One of my favorite TV shows is What We Do in the Shadows, a mockumentary-style show about a film crew that monitors the daily (or rather nightly) activities of a group of vampires. I highly recommend it due to its hilarious writing and the cast that make the delivery of every joke perfect.
This show relates to what we’ve been talking about in class because it is super campy, not in the way that is over the top in theatrics but in the sense that these vampires take themselves very seriously, which makes it difficult not to laugh at the ridiculous situations they put themselves in. This show makes me think of Susan Sontag’s ‘Notes on Camp’, in which she says “Camp is art that proposes itself seriously, but cannot be taken altogether seriously because it is ‘too much'” (Sontag 7). Watching a vampire go to a funeral in a church and trying to keep their composure and not disrupt the funeral while literally burning and being able to interact with the audience is a great example of deliberate camp, and a very funny one at that.
Not only is the show camp, but it is also very queer in general. They casually bring up that they have had both male and female lovers in the past and one of the show’s characters, a human familiar named Guillermo, even comes out as gay in the later seasons. Most importantly, the show really emphasizes the idea of a chosen family, and that all of these people who are outcasts from the rest of the ‘human’ world can live together and love one another.
I was just introduced to this show this past weekend by my roommate, so this is very coincidental! Only after seeing a few episodes, I completely agree that it is camp! The vampires “larger than life attitude” definitely come from inspiration of queer people and I would even argue and say that vampires in general are queer coded. I say this because vampires are only active during the night and many queer people work in night life (ie gay bars, drag queens, ect) and night is when they can be their true selves like vampires.
Additionally, they have the power to change their human lovers into vampires for them to be immortal and together forever which I have always seen that as inherently queer and almost like a moment of self-discovery for the human being “turned”.
I love this idea and comparison. But what I love more is your last note about chosen family. I think it’s so important that people are able to realize they have the ability to choose some of there family. Not everyone gets blessed with there family by blood and I think it’s a beautiful thing to be able to find the people that lift you up and support you in a different setting. It’s human, it’s deep, it’s meaningful, and its connection. I love it and I love my chosen family. Groups and communities reflect this chosen family of this magnetic pull of people wanting to find others that see them for who they are or want to see them for who they are and make the effort too.
I love this show too, and I feel like it’s comedic and has a good understanding of tone and camp. Other than the authentic portrayal of the characters, the context of their behavior makes it understandable (e.g. their personality or the time they’re from). The found family concept is a perfect representation for me of building an accepting community where everyone is equal and seen as a human being (which is an ideal for many people in the LGBTQ+ community). These pieces of media always make me feel emotional, as I strive to find a similar community in real life.
I love this comparison! While I have yet to see the show, the way you described the show sounds really interesting and really fits into the themes of our class, in regard to camp and how camp can be used to cope with serious topics, especially within the LGBTQ+ community. Your description and camp analysis reminds of the film The Birdcage, another example of an LGBTQ+ cultural artifact that stands out for its campy nature that celebrates queer culture and the LGBTQ community while satirizing the conservative, traditional “American family values.”