Sequences In True Blood, By Charlaine Harris
Great title sequences do more than introduce characters, they are usually structured so that the viewer is given a visual hint to what the series is about and typically sets the theme of the entire show. The title sequence constitutes the beginning of the film/show, which at the same time, signifies what it represents (Stanitzek, 2009). They act as an opening from the real world to the world of the show, they give us a foundation with which a better understanding of the events we’re about to see.
True Blood is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. The show is a detailed story based around the co-existence of vampires and humans; a show which is filled with countless metaphors. Allen Ball, the shows creator, infuses …show more content…
the series with innumerable, not so subtle historical and cultural references to American society, this is reflected in True Bloods’ title sequence. The shows opening sequence makes lucid references to both civil and gay rights movements presented with images of the Ku Klux Klan, a burning cross, civil rights protests, and a lighted sign that reads "God hates fangs” a recognisable play on extremist religious protestors’ bigotry statement “God hates fags.” Alongside this, the title induces a number of poor stereotypes that illustrate southerns as violent, drunken, religiously fanatic, highly sexualised and poor. Consecutive, the show focuses on a "mixed" relationship between a vampire and a white human female as we witness their struggles to overcome the bigotry and prejudice of their community.
Daniel M. Kimmel (2010) in his chapter Vampire Porn, discusses True Bloods’ grotesque title sequence, analysing the graphic themes that are displayed. He examines and dichotomises the shows title sequence to give us an insight into what a title sequence can and should do for a show, while he explains an unexpected and compelling explanation for why the images are unsettling for some viewers to watch. True Bloods’ title sequence is swarming with metaphors for undead living, and living with the undead it opens under water on a taciturn catfish and a wide eyed alligator which serves as an amphibious admission into the blackish baptisms and rot of intolerance. Stick shacks look sullen under thick long moss as the eerie song by Jace Everett’s song “Bad Things” introduces the religious and risqué imagery that contextualises sweet swamp-goth and slutty vampiric mise-en-scène. Balls opening sequence has been linked in comparison to Andrew Douglas’ mesmerising film Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus, an example of outstanding surrealist southern cinema. Intriguingly, Balls title sequence includes no distinct imagery of vampires, however rebirth, predation and death are metaphorically imputed; a canine corpse decaying, a frog being consumed by a venus fly trap, a bloody possum in the road and a slow motion strike of a rattlesnake.
The sequence is filled with juxtaposing of images, it includes religious scenes and sex scenes being consistently juxtaposed, linked with a set of fast edits featuring a series of naked bodies and a silhouette of a church bell tower.
Kimmel states that the title sequence is set up for us with local colour, which is made clear with the first religious imagery. On screen, we see a Afircan-American women dressed all in white praising her lord, clapping and singing in church. The problem with this imagery is the context that it appears. The scene appears in between a New Lucky Liquor Store sign and boarded up houses with a sign that states ‘No Loitering’. It's the context of these people highlighted to be seen to making joyful noises in between sin and decay (Kimmel, 2010). Adding to this, with the same setting a couple of scenes later, the viewers focus is tuned to another religious scene. Another African-american women, again dressed in all white is throwing herself back and forth and uncontrollably shaking; to her right there is another women trying to stabilise her. Within the scene there is also a preacher, to the viewer it is signifying what looks to be an exorcism, but at the same time it could easily be some sort of religiously fanatic …show more content…
process.
The scene that almost acts as an epilogue followed a quick flash of a montage, is a women in water being held by two men.
The two men appear to baptising the women, a scene when concluded gives no further information. At a glance it looks to be a statement of religious affirmation. The troubling part of this scene is that the baptism is being held at night and the women appears to be out of her mind, she seems to have no control of herself. After she has immersed, why is it that the women seem to be trying to escape the grip of the men, with no explanation to who these men are. This a scene that we should be able to easily read, but cant
(kimmel,2010).
In addition to this, the explicit imagery of baptism at first seem shocking, but the connotation of the image is changed by the music. The sexually suggestive lyrics, “I wanna do bad things with you” add to the troubling sense “that somethings not right”. However, this religious imagery does provided the viewer with information, the semiology of these scenes signifies that we are in a community that holds an active church life. Church can act as a refuge towards the things that they find degrading, but at the same time, disturbing things might also be happening within church. These ideas have been subsequently explored in the show, as the imagery is used throughout in ways that comments upon the images of sex and death.
Colours can serve as an iconic referent, it can generate a resemblance to a certain object; the connection lies within the colours connotation of the object. The colour red, for example is used multiple time throughout the opening sequence, this is an iconic representation of blood. It is imperative that the colour’s attributes resemble the qualities of the object, the colour requires further signs to generate the meaning of blood. In the case of True Blood, the title itself, displayed near the end of the opening sequence, is shown in what looks like a blood bag. The psychological effects of colour as suggested by Cherry (2009), tends to refer to a range of cognitive, affective and behavioural responses and associations linked to specific colours. Red is a dominant colour within the title sequence, it is used in conjunction with the overly sexual scenes and that relating to vampire. A scene that highlights two young boy looking directly into the camera. Whats important about these boy is they are eating red berries. With as mouths completely covered in red, they lick there lips. Although the viewer has seen the boys eating the berries, and the read around their mouth is a result of that, it is a clear signifier relating to vampires whom have just fed on humans blood.
In the title sequence red is not the only colour that appears. Referring back to the women dressed in white, in many countries the colour white signifies purity, innocence and professional authority. An example would be doctors and scientist who often wear white lab coats to connote their sterility and cleanliness.
Without the creepy overhead music and the flashes of naked bodies intertwined with the religious shots, the connotation of the white would prevail. However, there is a shot of a child wearing the white robes of the Klu Klux Klan, surrounded by men. The signification of this scene is disturbing because it perceived as real, it doesn't look like it has been made for the show. The boy looks directly into the camera; ostensibly right into the viewers eyes. The black and white scene, looks to have been taken from a documentary or a news report. The cumulative effect of this scene completely subverts the image of white as innocent and that of a child's innocence; if we were to assume the reality of this image, its more terrifying than a vampire, as it reflects the evil of the world we live in. Something that doesn't go away at the end of an episode (Kimmel, 2009). With that, it's connoting the conflict and hate within such society, to signify the exploration of loss of innocence within True Blood.
True Blood is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. The show is a detailed story based around the co-existence of vampires and humans; a show which is filled with countless metaphors. Allen Ball, the shows creator, infuses …show more content…
the series with innumerable, not so subtle historical and cultural references to American society, this is reflected in True Bloods’ title sequence. The shows opening sequence makes lucid references to both civil and gay rights movements presented with images of the Ku Klux Klan, a burning cross, civil rights protests, and a lighted sign that reads "God hates fangs” a recognisable play on extremist religious protestors’ bigotry statement “God hates fags.” Alongside this, the title induces a number of poor stereotypes that illustrate southerns as violent, drunken, religiously fanatic, highly sexualised and poor. Consecutive, the show focuses on a "mixed" relationship between a vampire and a white human female as we witness their struggles to overcome the bigotry and prejudice of their community.
Daniel M. Kimmel (2010) in his chapter Vampire Porn, discusses True Bloods’ grotesque title sequence, analysing the graphic themes that are displayed. He examines and dichotomises the shows title sequence to give us an insight into what a title sequence can and should do for a show, while he explains an unexpected and compelling explanation for why the images are unsettling for some viewers to watch. True Bloods’ title sequence is swarming with metaphors for undead living, and living with the undead it opens under water on a taciturn catfish and a wide eyed alligator which serves as an amphibious admission into the blackish baptisms and rot of intolerance. Stick shacks look sullen under thick long moss as the eerie song by Jace Everett’s song “Bad Things” introduces the religious and risqué imagery that contextualises sweet swamp-goth and slutty vampiric mise-en-scène. Balls opening sequence has been linked in comparison to Andrew Douglas’ mesmerising film Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus, an example of outstanding surrealist southern cinema. Intriguingly, Balls title sequence includes no distinct imagery of vampires, however rebirth, predation and death are metaphorically imputed; a canine corpse decaying, a frog being consumed by a venus fly trap, a bloody possum in the road and a slow motion strike of a rattlesnake.
The sequence is filled with juxtaposing of images, it includes religious scenes and sex scenes being consistently juxtaposed, linked with a set of fast edits featuring a series of naked bodies and a silhouette of a church bell tower.
Kimmel states that the title sequence is set up for us with local colour, which is made clear with the first religious imagery. On screen, we see a Afircan-American women dressed all in white praising her lord, clapping and singing in church. The problem with this imagery is the context that it appears. The scene appears in between a New Lucky Liquor Store sign and boarded up houses with a sign that states ‘No Loitering’. It's the context of these people highlighted to be seen to making joyful noises in between sin and decay (Kimmel, 2010). Adding to this, with the same setting a couple of scenes later, the viewers focus is tuned to another religious scene. Another African-american women, again dressed in all white is throwing herself back and forth and uncontrollably shaking; to her right there is another women trying to stabilise her. Within the scene there is also a preacher, to the viewer it is signifying what looks to be an exorcism, but at the same time it could easily be some sort of religiously fanatic …show more content…
process.
The scene that almost acts as an epilogue followed a quick flash of a montage, is a women in water being held by two men.
The two men appear to baptising the women, a scene when concluded gives no further information. At a glance it looks to be a statement of religious affirmation. The troubling part of this scene is that the baptism is being held at night and the women appears to be out of her mind, she seems to have no control of herself. After she has immersed, why is it that the women seem to be trying to escape the grip of the men, with no explanation to who these men are. This a scene that we should be able to easily read, but cant
(kimmel,2010).
In addition to this, the explicit imagery of baptism at first seem shocking, but the connotation of the image is changed by the music. The sexually suggestive lyrics, “I wanna do bad things with you” add to the troubling sense “that somethings not right”. However, this religious imagery does provided the viewer with information, the semiology of these scenes signifies that we are in a community that holds an active church life. Church can act as a refuge towards the things that they find degrading, but at the same time, disturbing things might also be happening within church. These ideas have been subsequently explored in the show, as the imagery is used throughout in ways that comments upon the images of sex and death.
Colours can serve as an iconic referent, it can generate a resemblance to a certain object; the connection lies within the colours connotation of the object. The colour red, for example is used multiple time throughout the opening sequence, this is an iconic representation of blood. It is imperative that the colour’s attributes resemble the qualities of the object, the colour requires further signs to generate the meaning of blood. In the case of True Blood, the title itself, displayed near the end of the opening sequence, is shown in what looks like a blood bag. The psychological effects of colour as suggested by Cherry (2009), tends to refer to a range of cognitive, affective and behavioural responses and associations linked to specific colours. Red is a dominant colour within the title sequence, it is used in conjunction with the overly sexual scenes and that relating to vampire. A scene that highlights two young boy looking directly into the camera. Whats important about these boy is they are eating red berries. With as mouths completely covered in red, they lick there lips. Although the viewer has seen the boys eating the berries, and the read around their mouth is a result of that, it is a clear signifier relating to vampires whom have just fed on humans blood.
In the title sequence red is not the only colour that appears. Referring back to the women dressed in white, in many countries the colour white signifies purity, innocence and professional authority. An example would be doctors and scientist who often wear white lab coats to connote their sterility and cleanliness.
Without the creepy overhead music and the flashes of naked bodies intertwined with the religious shots, the connotation of the white would prevail. However, there is a shot of a child wearing the white robes of the Klu Klux Klan, surrounded by men. The signification of this scene is disturbing because it perceived as real, it doesn't look like it has been made for the show. The boy looks directly into the camera; ostensibly right into the viewers eyes. The black and white scene, looks to have been taken from a documentary or a news report. The cumulative effect of this scene completely subverts the image of white as innocent and that of a child's innocence; if we were to assume the reality of this image, its more terrifying than a vampire, as it reflects the evil of the world we live in. Something that doesn't go away at the end of an episode (Kimmel, 2009). With that, it's connoting the conflict and hate within such society, to signify the exploration of loss of innocence within True Blood.