I've been trying to figure out as I watch each episode of "Trueblood" and, less likely, "The Vampire Diaries" (the best one of all may be "Being Human" on the BBC) what -- aside from the obvious eroticism of blood and teeth -- the latest fascination with life as a vampire is really about.Could it be the fact that we're dwindling down as a species and simply no longer interested in being human?
The world (west of the Third one) has, of course, dictated who we should be at every opportunity (and it never matches what we see in self-reflection). But maybe we're way past that now. Maybe, in our minds, we are already ascending from the ashes and so associate with the vampire not only because he can't see himself in the mirror, but can't see his life there, either. Maybe we've collectively realized that nothing we do -- no pill, no knife, no salve, no food, no recovery, no God, no mantra, no practice -- will change who we essentially are: human beings in human bodies who die from something called life.
We watch the vampires because we want to live forever -- past the end of the world.
Better than merely wanting blood in the power hungry dark is drinking it.
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If our fascination with vampires had us always fantasizing about being the vampire ourselves, then we could conclude that the desire to live forever was the principal attraction of these myths. But many a "vampirophile" dreams of being the victim of their undead captor which, unless the "fanged one" so chooses, can mean surrendering to death.
Perhaps our human need for deep intimacy with others is so intense that we will sacrifice our lives to experience it. Consider for example, the number of Gay men who participate in "bareback" sex despite of, and perhaps because of, the risk to life that the lack of protection entails.
However, as important as sexual expression may be, I sense that there is a deeper human hunger propelling these macabre narratives. If we have any desire bigger than the desire to live, it is the need to be loved. And when I say loved, I am not simply talking about love in the most common romantic terms. I am talking about a sense of purpose. For to be loved is to know that one's existence has meaning. Our quest for purpose is a stronger mission than our desire to live. Through history, there have been countless martyrs to countless causes that validate this point.
The signs of how much we value self-sacrifice are everywhere. In Christianity for example, while the great message may be of Easter and its promise of eternal life, it is not the risen Christ who stands behind most altars in most churches around the world. Rather, it is the dying figure on the cross that is the principal focus of worship. Christ followers honor their savior and proclaim His purpose through the ritual act of eating His body and drinking His blood.
So then, what greater purpose could one possibly have than to know that your essence is breathing eternal life into another? To be devoured completely by the vampire becomes the most intimate possible expression of love. In your dying, you have never been more alive.
The desire to live forever is very strong. The desire to impart life, and thus feel empowered, is even stronger. We seek the fruits of life, but we love and worship the seeds that bear the fruit even more.
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