Mr. Qian Zhongshu wrote in the preface of "The Besieged City": "In this book, I want to write about a certain part of society and a certain type of people in modern China. When I write about this type of people, I have not forgotten that they are human beings, just human beings. The basic nature of hairless bipeds. Of course, the characters are fictitious, but of course people with textual research will not miss the opportunity to index and give up the right to join. "I think the last two sentences have no deep meaning, because there is only extraordinary. Only the works that have the necessary index and attached value.
As an ambitious work, "Interview with the Vampire" can be called a "siege" in the world of vampires. It also shows a certain kind of creatures and their society to the world. When describing this kind of creatures, one should not forget that they are vampires, just vampires, with the basic roots of hairless two-legged blood-sucking undead creatures. Of course, the characters may not be fictitious...
The birth of a vampire: I'm going to give you the choice... I... never had!
Louis is a manor and his wife has just died. The middle-aged bereavement of his wife is a great tragedy in life (but now many people think this is a good thing, quack), so Louis is so desperate and sees through the red dust-if this is placed in China, he will definitely jump out of a monk and say something is boundless. Such nonsense. But in the West, the situation is more dangerous, and there are no monks and monsters. The vampire Lester has been in the United States for a while. Out of a vampire instinct, he became interested in Louis and looked for opportunities to greet him in a vampire-specific way of meeting—that is, biting his neck. In the past, people always used the rabies model to apply vampires, so there was a specious myth that "people bitten by vampires will also become vampires". In fact, if vampires are only interested in their prey and can take their lives at any time, where does the prey have the chance to become a vampire? However, Louis had better luck. Lester needed a companion and wanted to solve the housing problem by the way, so he gave Louis a rare opportunity to freely choose whether to assimilate to a vampire. In the face of death, Louis did not know whether it was out of survival instinct or out of curiosity and longing for the life of a vampire. He accepted Lester’s invitation and drank the blood of vampires, thus bidding farewell to human identity and becoming a very Pure vampire.
Judging from this experience, the birth of a vampire has nothing to do with reproductive instinct and sex, it is a rational contract behavior. The vampire has the right to decide-whether to give the prey a choice? The human side has the right to choose-do you want to die or become a vampire? The criteria and purpose of vampires' selection of development objects are also relatively personal, and it seems that there are no specific guidelines, constraints, and taboos. (Of course, maybe animals will not become vampires, either because there is a natural biological rejection between them and vampires, or there has not yet been such a fun and vulgar vampire "maker".)
The appearance characteristics and habits of
vampires vampires The appearance characteristics of are very similar to humans, but a closer inspection will reveal several subtle differences. The complexion of vampires is extremely pale, often with some bruises; the canine teeth of vampires are much more developed than ordinary people in order to adapt to their predation needs, but as long as you usually pay attention, you can hide it with a smaller mouth; for night activities Their eyes are the same as some nocturnal creatures, with a weird green brilliance. This brilliance can usually easily attract less vigilant prey to the bait.
Vampires are extremely powerful and can easily subdue humans and most beasts. They are also extremely fast. They have jaw-dropping jumping and climbing abilities. Legends have it that some vampires have the ability to transform and fly, but the evidence is insufficient. The range of activities of most vampires is similar to that of humans.
The strangest thing about vampires is that they have an "immortal body." As a creature, this seems very contradictory. In fact, when they become vampires, their "life" has ended, and the vampire state is nothing more than a dead body carrying an immortal soul. Because of this, the main physical characteristics of a vampire will always be fixed at the moment when he becomes a vampire. It will not grow and develop, nor will it age or decay, which is equivalent to a zombie. (If the great ancestor of this dynasty was introduced to him by him before his death, it would be possible to "live forever and be healthy". Unfortunately, due to long-term smoking caused the blood quality to decline, it can only be "immortalized", quack) What's more However, even if their physical characteristics are physically changed (such as cutting hair, cutting the skin, etc.), they will quickly return to their original state. The vampire's nerves are completely paralyzed, and they have no sense of sensory stimulation such as pain or pleasure. Therefore, they have no interest in "physical pleasure" and have no sense of "physical pain", which greatly affects their lifestyle and values.
The habits of vampires are very special, and sunlight is fatal to vampires. Once exposed to ultraviolet light, the molecular structure of the vampire will collapse and turn to ashes. Therefore, vampires usually choose to be active at night, and sleep in a coffin during the day (the coffin has better shading properties). If you have to act during the day, you must take strict sun protection measures. (Additionally, the eyes of the vampire seem to be able to see the sun, but the body cannot be exposed to the sun.) Other tricks such as the cross, holy water, garlic and silver pile through the heart can only be regarded as superstition and have no effect on vampires. In addition, vampires are afraid of fire, and fire can completely destroy the body and soul of the vampire.
Vampires have a very single food habit. Because their hematopoietic function has been lost, they can only rely on fresh blood from humans and animals to maintain their physiological functions. They have special requirements for blood and can only suck blood from living creatures. If the blood of the corpse is sucked, it will cause serious consequences, directly causing shock, and fresh blood must be supplemented in time to restore vitality. In theory, the better the quality of the blood, the stronger the vitality of the vampire, and the healthier the appearance.
The values of vampires: Existentialism
says that two vampires, Lester and Louis, have become companions. Although Louis is completely vampire in instinct and physiological characteristics, his thinking still has a strong human nature. He respected human life and couldn't bear to kill innocent people indiscriminately, so he once relied on sucking the blood of rats and farm poultry. Since Louis did not reveal his identity as a vampire at the beginning, he still lived the life of a manor. This caused the suspicion and panic of the slaves in his estate, and Lester was also very distressed. In the end, Louis couldn't stand the torture of his dual identity and burned his own manor, taking a crucial step to break with human society.
Two vampires wandered around the United States, constantly hunting for fresh lives. At this stage, the contradiction between the veteran vampire Lester and the rookie vampire Louis began to intensify. Lester treats humans completely as prey. He has only appetite for them and no other feelings. Louis still has human nature and is totally unable to adapt to this kind of behavior, but because of physiological needs, he has to do it often. Lester's pure vampire logic and Louis's hesitating and contradictory mentality are the typical manifestations of so-called existentialism. Existentialists believe that life cannot be proven to have any eternal value, that life cannot escape itself, is absurd, abandoned, or even a disaster. If this theory can still be questioned in human society, it is completely undeniable in the world of vampires. Vampires have lost the possibility of natural death; their sense organs can no longer feel all the happiness and pain of life; they also have no natural enemies, no fear, human beings are at a loss for their existence; they have neither hope nor despair ; All the meaning of their existence and predation behavior is only to maintain the existence. For a rookie like Louis, there may be many novel elements in the vampire career, but for Leicester, who has been immersed in this way for hundreds of years, everything has long lost its novelty, but it is a monotonous repetition of the past. It’s just a story. It is conceivable that for vampires, existence means eternal emptiness and boredom. This is also the reason why Lester chose Louis as his companion. There is only one person who speaks.
The existentialists have the so-called "salvation" proposition, which exists in the logic of the "theists". They believe that the root of loneliness and loneliness lies in separation from the creator, and the value of life can only be revealed when united with the creator. Contrastingly with this, Louis often has words like "God" on his lips, apparently seeking spiritual sustenance for himself and making his life objectively meaningful. But in the world of vampires, there seems to be no concept of a "creator" at all. When Louis came into contact with the old vampire organization in Europe, the vampire leader Amon said that he never knew God, and as far as he knew, the oldest vampire in the world was himself. This means that the "creator" of the vampire is just the vampire itself, and it no longer has the meaning of so-called "salvation" and "liberation". Just like a person who is about to drown and stretches out his hands towards a mirror, he is destined to never be saved by another himself.
The contradiction of vampires: Betrayal, punishment, destruction, and innovation.
Although vampires are immortal and immortal, it does not mean that there is no contradiction between them. It is said that vampires have six precepts-avoiding the world, conquering power (I am in charge of my turf), descendants (bringing new vampires), responsibility (educating younger generations), guest respecting (going to the countryside), and killing relatives. But it seems that only Article 6 constitutes universality in the film. Lester and Louis developed a little girl, Claudia, as a new member of the gang because of an accident. Due to the rebellious period of underage, coupled with the hysteria specific to women, Claudia felt desperate because she was unable to develop for 30 years and was unable to become a beauty and would always be a little girl, and turned to her "creator" Leicester. Great hatred, and eventually led to serious consequences-cheating Lester to drink the blood of the dead. As mentioned earlier, a vampire can cause shock after drinking the blood of a dead person, so Claudia and Louis throw the shocked Lester into the swamps of the Mississippi River and allow it to be swallowed by the crocodile. The two thought they finally got rid of Leicester, ready to board the ship to leave the United States and meet the world in Europe. Unexpectedly, Leicester was resurrected by the blood of crocodiles and other wild animals in the marsh, and chased to the dock, so they burned Lai with oil lamps. Sturt, fled the United States by boat in the flames.
The crime of "killing relatives" seems to be the only commandment in the vampire world shown in the film, and the punishment for this kind of behavior is quite simple-the principal kills without pardon, and the accessory is imprisoned for life. Therefore, the crimes of Louis and Claudia were severely punished after they were informed of the crimes of the old comrades in Europe. Claudia was locked in a well and killed by sunlight, and Louis was almost imprisoned for life. In the end, the vampire leader Amon was rescued for some purpose and finally escaped. With full of resentment that his companion was killed, Louis set fire to the vampire base camp and eliminated most vampires.
Of course, all this is likely to be Amon's pre-arranged strategy to cleanse the vampire group. Earlier, Amon told Louis that the old vampire comrades under his opponent had been very disappointed. Because of the loss of the objective meaning of existence, vampires have become a group of idleness, obsessed with boring behavior and low-level fun. As their leader, it is impossible for Amon to feel extremely bored and disgusted with all this. Maybe he thinks that a so-called "renovation" can bring some fresh air to him and his group, at least make him feel some excitement, so he showed great interest in Louis, and hope that his appearance can bring the whole group Come to "new life". As for what "renovation" is, what is the meaning of "renovation", and why Louis can represent "renovation", Amon's words are not clear, perhaps he himself is not clear about the reasons.
In a sense, the collapse and destruction of the vampire world may be the true meaning of "renovation".
Vampires and Humans: A "Siege"
At the beginning of the film, Louis had already experienced 200 years of vampire career. He told a reporter about his own mentality and what he saw and heard, and hoped that the reporter would publish it and spread it all over the world. Louis’s original intention was to convey his distress and despair as a vampire to readers through reporters, so that future generations would not repeat the same mistakes and cherish their value and love as a living person. As a result, the reporter showed an extraordinary envy of vampires. , And willing to end his human life and join the ranks of vampires. This attitude is not only stunned. But when you think about it, it is highly consistent with human nature.
Although the concept of "alienation" in philosophy has many schools, without exception, it expresses a common phenomenon: human beings lose their initiative under the influence of alien forces, accept the enslavement of such forces, and thus lose the full development of human nature. This alien power can make certain aspects of human nature develop unilaterally and deformed.
The process of transforming from a person to a vampire is a process of "alienation". Vampire is a form of alienation from human beings. He has the characteristics of immortality and some extraordinary abilities. Vampires have lost sensory pleasure and pain, so they are extremely rational and cold. They take humans as their main prey and cancel most of the elements of human nature. There is no doubt that vampires are the product of highly alienated human beings.
It is this highly alienated product that has become the object of human envy. There are scenes of European vampire troupes performing lively hunting women on stage. But an audience member in the audience suddenly stood up and volunteered to become a vampire. Before Claudia was dying, there was still a victim who accompanied her to be buried with her. At the end of the film, the reporter expressed his opinion in an extremely excited tone. The extreme yearning for the life of a vampire all shows that mankind itself worships "alienation". In real life, the star chasers, official fans, misers, and all kinds of profit-seeking people are always in the "alienation", some of the results that make the parties regret it, and the onlookers look at it, they can't ask for it. Finally, the reporter was bitten by the resurrected Leicester, and a new round of vampire saga was staged.
Vampires are also a "siege", people in the city want to rush out, and people outside the city want to rush in. The continuous pursuit and the consequent dissatisfaction and boredom of the success pursued are just like the process of human pursuit of eternity and immortality. And truly becoming immortal, but lamenting his emptiness and loneliness.
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