Demythologizing Vampires

Demythologization is one way to make old mythical characters interesting in writing or in movies. It could explain why these characters act the way they do or undo stereotypical characterization and give them new ones. One of the best examples I could think of is Anne Rice's vampires. She totally brought these creatures out of their caskets and gave them new lives. Her vampires are beautiful (as oppose to other horrifying corpse like Nosferatu) and enthralling particularly with their glowing skin which resembles a human-like quality when fed well and becomes transparent when starved. In the old-age literature, their skins are black, owing to the fact they look like corpses. It has become white and smooth these days because vampires are believed to be noctural, thus never get to see the sun.

Rice's vampires are not afraid of crosses. They also have glass-looking fingernails. They don't turn into bats or any kind of form or animals like Dracula.

Rice, in order to preserve the legendary characters, has maintained some characteristics, too. Her vampires sleep on coffin which is must for it is the safest way where sunlight can't get to them. With that, they stay away from sunlight for it burn and kill them. Their main source of food is still blood (either human or animals), but they can live forever without it, only that their strength gets affected. They move fast. They hear well from a distance.

Stephanie Meyer also demythologized vampires in her series of "Twilight" books. Her vampires can easily mingle and interact with humans since they have no problem coming out during the day. They shouldn't be exposed to direct sunlight though for their skin shines like crystal. They don't sleep, so there's no need for coffin. They work and go to school, living like ordinary human does. Each of them can have different abilities like mind reading, clairvoyance, etc. They can fly like bats (but not really turning into bats) and walk through trees (and I suppose through walls, as well) like spiders. They only have blood for food (that of human's or animal's). They move very fast and has super strength.

The danger in demythologizing characters is that one may take away the characteristics that are unique with certain creatures. If that happens, these creatures tend to be less interesting and exciting. Unfortunately, that happens in Meyer's vampires. Take away what's exclusive to vampires, you'll get almost human-like creatures. It may have worked in books (although I can't say really since I haven't read any of the series) but it doesn't in movies.

Twilight gives us dull vampires. Except for their pale skin and almost robot-like movements, they look like humans. Nothing to get interested about since they don't really stand-out in crowds with their good looks and dashing appearances. The sun is no threat to them so they can go wherever and whenever they want. Their crystal-like skin when sun shines on it is not really a source of problem. It only makes them look different. But in today's science, they could pass it off as skin disease or abnormality. They do what humans do except the drinking of blood. So if they are almost human-like characters, what should we get piqued about?

Twilight is a story about Bella (human) and Edward (vampire) who has fallen in love with each other. Aside from the constant thirst for blood Edward has for Bella - which was the reason why he becomes interested with her in the first place, there's not much of a threat in their relationship. Sure, there'd be the usual them-against-society type of situation, but it's nothing new. Bella could've chosen to be one of them, only that Edward disagrees. So if the relationship continues without a glitch, Bella grows old (and dies eventually) and Edward remains 17.

There isn't much chemistry between the two leads. For one thing, Bella looks like one of the vampires since her skin is as pale as theirs. It feels like there's not much blood running through her veins. (Was it just the cold weather there or really a bad make-up?) Second, with Bella, where her attraction for Edward is coming from is not clear. Her constant questions of whys is annoying (Why did you save me? Why did you do that? Why are you following me?), when she should just be thankful for Edward has saved her life several times. The questions seemed contrived and would just want the viewers to be led to the answer that Edward is indeed a vampire. There are other possible ways that could lead with such an event - the discovery of Edward's true nature. Sad to say, it has gotten the easy route.

In the movie, there is a story about wolves and vampires being in opposite poles. Of course, there are humans being killed by (other group of) vampires, and humans are at a hunt for these killers, believing they were done by animals. One would think that the threat of the lover's relationship might come in any of them but it didn't. The threat comes from the other vampire clan who wants Bella's blood. That threat was not planted well. It was one of the moments in the film that will leave you dumbfounded. So even if the threat was there, you really can't seem to care for Bella or Edward. The thrills and excitement are not enough to keep one glued and interested.

Twilight is basically a teen flick. As with most teen flicks, it is nothing to rave about. It's all hype and comes out short of expectation. It could be the film of this generation but it could remain such until the sequel comes up with a truly blood-thirsty movie!

Who'd Ever Wanna Buy This?

Ouch! How do you spell s-too-peed?

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Death By Deodorant

Hindi naman sa nagpapaka-morbid ako (posting about deaths and whatnots), but this is something to be wary about.

Boy, 12, collapsed and died after 'using too much Lynx deodorant'
By Andy Dolan
Last updated at 7:48 PM on 20th November 2008

A boy of 12 collapsed and died after using 'copious' amounts of deodorant in a cramped bathroom, an inquest heard.

Daniel Hurley was overcome by solvents in the Lynx Vice spray and his heart began to beat irregularly, the hearing was told.

His father Robert found him collapsed in the bath at the family home after spraying on too much of the deodorant.

Mr Hurley said he had desperately tried to revive Daniel but the schoolboy died in hospital five days later from cardiac arrhythmia - or abnormal heart rhythms.

He told the inquest in Derby on Wednesday that Daniel 'was always putting gel on his hair and spraying deodorant'.

Mr Hurley told the inquest he had been making tea while his son used the bathroom at their home in Sandiacre, near Nottingham.

'The bathroom is adjacent to the kitchen and I shouted to see if he was OK,' he said. 'I heard nothing so I shouted again but did not get a reply.

'I forced the door open and found Daniel in the bath. I checked for his heart rate and his breath but he was not breathing.'

An ambulance took Daniel to Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre. He died five days later on January 12 this year.

Daniel Hurley died after using Lynx Vice spray - but the coroner said the dangers were clearly explained on the can

Consultant pathologist Dr Andrew Hitchcock, who carried out a postmortem examination on Daniel, said he found no evidence of substance abuse. There was also no evidence of any life-threatening disease, alcohol or drugs in Daniel's body.

'What we have in this case is someone who may well have had a cardiac abnormality in the presence of the solvent,' Dr Hitchcock said.

'There is a very reasonable assumption that the passive inhalation of the solvent almost certainly led to his death.'

Coroner Dr Robert Hunter recorded a verdict of accidental death, giving the cause as 'cardiac arrhythmia, exacerbated by exposure to solvents'.

He said he was satisfied that Unilever, the manufacturer of Lynx, gave enough warning on its cans that excessive amounts of aerosol deodorant should not be used in confined spaces.

Lynx cans warn that the product should be kept out of the reach of children, adding: 'Use in well ventilated places, avoid prolonged spraying.'

However, Dr Hunter said: 'I do not know how many people read the warnings about exposure awareness.

'People need to know about the risks that these products have.'

A spokesman for Re-Solve, a charity fighting solvent abuse, said it was the first case they were aware of in which somebody died as a result of accidental exposure to solvents in aerosol cans.

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Decapitated Head Reacts Before Death

A few days ago, I thought if decapitation is the easiest way to die and pain-free at that. If the head is decapitated, will instant death follows?

Then an interesting article comes my way. There were times pala that decapitated heads still react to stimuli for a few seconds or so. Medyo nakakatakot kung mawi-witness mo 'yun, but then again, nakakalungkot din. Ano kaya ang tumatakbo sa isip ng ulo na 'yun? Ano kaya ang nararamdaman niya? Hay, basta nalungkot ako just thinking about it.

Read the article below:

Lucid Decapitation

Written by Alan Bellows on July 9th, 2008 at 1:01 am

From DamnInteresting.com

For thousands of years, the forceful removal of the human head has been used as a form of capital punishment. In fact, the word "capital" in the context of punishment was coined to describe execution by decapitation, derived from the Latin word caput, which means "head." Since the very beginnings of the practice, there has been much speculation and debate regarding the length of time that the head can remain conscious after its removal. Many argue that a beheaded person will almost instantly lose consciousness due to a massive drop in blood pressure in the brain, and/or the heavy impact of the decapitation device. But there are countless eyewitness reports in history describing a few moments of apparent awareness in the victim.

Beheading has been discontinued as a form of execution in much of the world due to the suspicion that a severed head remains conscious and able to experience pain, so there have been no recent scientific observations of human decapitation. However studies of decapitated animals has lent some credibility to the massive number of stories regarding a head's brief consciousness after being separated from the body. Under certain circumstances, it is very possible that a head so removed may remain lucid long enough to know its fate.

In many cases, the anecdotal evidence describes blinking eyes, wandering gaze, and moving lips on a freshly amputated head. As grotesque and troubling as these movements may be to the witnesses, such muscular spasms are not surprising under the circumstances. It is not uncommon for any separated limb to twitch briefly due to reflex nerve action. More difficult to attribute to nerve reflexes are the stories of specific facial expressions sometimes seen on the faces of the beheaded as they died. Some were said to change expressions several times in the last few moments, ranging from pain and confusion to grief and fear.

In the heyday of the guillotine during the French Revolution, it is said that many of the condemned were asked to blink for as long as possible after decapitation. While many reportedly did not blink at all, some complied for as long as thirty seconds. Still other observations describe much more specific reactions to stimuli following beheading. Consider the case of Languille, a convicted murderer who was guillotined in France. He was observed by Dr. Beaurieux during his execution at 5:30am on June 28th, 1905. As written in Archives d'Anthropologie Criminelle, here are the doctor's observations:

Here, then, is what I was able to note immediately after the decapitation: the eyelids and lips of the guillotined man worked in irregularly rhythmic contractions for about five or six seconds … I waited for several seconds. The spasmodic movements ceased.

The face relaxed, the lids half closed on the eyeballs, leaving only the white of the conjunctiva visible, exactly as in the dying whom we have occasion to see every day in the exercise of our profession, or as in those just dead.

It was then that I called in a strong, sharp voice: 'Languille!' I saw the eyelids slowly lift up, without any spasmodic contractions … Next Languille's eyes very definitely fixed themselves on mine and the pupils focused themselves … After several seconds, the eyelids closed again, slowly and evenly, and the head took on the same appearance as it had had before I called out.

It was at that point that I called out again and, once more, without any spasm, slowly, the eyelids lifted and undeniably living eyes fixed themselves on mine with perhaps even more penetration than the first time. Then there was a further closing of the eyelids, but now less complete. I attempted the effect of a third call; there was no further movement and the eyes took on the glazed look which they have in the dead.

I have just recounted to you with rigorous exactness what I was able to observe. The whole thing had lasted twenty-five to thirty seconds.

In the book Crucibles: The Story of Chemistry, a story is related where the unnamed servant of chemist Antoine Lavoisier was beheaded by guillotine. According to the writer, Lavoisier immediately picked up the head and asked the servant to blink if he understood. Reportedly, the man blinked. There is also an oft-repeated anecdote involving Antoine Lavoisier's own later experience on the guillotine in 1794. The story is dubious considering that it does not appear in any of his biographies, but reportedly he told his assistant that he would blink for as long as he was able after execution, and successfully did so for fifteen to twenty seconds.

A more recent account tells of an accidental decapitation in an automobile. In 1989, a U.S. Army veteran who served in the Korean war was riding in a taxi with a friend when it collided with a truck. The witness was pinned to his seat, and the friend was decapitated by the collision:

My friend's head came to rest face up, and (from my angle) upside-down. As I watched, his mouth opened and closed no less than two times. The facial expressions he displayed were first of shock or confusion, followed by terror or grief. I cannot exaggerate and say that he was looking all around, but he did display ocular movement in that his eyes moved from me, to his body, and back to me. He had direct eye contact with me when his eyes took on a hazy, absent expression . . . and he was dead.

Judith Beheading HolofernesNot all attempts to observe consciousness in decapitated heads has been successful. In 1836, a murderer named Lacenaire agreed to wink after execution, but he did not do so. Another murderer named Prunier in 1879 also failed to respond to stimuli. But it is likely that some individuals will lose consciousness immediately upon decapitation, while others might experience a few horrifying moments of lucidity as one's head parts ways with the rest of one's person. It is also very possible that most beheaded persons are too disoriented and/or distracted by pain and grief to trouble themselves with such trivial tasks.

Can it be concluded that a separated head is capable of consciousness and awareness following the event? Not with any certainty. Further scientific observation of human decapitation is highly unlikely, so it is a question that may remain unanswered indefinitely. But there is much evidence to indicate that for some, death is not instantaneous, which probably offers a truly surreal experience for those few, brief moments. It goes without saying that there are no first-hand accounts to shed further light on the subject.

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