Vampire Gentlemen and Zombie Beasts

Before I began reading, I was intrigued by the title. Vampires aren't gentlemen. However, they are when you compare them to zombies. In this article, the authors discuss how vampires have become watered down monsters while zombies have remained just as ravenous as they always have been. "...vampires have lost much of the edge that once defined their monstrosity; no longer terrifyingly parasitic, vampires are often (sym)pathetic, or even palliative." I believe that I was physically nodding my head up and down while reading this. It is with a red face that I admit that more than once I've become enthralled in a TV show, novel, or movie featuring the type of vampire(s) that Tenga and Zimmerman describe in this article. A popular television show at the moment (and a guilty pleasure of mine) that is mentioned in the article is the supernatural drama, The Vampire Diaries. With a name like that it should be somewhat obvious that this is not in any way going to be a classic supernatural/horror/thriller type of vampire show. The synopsis on Netflix reads, "Trapped in adolescent bodies, feuding vampire brothers Stefan and Damon vie for the affection of captivating teenage Elena." Not exactly Dracula type material. The vampires in the show still crave blood but it is much easier for them to keep it under control. Like in Twilight, the audience are left feeling sympathetic for the vampires. "I know he just ripped that guy's head off and drank his blood, but he did it for Elena!" That's a direct quote from my younger sister. No one says that about zombies. In The Walking Dead no one ever says, "Yeah that sucks that the horse had to die but come on the zombies are probably hungry too." Zombies are always portrayed as the bad guys. Perhaps if zombies had hair like Robert Pattinson or abs like Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder then we'd feel a little different.