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"True Blood" Review and Interview with Creator Alan Ball
From the first two episodes, True Blood is great fun. The sense of anticipation and danger is wonderfully present, the characters are fresh and lively, and the various mysteries set into motion are solid (I already have a few ideas as to what might be going on with a few of the characters, but we'll see...). The show captures the Louisiana setting wonderfully (although some of the characters might be a little too perfectly-groomed to be working in a roadhouse) and despite being another vampire story set in the swamps, bears zero resemblance to the frou-frou world of Interview with the Vampire. Part of why the story works so well is that it's so grounded in everyday reality. As Ball notes, "I very quickly came up with a list of things I never wanted to do. I didn't want to give people crazy contact lenses when their fangs came out ... I didn't want there to be any opera music, because that's been done a lot. And I didn't want to use that cold, icy-blue light, because it seems like pretty much every vampire movie made in the 90's had that sort of techno/industrial black leather/blue light feel to it." And of course, much like Six Feet Under, the heavy lifting will be done by the show's cast, whom Ball entrusts with bringing the more fantastical elements to a very real life: "I really really really focus on what's going on between the characters and try to make the plot integrated with that. ... In a lot of ways it's very different because we do have all the special effects people there and all the different kinds of blood and we have to stop shooting so people can put their fangs in. But at the same time it's very much the same as anything else I've ever done." Paquin, an actress who has the tendency to polarize audiences (remember the reaction to her as Rogue in the X-Men movies?), is a good fit as the spunky yet put-upon Sookie, and seriously, she's crazy-hot. Ellis is fascinating to watch as Lafayette, and Wesley is fun as Sookie's trash-talking best friend (the scene where she quits her job in the first episode is priceless). It's hard to get a good read on Bill the vampire in the first two episodes, but I'm at least intrigued, which is a step up from, say, Moonlight. And Kwanten, who actually caught my attention for doing a great job in the wretched killer puppet movie Dead Silence, is a breakout star just waiting to happen. And one who doesn't mind getting naked! But the real star here is the wonderfully wicked genre universe that Ball has brought to the screen. In recent years genre television has been making a gradual return to form, probably thanks mostly to the success of Lost (which, oddly, I can't stand). With shows like Pushing Daisies and the Doctor Who franchise breaking new ground in fantasy and sci-fi, True Blood sidles up nicely next to Dexter in giving the horror genre a fresh coat of (red) paint. If the rest of the season stays this strong, True Blood may be the show that Buffy and Angel fans have been begging for ... albeit perhaps a much more grown-up version than they may have expected. Looks like vampire shows, much like the newly-out vamps of True Blood themselves, have finally come of age. True Blood premieres on HBO this Sunday at 9 PM. Submitted by on Tue, 2008-09-02 22:50. |
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News, Reviews & Commentary on Gay and Bisexual Men in Entertainment and the Media
Intrigued
Access to True Blood
Screener
Yes, there are some copies of the screener that the studios hand out before the first airing. Have seen the first episode and found it to be far less salacious than this article portrayed it to be. Not very engaging, entertaining or interesting. It was an effort just to see it through to the end.
I'll reserve judgement until a few episodes into the series, but if this is any indication, I'm out. This is no Six Feet Under!
The torrents....
Good
I've got a taste for (True)Blood
afhickman
"The mountain has wings."
How many episodes are ordered for the first season? I'll look forward to seeing this on DVD.
Some of us will remember Ryan Kwanten from "Summerland" (the Lori Loughlin series) and the lamentable "Flicka."
Glowing Review
...and it all sounds like the show is going to be successful, but I'm still annoyed and angered that a gay man would:
For example, the promos I've seen on HBO's site portray the vampires as a hated group of people who want humans to change their minds and be granted human rights 'just like everybody else'. They weren't hated when they mingled discreetly amongst the humans. The hatred came after they 'came out' and proclaimed themselves to be vampires.
I like that set-up, except that the show then goes on to point up that even with True:Blood available, the vampires never lose their desire to do harm and kill humans. They are and will always be an imminent danger to human society.
In the 'Mock-U-Mentary' on HBO's site, a vampire expert is interviewed in an effort to help viewers understand vampires. The expert lists information about vampires that we, as viewers know to be 'true' (like sunlight kills vampires, blah, blah, blah...) and then specifically states "people aren't born vampires, they become them".
By presenting both 'fact' and 'fiction' in the same breath, and surrounding it all with what looks to be fairly decent production values and some delicious eye-candy, Alan Ball is blurring the lines of these 'social metaphors' to the point of making the truths indistinguishable from the falsehoods.
Regardless of how good this show is, it doesn't compensate (in my mind) for the damage Alan Ball is likely to do in terms of fostering negative sterotypes and spreading false information about the LGBT community.
Granted, I haven't seen an actual show yet, but the trailers and promos from HBO all pretty much indicate that Alan Ball is a very, very talented ass.
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-Sibelius
"It's curtains for you, Dr. Horrible. Lacy, wafting curtains..."
Out of curiosity about this
Art shouldn't pander to the lowest common denominator
"Regardless of how good this show is, it doesn't compensate (in my mind) for the damage Alan Ball is likely to do in terms of fostering negative sterotypes and spreading false information about the LGBT community".
I can't believe this show is going to do any damage to the LGBT community. I don't think any previously gay friendly people are going to start watching this show and start conflating vampires and gay people in their own minds. No one who previously believed being gay is not a choice will suddenly change their mind, any more than they will suddenly think gay people can't go out in direct sunlight. No new stereotypes about gay people as bloodthirsty killers is going to develop. People understand the concept of an imperfect metaphor. Besides, from what I hear, most of the vampires are portrayed sympathetically. And any extreme homophobes who are too willfully stupid to see the difference between fact and fiction...well, they 1) aren't going to be watching this show in the first place and 2) will never be swayed anyway. We can't make art for those people.
Art? Or Just Entertainment?
In any case, it does seem clear that Alan Ball wants viewers to equate the LGBT community with these vampire characters and even you agree that the 'metaphor' is imperfect. I think that a gay man in Alan Ball's position should be more responsible about the images and messages he projects about us.
Although I agree with some of your views on how this 'imperfect metaphor' would/would not effect the two extremes of the societal spectrum you mention (those who have a firm grasp on what's true and those who are 'wllfully stupid'), you leave out all the middle of that spectrum.
I think it would be naive to exclude high school aged viewers from the mix (as just one example). I think the subject matter would be as attractive to them as it is to college-aged and adult viewers. I'm particularly concerned about how gay teens (who haven't yet figured out "who am I?") will perceive Ball's metaphors and make decisions about what should be taken as 'message' or just left as 'drama'.
I 'get' that this is just a TV show, but this is a TV show that's getting attention for setting up parallels and connections between on-screen fiction and real world fact. I'll grant you - that's interesting and innovative. I'd be more likely to consider this 'art' if Alan Ball put more careful thought into the details of how he meshes the fiction with the reality. At this point (not having seen more of the show), it seems he's happy to take the lower and easier road to sacrifice 'message and perception' for the sake of 'drama'.
...and c'mon... If this were a straight man writing this show, there would be plenty more finger pointing and cries of, "homophobe!"
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-Sibelius
"It's curtains for you, Dr. Horrible. Lacy, wafting curtains..."
By "imperfect metaphor",
I mean that not everything the show says about vampires is it also saying about gays. And you might be right about "more" cries of "homophobe" if the creator was straight, but that doesn't necessisarily mean those cries would be merited.
And like I said, from everything I heard, the vampires are as well rounded as the human characters, with some being good, and some being bad.
As a rule I just hate the idea that "we can't show gay people behaving this way because someone, somewhere, might miscontrue it".
Ultimately, I think we both might be better served to refrain from this debate until we've actually seen the damn thing. :)
Yup!
Ultimately, I think we both might be better served to refrain from this debate until we've actually seen the damn thing. :)
And I'm already willing to eat some crow (although not quite a full pie, yet)...
Brian clearly states that the series is based on the writing of Charlaine Harris (not Ball) and Knickie reiterates it.
_________________________________________
-Sibelius
"It's curtains for you, Dr. Horrible. Lacy, wafting curtains..."
Ryan Kwanten's Assets
stupid fangs
I've read the first five books in the Southern Vampires series, and have enjoyed them well enough (while recognising that they are the literary equivalent of junk food). So, I am a bit curious to view this series (don't have HBO however, so it will have to wait for a DVD rental). It sounds like they've made quite a few changes from the books, however...
From the publicity photos I've seen, I was curious---what's up with the vampires' teeth? I can't help but think that it looks really stupid for the lateral incisors to turn into fangs, rather than the canine teeth...
I'm like a superhero, with no powers or motivation...
I TOTALLY agree with you on
I TOTALLY agree with you on the fangs. They actually look kind of silly. It's such a pet peeve when they make movies with vampires and they either have no fangs at all, or they're on the wrong pair of teeth. It's much sexier when the fangs are actually on the k9's.
Anyway, I think alot of the prejudice in the series towards vampires reflects racism in the south as opposed to homophobia.
saw it and LOVED it!