The sad thing is, that's what I think the Casts thought they were doing! Instead of pacing it well though, they keep shoving it back to later books. >_<
The trouble with having a book or show that compares prejudice against vampires or other monsters with sexism, religion, and racism is that if you don't handle it right, it falls flat. After all, vampires, by nature, survive by feeding off of others Even if you make a universe where they can get blood safely, there's always the argument that minorities don't have the potential to freak out and grab the nearest person and drink them dry.
Now again, I do give the Cast ladies props for trying to make their vampires sympathetic by having them set up schools to control their bloodlust and whatnot. It's infinitely better than Meyer's set-up, where we're supposed to sympathize with vampires who mostly eat humans indiscriminately, with no systems to get over this or protect humans. Still, their analogies fall flat. Like I said, it's hard to feel sorry for vampires when they spend their many years being hot and talented and loved by fans and getting lots of money. The other thing is that these vampires are just *bitches*. Zoey's suggestion to work with the cat shelter is really the first time any of them suggest integrating with the human community. Humans have very little idea of what vampires are capable of, so for all they know, they're in constant danger of being murdered by something that can turn into fog or hypnotize them with a glance. If the vampires took a second to just tell people stuff, maybe they wouldn't be so mistrusted.
I actually wish the Cast ladies had played with the idea that Heifer was honestly a good guy who cared for his family and really was worried about his stepdaughter and bringing everyone into contact with the vampire community. Maybe he'd be on the side of being overly protective, but he still would try and do the right thing. You know, give him depth and dimensions. Instead, we're supposed to hate him because derp, he hates vampires.
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Date: 2011-05-06 02:31 pm (UTC)The trouble with having a book or show that compares prejudice against vampires or other monsters with sexism, religion, and racism is that if you don't handle it right, it falls flat. After all, vampires, by nature, survive by feeding off of others Even if you make a universe where they can get blood safely, there's always the argument that minorities don't have the potential to freak out and grab the nearest person and drink them dry.
Now again, I do give the Cast ladies props for trying to make their vampires sympathetic by having them set up schools to control their bloodlust and whatnot. It's infinitely better than Meyer's set-up, where we're supposed to sympathize with vampires who mostly eat humans indiscriminately, with no systems to get over this or protect humans. Still, their analogies fall flat. Like I said, it's hard to feel sorry for vampires when they spend their many years being hot and talented and loved by fans and getting lots of money. The other thing is that these vampires are just *bitches*. Zoey's suggestion to work with the cat shelter is really the first time any of them suggest integrating with the human community. Humans have very little idea of what vampires are capable of, so for all they know, they're in constant danger of being murdered by something that can turn into fog or hypnotize them with a glance. If the vampires took a second to just tell people stuff, maybe they wouldn't be so mistrusted.
I actually wish the Cast ladies had played with the idea that Heifer was honestly a good guy who cared for his family and really was worried about his stepdaughter and bringing everyone into contact with the vampire community. Maybe he'd be on the side of being overly protective, but he still would try and do the right thing. You know, give him depth and dimensions. Instead, we're supposed to hate him because derp, he hates vampires.