What is it about vampires that so capture the imagination of young girls?
Perhaps it has something to do with the onset of menses and the complexity of emotions that are part and parcel to the experience. Along with the blood comes an understanding of mortality as well as the ability to bear life - this all ties in with the gestalt of the vampire. He has the power to both give life and take it by penetrating virginal skin and sucking out the viscous crimson. Psychologically it all makes sense…
…or maybe they just like broody, pale white dudes like Robert Pattinson.
Robert Pattinson
When I was in High School, the ‘broody, pale white dude’ du jour was Robert Smith (lead singer of The Cure). He was the poster-boy of the whole Goth movement which included such notables as Siouxsie and the Banshees; the Sisters of Mercy; Joy Division and Bauhaus. Technically it was a pretty fringe group back then, but it had a following that was as possessed and die-hard as they come. In those days, if you were a sensitive outcast who much preferred reading comic books to playing football, your only hope of ever getting laid was to find yourself a Goth chick. I tried my best, donning the obligatory Doc Martens along with the clumsily applied eye liner stolen from my mother’s make up case. Unfortunately, it never panned out for me. I was far too surly to ever truly be broody. Besides which, I was a Billy Joel fan which automatically restricted me from full membership to the club.
Robert Smith
20 years later, it’s all about Robert Pattinson and “Twilight,” which I just don’t get. Of course, I’m obviously not remotely the proper demographic for this stuff as I’m neither gay nor a 12 year old girl, but still… To me the guy looks like an effeminate, pouty pugilist, who’s taken one too many socks to the punim. His whole look is so overly stylized and contrived, I mean, what’s with the hair?
Early 80s Mickey Rourke called and he wants his coif back!
As far as his acting skills are concerned, from what I’ve seen he’s kinda like the bassist in Spinal Tap - luke warm water. Neither here nor there, just egg shell white, wall paper mundane-ity. Still, this kid is the hottest tween sensation since Kirk Cameron and that’s fine by me. Hell I’m no party pooper, let the little chicklets enjoy their new found messiah to their hearts content. However, it does give me pause. If our heroes are a direct reflection on ourselves as a society, then what does it mean when they’re all surface and no substance? Robert Smith set a legion of disaffected young ladies hearts a twitter with his rats nest hair and smeared lipstick, but underneath the cultivated façade was a genuine artist. Robert Pattinson is just another pretty face, which I fear is all anyone wants to aspire to be anymore.
Just something to ruminate on I suppose.
As far as the whole romantic Vampire/Goth aesthetic is concerned, I personally could never really get with that program anyway. I mean, the ‘undead’ should be be creepy not kissable after all. To me Nosferatu will always be the ultimate “Prince of Darkness.” Now THAT guy was bad-ass!
Original Badass
More on these topics:
80s goth music, billy joel, doc martens and goth, goth movement, is robert pattinson the new robert smith, joy division, mickey rourke, nosferatu, robert pattinson and twilight, siouxsie and the banshees, the cure and goth, the new goth, the sisters of mercy, why do girls love vampires?
Branwyn Lancourt says:
What do you look like? I'd really love to know...or may I wouldn't. As far as comparing him to Daniel Radcliffe, that's not the point.. I was asked who I thought was GREAT, and since all of you people keep going on about the brilliance of the guy, why not compare him to the greats? ANyway, since you asked.. Daniel Radcliffe is better.
CallMeStacy says:
" His whole look is so overly stylized and contrived, I mean, what’s with the hair?"
And I mean, c'mon dude, what's with YOUR hair???!!! 1960's are calling, they want their hair back!
Rob looks as delicious with short hair as with his SexHair (you can google it! That's what I said not Edward Cullen)
I feel your pity. Even docmartins and eye liner didn't help you get laid. You probably were good at school, had a dream to become a great writer but look at you now. 20 years later you are writing for some pathetic web site, and only way to get people comment on your article is to write about the hottest guy. Your wife or GF are probably secretly in love with RPattz (or you don't have either!) You are just little jealous, aren't you?
P.S. I spy with my little eye... and you should be happy about this... You and His Holy Hottnes have one thing in common:
you both like plaid shirts! I know, who would think in a million years that's possible!
Branwyn Lancourt says:
how old are you? I'm being seious... Please don't tell me you're older than 15..PLEASE don;t tell me that, or else I'm really gonna be depressed.
Branwyn Lancourt says:
I hear the 'he's only starting out' argument a lot. That's fine. I was asked what I thought were 'great' actors, and I gave my list. To give a bit more back information...
Jack Lemmon won an oscar for his first major role
Dustin Hoffman was nominated for an oscar for his first major role, and then again 2 years later
Nicholson was nominated for an oscar for his first major role
Brando was nominated for an oscar for his first major role...
They all weren't much older than Pattinson.
It's one thing if you think the guy's got 'sex appeal and charisma'.. but it just backs up my INITIAL argument...and I will quote...
"As far as his acting skills are concerned, from what I’ve seen he’s kinda like the bassist in Spinal Tap - luke warm water. Neither here nor there, just egg shell white, wall paper mundane-ity. Still, this kid is the hottest tween sensation since Kirk Cameron and that’s fine by me. Hell I’m no party pooper, let the little chicklets enjoy their new found messiah to their hearts content. However, it does give me pause. If our heroes are a direct reflection on ourselves as a society, then what does it mean when they’re all surface and no substance? Robert Smith set a legion of disaffected young ladies hearts a twitter with his rats nest hair and smeared lipstick, but underneath the cultivated façade was a genuine artist. Robert Pattinson is just another pretty face, which I fear is all anyone wants to aspire to be anymore."
1BadEngr says:
Ha! These comments kept me enthralled for the past 45 minutes! It is insane how worked up people get about this guy...I mean to break out the CAPS??? I am a huge fan of Twilight but the movie was pathetic...It was creepy and the acting being called "lukewarm" is a forgiving statement. It sounds like fans are grasping at straws to prove this guy's worth, his name's Robert right? Yeah...I don't even care enough to remember. Give me Edward Norton or Ryan Gosling any day!
Branwyn, you're a funny dude. Keep up the good work :)
Branwyn Lancourt says:
thanks 1bad.. you should check out the comments in the robert pattinson vs. the top 10 actors of all times threads... that should be good for another 45 minutes of entertainment at least
kati says:
this is quite sad what you write about the problems with getting laid and all... but I used to be a little goth girl in my youth and I did date guys who didn't listen to the same music I did and didn't dress like I did. I dated guys who were nice to talk to and who didn't build their self-esteem on: how not mainstream is the music they listen to or how deep and meaningful are the books/comic books they read/ movies they watch blah blah... because doing these things if you take yourself and your opinions too seriously just makes you a boring snob. I think that was why girls didn't want you, not because you didn't belong to their subculture enough.
Pattinson made at least 2 nice films before Twilight, "The bad mother's handbook" and "the haunted airman", and he acted really well in these. the fact that he was lucky to hit the commercial jackpot with Twilight, well good for him, if he decides to stay in the blockbuster movies for the rest of his career, than good for him, his choice. however if he hadn't been chosen to play Edward, he would probably still play only in independent and arthouse cinema. you probably wouldn't even know he exists, neither would he have millions of crazy fan girls. and it is not even that he himself has got all these fan girls, neither does Daniel Radcliff, they are often just identified/confused with the characters they play.
you seem to feel that you can distinguish yourself as an "intellectual" by saying something/someone popular is pathetic. how can we as a thinking species stoop to entertainment and blah blah... to me this just shows that you are no better than those teenage girls who love some fictional characters or celebrities and bash everyone who doesn't love the same stuff. you have just created a different cult of things high-brow, rare, meaningful etc which is in opposition to their cults and you believe that by following this cult you are a better, more valuable person than those teenagers, you seem to feel that you can write them all down as stupid and incapable of insight - just a slightly more sophisticated way of insulting someone, who doesn't share your beliefs. Simply, because in your book intellectual is a more powerful and desirable adjective than popular or handsome.
oh and Pattinson is not effeminate. the fact that he doesn't have a strong macho body language does not make him instantly effeminate, he is just not macho-manly. it is not like a guy is either macho-manly or effeminate, most guys are neither. if you think that in the twilight make-up he has a soft girly face you are confusing Edward the fictional character with Pattinson the actor. and any way he has a far too strong jaw bone to be effeminate purely aesthetically. if you want true effeminate(*) try Quentin Crisp, young Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Cillian Murphy or practically any Japanese male celebrity.
(*) not this teenage girls like it, so it has to be effeminate derogatory meaning nonsense.