#vc tv

Oh, but I get what they're doing. This is the very typical trope of lazy writing in tv series (typically with very low budget): in a tv series where there is only one human surrounded by monsters, to make them look special and worthy of the attention of these immortal entities they make them so intellectually superior that they simply were born with the ability of handling monsters, too brave to tremble and be cautious as they should. These humans like Amc Daniel live in the "I'm not like other girls" syndrome, but in the human version. I'm not like other humans!! Who are pathetic and get scared!! Because they're dumb and plain!! While look how smart I am, a genius. I treat monsters out of this world as dumb fucks who have to keep up with me because I'm superior to them too. I, a random human who nobody will remember, am outsmarting creatures who biologically had a genetic mutation in their brains that makes them 10 times faster and therefore more efficient than mine. Creatures who have a knowledge of the world 1000 times wider than yours.

Oh, sure. All very realistic. I'm totally believing that Amc Daniel (just like all his other copies in horror movies) had such incredible experiences in their lives that now meeting a vampire is absolutely no threat. Someone to treat as if they're a nuisance. And it's absolutely not ridiculous and not pathetic the fact that Louis, a deadly monster, would make himself be treated like that while that man (who compared to him is just a child) plays the part of the Smart One in The Room.

I repeat: Daniel's original characterization wasn't enough, huh? The reverence he had in front of Louis during the interview. Not only for the true and genuine fear such a monster provokes in you, because believe me that can't be ignored by no human, but for the sheer respect a weaker creature has for an immensely stronger one. Daniel psychologically bowed down in front of Louis, Armand, Lestat, all of his new idols. Because that's what they were to him. He thought: I am weak. They are strong. They have knowledge, they teach me. They are above me. Not the contrary, with Daniel speaking to (and maybe even over) a goddamn vampire with that condescending tone, a sassy man who is even playing the part of the one doubting the words of someone who you know very well, since you've already interviewed him in the past. A fucking creature from hell that not only TOOK HIS TIME contacting YOU to have that interview a SECOND time. And you act like a fucking Ceo of some company with some particularly dumb employee that is making him loose time???

Daniel was a awesome character for his BRILLIANCE. For how REAL his reaction felt. Because if you want to have human characters that leave a sign in the audience, you have to make them as real as possible. Because that's what's hard. To put aside our pride and represent us in all of our frailty, our flaws. AND NOT CREATING A FAKE MASK OF ASININE SASSINESS TO FEEL REPRESENTED BY A ✨NOT-LIKE-THE-OTHERS✨GUY WHO BELITTLES THE INTELLIGENCE OF FUCKING VAMPIRES.

The value of Daniel, the real courage that man had, was that he managed to go on with the interview even though his hands were shaking so much in fear that Louis at some point had to help him to change the tape. He smoked a mountain of cigarettes. He was feeling on his SKIN how palpable the monstrosity of Louis was. And in the end, just like the human he is, inevitably fell in their spell. He was special for his courage in a moment of pure terror, for how he's clearly a natural at his job as a journalist since it powered his sense of curiosity. But he stayed a human for the whole time, even in his "scared bravery" and then inevitably fell under their spell. Like all humans would do. All. Even the Talamascans are. Even them, who had extraordinary lives that lead them to interact with ghosts, witches and vampires on the daily are very scared when it comes to meet them and take all the precautions they can before meeting vampire face to face. EVEN THEM. But no, amc Daniel who is mister no one, plays the sassy bitch smarter of the class part. EXCUUUUUSE US IF WE'RE DISTURBING YOU. But weren't you the one who fucked up the first interview because you were so high and drunk that you ruined your first chance to talk to a real paranormal creature?? At this point YOU were the one making Louis lose time back then, uh? And maybe even now, all things considered. Why is Louis so determined in contacting this bufoon??? Louis where is your self-respect...

Ok so I feel the need to say my piece about this situation in a long post because I want to clarify a few things. First of all, in the fandom there are two kinds of people who disagree with the casting of Jacob Anderson as Louis. The first, is the downright racist people who have a problem purely because the actor is poc. I have nothing to say to these people. The second kind is the people who's problems stem from the changes that this will bring to the story. I would like to address these concerns and express my opinion on them.

Personally, my preferred option would be to use the vampire metaphor to address race in America. In the book, Louis and Lestat are vampires aka monsters, who own slaves and Lestat literally feeds off of the slaves' blood. Eventually, the slaves (who still have managed to preserve some of their African heritage and cultural consciousness) recognise that their masters are inhuman monsters. There is certainly something here. If Louis were to be, for example, the son of a slave owner with a female slave, his vampirism could represent his assimilation into the dominant white class, as he gradually becomes monstrous in the eyes of the other slaves. What I'm saying is, there is potential in this change storywise. There is, however, something I fear greatly.

There is a tendency in reboots and remakes to erase certain aspects of the story that are deemed problematic without ever addressing them or commenting on them in any way. This is the case with all the Disney remakes, in which racism is completely erased in an effort to make it like it never existed in the Disney company. This, to me, is abhorrent, as it prevents racism from being meaningfully addressed and commented on. If the new adaptation chooses to make Louis a black man and an owner of a brothel in order to erase the problematic history of white slave owner Louis, I will be disappointed. I believe that there should be space in media for characters such as the original Louis, as long as their behaviour and place in society is challenged by the story. In the original IWTV, even though it is, as I mentioned before commented on, it is, in my opinion, not enough. Also, to believe that a character who owned slaves can never be sympathetic to an audience is to believe that racism and horrible crimes against humanity can only be committed by inhuman monsters, and that is, unfortunately, not the case. Such portrayals reinforce the idea that we, as moral individuals, could never be racist or bigoted. They dehumanise the racists, thus absolving us of the crime of racism.

The point I'm trying to make, is that if the creators of the show mean to make something profound and poignant, they will not avoid addressing racism, or try to soften it's horrors by obscuring them in the story, but rather use the horror genre and specifically the vampire as a way to tell a meaningful story that tackles race in a manner that will challenge the audience. In order for this to happen, the writer's room should NOT just be a bunch of white people.

NEW EPISODE ALERT!

Things are happening in VCTV world and we’re back because the Twitter character limit wasn't gonna cut it!!! We discuss wonky rumors that probably aren't true and speculate how problematic VC tropes will look on TV. Yikes on bikes!

Lestat: “Mon cher, look at this! You’re going to be a brothel owner!” *waves his ipad* 

Louis: *keeps reading his actual paper newspaper* “Good for me.” 

Lestat: “The job would have suited you, you know. All the unchained debauchery, you drunkenly falling over in the corner while your employees propped you up...”

Armand: *enters the room* “You’re opening a brothel? If your investments are doing that badly, I know a guy--” 

Louis: *still reading his paper* “They’re making a new show about us.” 

Armand: *not thrilled* “I see.” 

They're gonna have a white man seduce a devout black man into being gay with his mind powers. ಠ_ಠ