Faith in 2-D
In the most recent season of HBO’s campy vampire drama True Blood, the writers and directors took on religion. They introduced a fundamentalist vampire sect that adheres to a scripture older than the Bible, believes that God is a vampire and that God’s first creation was the vampire Lilith. Through subterfuge and violence this sect has positioned itself at the head of the Vampire Authority, the worldwide vampire governing body that operates in shadowy allegiances with human governments.
For this sect, humans are no more than cattle, created by God for the sustenance of the real bearers of the imago Dei, vampires. With fanatical glee, these “sanguinistas” cast off their mainstream guises and massacre humans for food and pleasure. The season follows two of the show’s vampire figures—Bill Compton and Eric Northman—as they are wooed by and eventually join the religious extremist vampires. That both are former lovers of the main human character, Sookie Stackhouse, raises the stakes (all puns intended) of their conversion: will the practices of their newfound religion apply even to Sookie? Is she too no more than a tasty meal?
Surely a show with the budget and writing talent of True Blood could come up with some interesting ways to explore the perennial question about the relation of reason and emotion in the formation of faith. Can zealous belief align itself with humility and respect for other beliefs? By what measure do we judge our own and others’ religions?
