First rant of the day (hopefully, the only rant): We received a solicitation for a donation from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the esteemed VFW. Inside was a nice card to fill out so it could be delivered to a Vet in a Veterans Hospital, and an equally gracious recitation of all the good things the VFW does for our veterans, requesting we send a check. So far, so good. But a small "Made in China" on the envelope containing all this niceness stopped me in my tracks. The VFW of the United States of America is using China to print its solicitation letters?
Whoa up there. How about putting jobless veterans to work in the U.S. printing out the VFW's goods? The VFW won't get a penny from me until it keeps its business within these borders. I'll bet there are a ton of people who didn't notice that Made in China on the letters they received. From now on, I'm paying more attention.
How does this relate to vampires, you ask? Well, it really doesn't, except I was reading a review of the newest Tim Burton-produced movie, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, VAMPIRE SLAYER. I remember seeing the book on the shelf and laughing out loud. The preposterous always amuses me. Now, there's a movie. And Vampire Diaries on the CW. And vampires still holding court on bookshelves everywhere. But a line in the movie's review, spoken by one of the flick's producers, lit the proverbial light bulb in my brain.
The movie, he said, was aimed for a youthful audience, or words to that effect. Old people needn't bother to plunk down their money for a ticket. It came to me that vampires are still big sellers for younger readers, and I include those in their twenties and early thirties, because they're about immortality. The beautiful young who never age rule society, living century upon century, wealthy, seductive, and without those pesky laws of the real world to impede their desires. Is this an attractive fictional universe? Heck, yes!
The teenagers of Vampire Diaries, beautiful and ripped all, live without the impediment of parents or poverty. They drink alcohol whenever they like, because hey, there are no adults to say "no." They drive cool cars. They go to school when they feel like it or to attend the prom, and that's it. Their clothes are stylish and their jewelry fashionable. Hair and makeup never get messy. Lovers come and go from their bedrooms at all hours.
Has our society placed such a premium on youth and living longer that it's now the reigning theme in fiction?
I'm beginning to worry that the answer is, heck, yes.
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