Vampire Films Portray Posthumans and a Posthuman World

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Kabeer Ahmed B Mohamed Ismail
A0096590U
IEM2201J
Research Paper
Posthumans, Vampires and Human Desires:
How Vampire Films Portray the Posthuman and a Posthuman World
Introduction
With the vampire’s rising popularity in films and TV shows, one does wonder what
makes the vampire so attractive, given that it is traditionally demonised as a repulsive, evil
being. Perhaps it is not the vampire per se, but what the vampire represents that makes
humans so attracted to it. Could it be that the vampire epitomises the ultimate of human
goals? To not only survive, but to remain flawlessly young and healthy forever – as the
vampire – is, after all, what most, if not all humans desire the most. In this regard, the
vampire can be considered a depiction of the posthuman which has been, for decades, the
symbol of the most basic and strongest of human drives. While advancements in human
enhancement technologies have not yet brought us immortality or eternal health and
youth, we can however, view the vampire as the ideal posthuman, exhibiting the traits that
humans ultimately strive for.
I will examine how vampire films explore human desires and portray the vampire as
the posthuman, allowing us to imagine a posthuman world. I will be also be explaining how
we can use vampire films to assess posthumanism and the various issues that go with
posthumanism including discrimination, exploitation, extinction and speciesism. I will be

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analysing various vampire films, that will form the basis of my claims and arguments, as well
as supporting articles and films to support my arguments.
Human Desires
Nick Bostrom, a Swedish philosopher and posthumanism advocate, explains,
“…Our desire to live is almost always stronger than our desire to die.
Our desire to live, conditional on our being able to enjoy full health, is
even stronger.”1
Posthumanism is driven largely by the human desire to survive and live long, healthy
lives. Most humans fear death more than anything and we can treat posthumanism as the
means to delay or evade death. This drive to stay alive and healthy is exemplified in many
vampire films, where humans willingly commit to turning into vampires, to deliberately
evade sickness and death. In Interview with the Vampire (1994), Louis, after being attacked
by Lestat to the point of near death, willingly allows Lestat to turn him into a vampire. This
was even despite Louis initially (as a human) begging for death. In Daybreakers (2009),
Charles Bromley explains how he chose to become a vampire to escape dying from sarcoma
he had contracted. This notion of immortality as a cure to all diseases is clearly represented
in many vampire films.
Having said that, we face a possible counter-argument. One might argue that
vampires cannot be considered living beings because they are, strictly speaking, undead and
that to become a vampire, one technically chooses death over life. Another counter-
argument is that vampires cannot be considered healthy because, again, they are undead.
1
Bostrom, N., 2008, ‘Why I want to be a Posthuman When I Grow Up’, In Medical Enhancement and
Posthumanity, Oxford University, pp 7

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However, in vampire films, a vampire can be killed, by driving a stake through its heart, for
example. We can, in this sense then, consider a vampire a living being because it can die
(again), and that the vampire is fully healthy because it is immortal and immune to illness.
To add to Nick Bostrom’s explanation of humans’ desire to live with full health, we
should explore another spectrum of human desire: to live long, healthy and meaningful
lives. While living long, healthy lives is, in itself, meaningful, there must be some greater
motivation why humans would choose to live over dying. The reason could be that humans
assign meaning to their lives, which they do not want ending with their death. In other
words, it might not be enough of a motivation for humans to simply live long healthy lives;
that life must also be a meaningful one. In Twilight (2008), for example, we see how Bella
becomes obsessed with convincing Edward to turn her into a vampire so that they could be
together forever. Here, the meaning Bella assigns to her life is to love Edward forever. In
Daybreakers, again, while Charles Bromley’s motivation to turn into a vampire was sparked
by the fear of death, his desire to live was so that he could see watch young daughter grow
up.
Thus the human desires vampire films explore are the very same desires that would
motivate humans to want to become posthuman.
The Posthuman/Vampire
In the previous section, we have examined how vampire films explore human desires
and how that relates to posthumanism. While we have, up til this point, considered only the
immortality and immunity of the vampire, we should now analyse in detail what

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characteristics constitute a posthuman, and explicitly lay out how the vampire exhibits the
same – sometimes amplified – attributes. By taking examples from different vampire films,
we can show how the vampire fulfils all the criteria to identify one as posthuman.
To do this, we should first decide on a definition of the posthuman. As different
writers have slightly varying definitions for the posthuman, I shall use the definition laid out
by Nick Bostrom, as he very concisely explains how the posthuman would possess a
“general central capacity greatly exceeding the maximum attainable by any current human
being without recourse to new technological means.”2
This general capacity refers to three
key categories: healthspan, cognition and emotion.
Healthspan
“The capacity to remain fully healthy, active and productive, both
mentally and physically”3
In practically any vampire film, from Nosferatu (1929) to Interview with the Vampire
(1994) to a more the more recent and widely popular Twilight franchise (2008-2012), the
vampire is and has always been portrayed as characteristically undead, immortal and
immune to illness. To single out any one or few vampire films to illustrate this would thus be
quite unnecessary. Moreover, the possible counterarguments to the claim that this
immortality is comparable to the longevity of a posthuman have been addressed earlier.
2
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Cognition
“general intellectual capacities, such as memory, deductive and
analogical reasoning, and attention, as well as special faculties such
as the capacity to understand and appreciate music, humor,
eroticism, narration, spirituality, mathematics, etc.”4
While vampires display heightened strength, speed, and physical prowess in general,
they do also display a heightened senses and mental and intellectual capacities. Take
memory, for example. In Interview with the Vampire, Louis easily recalls his entire life since
he turned into a vampire 200 years ago, in great detail. Realistically, even if a human could
live to be 200, without enhanced cognition, aging would take its toll on his brain and
recalling events – even those that occur within the same day – would be a challenge.
We should acknowledge also that enhanced cognition involves a vastly altered
perspective on life and the universe. In vampire films, we see how vampires experience
differently from when they were human. In the scene where Louis just turns into a vampire,
Louis describes his new perspective on life and the world with “Might as well ask heaven
what it sees. No human can know.”5
Such amplified cognitive capacities the vampire exhibits
are what one could expect of a posthuman.
4
5
Geffen, D. (Producer), Woolley S. (Producer) & Jordan, N. (Director), 1994, Interview with the vampire: The
vampire chronicles, United States: Warner Bros.

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Emotion
“The capacity to enjoy life and to respond with appropriate affect to
life situations and other people”6
While I agree with the above definition of emotion, I should add that emotion not
only means our ability to enjoy life, but also means our susceptibility to emotional pain and
suffering and that an enhanced emotional capacity means that all emotions get heightened
and pain, anger and suffering are not isolated. Taking an example from Interview with the
Vampire, in the scene where Louis is terribly pained at the thought of his killing of Claudia,
we hear from Lestat, “Pain is terrible for you. You feel it like no other creature because
you’re a vampire.”7
Other examples would be how we see Edward’s love for Bella in Twilight
as almost obsessive or how Dracula in Van Helsing (2004) is plagued with insatiable anger.
As we recognize how the attributes of the vampire are very much aligned with what
Bostrom prescribes the posthuman should exhibit, we can then see the connection and the
similarity between the vampire and the posthuman very clearly. This is a major point that
shows how the vampire could categorically be the representation of the posthuman, and
this forms a good foundation to build other points upon.
6
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A Posthuman/Vampiric World
Having examined how the vampire can be viewed as the representation of the
posthuman and how vampire films explore human desires, we should now examine how
vampire films depict a vampiric world and, in doing so, can help us imagine what a
posthuman world would be like. I will then be pointing out the issues we can expect to face
in a posthuman world, which we can gather from vampire films.
Before that, I should point out that as we compare vampire films from the past to
more current films, we observe a development where the vampire, from being the sole
protagonist in films like Nosferatu and Horror of Dracula, grows in number into vampire
communities like in True Blood, or in a more extreme case, takes over the human
population, like in Daybreakers. As such, I will assess each case where posthumans
constitute different proportions of the population, using an appropriate vampire film to
identify the issue associated with each case.
If there was one posthuman/vampire: The issue of discrimination
It is natural for humans to discriminate against those who they deem to be different
or “less human” from them. Ordinary humans would discriminate against posthumans
because they feel that the enhancements posthumans undergo takes away part of their
humanity, making them less human, or that being posthuman puts one at an unfair
advantage over ordinary humans. To give an example, Olympic athlete Oscar Postorius’
inclusion in the ordinary Olympic Games was met with a lot of flak because many felt that his
prosthetic legs enabled him to run significantly faster than the average human, and many
viewed Pistorious as an unfairly advantaged competitor.

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Such discrimination is evident in films like Nosferatu and Horror of Dracula where the
lone vampire is always being relentlessly hunted by humans. The reason the vampire is so
hunted by humans is not so much simply because it feeds on humans, but more so because
it is regarded as a non-human, evil being, despite being very similar or identical to humans.
Also, the vampire’s superior physical and mental capabilities threaten humans, warranting
humans’ discrimination against vampires.
If there were many posthumans/vampires: The issue of exploitation
When a significant majority of the population are posthuman, we can expect
exploitation to be a major issue. Naturally, posthumans will see themselves as superior to
ordinary humans. As a result of this superior complex, posthumans may exploit humans and
view their exploitation as justified by virtue of their superiority.
However, the opposite may also be true. We can also expect that humans may
deliberately develop or use posthumans who are more capable of performing tasks than
ordinary humans, with the aim of exploiting them. We can take an example from the film
Bladerunner (1982). The movie, set in the year 2019, is about how organic robots called
replicants are developed for the sole purpose of performing dangerous, menial work in off-
world colonies that are too hostile to humans, and are banned from being used on Earth.8
We can predict that a similar exploitation of posthumans may occur.
Generally, vampires in films take on a very predetorial role, hunting humans for their
blood. They find this exploitation of humans as justified as they see themselves as superior
to humans, who are only good for food. In Interview with the Vampire for example, Lestat
constantly encourages Louis to kill humans to feed on, justifying this by comparing vampires
8
Scott, R. (Director), 1982, Blade Runner, United States: Warner Bros.

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to God; “God kills indiscriminately, and so shall we… For no creatures are under God as we
are...None so like him, as ourselves.”9
However, True Blood gives us the perfect example of how exploitation can exist both
ways, as mentioned earlier. While the vampires on True Blood see themselves as superior to
humans and treat their treatment of humans as “pets” or “cattle” as justified, the vampires
are also, in turn, tortured and exploited by humans who capture them to extract their blood
for manufacturing the psychotropic drug, “V”, which rapidly became widely popular among
humans.
Such films thus help us imagine a world where two “human subspecies” exist – the
superior posthuman and the ordinary human – and how this can bring about exploitation of
both humans and posthumans, and the implications of this exploitation.
If the world was posthuman/vampiric: The issue of extinction
This issue assumes a rather extreme case where the population of posthumans
vastly outnumber the population of ordinary humans. While this might be a radical idea, it is
one that isn’t impossible, and should be considered when assessing the consequences of
posthumanism. Suppose posthumanism eventually becomes a widely, globally accepted
concept and that technologies for a human to become posthuman are easily accessible. In
such a case, we can imagine how a vast majority of the global population would want to
become posthuman, mainly to ensure their own survival in a world where almost everyone
is greatly faster, stronger and smarter. However, we can also expect that some humans will
not become posthumans because they either cannot afford the procedures to become
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posthuman or simply choose not to. This will result in a small population of humans, who,
being at a huge disadvantage, become less capable of surviving in this world. Eventually, the
human species will become endangered and possibly extinct, leaving a world populated by
posthumans.
There are some vampire films that depict such a scenario. In Daybreakers, for
example, we see such an extreme case where vampires make up almost the entirety of the
global population and exploit humans for their blood to the point where humans are close
to extinction. Although the vampires are trying to develop synthetic blood to replace real
human blood for consumption, the motivation behind this is the fear of scarcity, of running
out of blood, not to save the human species from extinction.
Speciesism
Regardless of the proportion of posthumans to humans, there will exist a great deal
of speciesism between humans and posthumans as long as posthumans exist. As covered in
the three cases above, all the issues do, in some way, stem from speciesism as well.
However speciesism also means that the value of a posthuman’s life and status may
be regarded differently than that of a human’s. Quite appropriately, the posthuman may be
considered the superior being, with a higher moral status by virtue of its higher capabilities.
Therefore, a set of rights may have to be granted to posthumans, separate from human
rights. This may spark a lot of debate, dissatisfaction and unrest between humans and
posthumans, if either party feels like they are not given their due rights as humans or as
posthumans.

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This speciesism and situation of human subspecies fighting for their rights is clearly
exemplified in True Blood, where the vampires form the American Vampire League (AVL) to
fight for equal rights for vampires, as they find the treatment vampires receive from humans
– exploiting them for their blood and general discrimination – unjust. Blayde and Dunn,
however, disagree with this fight for equality, and think that the vampires fighting for
equality are taking a step down.
“In our world, human beings are at the top of the food chain. Our
rational abilities have put us far ahead of all the other animals, and
for thousands of years, we have been the dominant species. But in
True Blood, we’re number two. We have to wonder thy vampires
would seek equality with human beings in the first place. Equality
seems like it would be a step down.”10
While some may disagree with this view, it surely makes sense why vampires, and
posthumans for that matter, should view themselves as superior to humans and by that
virtue, fight to be on top rather than clamouring for equality.
Whichever the case may be, regardless of whether posthumans fight for equality or
whether they fight for superiority, speciesism would very likely exist if posthumans exist.
10
Blayde, A., Dunn, G.A., 2010, ‘Pets, Cattle, and Higher Life Forms on True Blood’, ‘ True Blood and
Philosophy, We Wanna Think Bad Things With You’, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp. 41.

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Conclusion
With the examples of vampire films and references to various sources, the claims
that vampire films epitomise human desires, portray the vampire as the posthuman and the
vampiric world as the posthuman world are well supported. In fact, the incredible attributes
the vampire possesses makes it a symbol of the ideal posthuman, fulfilling all the human
desires discussed in this paper. With this parallel made between the vampire and the
posthuman, we have also observed how vampire films can be used to predict or assess the
possible consequences of posthumanism and the issues we can expect to face on different
scales. Simply put, if one wants to know what it would be like being a posthuman, living in a
posthuman world, one simply needs to watch some vampire films.
Word Count: 2990 words, excluding title and headings

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References
Abott, S., 2007, ‘Celluloid Vampires: Life After Death in the Modern World’,
Redefining Boundaries: Vampire Cyborgs, United States: University of Texas Press, pp 197-
214
Bostrom, N., 2008, ‘Why I want to be a Posthuman When I Grow Up’, In Medical
Enhancement and Posthumanity, Oxford University, pp 107-137
Blayde, A., Dunn, G.A., 2010, ‘Pets, Cattle, and Higher Life Forms on True Blood’, ‘
True Blood and Philosophy, We Wanna Think Bad Things With You’, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
pp. 34-48.
Buchanan, A., 2009, Moral status and human enhancement, Philosophy & Public
Affairs, 37(4), pp. 346-381.
Day, W. P., 2002, ‘Vampire Legends in Contemporary American Culture: What
Becomes a Legend Most’, Post-Human Vampires: “We Are Animals”, United States:
University Press of Kentucky, pp 81-104
Ducsay, B. (Producer), Sommers, S. (Director), 2004, Van Helsing, United States:
Universal Pictures
Finegan, S., 2013, ‘’You only have to turn your back on nature…’: valorising
posthuman desire in Stephen Meyer’s Twilight Saga’, Queensland University of Technology,
Brisbane, Australia, pp. 158-167
Geffen, D. (Producer), Woolley S. (Producer) & Jordan, N. (Director), 1994, Interview
with the vampire: The vampire chronicles, United States: Warner Bros.
Hardwicke, C. (Director), 2008, Twilight, United States: Summit Entertainment
Scott, R. (Director), 1982, Blade Runner, United States: Warner Bros.

Vampire Films Portray Posthumans and a Posthuman World

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