vampires from 'twilight' vs traditional notions of vampires
By kelly2003
@kelly2003 (23)
Australia
June 23, 2009 8:00am CST
i was just wondering how people feel about the new glorified version of a vampire in the movie 'twilight' (i have not read the books so i'm not sure whether or not it is depicted the same as in the movie), in comparison to more traditional versions of vampires from movies like 'buffy the vampire slayer' or 'the lost boys'.
for example, traditionally vampires can be killed by sunlight or a stake through the heart, whereas in 'twilight' they must be burned in order to be destroyed & their skin glistens like diamonds in the sunlight. vampires usually produce no reflection in a mirror, however this is not the case in 'twilight'. they also possess special abilities in 'twilight' including the ability to read minds or see the future & can reach tremendous speeds.
'twilight' completely warps my original view of what a vampire really is. how about you?
3 responses
@renemouche (843)
• United States
23 Jun 09
Well I like both views. Twilight is a new spin on vampire legends. Many people have taken offense to it because the vampires in twilight are seen as whimpy compared to the traditional vampires. Twilight messes up everything we have been tought about vampires, its something new and sometimes new things dont sit well with people.
Yes in twilight they sparkle in the sun, instead of burn, but the core of the myth is still intact. Its still dangerous for them to go out into the sunlight and if they do and are seen by humans, it will cause them to die, the sunlight wont kill them but something or someone else will.(I dont want to give any spoliers away from New Moon,its the second book in the series and the movie is coming out in November).
I have read the entire twilight series and seen the movie. I love the series not just because of the new twist on vampires but because of the story and the underlying message that it has. That message gets lost in all the squabbles about how the author depicted the vampires and the quailty of her writting.
The one think i took away from the twilight series was that everyone has choices. You can choose to do good and be different than what your circumstances allow you to be.
@kelly2003 (23)
• Australia
23 Jun 09
well expressed point of view! i was excited that there were more movies coming out in the series but u have piqued my interest & i don't think i will be able to wait until the next movie is released to see what happens next & get a better understanding of this version of a vampire. u have inspired me to read the books :)
@renemouche (843)
• United States
23 Jun 09
Im glad you have deciced to give the series a chance and read it. New Moon the second book in the series is a great book a whole other element is introduced and its exciting, Eclipse is the third book in the series and my favorite. The last book is called Breaking Dawn.
Once you read New Moon tell me what you think about it :)
1 person likes this
@kelly2003 (23)
• Australia
24 Jun 09
is it worth reading the first book before i read 'new moon' or is it basically the same as the movie?
@jrking (51)
• United States
23 Jun 09
I am not aware of all of the intricate details behind the history of vampires, but I do know that a lot of what we think about vampire lore now has been created by Hollywood. For example, a lot of the original European folklore describe vampires as bloated and purplish in appearance, and make no mention of fangs. So when a different version of a vampire appears, whether it be in Twilight, Buffy or even True Blood, I just take it in stride. Because any myth will naturally evolve over time.
