“The Vampire Diaries” is sweeping the country. It is a story of two vampires, one girl and their history. The two vampires are brothers, one good and one bad, who fight over the girl. With the first episode, “The Vampire Diaries” received 4.8 million viewers. This is the best premiere the CW has ever had. My question is why is “The Vampire Diaries” so popular in today’s culture when before they were associated with Goths? In my opinion the transition all started with “Twilight.” It changed a lot of girls’ minds on what a vampire can be like. “The Vampire Diaries” takes “Twilight” and makes it better. In stead of having one vampire going with a girl “The Vampire Diaries” has two vampires fighting over the same girl and makes things more mysterious by not telling her that they are vampires. She falls in love with both of the vampire brothers, which adds for more drama and better television. Debi more says, “to me, the show had its share of ups and downs. It started off strong, got a little too ‘emo’ in places, but then managed to poke fun at itself and lightened up the mood at just the right time.” “The Vampire Diaries” completely changes “the girl meets vampire” bit. “It’s romantic and dangerous at the same time,” says CW President of Entertainment, Dawn Ostroff. This line that Ostroff says completely sums up the show; there is never a dull moment, it has action scenes for men and romantic scenes for women. Most men will not watch the show though; they think it’s only for girls and not manly. I strongly disagree with men thinking it is effeminate. There are aspects of the show that don’t make it effeminate, like football, the blood and gore, hot women, and much more. Kevin Williamson also created the show. He is known for creating “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer” both of which are scary movies, which attracts men. If more men knew who created it than maybe more men would watch it.
Why did the craze over vampires start now? Just as “Twilight,” “The Vampire Diaries” started out as a book and was so widely loved it became a show. It’s kind of like “The Vampire Diaries” is using “Twilight” as a stepping-stone. “The Vampire Diaries” takes “Twilight” and changes it into something much, much better that will hopefully last for many seasons. Even though “The Vampire Diaries” books were written first, in 1990, they have just now come out with a show for it. In my opinion the reason this has all started now is because all the other shows are played out. What I mean by this is that all other shows are becoming or are boring. You can only tell the same story so many times. Vampires are something that will never get old because they are something that can be interpreted in many different ways and also people have always seemed to be interested in the supernatural. These ideas are why “The Vampire Diaries” is doing so well. They provoke things in people that other shows cannot. Things like the thought of vampires being real and what would you do if you were a vampire. “The Vampire Diaries” got more viewers than “Gossip Girl,” 2.5 million viewers, which has been on for two, going on three seasons and has a dedicated fan list. I think “The Vampire Diaries” viewers will continue to increase as the season goes on, the plot thickens, and more people find out about it.
Thanks Twilight Now There’s a Blood Energy Drink
"The Vampire Diaries" takes on "True Blood"
I think this topic in general is really interesting because in my opinion it just became pop culture because the show just came out. The idea of vampires as the author put a new and exciting event in television. I was really engaged about why a man would enjoy Vampire Diaries because some of the reasonings I have never thought of before (ex: hot women) I wasn't sure guys just watched shows because of good looking female actresses. A confusing aspect for me is why you personally like Vampire Diaries. A question I have is why you think Vampire Diaries is better than Twilight?
ReplyDelete^^Abbie- my bad.
ReplyDeleteVery engaging. Your enthusiasm kept the piece interesting and a fast read. One of the most interesting points was the fact that vampire diaries used twilight as a stepping stone when most would say it is a bit of a repeat.Personally I enjoy the show.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that because the show is so popular that people with pick up the book?
Also why don't you think the book was quite as popular?
Eliza
WHAT IS GOING ON WITH ALL THE VAMPIRE STUFF?
ReplyDeleteAs you note, this series capitalizes on the recent popularity of Twilight, which has catapulted the vampire back into our collective consciousness. I think you raise several questions that help us figure out how we got here:
One of your commentators noted that the show is popular because it is "romantic and dangerous." I am curious how the danger actually shows up in the show? Who is at risk? Does the show point to some danger outside of the show? Or is it just supernatural, fantasy danger?
To what extent is this phenomenon gendered? Could the show work if the gender roles were flip-flopped?
Jason
The vampire craze right now is personally something that I'm not really into, but reading about the Vampire Diaries made me wonder if it is different. You say that it is better than Twilight and having watched Twilight I am interested to see how the two compare. I liked how much opinion you had in your blog because you didn't shy away from the fact that you are a male watching the show, you confronted it. Although some of the reasons you mentioned that males may watch the show are stereotypes, you made some good points. Good work!
ReplyDeleteKeely
Why so many vampires? First Twilight and now the Vampire Diaries? I really like how you stated that Twilight was a stepping stone for the show. When you say that the show take Twilight and turning it into something much better, are you implying that you didn't like Twilight or that you find this show more interesting?
ReplyDelete