Would you want to be immortal? And do you think immortals exist?
-
Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles
vtoast — 9 years ago(July 21, 2016 02:31 PM)
I was wondering if you would like to be immortal and why or why not? These are the most obvious reasons why many people are against it and my rebuttal to each one. I am interested to know if you agree or disagree:
- Boredom.
I think this is a poor answer though, because there are far too many things to do. The world will likely be destroyed before you can ever do every single thing there is to do on it. Places to explore, people to meet, TV shows to watch, books to read, hobbies and goals to pursue, and even just everyday things. I may be biased because I have never actually been bored in my life, but I think it is because I have various passions and know how to make things interesting. I am actually fairly confident that I could take anyone's life and "remake" it to ensure that they really enjoy it indefinitely.
Furthermore, if, for example, millions of years down the line, you decide you are too bored to live any longer, you can always just kill yourself - so you haven't given anything up, all you've done is given yourself more options. - Loved ones dying.
This is a valid objection in some cases but becomes irrelevant for vampires as you can make your family or friends immortal anyway. - Unnatural.
This is, in my opinion, the worst objection, as it is just illogical. Either (1) anything not directly existing in nature is "unnatural," meaning phones, computers, internet, TV, processed foods, planes, spaceships, printed books, and basically everything else is also unnatural, and if you use any of those things then your "it's unnatural" objection is invalid because it shows that doing unnatural things doesn't really bother you at all, or (2) anything allowable by nature IS natural - meaning, the very fact that it's possible for you to do something means it should be considered as "natural," or (3) whether something is classed as natural/unnatural is irrelevant to determining whether you should engage in it anyway.
Another way some people present this is with that line about life being meaningless without death. I don't see any sense to that, though. Yes, it's true that if every person in the world became immortal, some of them would waste their lives because they think "I have time to do it later." I see this as an inferior mindset though because if you have hobbies and passions and things that you truly enjoy and care about, then you are going to pursue them regardless of whether you have 10 years or 100 years or 10 million years at your disposal. - Immortals find it harder to relate to people.
I've heard this only once, and it's (likely) a valid statement, however it's also not relevant. First, you can relate to other immortals. Second, many people already find it hard to relate to others (for example people who are highly intelligent or who have unusual interests that fall outside the scope of mainstream appeal), and this doesn't make them want to die. Third, what does it even matter? The desire to "fit in" is childish (in my opinion) and if you haven't grown out of it already you definitely would after a couple of hundred years.
I'd like to hear your thoughts on this and know if you have any other objections that I haven't covered, or if you disagree with anything I've said.
Last, I am also wondering if you think that immortals exist already. Of course there isn't that much evidence indicating it but I would assume that it wouldn't be easy to locate them anyway (if I were immortal I definitely wouldn't be telling people about it or doing things to draw attention to it, and I would have specific protocols for myself to follow to ensure I avoid detection). Unless you've already seen them personally it would probably be foolish to believe just on "faith," so when I ask if you think they exist, I really mean do you think the probability that they may exist is substantial, and why or why not?
If anyone is interested in this, feel free to reply. If you'd like to discuss it privately, you can also email me directly (my information is listed on my IMDB profile). Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
- Boredom.
-
divisjoseph — 9 years ago(July 26, 2016 11:12 AM)
Nice post, a subject my mother and I have discussed quite a few times. I agree and disagree with various parts of your post. I am assuming by what you have written that you would indeed wish to be immortal? I am and have been for some time torn on my decision here if I were ever given the choice. As unhappy as they seem beep yeah I would love to be a vampire. Luckily for me, I believe it to be moot as I do not believe vampires exist. That being said though, I am open to the possibility of vampires existing and would believe it if proof was shoved under my nose. Let's go down your list shall we?
3) Unnatural.
Let me start here, I must disagree with the fact that vampirism is unnatural, if you are an atheist I would agree this argument would indeed seem illogical (please we can discuss the religious aspects of this but lets not get into a "religious debate"). I think that God gave humans the intelligence to create things such as books, computers, foods, planes, yadda yadda. So I would consider all such things as natural or at least not unnatural. While vampirism on the other hand according to Anne Rice's novels was an accident, not something in God's plan. Or even if it was in his distant plans, I still feel it is a perversion of the natural cycle of human life. This is if not the sole reason I would not wish to be a vampire, it is by far the most prominent of reasons. As a Christian relatively strong in my faith I believe becoming a vampire (by choice at least) would quite possibly condemn me to hell. If I am correct in the existence of God I do not believe 100000000 years on earth are worth that trade. If I were ever convinced that God was not real (hope that never happens) then I would most likely wish to inherit the "dark gift." .Moving on!- Boredom.
You're right here for the most part, there is indeed MANY things to do. But there are also many things one cannot do as an undead. Not sure if you read the books or no (small spoiler alert) Lestat tries to commit suicide (another vampire too who I won't name) and fails. After so much time a vampire becomes too strong for even the sun to destroy him, and this happened after only hundreds of years. A vampire who lasted a million years might truly be "immortal." - Loved ones dying.
You are quite right, although depending on your friends an family they may not want to be vampires. And turning a human into a vampire unwillingly while not uncommon, is generally something the newborn vampire resents to an extreme measure and often hates his maker as a result. Especially taking into consideration that as stated by Anne Rice in her novels and by Armand in the movie that most vampires perish of their own free will before a century. "So few vampires really have the stamina for immortality." If your friends wish to be vampires too then ok cool, although also stated in the books that there is not 1 single pair or clan of vampires that remain together for any great length of time. The life of a vampire is often very solitary. - Immortals find it hard to relate to people.
I would agree with your reasoning here but disagree that it is relevant. This goes hand in hand with loneliness. And you may be right that needing to fit in and relate to others is childish, it is however human nature. Furthermore I would disagree that you would "grow out of it" after a couple hundred years, I feel such things do not diminish with time but rather gain in strength. A man or woman who lives life as a bachelor may be ok for a while but if they wish for companionship and never get it, after a time the weight of such a thing all but crushes you. There are those people out there who do not NEED such companionship or need to relate to others, if you are such a person you are in my opinion a minority, and a person who would perhaps be able to thrive in immortality.
Looking forward to your response or other peoples opinions on the subject. Vampires are indeed awesome with exception to the sparkling variety. Once again I ask though, please don't attack my religion. If you want to debate the religious aspects of my post that's cool but let's keep it civil. I really don't want to deal with name calling or somebody comparing Christianity to the Lord of the Rings.
- Boredom.
-
Arwyn_The_Comet_Rider — 9 years ago(September 20, 2016 06:13 PM)
Legally, it would be difficult. What happens when you're only 50 and look 20? What do you tell people? How do you deal with when you you get carded and they don't believe you? Or if a cop pulls you over?
How would it go at work and with family when people you know see that you're not aging?
You'd become a celebrity, world famous. Scientists would want your blood(lol) and you'd go down in history as the most famous person ever.
I wouldn't want the attention.
Rex non potest peccare. -
Oberon12 — 9 years ago(September 25, 2016 09:24 PM)
The true immortals don't seek attention and have countless ways to avoid it.
A caterpillar doesn't notice the butterfly above itjust as the immortals cast shadows upon us who are content to stare at the ground as we shuffle toward our inevitable end. Rare it is, to look up and see them.
They do exist. And there many types, ones who are curious, ones who look on us with disdain, and those that help from behind the veiled curtain.
They aren't vampires, but could certainly be construed as gods, even God, though none would make such a claim. -
Prince_of_IMDb — 9 years ago(October 03, 2016 06:50 PM)
I'd only be immortal just to protect my body from being damaged / injury. But I would most likely off myself when I reach a certain age I feel is logical to give myself back to mother nature.
that's literally it. just to protect my body from harm. I think of vampirism short-term rather than long-term. I wouldn't have to worry about getting into auto accidents, gunshots, etc. but as for age longevity that's a no-go for me.
Philosophically, I don't see why anyone deserves or is worthy to live forever. we all gotta complete the cycle.
PDBPO LEADER
-
jamieparsons1 — 9 years ago(October 23, 2016 12:37 AM)
I wouldn't want to be immortal as frankly, being truly immortal is ridiculous. You would go insane quickly and tire of most things. We're not meant to know what it is like to live a billion years. I wouldn't mind living a little longer than 100 and not needing food and water to live, but then again that could just be a drawback in disguise.
If we could be immortal our way of life would be no more. Our drive comes from needing to eat, drink and procreate. Love comes from the need to protect those closest to you. None of that would exist anymore, we'd be meaningless beings trying to fill in the time.
Also no, immortals do not exist. -
melissa198421 — 9 years ago(December 26, 2016 03:32 PM)
I would not wanna live forever. The world sucks as it is, and I don't wanna see it go downhill even more. For me personally, although there is plenty of stuff to do in our lifetime, if we allowed ourselves to fulfill it to the max. One would get bored after awhile. How many countries and cities can you visit..? Although times will change, new people, new entertainment you can only do so much as vampires are not allowed in the daylight. So all your excitement would be at night, so there is a limitation on what one can do. Most entertainment is during the daytime. So saying there is plenty of stuff to do is out of the question. I would miss the taste of food too much, the sweet taste of chocolate, cupcakes, pie.and savory foods like Chicken Lasagna, pizza.. I wouldn't trade all those wonderful things just to feed on animals or possibly human blood. Being immortal is not worth taking another human life. We aren't meant to live forever. We are born, and than we die, and new children are born to take our place in this world.
I am 100% happy with being human. Lastly, I do not believe immortals exist. Thank goodness!!!