Those of you who know me well already know this, but it
might come as a surprise to some of you to learn that I have a guilty
pleasure. And I’m going to confess it
now! I love vampire stories. There, I said it…and the world keeps turning,
although you may already have suspected as much from the way I went to see the
marathon five-film premier of Twilight: Breaking Dawn 2. I tried to pretend it was something I was
doing for my daughter’s sake but really she came along as my carer!
Needless to say, this on-going fascination with the
supernatural/fantasy genre has caused me much reflection: Is this right? Can it be appropriate for someone like me to
like such a thing? Isn’t that what
fourteen year old girls do? Maybe…but I
think there is something about these stories that conveys some profound ideas
that interest me, and they interest me because I’m a Christian…or I’m a
Christian because these ideas interest me.
My latest musing about the genre (fuelled at the moment by
The Vampire Diaries!*) is on the scene that occurs in most of these
stories. It’s the scene where somebody
ordinary, a ‘muggle’ to use a term from another incarnation of the genre, is
suddenly faced with the reality and truth of the existence of the supernatural. They get a letter to Hogwarts, fall in love
with a vampire, discover they are actually a Shadowhunter, and suddenly they
have to look at themselves and their world with new eyes. I had an experience similar to this when I
first realised that Jesus was real, and that he did love me, and that he would
give up his own life to save mine. This realisation
then sent me on an epic quest, to be part of a Fellowship, to face up to the reality
of the existence of the Volturi.
Having
seen the new reality I couldn’t go back and pretend it wasn’t there
anymore. When I watch Bella Swan, or
Elena Gilbert, or even Bilbo Baggins as they negotiate this paradigm shift, I’m
reflecting on my own journey into a new story, and that’s why it’s fascinating.
*OK for the genre-not high art but entertaining.
Great analogy, and aren't we all still 14 years old inside anyway?
ReplyDeleteHi Nathan, thanks for stopping by. I find the supernatural genre fascinating and have wondered often if it's popular with young people because it allows them to explore questions about life, death, body and soul, good and evil, faith and love in a safe space that isn't caught up in prescriptive religiosity.
Delete