Society's monsters by Haley Aguilar

    Charlene Harris’ novel Dead Until Dark features very strong misogynistic undertones alongside obvious displays of toxic masculinity. The female protagonist spends most of the novel passing judgment on other women and the antagonist of the novel kills women because he perceives them to be dirty, lowlife urchins undeserving of life. Due to Sookie’s ability to read minds, the audience is able to understand the viewpoints of multiple characters. Most of the male characters thoughts resonate in a singular idea, women are there for their own personal enjoyment until the moment that they deem the woman not good enough. Even at Merlotte's, Sookie finds herself judged for being a simple waitress. The balance of power in the novel sways obviously toward the men, with them representing nearly every authority figure in the novel. The only authoritative females in the novel are Portia Bellefleur and Kenya the policewoman; however, they are still seen as objects. Kenya is most commonly mentioned by her partner and not in a professional context, he is often thinking about what she’s doing with her free time. Portia is also belittled, but in this instance, it is by Sookie who “heard” that she was a competent lawyer.

    The misogyny in this novel is not just practiced by men, but by the women as well. Women judge other women as a result of being judged by men. The men set their standards for women and that becomes the measuring stick for women to judge each other. Sookie is very guilty of this, her perception of Arlene is tainted by the thoughts of her multiple sexual partners and escapades. Arlene is her friend but Sookie can’t help but judge her on the basis of her looks and actions while maintaining that she herself is virtuous even when she becomes sexually active with Bill, she continues to think that she is better because she has only had the one partner. Because of her mind reading capabilities, Sookie knows what’s going on in the minds of other people and with their thoughts comes her judgment. She thinks she knows people based off of a passing thought, but everyone has wayward thoughts that don’t embody their true personalities.

    Toxic masculinity is another prevalent trait displayed in the novel. The most obvious instances that I noticed in the novel were instances between Sookie and Sam. Sam is Sookie’s boss but he breaks professional boundaries on multiple occasions. Everyone knows that he likes Sookie but the way he goes about showing it is not appropriate in the workplace. One example of this is when he follows Sookie into the fridge when she is upset. With her trapped in a confined space with him, he tells her that she can read his mind anytime she likes. This is not okay because she adamantly objected to the idea but he took it upon himself to change her mind on something she was uncomfortable with. Sam makes her uncomfortable in another instance when he is on the clock. Sookie stops to pick up her check from Sam and while they’re in his office he decided to walk up behind Sookie and sniff her then blow air on her neck. This could be his subtle way of trying to stake a claim on her but again, in a professional setting, it is completely wrong. Bill also displays some toxic traits. He is quick to claim Sookie, claiming that it is for her protection but even behind closed doors, he repeats the same thing. Bill’s overprotective nature is supposed to come off as caring and loyal but I believe it illuminates a deeper issue. He truly believes that Sookie belongs to him, it is reflected in his actions when he tells her that he has no intention of stopping the ongoing sexual activity, even if she didn’t want to continue. He treats her well but with overt dominance, using her fear of him to keep her in check. Both men exhibit toxic traits, especially when it comes to Sookie because the gender script for being a man in today’s is fueled largely by lust and power. They act in the way that they believe that a man should in whatever situation they find themselves in. Their actions are a result of social training, they might be from different time periods but society has always seen men as dominant so it makes sense that they should exert dominance over women and take them for their own. It is what society has been telling them to do for centuries.  

Apotropaic Magic -- Crystalle Fry

Relics come in all shapes, sizes and appearances. From crucifixes to evil eyes, while others look like no more than pieces of scrap metal put together, wooden carvings or simply voodoo dolls. Relics can be as small as a needle or the size of a bulldozer. Regardless of appearance, components or size of a relic, though, all such artifacts operate on the same principles.

The continuing myth of vampires evolved from superstition around death and purification of the soul to a more sparkly (haha get it because in Twilight vampires sparkle? No? okay moving on) paranormal ideas. While ancient civilizations’ depictions of vampire-like beings such as Lilitu, a mystical being who lived off of the blood of babies, and Estries, who pillaged cities, eating unsuspecting men, both of Assyria; and the Greek and Roman Empousai, demigoddesses who also feed on men, have served as a vanguard for later incarnations, since leaving the cave, portrayals of vampirism from folklore to film share more characteristics—like an aversion to garlic—than not.

“Esteries”

In modern stories, the beginning is always the same. A road is dark (with an exception of a few that flicker on and off) It’s really late, and only the most committed to a good time remain to bear witness to the night’s secrets. As a dense fog erupts from the forestry of a small town and the drunks slowly stumble their way home—if they make it that far.

A woman screams—something or someone swallows one man, and then another, like low hanging fruit, leaving the others panicked. The woman screams again, we can now see her, still in dimmed lighting, as she flees some violent scene. In the aftermath, someone suggests vampirism, a condition dripping with superstition and misfortune, and repeats it, but none of them are reliable witnesses.

Although his wasn’t the first, Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula provided much of the basis of the modern vampire legend and popularized the garlic phenomenon. And, historically, this adds up. Vampirism was seen as a disease, and for time immemorial garlic has served many cultures with its curative properties.

After concluding some research on vampirism based on Dead Until Dark (True Blood), Twilight and Dracula, I thought I should write about fact versus fiction.These are my theories (based on research/evidence) as to why relics don't work.

-Vampirism can cure any human ailment

Source: The vampiric ability to ward off a multitude of diseases.

Fact: Although vampirism can effectively cure a diseased human, such individuals have a much harder time surviving the transformation process—especially with advanced age and most definitely with organ transplants.

-Vampires can choose to live on only animals and blood bags

Source: Hollywood idealization of vampirism as something that can be rehabilitated and reintegrated into human society.

Fact: Although animals and blood bags can get them by for a while, vampires ultimately have to feed on live humans to get all the nutrients they require.

-Crosses repel vampires and can burn their flesh

Source: Christian beliefs that vampires are demons and therefore enemies of God. During the Dark Ages, vampires were known to have been tortured by the church using super heated iron crosses to "burn the Holy Spirit into them" before execution.

Fact: Unless heated by fire or used as a bashing or throwing weapon, crosses have absolutely no effect on vampires. They have no trouble entering churches, either (in True Blood we see Bill remove the American flag, revealing the cross underneath it, but did not burn).

Hypocritical Society in Dead Until Dark

     Vampires have only recently become a topic that sparks lust and curiosity. Especially after the release of the Twilight series written by Stephenie Meyer, young girls lust after the idea of a vampire. Even just a hundred years ago, vampires were used to inflict fear, but they have recently been romanticized. Readers now are commonly conflicted between whether they should fear vampires or see them as endearing. Readers are increasing hypocritical of their views of vampires because most vampire novels are set in hypocritical societies. Sookie Stackhouse is a perfect representation of the hypocritical society that is shown in Charlaine Harris’s Dead Until Dark. One way that Sookie shows her hypocritical nature is with the supposed internal conflict that she faces when it comes to vampires. She takes this conflict to another level when she becomes a fangbanger. She shames fellow women for getting involved with vampires all while she is involved with Bill. Sookie is also a hypocrite when it comes to her “disability”. She has the ability to hear people’s thoughts, but she calls it a disability and tries to repress it. With all the turmoil in and surrounding her town, Sookie could very easily use her gift to read people’s thoughts to help the police in her town, but she does not. She instead spends her days complaining about how she has to hear everyone’s thoughts and how horrible it makes her life. She complains about how she cannot just live her life without hearing people’s thoughts, but at the same time, she listens to people thoughts that she wants to. Sookie claims that she hears people’s voices and cannot make it stop, but when Sam gives her permission to listen to his thoughts, she refuses. Sookie wants people to think that she is a victim for having this gift that she has classified as a disability.
     Sookie, however, is not the only character in the book that is caught being a hypocrite. Many people, especially men, are caught shaming women for getting involved with vampires. If women are caught hooking up with vampires, then they deserve what happens to them. For example, if a woman is involved with a vampire and she ends up dead, it was thought to be her fault. Women in the novel were depicted as sluts who require a male vampire to take interest in them so that they have someone to please. Men, however, are depicted dramatically different in this novel. For example, if a man was caught hooking up or involved with a vampire, then the vampire must have taken advantage of the man and coerced him into getting involved. When men were caught involving themselves with vampires, it was never their fault, and they were never seen as any different or any less than the men that were only involved with humans.

     Like many novels, Charlaine Harris’s Dead Until Dark simply takes aspects of the society that we live in today and amplifies them so that they are easier to recognize. In the society that we live in today, people are increasingly more hypocritical, but they refuse to see it. After reading the novel and critiquing Sookie and some of the other characters, my eyes have opened to the fact that the society that we live in is scarily similar to the society on the novel, and that we need to make a point to be less hypocritical.

The Awkward Love Triangle

The Awkward Love Triangle

- Makayla Dunlap

In almost every novel or movie, there is a love triangle. One person must love another, but another individual must then be inserted to complicate the situation. But- has the classic love triangle evolved at all? Although they are from significantly different time periods, the love triangle in Dracula (the film), Dead Until Dark, and Twilight does not change.

While the novel Dracula does not present a love triangle, the film makes it one. Jonathan loves Mina. Mina also loves Jonathan, but then Dracula inserts himself into the situation while Jonathan is away. Mina then slowly falls for Dracula, and in the end commits her life to him. This is again seen in Dead Until Dark between Sookie, Bill, and Sam. It is then AGAIN seen in Twilight. Only this time it is been Bella, Jacob, and Edward. You can also assume that the love triangle can be seen again and again. However, THEY ARE THE EXACT SAME.

Nothing is new. Each time it will always be three characters, and traditionally it will be two guys fighting over one girl. This classic set-up presents the girl as a prize to win. And, frankly, I am tired of this notion. In our society, we are constantly making strives to advance, but often times women are left behind. We are fighting, but are we evolving? It normally feels like we are taking one step forward and three steps back. The notion of the love triangle, I believe, is a huge loss for women. We aren’t allowed to make our own decisions and the choice to be alone is nonexistent. Generally, we have a lot of choice in who to love as humans, but how often does the woman in the triangle choose a member out of the triangle? Hint- she doesn’t.

So the next question is- what are we teaching the young members of our society? I believe we are telling them that they should wait for a knight in shining or maybe even two through the constant use of the love triangle. We are allowing them to play a passive role in their life, with the assumption that someone will someday come along and fix all of their problems. While this is primarily the case for females, I think the love triangle also teaches negative information to males as well. In all reality, they do not have to fight over women if they do not want. They also aren’t required to provide everything for their partner, because it should be an actual partnership.

So what do we now when so many pieces of literature and film already incorporate  the concept of the love triangle? I think the answer is to educate. Educate our females that they aren’t a trophy to be won, but a human being who has the ability to choose between countless options. Educate our men that they do not have to automatically find a wife or girlfriend. In addition to this, we need to educate men that they are also allowed to be human beings and can choose to love or be with whoever they want as well. While the idea of the love triangle has evolved very little over the decades, it is time that we evolve past it.