Living With the Vampires

Chapter 3

In the past decade, books and movies have followed a common trend to attract more audiences and make a quick buck if needed. The implication of vampires into a book or film has become a way to swoon the hearts of teens and young adults. The use of vampires in pop culture has progressively become a dulled, romantic indicator rather than a villain or a threat to the protagonist. As Foster points out, "ghosts and vampires are never only about ghosts and vampires.", meaning that the addition of this mythical being into a plot was used to symbolize and drive the story a certain way. Vampire tales could be tragic, dramatic, or even a twisted, taboo love story. The modern day representation is not too far off from the roots of vampirism where a twisted old man would shroud himself in youth and beauty to attract a fair lady into his presence. The diabolical crime that would be committed involved a loss of the girl’s innocence, whether that be mentally, physically, or sexually.  Vampires are not loved by those he comes across but rather hated and hunted for by clans, townspeople, or hired assassins. If the story is not from the vampire’s point of view, he is seen as a great evil and a threat to human’s way of life.

The literal use of vampire generally follows the typical old man addicted to young women and blood sucking scenario, but what about the theoretical vampires? The characters who blend into society but control and leech off of their peers can be characterized as “vampires”. Wrecking the weak and innocent for their own self advantage, we can observe these character archetypes in everyday society.  Jordan Belfot, protagonist as well as societal villain of “The Wolf of Wall Street”, claws his way through the filth of Wall Street by using his friends, coworkers, and various business ties as rungs on his latter to riches. His driving motivation in the creation of his stock company is to gain wealth and create his own place in the world. Modest dreams turned to corruption just as many are driven by promises of fame and power. The want for money is just as the want for blood from a vampire. To get it, the hunter will do whatever it takes to get it. Using people as pawns is not big deal to someone so self-motivated. Jordan Belfort is a symbol for the life sucking nature of Wall Street and many entrepreneurs not only being a story character, but also a real human who committed these crimes.

To classify as a vampire, the character does not need to have fangs, live in the dead of night, and possess super natural powers. Vampire in literature may not be recognizable at first, but because of archetypes, readers may draw new conclusions if they look deeper into the characters behavior and actions.  Vampire characteristics such as greed, manipulation, lust, and a misleading façade, are things that we typically experienced on regular if not daily basis in the media, pop culture, and our own lives. The vampire in your life could be a roommate who constantly comes short with their end of the rent or a corrupted boss who only envisions his own personal success rather that the well being of this company as well as his workers. 

(Biography of Jordan Belfort: http://www.biography.com/people/jordan-belfort-21329985)