I know that many of you out there will disagree with me on this. That's ok, I'm used to that. I just wanted to comment on a strange trend in our society right now. I can usually understand trends and pop culture to a certain degree, you might even say I'm kind of fascinated by it. But I have to admit that I'm completely stunned, maybe a little dismayed as well by the popularity and acceptance of the twilight series. I read all four books just to give it a fair chance, and I have to say I feel polluted after having read that tripe. Is this seriously what people like?!
Correct me if I'm wrong, (well, don't actually - many have tried and it's a lost cause) but isn't this entire story glamorizing and celebrating co-dependency? This girl bela just crumbles apart without her sparkly and depressing vampire boyfriend. And he wants to commit vampire suicide because he's a depressed vampire living in some hick town in northern Washington. I know, he really wants to do it because he just can't cope (after existing for centuries just fine) without his clumsy, socially awkward, and might I add boring but delicious smelling human girlfriend. This entire story makes me smell bile just by recalling enough of it to comment on it.
If you haven't guessed by now, I absolutely loathed the entire story. It is written in such a style as to appeal to whiny little preteen girls with daddy issues, halitosis, body odor, and absolutely no hope of being asked to prom. But somehow this literary travesty has found it's way into the mainstream. I see shirts saying, team edward, and team jacob, or edward likes cheerleaders, (I refuse to capitalize the names of said characters) and I just feel sad. When did vampires become so lame? I liked vampire stories when they were the souls of the damned, but no that wasn't good enough. I even liked Anne Rice's take on vampires because it was still dark and edgy, yet got me to like and dislike certain characters. And now some lady decides to make them into dark, brooding, emotionally deep genius creatures with X-men like powers and a Romeo and Juliette-type of twist that really turns out to be a Disney-esque happy ending. And everyone eats it up and praises it like Jesus himself wrote it. I see this series as one of the tools that will contribute to the further moral decay and degradation of integrity in the youth of today.
And I won't even get started on the movies, in part because I couldn't even sit through more than half of the first one. Probably because it seemed like the girl playing bela acted like a female version of Ozzy Osbourne crossed with George W. Bush every time she spoke!
I guess what I'm saying is that I give this entire series, and everything about it and that has been spawned by it two thumbs down. But to be fair I have my own guilty pleasures. Lady Gaga for one, Erasure for another, **head drops down in shame as shoulders slump** and I'll just stop there.
Until next time, happy Holidays with much love.
Sincerely, your grumpy old man in training
Jonathan Schroeder
Nephew/Son of The Girls
Correct me if I'm wrong, (well, don't actually - many have tried and it's a lost cause) but isn't this entire story glamorizing and celebrating co-dependency? This girl bela just crumbles apart without her sparkly and depressing vampire boyfriend. And he wants to commit vampire suicide because he's a depressed vampire living in some hick town in northern Washington. I know, he really wants to do it because he just can't cope (after existing for centuries just fine) without his clumsy, socially awkward, and might I add boring but delicious smelling human girlfriend. This entire story makes me smell bile just by recalling enough of it to comment on it.
If you haven't guessed by now, I absolutely loathed the entire story. It is written in such a style as to appeal to whiny little preteen girls with daddy issues, halitosis, body odor, and absolutely no hope of being asked to prom. But somehow this literary travesty has found it's way into the mainstream. I see shirts saying, team edward, and team jacob, or edward likes cheerleaders, (I refuse to capitalize the names of said characters) and I just feel sad. When did vampires become so lame? I liked vampire stories when they were the souls of the damned, but no that wasn't good enough. I even liked Anne Rice's take on vampires because it was still dark and edgy, yet got me to like and dislike certain characters. And now some lady decides to make them into dark, brooding, emotionally deep genius creatures with X-men like powers and a Romeo and Juliette-type of twist that really turns out to be a Disney-esque happy ending. And everyone eats it up and praises it like Jesus himself wrote it. I see this series as one of the tools that will contribute to the further moral decay and degradation of integrity in the youth of today.
And I won't even get started on the movies, in part because I couldn't even sit through more than half of the first one. Probably because it seemed like the girl playing bela acted like a female version of Ozzy Osbourne crossed with George W. Bush every time she spoke!
I guess what I'm saying is that I give this entire series, and everything about it and that has been spawned by it two thumbs down. But to be fair I have my own guilty pleasures. Lady Gaga for one, Erasure for another, **head drops down in shame as shoulders slump** and I'll just stop there.
Until next time, happy Holidays with much love.
Sincerely, your grumpy old man in training
Jonathan Schroeder
Nephew/Son of The Girls
Love it! ROFLMAO!!!
ReplyDeleteNate
Jonathan, your review is interesting and truly entertaining to read (and not in a bad way). See, this is what literary works are supposed to be about! They generate emotion on some level or another. For you, it was absolute loathing. And loathing is cool too. I think that you have shown the exact differences in the sexes, and how one thing can generate totally different reactions. For example, I recently decided to broaden myself a bit and so I read Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. I have to tell you that I thought that was the worst, most depressing, non-valued book ever written; and probably the only reason why it succeeded in it's day was because there weren't a lot of people out there writing books! But I know I just missed something that other people get - I need to figure out what that is someday.
ReplyDeleteObviously you are not alone in your opinion. Stephen King said something to the effect that he thought Stephenie Meyer was the worst writer out there and her series was trash. I for one, can't STAND Stephen King and I loved the Twilight books. At the same time, I am usually reading books men would read (Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, David Baldacci, Michael Connelly, Stuart Woods), and I shy away from romantic literature. But for me, well, I think she captured the exact romantic essence that I would enjoy in my own life.
It is interesting how you find Bella weak and I find her story one of self-discovery. Perhaps this is because I feel like I can relate to her voyage towards inner-strength. I also think that yes, the Edward character is a bit out there as far as the current reality goes. But truth be told, I think that The TWILIGHT series should be required reading for all teenage males. THIS is how women want to be treated and Edward is everything we SHOULD get (just read your sister's humorous FACEBOOK post about needing a wife to take care of her). You have to admit that in this day and age, heck, ALL day and ages for that matter, women have not always been treated well. And unfortunately every little step the gender takes towards equality, well a little bit more romance is lost along the way. We want that romance, we crave the romance of days gone by, and I think males the world over might consider this a tiny wake up call to harken back to old-fashioned mannerism minus the sexism of days gone by.
The movie, well I am never a fan of movies after I have read the books, but I have to say, they did okay. I found Kristen Stewart not the best Bella in the first movie - her incessant eye-lash batting was like the worst acting ever! I am pleased she improved by the second film. Let's chalk it up to the nearness of her hunky co-star Edward Pattinson - he'd make more than my eyelashes flutter! In my opinion I think they did a good job.
Please note that I am not insinuating in any way that you are not a romantic and wonderful male to have in a lady's life. Just trying to explain what most females get out of this book and offer you another viewpoint.
As far as vampire stories go, well I'm going to tell you I could never read a vampire book that wasn't mellow. Call me a pacifist, whatever. Have to tell you though, I'm the last person that you'd ever classify as a wimp. That does not mean I want to read about blood, guts, or watch it for that matter. However, I too find Lady Gaga quite entertaining, although probably not in the same manner as yourself.
God bless the differences between males and females. Without it, the world would be pretty boring. I know I like to understand things from new perspectives and if you can explain Anna Karenina to me, well, I'm listening!
Your cousin, Rachel
P.S. My very buff, manly husband won't read the books, but made me tell him all about the other three after he saw the first movie. He has seen New Moon as well.
My Dear Cousin Jon,
ReplyDeleteTwilight is a success because of the emotional connections between the characters. All women want to be swept off their feet and knocked breathless by the man they intend to spend the rest of forever with, even if he does happen to be a bloodsucking Vampire or a Vampire Shredding Wolf. Sadly, many women do not ever meet the man who makes them feel like Bella feels towards Edward. They feel more like she does with Jacob, like they settled. I know this because I listen to women talk all day about spouce/boyfriend.
Another reason these books are so widly popular, have you ever read a normal romance book? They are all the same and thus become boring. This series gives us something different. Something all women would like to feel, a love that is soul deep rather than loin deep. (I know, I know...gag. but true)
One of the reasons women are so into this book is because it was written by a girl, about a girl, for other girls. And as for it being for preteen girls? Untrue. The author herself has said she wrote it for a woman not a girl. A child (think 14 and under) won't really understand the emotional complexity of the characters. A girl between the ages of 15 - 19 is more able to understand the dynamics. But a girl (no matter what age) will be compelled to love the story if she has had a heart renching breakup. Much like when Edward leaves, it crushes Bella.
Many men don't understand these books. I would speculate as tot he reason but I'm afraid it would seem like male bashing, which is the furthest thing from what I would be saying. The best way to put it? Men don't understand women. Plain and simple. This book was written by a girl, about a girl, for girls. Men just don't understand.
As for the Team Edward and Team Jacob stuff; I don't play into that. That stuff is for who people think Bella should choose for a multitude of reasons. It's amusing to say the least.
As for my husband, he won't sit through the movies unless I make him. (I'm a very nice wife and don't do it more than once.) But he does know they basic story line and he, like you, doesn't understand why she is so (Forgive me ladies) weak.
Now, for the record, I don't have an opinion on the Twilight series. I was trying to attemt to help you understand why they are so popular.