"Myth: A stake in the heart will kill a vampire.
Truth: Well duh, it will kill anyone."
Kimberly Pauley, Sucks to Be Me
My 13 year old, like many of her peers, really got into the "Twilight" saga. Not being a preteen/teen girl I successfully dodged reading the books (my wife took one for the team in this instance). I was, however, roped into watching the first film with my daughter. Not in the theater, mind you. No, I held off until it came out on DVD. See, in a theater I could not mock the film nor make fun of the "acting." At home I could, and did, fire away. Here was a movie destined to be on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Since that wonderful show is no longer on the air I did what I could to carry on the legacy. Partly because she has outgrown the books, and because sarcasm is my second language, my daughter did not mind the snide comments I made throughout the film. In fact she really enjoyed it. Sadly, that means a date with the second film, "New Moon." Note to self: try not to be so funny next time.
Hollywood loves making monster flicks and audiences enjoy watching them. Americans see so many of these films that we have internalized many of the cliches from the never ending supply of vampire, werewolf, and Frankenstein movies. For instance, we all know, thanks to the silver screen, that to ward off a vampire you use garlic, and the only thing that will kill such an undead creature is a wooden stake through the heart. However, as author Kimberly Pauley so eloquently reminds us, "Well duh, it will kill anyone."
She's right. No matter who you are getting shot with a silver bullet is going to be fatal. Yet we want to believe that there is a magic way to get rid of the monsters in our world. Whether it is holy water or crucifixes, wooden stakes or silver bullets, we hang onto the myth that it takes something special to get rid of evil. It doesn't. The most common things are all we need - compassion, caring, a willingness to stand up and say "no." Oh, and love. Lots of love.
I know, that sounds simplistic, so cliche, too much like the inside of a $.99 Hallmark card. Maybe it is. Perhaps we can't get rid of evil without burning or shooting or stabling it. After all, if it does not bleed and smoke and writhe in pain how can we know that we have killed it.
"Love your enemies," Jesus said. Why? Because love is something that all the evil in the world combined cannot overcome. It is from God, of God, is God. And God has yet to be defeated. So enjoy the vampire/werewolf/swamp creature movies to your hearts content. Just remember the films are pretend. The real monsters of the world are overcome with love. Well, duh!
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