My Twilight Thoughts

I know that today is Thursday and that usually means Fiber-therapy, but I don't really have anything to post. So instead, I thought I would write about my feeling on what is apparently a slightly touchy subject, The Twilight Series.



After I went and saw "Eclipse" last night, I got to thinking about the series. This morning I posted this on Facebook:

Twilight question: Do you love it? Why or why not? If you don't like it, have you actually read the books/seen the movies or are you just tired of the hype? Just curious! This popped into my head last night as I was trying to go to sleep.

Was I ever surprised at the response! There are several people that apparently feel VERY strongly about these books/movies either positively or negatively. There were responses ranging from critiquing Stephenie Meyer's writing ability to praising her connection & insight into the Young Adult crowd. Critiques about how the movies compared to the books. There were critiques involving the actors and their portrayals of the roles and also just their acting ability in general. It seemed the biggest point of contention was whether or not it is weird or gross for women over their teenage years to find the actors/characters "hot".

Do you want to know my thoughts? Well, I'm guessing you do since you are reading my blog and if you don't, well, tough, it is my blog and I am going to write what I want. :)

Also, from here on out, unless I say a specific book, when you read Twilight, assume I am talking about the entire series, not just the first book. :)

The first time I read the books the 4th wasn't out yet. I really didn't like them much, although I felt like "Eclipse" was the best of the first 3 (I still don't really like "New Moon" as much). Now, once I start a series, I usually have to finish it or it will really bother me. So, when "Breaking Dawn" came out, I re-read the first 3 to remind myself of what had led up to that point. As I read, I actually started to enjoy them more and more. As I read "Breaking Dawn", I started to understand the hype. It isn't that they are fantastically written, because truth be told, the actual writing is only so-so. But, I think Meyer brings the vampire genre into more of a "real world" thing instead of scary, creepy, & super-natural. I read a LOT and actually read a lot of vampire/werewolf fiction. These are by no means among the best I have read, but I think that among the young adult books of this genre, they are better than most or at least those that I have read, and yes, I HAVE read others. These were NOT meant to be scary. They are a love story, and everything, even the super-natural parts revolve around that. As a woman, I think many (not all) of us are pre-programmed to look for the love story in things. THAT is where Twilight delivers. Above all it is a love story, a modern day Romeo & Juliet (before anyone comes down on me for that comparison, I am not saying Twilight is in league with R&J, just that it is R&J-esque in that it is about star-crossed lovers!) The famous love triangle, almost ANY good romance is based around that theme. Twilight is no different.

I did enjoy the movies ("New Moon" movie was WAY better than the book in my opinion) though, and really enjoyed "Eclipse" last night. I am not really a huge fan of Kristin Stewart,

but feel that she plays the completely un-selfaware character of Bella well. I am anxious to see how she portrays Bella in "Breaking Dawn". Throughout Twilight, we see Bella as weak and slowly growing stronger. At the end of "Eclipse" she shows strength as courage as "the third wife" (you will have needed to read the books to understand this). SPOILER ALERT!! "Breaking Dawn" is all about her courage, especially her courage as a mother. The Pro-life/pro-choice debate comes out a little in "Breaking Dawn" and the question is brought out in whether or not Bella will keep the baby. Her courage and strength will also be HUGE in the remaining story. So, I am curious to see if Stewart can pull it off. I don't consider her a really strong actress so I REALLY hope she can do the part justice in the final installment.

I do think that Robert Pattinson

may not have been the best fit for the role of Edward, but I really can't come up with who would be better in the role. I haven't seen much of an example of his acting ability though. He was good as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter, but I haven't seen "Remember Me". I will give him credit though for having the "broodiness" of Edward down well. That was even more apparent in "Eclipse" last night.

My favorite character is Jacob. I love his smart-ass attitude toward Edward and how he loves Bella so completely, faults and all. His character is easy to love though, as I would consider him the underdog of the love triangle, and who doesn't love the underdog? I admit fully that I LOVE Taylor Lautner as Jacob!

I know this is a HUGE source of contention among fans and critics. Is it OK that women who are NOT teenagers are fawning all over these guys? Do you all remember when Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen from "Full House" were not quite 18 yet

and men everywhere were just waiting for the day that they would be legal (I remember there being websites with countdowns on them!!)? I HIGHLY doubt that the majority of these men honestly thought that they would have a shot with Mary Kate and Ashley once they hit 18, but they still looked forward to the day. Why? My opinion is so that they wouldn't get knocked on for thinking these girls were hot. At age 18 they are legal, plain and simple. At the time I remember thinking, "Seriously guys? This is ridiculous! You have LITERALLY watched these girls grow up!" I still think that since we all watched MK & Ashley since they were babies, it may be a LITTLE more of a creepy situation than with Taylor, but it is similar. The only other movie I have seen Lautnor in when he was younger was "The Adventures of SharkBoy & Lava Girl. Taylor has grown up into a very fine looking young man. I get that he is only 18, okay, but he is extremely good looking. Now, if I ever met him, it isn't like I'm going to drool over him or anything, or fall at his feet pledging my eternal love, he's just pretty to look at, & is it really that bad to appreciate how he looks? My friend J.S. had this to say and I think it is brilliant: "I don't think for a lot of ladies that they're really into a 17 year old for their current-day middle aged self, but at least to me it's surprisingly easy to fall back into the 17 year old version of myself." I totally get that J.S.!! Personally, I actually think that Emmett and Carlisle are probably the 2 best looking of the group.


Aren't they yummy? :)

I do think the hype is a little crazy, but it is no different than Harry Potter (although those are far superior books). My Facebook friend A. said it well, "its pretty cool to see kids so fired up about BOOKS!" I agree! I think that kids today do not get fired up ENOUGH about books. I love that teens lined up for these books the same way adults did for the new IPhone!

Edited to add:
Now, on the issue of sex in this story. Vampire genre is all about sex. Drinking blood and sex often go hand in hand & in many books/movies the very act of drinking blood is sexual in nature. Sex is obviously VERY prevalent then in most vampire tales (if you don't believe me, watch an episode of "... See MoreTrue Blood" on HBO!). Now, remembering that these books are written for a TEENAGE audience, I found the lack of sex to be refreshing. Sex is everywhere & teens are pressured with it everywhere they turn. It was nice to see a character have the restraint. Watching the third movie, I remember thinking that I was going to be upset if they defied the books there & had them have sex.

I will say this though, think that we really need to make sure that any young girls (& boys) that read these books/watch these movies know some important things though:

1. It is NOT OK for them to have a boy-friend/girl-friend in their room without permission.

2. Just because you love someone does not mean you have to feel like they are your only life and without them, you can't go on.

3. Just because you have a boy-friend/girl-friend does NOT mean you drop your other friends and never spend time with them.

4. This is FICTION!!! (I actually think it would be good for adults to remember that too!). It is NOT real life!!

I am a firm believer though in making sure you KNOW what your child is reading. I haven't had to worry yet as "Cat In The Hat"

isn't really all that scandalous. But, I plan on reading the same books my kids do as they get older. Parents need to KNOW what their kids are reading. That way when questions and situations come up that the kids don't know how to react to, the parent is clued in and can discuss them with their child! Know what your kids are reading people!! If you do have a reading teen check out THIS website, I haven't really used it yet too much, but it might help you!

I would love to hear what YOU think! Obviously, people tend to get a little testy when it comes to defending their opinions. Please remember that these are MY opinions and I promise to respect yours if you respect mine! To each their own!

OK, I'm done now. I hope you enjoyed MY opinion of the series! I know there is more that I think and my brain is blnking, but I think you probably get the gist of it right? Bottom line, I'm hooked and proud of it! :) Have a great day!
With Love,
Theresa