Truth Stranger Than Fiction

As part of YH!'s film month we'll be exploring the different aspects of cinema that make audiences across the world fall in love with the big screen. This week we're looking at style, beauty and fashion in film, questioning the wider influence it has on people and the way in which they see themselves and want others to see them.  Could the films we're watching be leading some down a dark and strange, even dangerous path? In this feature YH! will be looking at three movie inspired crazes that have swept the globe, that of the Superhero and that of the Vampire and Werewolf.

Everyone has a favourite movie, a character they love to emulate or a film they draw endless quotes from. But what if you happen to love a film so much it becomes more than just dressing like your favourite character? Could a film or a movie character slowly begin to take over your life, to the point where you actually believe you hold supernatural powers? For some it seems the line between fantasy and reality is blurred.

In the past decade we've seen a boom in comic book adaptations, with everything from Spider Man, Kick-Ass, X-Men, and the Green Lantern hitting the big screen. With so many conventions and fan clubs springing up everywhere now every comic buff has an excuse to don Lycra. All in the name of fun of course! But what if your whole life becomes one big convention?

In 2011 there are now over eight active real life superheroes across the globe, There's even a website where you can 'officially' register yourself as a superhero, worldsuperheroregsitry.com. Representing France there's Captain Ozone, the Czech Republic has Super Vaclav, Italy - Etomo The Insect-Man. Australia even has a Captain Australia! Here in the UK our real life capers include, The Statesman, Vague, Swift, Terrorvision, Lioneheart and Black Arrow. But by far the largest number of caped crusaders live in America, with over 70% of them residing across the U.S. 

One particular group of vigilantes, The Rain City Movement based in Seattle landed themselves in a spot of trouble after police almost fired shots at them at a gas stations. The group which includes,Thorn, Green Reaper, Penelope and Phoenix Jones tried to intervene between a drug dealer and a citizen. These superheroes don't carry automatic weapons, opting for Tasers, nightsticks and pepper spray instead. But Phoenix whose costume includes, what looks like some kind of muscular metal suit , reminiscent of Batman doesn't think that just anyone could just pick up a costume and start fighting  crime  "Everyone on my team either has a military background or a mixed martial arts background, and we're well aware of what its costs to do what we do." Having said that Phoenix only just escaped with his life after being stabbed during the fight at the gas station. So not all just fun and games then!

But is there an even darker side to mimicking your favourite movie characte? One which includes drinking human blood and the belief that your are not human but in fact a supernatural creature? A few weeks ago Channel 4 broadcast a poignant and often unsettling documentary titled 'Teenage Vampires'. The film follows a group of students in San Antonio, Texas who firmly believe, with all conviction that they are either vampires or werewolves. The documentary attempts to understand what draws these young people to these figures and what is it about the group that they feel allows them as sense of support and comfort from the prejudice they have faced from the public. One of the members, Michal who is 18 discovered she was a vampire in her early teens. She drinks blood, but only once a month saying it tastes metallic - "of salt, pennies and rust' and that drinking it give her a high. The teens give honest and open emotional accounts about their difficult upbringings and the challenges they faced in adolescence. Speaking to their parents and relatives, the filmmakers consider the experiences that may have marked them and asks why they might now want to be human.

By Ophelia Ruffin

Click here to watch 'Teen Vampires'  on Channel 4.

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