Fr. Robert Barron of Word on Fire has some good insights on how hugely popular vampire stories and movies such as "Twilight", seek, unsuccessfully, to provide a "bloodless substitute" to the Catholic understanding of spiritual truth and eternal life:
One caveat: I, for one, remain a bit puzzled about the nature of Anne Rice's beliefs, especially since she has not, as far as I know, renounced her open support of "gay marriage" and the supposedly implicit goodness of homosexual relations, as well as her vocal support of women's ordination. And then (on a different level) there was her bizarre claim that the Democratic Party was not only the true "pro-life party," but that it offered the best way to eliminate abortion. It doesn't follow, of course, that her novels about Jesus aren't worth reading; folks such as Peter Kreeft have praised them highly (I've not read them). But, based on her public statements, I have to conclude that Anne Rice's path to the truth is still a work very much in progress.
• "The Catholic Aesthetic in Bram Stoker’s 'Dracula'" (June 11, 2009)
One caveat: I, for one, remain a bit puzzled about the nature of Anne Rice's beliefs, especially since she has not, as far as I know, renounced her open support of "gay marriage" and the supposedly implicit goodness of homosexual relations, as well as her vocal support of women's ordination. And then (on a different level) there was her bizarre claim that the Democratic Party was not only the true "pro-life party," but that it offered the best way to eliminate abortion. It doesn't follow, of course, that her novels about Jesus aren't worth reading; folks such as Peter Kreeft have praised them highly (I've not read them). But, based on her public statements, I have to conclude that Anne Rice's path to the truth is still a work very much in progress.
• "The Catholic Aesthetic in Bram Stoker’s 'Dracula'" (June 11, 2009)
That was interesting. It makes me want to re-read Dracula with my new Catholic eyes.
Posted by: Neil | Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 01:47 PM
Neil: For more on the same topic, see this post from a few months ago.
Posted by: Carl E. Olson | Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 01:50 PM
John Granger is writing a book analyzing Twilight in terms of spiritual hunger and explores how the series reflects the Mormon theology of its author.
Anne Rice says she has no interest in writing more about vampires. Her latest novel features an angel.
Posted by: Sandra Miesel | Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 08:17 AM
I think Twilight is just a Halequin romance with vampires. Bella is every dull, awkward girl sitting in the back of the classroom and Edward is the pretty Prince Charming-- with fangs, yes, but he's housebroken. Nothing happens until they marrry and she gets to go to the prom. Edward will never leave her, never get fat and while he doesn't hiccup Skittles, he does shimmer in the light.
Posted by: dymphna | Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 07:45 PM