I was drawn into a conversation a few months ago about vampires and the two categories that they often fall in to, which are either ‘The Dandy’ or ‘The Beast.’ The person I was having the discussion with seemed confused, so I explained it thusly:
The Dandy-type of vampire is one who may or may not have an accent, is extremely well-mannered (even if he is truly evil) and he is one whose only indicating feature is his fangs. He can often be found brooding, may have musical talent of some sort and has an air of nobility. Prime examples can be found in: “Interview with the Vampire,” “Twilight,” “Dracula,” and most vampiric tv shows like “Forever Knight,” and “True Blood.”
The Beast-type and my favorite (everyone else’s least it seems) is more animalistic, is less refined, probably won’t win any beauty contests but can occasionally be a gentle soul. Sometimes seen in packs or in lone status, the Beast type is very rarely the love interest in movies, but in some instances can be the noblest thing in a film. For prime examples, check out: “30 Days of Night,” “Blade 2,” “ Underworld 2,” “Dusk til Dawn,” and “Nosferatu.”
Now both types can be extended to cover not just vampires, but shifters, gargoyles, demons and other eccentric paranormal types, but for all intents and purposes paranormal erotica tends to focus more on the Dandy. . It’s easier to imagine oneself being swept away by someone who is hot on the outside, but a cousin to a zombie on the inside. I myself am currently reading a paranormal romance novel where the Vampire Alpha Dandy is the hottest, strongest thing since sliced Viking cheese and while it may seem like he has the narrative-prerequisite flaw, his only real flaw seems to be how he attracts attention. I am reading it and somewhat enjoying it, but it's like chocolate candy, good for a moment then gone too soon.
I remember reading “Phantom of the Opera” when I was a young girl and I also recall watching “Beauty and the Beast” starring Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman. Both kind of seemed to surpass the fluff of romance and hit upon something much more cerebral: the ability to love the mind more than the body. If the hero more resembled a bat rather than Brad Pitt, would the heroine/hero still be attracted to them? What does the choice to love a beast say about the heroine/hero…something deep and intellectual or something kinky and therapy-worthy? Is this something you would even want to read?
Chime in.
The Dandy-type of vampire is one who may or may not have an accent, is extremely well-mannered (even if he is truly evil) and he is one whose only indicating feature is his fangs. He can often be found brooding, may have musical talent of some sort and has an air of nobility. Prime examples can be found in: “Interview with the Vampire,” “Twilight,” “Dracula,” and most vampiric tv shows like “Forever Knight,” and “True Blood.”
The Beast-type and my favorite (everyone else’s least it seems) is more animalistic, is less refined, probably won’t win any beauty contests but can occasionally be a gentle soul. Sometimes seen in packs or in lone status, the Beast type is very rarely the love interest in movies, but in some instances can be the noblest thing in a film. For prime examples, check out: “30 Days of Night,” “Blade 2,” “ Underworld 2,” “Dusk til Dawn,” and “Nosferatu.”
Now both types can be extended to cover not just vampires, but shifters, gargoyles, demons and other eccentric paranormal types, but for all intents and purposes paranormal erotica tends to focus more on the Dandy. . It’s easier to imagine oneself being swept away by someone who is hot on the outside, but a cousin to a zombie on the inside. I myself am currently reading a paranormal romance novel where the Vampire Alpha Dandy is the hottest, strongest thing since sliced Viking cheese and while it may seem like he has the narrative-prerequisite flaw, his only real flaw seems to be how he attracts attention. I am reading it and somewhat enjoying it, but it's like chocolate candy, good for a moment then gone too soon.
I remember reading “Phantom of the Opera” when I was a young girl and I also recall watching “Beauty and the Beast” starring Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman. Both kind of seemed to surpass the fluff of romance and hit upon something much more cerebral: the ability to love the mind more than the body. If the hero more resembled a bat rather than Brad Pitt, would the heroine/hero still be attracted to them? What does the choice to love a beast say about the heroine/hero…something deep and intellectual or something kinky and therapy-worthy? Is this something you would even want to read?
Chime in.
4 comments:
Interesting post. I rather like vamps who combine the two extremes, or fall somewhere in between. The vampires I write tend to resist both of the portrayals you mention . . . and be either bisexual or gay, which can add interesting variations to the stereotypes. ;-)
Hey there K.Z. Most of the bisexual and gay vamps I have read and yes even ones that I have written tend to lean more toward the dandy realm. They are visualy attractive and more soulfull than pug-nose, bat-ear having vampires with ten foot wing spans and sulphuric blood-breath.
The middle ground is allways good, and your ability to defy the portrayals is something I haven't gotten to in my writing, but hope to craft a beast tale in the future... I may be a dark fantasy writer inside of a paranormal erotica writers body though...
I lean more toward the beast type myself although you don't see it too often. Beauty and the Beast with Hamilton and Perlman was one of my favorite shows. I also loved Dark Angel, Joshua and the other "Nomilies" made the show great and it showed how looks can be misleading. Also, and this one is not so much beast as just not classicly attractive, you have the Sci-fi genre with all of the various aliens they create.
Ahh...Scifi too... definitely. You can have an alien that looked like Spock or one that looks like Worf...I was always more interested in the Klingons, because I had to look past the physical beauty and admire their honor, brutality and their version of sexual excitement...pon far, I think it was...lol.
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