#vampiresarecool

I do in fact have a DR where I am in fact a

Thank you so much love! 💕

This is a post based off of a class discussion. 

If you’ve never seen the Tale of a Vampire, then you’re in for a treat. The Shamiko Sato film is sure to deliver...depending on what you’re looking for. If a slow-paced Indie film is at the top of the list then go no further. If you’re in dire need for an edgy adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “Annabel Lee” you can stop here too, believe it or not. 

In my Adaptation: Youth in Film Class we discussed both the original text and its supposed film adaptation. Whether or not, Tale of a Vampire should be considered an adaptation at all. According to Cartmell and Whelehan’s Screen Adaptation: Impure Cinema, adaptation studies are always being revised. If the source is authentic and true to the original media, then it’s a form of pure adaptation. 

During class discussion we came to the conclusion that this vampire movie would be more of an appropriation than an adaptation. The reason being: it is hard to tell if it is based off Edgar’s poem at all. A poem in which I will insert here:

Annabel Lee

BY EDGAR ALLAN POE

It was many and many a year ago,   In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know   By the name of Annabel Lee; And this maiden she lived with no other thought   Than to love and be loved by me. I was a child and she was a child,   In this kingdom by the sea, But we loved with a love that was more than love—   I and my Annabel Lee— With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven   Coveted her and me. And this was the reason that, long ago,   In this kingdom by the sea, A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling   My beautiful Annabel Lee; So that her highborn kinsmen came   And bore her away from me, To shut her up in a sepulchre   In this kingdom by the sea. The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,   Went envying her and me— Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,   In this kingdom by the sea) That the wind came out of the cloud by night,   Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee. But our love it was stronger by far than the love   Of those who were older than we—   Of many far wiser than we— And neither the angels in Heaven above   Nor the demons down under the sea Can ever dissever my soul from the soul   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side   Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,   In her sepulchre there by the sea—   In her tomb by the sounding sea. (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44885/annabel-lee)

Although the film begins and ends with a reading of the poem, the movie takes artistic liberties that make it less of an adaptation. 

It can even be argued that the film is a criticism on male authorship, and the use of women as props. For instance, in both the poem and movie Annabel does not have a voice.  My professor even argued that the character doesn’t even have initiative in the film (which I wholeheartedly agree with). Moreover, she is used as a prop between the two male characters of the film (spoilers: both vampires). Something that stuck out to me is when our professor claimed that this movie “shines the light on the wages of having men author these stories.” Certain characters don’t get a voice, but instead are deemed as a prize that can be won or lost. 

There is also the incorporation of multiple genres within the film. From horror to fantasy. Romance to drama. This movie’s got it all. And did I mention there are vampires?

Which brings us to the idea of youth being used to enhance film. For one, vampires don’t age (and we can save the conversation about pedophilia later). Not only that but Annabel dies at a young age in the poem as well as the film. This idea of being young forever, whether that be from an immortal death or real physical death is interesting to me. It is seen in numerous movies and books *cough cough* Twilight *cough cough*. 

Which I understand. Hollywood, or just media in general, is fixated on young people. More specifically, young women. And how about the paring of young women with older men? Something Tale of a Vampire touches on, as Annabel’s romantic lead is centuries older than her. 

Then we have Edgar, a vampire who believes that the most beautiful thing in the world is for a woman to die young. This leads him to not only bury his vampire wife (Alex’s true love) alive in the ocean, but kill Annabel (Alex’s true love pt. 2) as a revenge plot against Alex, who is also a vampire. Did I mention there are vampires in this movie?

We also discussed an essay by Linda Williams (Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess). According to her essay there are three types of excessive genres in film. Horror, drama, and pornography. These genres are considered the lowest on the movie genre scale because of their excess in blood, tears, and so on. But they are also known to use female bodies. Whether that be using them as victims of crimes in horror movies, or as characters who through the emotional and physical pains and trails of life. Often times they put women in powerless situations, and use men to put women in powerless situations. This is not say that male bodies can’t be used in the same way, they just don’t seem to be as popular when it comes to these genres. If I’m honest, I never noticed these troupes until I read this essay. I tend to stay far away from these genres (mostly because I’m a comedy gal myself), but even outside of those three genres I can see how female bodies are used. Even in comedy female bodies can be used to elicit fear, sex appeal, or an excess of emotion. Whether this is good or bad, I’m not sure. I’m not a big fan of how some of these troupes can form our identities as men or women, or the fact that women are so easily victimized. 

The best I can do is stay educated, get my voice out there, and create something different. 

We ended our discussion with a very important question. Where are the limits in adapting literature to film? Are there even any?

Perhaps by the end of this class we’ll have found out. 

Cappuccino : What’s your middle name?

 - My middle name is a Jamaican name from my dead beat father’s side of the family. But, my mom loved it and so my middle name became that of my 1st cousin once removed who I don’t know. 

Mint Tea : How do you relax?

- Funny of you to assume that I do lol. On the rare occasion that I do relax, it’s usually reading one of the many unread novels that sit on my fireplace judging me for never reading them, binge watching dramas from the BBC, or listening to music.