{"id":159,"date":"2010-04-09T09:49:41","date_gmt":"2010-04-09T15:49:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/mainlineportal\/?p=159"},"modified":"2010-04-09T09:49:41","modified_gmt":"2010-04-09T15:49:41","slug":"vampires-define-them-the-portrayal-of-religion-in-true-blood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2010\/04\/vampires-define-them-the-portrayal-of-religion-in-true-blood\/","title":{"rendered":"Vampires Define Them: The Portrayal of Religion in TRUE BLOOD"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Next week, I will be participating in a conference, \u201cOpen Graves, Open Minds:\u00a0Vampires and the Undead in Modern Culture<\/a>,\u201d at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK.\u00a0 I will be presenting a paper entitled \u201cTrue Blood, Real Life?:\u00a0 Religious Fundamentalism, Gay Rights, (Non)Violence, and the American South in True Blood<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Below is my section on the portrayal of religion in the series.\u00a0 I welcome\u00a0any and all feedback from both fans of the show or fans of the vampire genre in general.<\/p>\n

As a native of the American South and a student of religion and popular culture, I am both attracted to and repelled by the depiction of religion in True Blood<\/em><\/a>. While it is highly caricatured, it still draws attention to some of the more subtle shortcomings of American evangelicalism. Furthermore, the nature of the series\u2019 representation of religion falls in line with a long history of film and television religiosity.<\/p>\n

\"\"All that viewers need to do to get a sense of religion in True Blood<\/em> is to watch the title sequence, which some critics claim is better than the series itself. Unlike other series that might change up its opening credits, True Blood<\/em>\u2019s has remained the same over 24 episodes, thus consistently establishing a particular tone.\u00a0 Accompanying Jace Everett\u2019s theme song, \u201cBad Things,\u201d viewers are hit with a barrage of images that begin with a swamp and conclude with an old-fashioned outdoor baptism.\u00a0 In between, images of sexuality (flashes of couples engaged in sex or a couple gyrating on the dance floor) are rapidly juxtaposed with clips of highly ecstatic religious ceremonies (people jumping up and down during worship services, dancing, or being slain in the Spirit).\u00a0 The line between Saturday night and Sunday morning in True Blood<\/em>\u2019s title sequence is non-existent.\u00a0 James Poniewozik of Time<\/em> writes<\/a>, \u201cIt\u2019s a fever dream of Eros wrestling Thanatos in the middle of a tent revival.\u201d<\/p>\n

This title sequence is problematic for a number of reasons.\u00a0 First, it depicts either African American or significantly racially integrated worship settings that never feature prominently in the series itself.\u00a0 In fact, we only see the interior of a church, The Fellowship of the Sun, at the end of the first season and in a couple of episodes in the second.\u00a0 Second, the juxtaposition of erotic and religious images sexualizes American evangelical life, particularly the African American variety.\u00a0 As such it continues a stereotypical portrayal of evangelicalism that finds precedent in films like The Green Pastures<\/em><\/a> (1936), Hallelujah!<\/em><\/a> (1929), and Elmer Gantry<\/a> <\/em>(1960), to name a few.<\/p>\n

\"\"Along with the title sequence, the episodes offer very little definitive information on the type of religion that the residents of Bon Temps practice.\u00a0 If I had to guess, I\u2019d say it is most certainly Protestant, Baptist, and perhaps even Independent Baptist. \u00a0 Taking religious historian Bill Leonard\u2019s study of Independent Baptists into account, and substituting liberals with vampires (a much safer metaphor than the homosexual one I dare say), then this comment might be helpful. Leonard writes, \u201c[\u2026They] refuse to associate with any groups that they consider to be theological liberals. [\u2026] For these Baptists \u2018to know a liberal is to be a liberal;\u2019 thus they reject any participation in community or ecumenical alliances that might include those whose views and practices are heretical.\u201d\u00a0 The most conservative residents of Bon Temps make no distinction between vampires and \u201cvampire sympathizers\u201d in doling out their disdain.<\/p>\n

Leonard\u2019s description of Independent Baptists\u2019 reactions to homosexuality might as well be a description of The Fellowship of the Sun\u2019s, True Blood\u2019s only explicitly religious organization, reaction to vampires. \u00a0 Leonard writes, \u201cIndependent Baptists are among the most outspoken Baptist opponents of what they often call the \u2018homosexual agenda,\u2019 publishing extensive criticism of the sin of homosexuality and the warning of the dangers that homosexuals and their supporters pose to \u2018family values\u2019 in the American Republic. They insist that gays claim \u2018rights\u2019 to which they are not entitled and are determined to secure laws that permit same-sex marital unions.\u201d\u00a0 Unfortunately, The Fellowship is, more often than not, a telling reflection of American evangelicalism in both appearance and theology, or lack thereof\u2026more on that in a moment.<\/p>\n

Although we don\u2019t see a religious organization in the series that is open and affirming to vampires, individuals are.\u00a0 Such diverse approaches to vampires distance characters from one another in the series. \u00a0 When Sookie first meets Bill at Merlotte\u2019s, she tells him, \u201cDon\u2019t worry about Sam. I know for a fact he supports the vampire rights amendment.\u201d\u00a0 Bill responds sarcastically, \u201cHow progressive of him.\u201d\u00a0 This brief exchange defines many American congregations\u2019 approaches to homosexuality and many gay and lesbian\u2019s critiques of them.\u00a0 Homosexuality has become a litmus test for American congregations\u2019 liberalism but also, occasionally, an implicit permission slip to not deeply engage other social ills.<\/p>\n

There is no positive religious identification in True Blood<\/em>. That is to say, there is no clearly defined religious or theological worldview to which the residents subscribe.\u00a0 More often than not, they are defined by their negative reactions to vampires. \u00a0 Steve Newlin never gives a clear definition of what the Fellowship believes, only what it doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 His argument against vampires: \u201cIf death has no meaning, then life has no meaning.\u201d\u00a0 Later he asks, \u201cHow can you be a God-loving person and love something that God detests?\u201d\u00a0 His wife Sarah is downright clueless in her description of what they are fighting for: \u201cWe\u2019re fightin\u2019 for God\u2019s green earth, and daytime, and Christmas, and Easter eggs and all that is sacred and good\u2026we are fightin\u2019 for\u2026?\u201d \u00a0 Steve interrupts: \u201cHUMAN RIGHTS! HUMAN RIGHTS!\u201d They then fight with each other on national television.<\/p>\n

\"\"Such theological ambiguity mirrors much of Mary Hallab\u2019s discussion of the religious\/theological implications of vampire literature in her book, Vampire God: The Allure of the Undead in Western Culture<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 She writes, \u201cSo then, what do we need the Devil for? Or vampires? [\u2026] The answer, for many people, is that we need them to confirm the existence of the Good, of the supernatural and transcendent Force or Providence that compels all life toward a worthwhile and rewarding future.\u201d\u00a0 Yet like its predecessors, True Blood<\/em> falls victim to one of Hallab\u2019s pointed critiques. \u00a0 She writes, \u201cA problem is that there often seems to be a little too much of horror and a little too little of God. [\u2026] Almost all the good people in such works are shown as weak-willed and easily misled by Satan\u2019s emissaries.\u00a0 In contrast, the depiction of evil [\u2026] is more interesting, active, and graphic than seems necessary to prove the existence of goodness, which gets much briefer notice.\u201d\u00a0 Moreover, in modern vampire literature and films \u201cdefending God and righteousness often requires so much violence and cruelty that it is difficult to tell the good from the evil.\u201d\u00a0 Again, Steve Newlin is a case in point both with his weapons cache that represents the Light of Day Institute\u2019s research and development and the \u201cMeet the Sun\u201d ritual in which a vampire is tied to a cross on a podium at sunrise.<\/p>\n

A third aspect of religion, or religious folk, in True Blood<\/em> is sheer hypocrisy. In an article on the theological implications of the vampire, A. N. Wilson writes, \u201c[Evil] is a projection, a symbol, and provides something of a catharsis for the viewer\/reader. It helps us face the darkness of life at a safe distance. It is a deflection, too, for by looking at a fictional evil, totally out there, we avoid what is here and now, around us.\u201d\u00a0 As long as the residents of Bon Temps can point to the sexual deviance of vampires they can ignore their own illicit behavior, whether it is an adulterous sheriff or Sarah Newlin having sex with Jason in the church balcony.\u00a0 Sookie can hear the townspeople\u2019s perversion through her telepathic abilities.\u00a0 Contrary to Lisa Nakamura et al\u2019s assessment of the series<\/a>, these thoughts are often highly sexist, racist, and homophobic.\u00a0 Steve\u2019s attraction to Jason in the second season borders on the homosexual. \u00a0 Closeted or not, Steve is almost sexually aroused by the idea of an exploding vampire: \u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s gotta\u2019 be awesome watching God\u2019s mighty power obliterate evil right in front of your eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

To be sure, there\u2019s loads of charicatures and stereotypes wandering around in True Blood<\/em>, but name me a television series that doesn\u2019t suffer, to some degree, from this.\u00a0 That True Blood<\/em> is HBO\u2019s most popular series since The Sopranos<\/em> says much about our obsession with vampires and the supernatural in contemporary popular culture and demands that students of religion take note.<\/p>\n

True Blood<\/em> returns for its third season in June.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Next week, I will be participating in a conference, “Open Graves, Open Minds: Vampires and the Undead in Modern Culture,” at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK. I will be presenting a paper entitled “True Blood, Real Life?: Religious Fundamentalism, Gay Rights, (Non)Violence, and the American South in True Blood.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":288,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nVampires Define Them: The Portrayal of Religion in TRUE BLOOD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Next week, I will be participating in a conference, "Open Graves, Open Minds: Vampires and the Undead in Modern Culture," at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK. 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