don’t leave me behiiiinnndd. I’m an insecure blogger.
But then Vampire Knight went and did it again so this post is revived.
Before I launch into what might be a long and rambling rant of sorts, I want to be clear that I’m all for teenagers reading whatever they want. However, if I accept the idea that books can change minds for the better I must also accept that they can give you ideas that are, oh, not so good. The thing about literature is that most times you can read something and enjoy it for what it is without actually agreeing with everything or incorporating it into your identity. What I’m saying is, I’m sure many bright young women read books like Twilight and Vampire Knight without then turning into glass eyed dolls.
I can see why they read them. These books are essentially emotional porn. They fulfill the typically female, typically teenage fantasy of being the only girl in the room. In Twilight, Bella is the only girl whose thoughts Edward can’t read. In Vampire Knight, Yuki is the only human allowed into the vampires world. The new series, X-Men Misfits takes it one step further by making Kitty Pride literally the only girl in the school. This emotional porn doesn’t really bother me, in fact, I’m sure I’ve indulged in a few or a hundred dream sequences of me attending a ball with every hot guy I’ve ever met. I don’t even really mind that these books kick it up a level by having all the men fall in love (read: become obsessed) with the main character. That’s part of the appeal I suppose.
What bothers me is what the men become obsessed with, which as far as I can tell, is nothing. Yuki and Bella are boring. Less than boring. They are helpless, pretty creatures that spend most of their time innocently looking coy and confused. What message does this send? I admit, maybe I’m analyzing these books too much and I should just relax and enjoy the making out but - I don’t know. The other thing that bothers me is that the female antagonist in these books is often outspoken and demanding and, you know, eeeeevil. So to me the point is clear – you want all men everywhere to be obsessed with you? Um, yes. Well, then shut up, sit down and open your top a little. Try and put yourself in danger with your own stupidity. Engage your target with a little chatter about how you simply can’t love him because he’s too big and strong and ohhh, what to do?
The thing is, you can get all your fantasies without actually having to sacrifice self worth. The hilarious Ouran High Host Club is about a girl who has to join the all hot-all male host club to pay off a debt. Of course, all the boys fall in love with her but there’s a lot to love. She’s funny, level-headed, hard working and actually calls them out on their many flaws. And by flaws I mean, weaknesses, not being supernaturally hot – which isn’t a flaw at all but I’m sure you got that. Unlike Yuki and Bella who are themselves flawless (being clumsy doesn’t count as a flaw), Haruhi is distrustful, painfully shy and at times, pretty snobby. These are things she has to overcome before finally falling in love herself.
Like I said at the beginning, I’m sure many readers are able to read Vampire Knight for enjoyment without imitating the heroines. But what I would like to know is if these readers actually like Yuki/Bella or if they just see them as blank vessels that the reader can step into, filling them with their own personality and then indulge in the fantasy?
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Comments
I suppose its because the typical female stereotype is submissive and quiet and helpless so that the men around her feel dominant and strong and able. ::rolls eyes::
Yuki needs to watch some Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I think it might teacher a thing or two about being strong, but vulnerable (though I suppose Buffy’s emotional state is not something to aspire towards…).
I wonder sometimes what Bella would be like if she was in ANY other situation but the one she landed in. I mean how long in a fully human environment do you think she’d be interesting? Or Yuki–even ignoring some of the spoilers for her character I’ve read and seen about–could she survive being ‘just another girl’?
(maybe it’s not a big deal, but that anime blog online post was originally from mangablog.net, which is where I came over from.)
Great thoughts. As a reader, I know I generally like the heroines of manga and books that I read. Not that I want to BE like them myself, because I have my own personality that I’m quite content with… but I like them, all the same. But I’m not sure if that’s a trait shared by all or many female readers. Maybe I’ve just been lucky enough to generally read stories with above-average heroines. I haven’t read either VK or Twilight, so I can’t comment on the likability of either of their girls, but it makes sense that the audience is reading the story more for everything else that goes on around the heroine than to get to know the heroine herself.
Eh, I think they’re just blank vessels most of the time just to indulge in the fantasy. I felt like the creators of Twilight & VK tried to make their female heroines as neutral as possible with some exceptions. To be honest, I never read these series for the female main character but for the other characters. The more I read Twilight/VK, the more I actually got annoyed by Bella/Yuuki because they’re so undecisive but that never stopped me from continuing on. Guess I have a high tolerance lol.
I also notice the men are glorified to be far more interesting than the heroines themselves. Ha, no wonder I end up liking them more xD
Sadie, I loved this post. I truly think it’s possible for young females to own up to their “vampirophilia”–to experience things like surrender–while remaining strong, autonomous, and self-respecting. The publisher of my book, “How to Catch and Keep a Vampire,” wanted it to be suitable for young adults (it’s a book on dating vampires, so they were definitely going to be interested in the subject matter!). So I took the challenge seriously of showing how a female can indulge in a little vampire-induced swooning without sacrificing any aspect of her character and self-esteem. And you know, it’s perfectly possible and indeed, works wonderfully!
–Diana Laurence (www.howtocatchandkeepavampire.com
[...] Times graphic books best-seller list for the second week in a row. This prompts Sadie Mattox to wonder why the heroines in vampire books are so boring, and it also gives me an excuse to link once again [...]