I remember that flick from ’87, “The Lost Boys.” Total game changer. Before that, vampires were just horror for me. But Joel Schumacher? Man, he turned it into something else. It’s those stories hiding in the shadows — I’m into them now, whether they’re masterpieces or total flops.
The wild thing about vampire movies is that aha moment — you don’t just bring crosses or garlic to a vampire fight. Nah, you gotta convince folks the bloodsuckers are real. In “The Lost Boys,” it’s the outsiders sounding the alarm while everyone shrugs. Fast forward to Coogler’s “Sinners,” set in Mississippi 1932. Same deal, but the ones society ignores are raising the red flags.
Let’s be clear, sexy vampires and crimson gore — yeah, I’m in. But what really hooks me is who’s yelling the truth to the masses and why everyone is so deaf. I mean, look at today’s mess; when watching “Sinners,” a competent Black woman leading the charge feels like a do-over in history.
Founding fathers didn’t say grabbing guns was the first defense against tyranny. Nope, it was letting folks talk truth. Sure, big media cares about cash — it’s capitalism’s lovechild. Freedom of press though? That’s about keeping democracy kicking. The folks who penned the Bill of Rights knew firsthand, tight-lipped tyranny bites.
What’s slowed the march towards “a more perfect union”? Not a muzzled press, but us turning a blind eye to truth. Like in those vampire flicks — who speaks up matters.
1938 brought “gas light” into the chat thanks to Thomas Hamilton’s play. A manipulative hubby makes his wife doubt her sanity. By ’44, it hits the screen — dude spins so many lies, she questions everything, even her upbringing. It’s truth that finally snaps her out of it. This story’s had legs, right? We’re still using “gaslighting” in 2023 — every corner of life is touched.
In stories, truth’s the power some characters lock away to control others. Think about it: movie vampires, deceitful husbands, shady politicians — they thrive when the truth stays buried.
And they bank on no one believing the whistleblowers. Nixon’s re-election after Watergate? Classic disbelief in action.
Truth doesn’t need a crowd to be real. But it’s useless without voices calling it out. First weapon in the good fight, right? And guess what? Evil’s first move is to silence it.
