True Blood vs Vampire Diaries: A Comparative Analysis of Characters, Setting, Cinematography, Symbols and Imagery

This presentation provides a comparative analysis of True Blood and Vampire Diaries, focusing on the characters, setting, cinematography, symbols and imagery used in both shows. It explores the similarities and differences between the two popular vampire shows, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each. The presentation also raises questions about the use of mythical characters and symbols in both shows, and their implications for contemporary society.

TRUE BLOOD VAMPIRE
DIARIES
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CHARACTERS
• Character analysis of True Blood:
• The first Character that holds immense
significance is Sookie Stackhouse which is
played by Anna Paquin
• The next important character is Bill Compton
which is played by Stephen Mayer
• Thirdly, there is the character of Sam Merlotte
which is played by Sam Tramell
• Other essential characters are Jason
Stackhouse, Tara Thornton, Lafayette
Reynolds, Andy Bellefleur, Eric Northman and
so on (Bernardi, 2018).

CONTINUED
• The essential characters of Vampire Diaries are as follows:
• The most important roles are of the characters like Elena Gilbert,
Katherine Pierce, Damon Salvatore, Alaric Saltzman, Jeremy Gilbert and
so on.
• Other important ,supporting characters include Enzo John, Caroline
Forbes, Matt Donovan and so on.

CONTINUED…
• The Good Vampire:
• There is Stefan Salvatore who is the journaling as well as
sensitive
• He feeds only on bunnies as well as small non-humans
• He was turned as a teen and that is why his youthful
appearance is maintained
• On the other hand there is Bill Compton who purely feeds on
synthetic blood in order to check his vicious instincts
• Herein the primary difference is the Pre Vampire age

CONTINUED…
• The Bad Vampire:
• On one hand there is Stephan’s brother, Damon
Salvatore who is reckless and selfish at the same time.
• He is willing to take risks and going to the level of
putting at stake the life of girl whom he ardently loves
(Fitch, 2015)
• On the other hand, there is long time sheriff of Bill,
that is Eric Northman.
• He is also dangerous but yet his well buried heart of
gold draws Sookie towards him.
• There is a big difference in the relation with the good
vampire

CONTINUED…
• Innocent heroines with special powers:
• In the Vampire Diaries, the true value of her blood is not learned by Elena until
season 2
• However she is a descendant of a long line of Doppelgangers
• "In most of the scenes her life is at stake“
• This is because of the fact that two vampires who are equally in love with her
clashes against each other.
• Now in True Blood, Sookie comes from a long line of Faeries
• She is also vulnerable because of the same reason
• However, here it is an important point that faeries do have actual super powers
and that is evident in light force defence of Sookie (McGovern, 2016).

CONTINUED…
• Parents and guardians being killed in similar odd and tragic fashion:
• Elena and Jeremy are found left alone when a car accident kills their
parents
• The vampire Klaus killed Jenna who took charge of them after 2 seasons
• The same happens with the parents of Sookie and her brother who are
killed by a flash flood
• This is followed by Gran’s death
• The only difference that is evident in this case is Gran’s death that is
more bloodier than all. This creates the backdrop for rest of the plot to
unfold easily.

CONTINUED…
• The Werewolf:
• Mason Lockwood was indeed a deep
delving presence
• He was innately good and at times the
audience is bound to emotionally take his
side.
• On the other hand, Alcide Herveaux do not
reveal as much the character is expected to
do.
• The audience is enticed by his fate and his
position
• The portrayal of Alicide is somewhat weaker
and his smolder side is more evident.

CONTINUED…
• The She Vamps:
• The most tragic of this lot is Rebekah. She remains absolutely unsung.
• She has all the typical girlish traits and that makes her disposition more
tragic.
• Pam is deceptive. She falls to harm people to whom she is naturally
attracted
• The nature of teen angst is mature and breeding in Rebekah and Pam is a
cold hearted vamp and she is loved for that. Hence these two characters
entices the audience through two antipodal sentiments. However, as
Latiff,Ryan and Sidek (2018) states the enticement of Pam is more natural
and suiting with that of a cold blooded vampire. Too much piety would
have destroyed the true essence of the character.

SETTING AND LOCALE
• Actually Bon Temps in True Blood with its .off the beaten path is actually an insular
kind of town
• Alan Ball uses the political imperfectness and the prevalence of racial discrimination,
sexual orientation as well as class to create a backdrop for the evil
• However, the Daisy Dukes, Sundresses and tube tops add to the grandeur of the place
• On the contrary, Mystic falls so not have the delusion of any grandeur
• The Lockwoods, Fosters and Salvatores lorded over the place since Civil War
• It is as if the forefathers of the place had eradicated the menace of the vampires and
entrusted the descendants with the same responsibility if they returned ever (Connor,
2015).
• It is evident that the horrific and expecting terror in Mystic Falls makes the audience
feel the chill better.

CONTINUED…
• The Townsfolk:
• Maximum townsfolk of True Blood are living in the Bon Temps
• The horrid accent of the fold who utters Jesus, Mary and Joseph makes the
audience feel that there is something gruesome and fearsome
• Mystic Falls also have a vibrant set of characters, however they are not as
broadly depicted as in True Blood. The characters are not linked. The
pasteurisation of the town is emphasised up on and characters and given
less ornaments which gives a bonus to True Blood from this prospective.

BIG BADS
• In the case of True Blood, analysis of the two main villains, namely Rene is the
1st season and Maryann for season two.
• The plot is structured reasonably well for Rene
• However the plot of Maryann falls apart
• There is simply no assured link between Bon Temps and Maryann.
• Vampire diaries in the other hand makes a wonderful linking between the
setting and the multitude of villains that invade the setting
• Damon is the first villain who gives way to Anna as well as Pearl, as well as the
other tomb vampires
• Every character has a prolific reason for being in the city
• This is where Vampire Diaries plays the most prolific part.

CINEMATOGRAPHY OF VAMPIRE
DIARIES
• The particular style of editing and the lively use of the VFX makes the
plots and the characters livelier. The SVU implied, keeps the drama in the
storyline intact. The monologues and visual apprehensions keeps the
audience informed and connected with the subplots in the story. However
if closely observed then it can be perceived that the visual candy is
actually based up on the words (Nakov et al. 2016).
• The high tension and high style of the show maintains that the director
can start up on a close start, then shift to a wide shot and finally jump
cut.
• There is also the usage of various camera angles in the vampire diaries

CINEMATOGRAPHY OF TRUE
BLOOD
• The SFX gave True Blood a lot of its rich feel and that is very much
evident in the episode 402 of True Blood.
• Lit tungsten with half blue gel gave a dim night shadow that gives a boost
to the portrayal of the show
• The couple of chimera rags of 12*20 with combination of 9 light maxis
make the show feel realistic (Lehtinen, 2018).
• In this context, the use of precise technology is better and more adjacent
with the way the story line progresses in the show.

CONTINUED…
• The True Blood Directorial team used multiple technologies including VFX,
SFX as well as make up-FX
• The crew also had to spray one group of actors with blood
• This series also marks the shift of the mode of shooting from filming to
digital with ARRI Alexa.

SYMBOLS AND IMAGERY
• Pentagram, the Triquetra, cave symbols from Lockwood as well as the
Auroboros have ben used as important symbols in many moments of the
shows.
• The expression triangle is also one important imagery that is used to
heighten the seriousness of the situation.
• Lastly, the mark of Acradius is also another very important symbol that is
is used for the depiction of gory (Aranda, 2015).

CONTEXT OF TRUE BLOOD
• Mythical characters have been used in the True Blood as a part of its
symbolism
• These symbols indicate both past as well as present events
• One poignant symbol is the moment when the vampires are given he right to
marry
• This stands as a symbol for homosexuals being given the right to marry
• There is also the symbol of a burning cross in one of the episodes
• In the opening credits of the series, there is a boy as a symbol who is
wearing the KKK costume
• These mythical implications through various symbols is what keeps the
audience coming back for episode after episode all through the seasons.

QUESTIONS RAISED THROUGH IMAGERY
IN VAMPIRE DIARIES
• The first question raised through imagery is why is Elena’s feeding on
Damon’s blood a big deal?
• The significance of the arm tattoo of Connor which was visible to Jeremy
but not Matt
• The final scene with Alaric siting at grave with a grieving Damon have a
serious emotional implication

REFERENCES
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Blood and The Originals.
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• McGovern, M. (2016). Popular Necromancy: How Supernatural and True Blood are Attracting Mass Viewers and
Putting them in Touch with the Dark Side of Human Nature. Scott E. Hendrix and Timothy J. Shannon, 73.
• Lehtinen, J. (2018). ‘True to the end’?: Fan responses to the final season and series finale of HBO’s True Blood. The
Journal of Fandom Studies, 6(1), 47-61.
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AWAKENING.
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Without Fangs. Oceánide, (7), 7.
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