This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Anon English Major: You guys might wanna look at some of Baudelaire's poetry - he's got some complex about lesbian vampires that might provide a good quote for this page, and also more justification for the name.
Looney Toons: (after deleting his earlier comment) I seem to recall that the blonde is usually the evil one, and the brunette is the good girl...
BT The P: Maybe now. I remember specifically the Lil Abner scenario.
Looney Toons: I was remembering a number of teen movies from the 1980s, most notably the Scott Baio vehicle Zapped! — the blonde is virtually always the vicious girl the hero desires who hurts or betrays him, while the brunette is always the platonic friend who binds his metaphoric wounds and eventually wins his heart, although he doesn't notice her beauty at first.
Gus I lean toward the evil-blonde side, a bit. It is pretty clear, though, that the wholesome lady and the vamp are always on opposite sides of the hair-colour spectrum.
Looney Toons: Maybe this goes in cycles, with one set of hair color assignments being dominant for a decade or so, then getting more and more subverted until the subversion becomes the trope for a while, which itself then gets subverted back to the original, and so on and so on? Because I remember when watching The Mask when it first hit the theaters being surprised that the blonde gangster's girlfriend turned out to be the good girl, and the brunette friend of the hero was the one who betrayed him...
Gus: Nifty observation! There is probably something for Meta here about Cyclic Trope. // later : I snagged it.
Looney Toons: <sigh> I was too busy this week to whip up a new entry. Looks good, though of course I had to add my own touch. <grin>
Bookworm: What would be a good name for a male villain who tries to seduce a female hero? I know it's been done (never as interesting or effective, sure, but still...).
Looney Toons: Casanova might have been good, once, but it's now assigned to a behavior type. If you know of examples, well, then, the best-known of them might make for a good name.
Solandra: I changed the Femme Fatale reference from "redeemable" to "somewhat more sympathetic" because the majority of femme fatales go unredeemed, but there's still some spark of humanity in them, such as an explanation for their actions or Pet the Dog moments. The Vamp is just evil through and through; she's a vampire and nothing more.
Twin Bird:
- The Metal Gear Solid series features a (male) character codenamed Vamp, who fits aspects of this trope while being an actual vampire in the sense that he drinks blood and is also bisexual, playing off of an older use of the term.
(Emphasis mine.)
Hmm? Never heard that one before.
Lale: Medea was honestly in love with Jason and a valuable ally... while he was a Walking the Earth hero. Afterwards, when he dumped her, she Murdered The Hypotenuse, which makes her a villain in some eyes, but not of The Vamp type. If anything, Jason callously used her for his own means.
Nornagest: What would the male equivalent of this trope be? The Pride And Prejudice entry specifies a "rare male example", but the protagonist of Cruel Intentions also seems to qualify, at least until he gets some juicy character development. I'm sure there are others.
