Vampires are the new fad. Twilight has taken over the tween scene on the big screen, while True Blood is heating up HBO on Sunday nights. But which one is better?
That debate is up to the fans.
It is arguable that they are very different because of their target audiences. Twilight targets tween girls who want to read about a romance sans any real intimacy. True Blood targets a mature audience who can stay up past 9:00 on a school night.
For those of you cave dwellers who don’t know, Twilight is a story about Bella Swan (Kirsten Stewart), an everyday “plain Jane” who falls for angsty vampire, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattison.) True Blood is also about love between vampire and human. Strong southern lady, Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) falls for the vampire Civil War vet Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) in the fictional Louisiana town of Bon Temps.
The Twilight films’ follow the general plot line of Bella and Edward falling in love, Bella and Edward staring into each other’s eyes, Bella and Edward running into some sort of trouble, and Edward saving Bella. It never becomes more complex than one conflict, nor does it move past the story of Bella and Edward.
True Blood episodes begin with some sort of conflict and sometimes end with the resolve of that one conflict but always end with new ones and some sort of cliff hanger. It’s all about conflict. Not only those of Bill and Sookie but also those of their friends. The characters of Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell), Tara Thornton (Rutina Wesley), Lafayette Reynolds (Nelsan Ellis), and Sookie’s brother Jason (Ryan Kwantan), among others, all share interlacing conflicts. (See Alan Ball discuss the end of Season 3)
Basically, if True Blood’s plot is the Hudson River, Twilight’s is some creek running through the backyard.
The female protagonists, Bella and Sookie, are relatively similar. Which character, however, is the better one?
Bella, a character who shows no growth throughout the Twilight Saga, is not the ideal female role model for tween girls. She is the ultimate empty character for any thirteen-year-old girl reading the books to insert her own personality into. She depends on her relationship with Edward to make her special, and defines herself by it. It is never actually explained why Edward has an interest in Bella. What makes her more special that other girls? Why can’t he read her thoughts when he can read others? As far as clear-headed readers know, Bella is nothing special and is no different from other girls.
On the other hand, Sookie is a character that has always been a strong woman. When Bill comes along, sure she is instantly infatuated by him, but she makes a point in saying she doesn’t depend on him. Unlike in Twilight when Edward saves Bella, it is Sookie who first saves Bill. If it weren’t for the show tendency to be risqué, Sookie would be a good role model for teenage girls when it comes to being an independent woman. Not only that, but it is revealed why Bill, and all other vampires, seem interested in Sookie.
In terms of the Vampire in both shows, the True Blood vampires are definitely more threatening than those sparkling creatures that call themselves vampires in Twilight. Here are the reasons why:
Vampires in Twilight sparkle in the sun. Vampires in True Blood burn up and die in the sun.
Vampires in Twilight are hidden from society. Vampires in True Blood have come out of the coffin.
The Cullens don’t kill humans. Bill kills a number of humans by the end of the first season. Not to mention killing a few vampires too.
Just with these three points, its agreeable that True Blood vampires are way more B.A. than those of Twilight.
As a fan of True Blood, I am totally biased and clearly feel that True Blood is the superior of these two Vampire phenomena and those are my reasons why. Whether or not you feel the same is up to you.
Tori J.
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I like the part where you talk about Bella vs. Sookie as role models for young girls. You obviously have a strong bias towards True Blood. Maybe you could talk more about what is so appealing about Twilight.
ReplyDeletetrue blood=an awesome story line that doesn't need to follow the books to be great. Even though some parts have too much sex you can't judge it being a vampire porno. Watch the first show and you will be saying what the fuck, but in a way where you want to find out more.
ReplyDeleteI like this post because you have a very clear opinion on True Blood versus The Twilight Saga. This essay raised a lot of questions/arguments within me. I agree that Twilight is geared towards a younger audience, but don't you think that it was The Twilight Saga that influenced True Blood in the first place? If Twilight is as shallow as you say it is, than why is it so successful? Maybe you could follow up on this in a future post.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen True Blood, but your post has definitely made me want to start watching it.
Sophia N.
I really liked this post. I haven't seen or read any of the books in the Twilight saga, and I also haven't seen any episode of True Blood. I guess you could say that I'm out of the current pop culture loop. I liked this post because it is very descriptive, and it shows a lot of facts, sprinkled with opinion. It is different from the other posts in this way. I also like the transition from facts to opinion, because it shows how you feel about the movie, and the show.
ReplyDeleteTori,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to hear that there is a strong woman protagonist in True Blood. The "damsel in distress" theme of the Twilight series drives me crazy! I read some of the books with my daughter, and had a lot of mixed feelings about the whole thing.
My question is, how did we get from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (vampires are evil and should be killed) to "Twilight" (vampires are cool and we should date them and bear their children)? What is the cultural need that is making this type of story popular?
For anyone who wants to read more commentary on the politics of vampires and wizards, check out this link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.racialicious.com/2008/12/11/the-politics-of-wizards-and-vampires/
Really interesting. How do you think the original vampire Dracula plays into this whole obsession? Why do you think the vampire obsession happened at this time and not some other time? DO you think the "twilight" phenomenon creates a bias for people who have not seen "True Blood"?
ReplyDelete-Victoria