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?
Twilight Graphic Novel
Come on, you knew this was coming! Entertainment Weekly has a brief article.
I could only make it through half of the first book and I haven’t seen the movie but I’m willing to give the graphic novel a try – if nothing else to avoid the saccharine writing that made me drop the book. I would much rather see Edward drawn like this than read about his “flawless” face.
Here’s what others are saying:
ICV2 sums it up perfectly by stating it’s “the closest thing to printing money that we’ve heard about this year.”
Melinda Beasi counts this as a win but not for the reasons you might think. (link via MangaBlog).
Deb Aoki collects some fan/not-so-fan reactions, plus a poll!
Reading Over Shoulders
Snow?? Really?
Soliloquy in Blue reviews Joss Wedon’s take on one of my favorite series, Runaways. While you’re there you can giggle at the Twilight review. I confess I did try to read Twilight and I failed. I wanted so badly to be obsessed with teenage vampires but I mean, my god, they SPARKLE – what is with that?
Slightly Biased Manga is slightly biased towards the awesomeness of High School Debut vol. 8. So am I.
Eva Volin looks at Swans in Space – the title alone is reason to read it.
Turns out that Slam Dunk’s Hanamichi is a lot like the Hulk – or so says John Jakala.
