Trueblood, for those who have not seen it, is a HBO show (but even better books) about vampires and other creatures of the night. It tells the story of a barmaid, Sookie Stackhouse, who is a telepath. Vampires just “came out of the coffin” and revealed their presence in this world after the Japanese made a synthetic blood they could live off of instead of people and they are fighting for their rights. Sookie finally met her first vampire, Bill Compton, at the bar she worked at and after she saves his life, he saves hers in return. They fall in love and she is forever entangled in the supernatural world that she didn’t even know existed. She encounters creatures of all kinds after she meets vampires: shape-shifters, werewolves, demons, fairies, witches, etc.
They fit the “art horror” monsters as they are dead but still around and living and since they don’t have active brain waves, Sookie the telepath, cannot read their thoughts. Because of this, it makes them even more ominous. Usually if someone is plotting something Sookie can stop them after hearing what they were planning on doing but these incredibly fast and ridiculously strong creatures of the night can do whatever they please without our heroine’s knowledge. They are trying to mainstream into the normal society but there are still some vampires that think they are superior and human lives don’t matter. They kill at will and without effort in most cases. It’s hard to imagine winning against these strong, fast, and hypnotic creatures (once they look in your eyes they have control of your will) but they also have many weaknesses even as monsters. They can be weakened by silver, they are not allowed to enter a resident’s home unless invited, and a stake to the heart will finish them forever. So even though they can be vicious monsters, most are trying to live in the normal society and get along so they can live relatively normal lives like they once did.
This show is horrifying because the monsters. This is a great example of the universal theory of horror. The plot is good but what draws people in and keeps them hooked are the monsters in the stories, which in this show there are many. It seems in every episode there is a new one and just as repulsive and impossible. Usually they are people and monsters though, like the werewolves, and you learn to understand them and how, most of them, just try to be normal and yet they can’t hide the monster they are. It is fascinating to watch; the ones that try to keep their humanity fight the ones that give themselves over to their monstrous behaviors.
1 comment:
I personally find this show so interesting because of the wide range of "monsters" or supernatural creatures. Usually a show or movie or book is limited to one or two at the most. In True Blood, there are vampires, telepaths, shapeshifters, one witch so far, one demon so far, faries, werewolves and werepanthers. The interactions between all of these supernatural creatures is so unfamilar to the audience since its not real, but we can relate. The characters are often stuggling between right and wrong and what their brain says to do and what their heart feels.
Post a Comment