‘New Moon’: Selling Your Soul for Puppy Love
by Ted Baehr“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” is the second of four vampire stories by Stephenie Meyers, a Mormon. It continues the love story between Edward and Bella, two unique teenagers. Bella spirals down into a deep hole of depression when the vampire she loves leaves her, in an effort to protect her. She finds herself picking up the pieces of her broken heart with her best friend, who happens to be a werewolf.
Picking up where the first movie left off, “New Moon” opens with Bella (played by Kristen Stewart), having recovered from the vampire attack that almost claimed her life, starting her senior year of high school and celebrating her 18th birthday with Edward Cullen, a vampire who refuses to attack humans, and his family. After an ill-fated accident resulting in Bella’s blood being spilled at the Cullen residence, which is almost too much for certain members of the family, Edward (played by Robert Pattinson) decides to leave Forks. He believes he is protecting Bella from the dangers of the vampire world by doing so. He asks her to promise him not to do anything reckless.
Bella, utterly heartbroken and losing all semblance of functionality to the point of becoming zombie-like, is haunted by the memories of her time with Edward and seems incapable of pulling out of her new depression. Finally, after about four months, Bella makes an effort to reconnect with old friends, one of whom is a childhood friend, a Native American named Jacob Black (played by Taylor Lautner). During this time, she accidentally discovers that, by being reckless and putting herself in dangerous situations, she is able to see images of Edward in her mind more clearly and hear his voice. Desperate to be with him no matter the cost to herself, she purposefully continues to put herself at risk.
With Jacob’s help, Bella rebuilds an old motorbike to further her dangerous escapades. She soon comes to discover that Jacob might be exactly what she needs to heal from the hurt of her broken relationship. She begins to feel alive and happy again, even though the memory of Edward is still painful. Her friendship with Jacob, a member of the Quileute tribe, leads her to a new discovery concerning the secrets of their heritage, as Jacob must deal with a newfound ability to transform himself into a werewolf. In the midst of this, Bella’s life in is danger with the arrival of Victoria, the vampire mate of James, who was killed by Edward and his family in the first movie.
The emotional tension and plot slowly culminates in the end where Bella must save Edward from deliberately provoking the Volturi (a secret vampire society that regulates the laws over others of their kind) into killing Edward. Like Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” Edward has received information leading him to believe Bella is dead, and he believes that, by provoking the vampire leaders, he can end his misery.
Fans of “New Moon” will love it, but many critics will groan! Also, those who go into the film expecting lots of action and excitement probably will be disappointed, because the movie isn’t so much about that as it is about Bella’s heart-brokenness and the boy/werewolf who brings her back from her depression and helps her feel alive again. Those who have not read the books will still enjoy it, but may not be able to understand everything, as the finer details will be lost to them. It’s obvious, therefore, that Director Chris Weitz is catering to the fans with his adaptation as opposed to the critics, and fans won’t be disappointed.
The production values of “New Moon” are held to a higher standard than the first movie, “Twilight.” For example, it does a much better job of staying true to the book than the first movie, and the character portrayals are much more believable as they demonstrate greater emotional depth. Although the actors give excellent performances, it is Kristen Stewart who carries the movie to the end. The screenplay is also well written, although some scenes had to be arranged differently than they were laid out in the book, but, overall, the movie is a fair and accurate representation.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
The content of “New Moon” includes many positive, moral elements – surprising for a movie about vampires, werewolves, and teenage romance. For example, Bella is willing to give up her life for Edward if that means saving him. Also, Bella and Edward do not let their relationship go any farther than just kissing. Furthermore, Edward consistently refuses to give into Bella’s demands to be turned into a vampire because he is afraid that she will lose her soul and be damned to Hell, although in the end he acquiesces on the condition that she marries him first. Lastly, the vampires who drink human blood are shown to be the evil, bad guys, and though the good vampires struggle with the temptation to do so as well, they do not give into their bloodlust.
That said, there are many reasons to be concerned about the content in “New Moon.” For example, Bella makes it very clear she wants to become a vampire and doesn’t care about her soul. She even tells Edward he can take her soul as long as it means that she will get to be with him forever. As the heroine of the story, someone that young, impressionable girls would idolize, this message is potentially dangerous and misleading. Along these lines, the intense relationship between Bella and Edward is disconcerting. The impression is given that neither of them is capable of existing without the other. This kind of love is more like a combination of love, lust, and obsession rather than true love. In that light, the movie is filled with high emotion and teen angst to the point where characters are unable to function properly. Thus, the message being sent to teenagers and young adults is that this is what love really is – a message that is encouraged as the characters are portrayed as truly knowing their hearts and having an accurate understanding of what love entails.
Other elements of concern include some unresolved discussion concerning whether vampires still have souls and if they are ultimately destined for Hell. Because of this uncertainty, Edward is greatly opposed to turning Bella into a vampire, but Bella’s constant insistence finally wins out, though this particular event doesn’t take place in this movie.
Taken together, these elements, and “New Moon’s” strong Romantic worldview, its occult and pagan content, brief violence, Bella’s reckless behavior, and Edward’s suicidal actions, are unacceptable viewing for media-wise moviegoers.
“The Twilight Saga” and “New Moon” make the world of vampires and werewolves look very attractive. Parents and children should be aware of this and use appropriate discernment.
Ultimately, the driving question raised by “New Moon” is: “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36).
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149 Comments
Why the heck does "a Mormon" need to be in your opening sentence? What does it have to do with the article?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Big Hollywood, Michael Chavez, DNC DUDES, Hollywood Gossip, Mr. Pink and others. Mr. Pink said: ‘New Moon’: Selling Your Soul for Puppy Love http://tinyurl.com/yg4clwm [...]
I agree with wag. So Meyers is a Mormon? OK , I already knew that. So? What's the point? Is she also a vegetarian or a Gemini or is her blood type negative? What's the point?
So which came first? Buffy the Vampire Slayer and her good vampire friend/lover, Angel, or this movie and the previous one? There seem to be some similar plot elements.
Her blood type is Negative???? THAT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING…. those rotten stinky Negatives!!!! they ruin everything!!!! UP WITH POSITVES!!!!
Nice to know the Vampire Anti-Defamation League is busy rehabbing the vicious, bloodthirsty image of vampires as demon spawn…
I remember when vampires were frightening monsters, not pouty emo kids filled with guilt-ridden angst…
I miss the scary…
I think there's supposed to be some Freudian weird thing in there, those nice Mormon kids writing about all this repressed horniness…
I mean really, where do you hear outside of some strange "Brokeback Mountain" remote sheep ranches where someone has fallen in love with dinner?
Spoiler alert… The land of werewolves, vampires, and unicorns isn't real. Unbunch those panties, no impressionable youngsters (or middle age ladies – that's the real story Ted) are going to offer up their soul to an emo.
Buffy was first.
The land of werewolves, vampires, and unicorns isn't real.
That is why I spend so much time here in reality on the internet.
The abstinence and loyalty themes are nice, but I find it dangerous when a movie suggests that a teenager's happiness depends so completely and precariously on her love life.
The Vampire as some depressed anti-social lost soul…..Dark Shadows was first.
What is the message sent by The Dark Knight?
There is still a massive hidden "icky" factor, where 200 year old vampires, who have had a very long time to learn how to precisely manipulate people into giving them virtually anything they want, are "falling in love" with people who are underage (first movie) and still too young to think clearly. How can this be acceptable? If this is so great, then people should just keep quiet anytime a 50 year old guy and an underage girl hook up, nothing different there.
Oh wait, isn't that a problem dogging the "unofficial" Mormons right now? If vampires can have "completely consensual" child brides, well then…
This movie sounds like crap. Getting boned IRL would likely do the fans a far better world of good.
my male friends think nothing of long discussions about Star Trek, or Star Wars; the younger bunch love "Transformers"; etc etc.
And ONE movie and book series adored by MILLIONS OF WOMEN receives nothing but sneers from the cognoscenti. Oscar, go back to your cave and chew on your own bone.
For the love of…
Saw part of the first one, hated it, not interested. But seriously? The one series, the ONE series out there that DOESN'T promote sex and God knows what, THAT'S the problem?
There is so much out there that deserves to be nailed to the wall, why are we having to dig into the least destructive, most popular one to find something to whine about?
It really put me off the Moonlight series to see how people were expected to accept these vampires as "just people like us," who have lives, and sometimes kill people, and have crews dedicated to eliminating the evidence so the families of the dead never find out…
An elite society, invitation only, normal people have to tolerate and accept despite the better-than-you mentality while wielding life-or-death powers over mere mortals, without any consequences for their actions except for some mentioned self-policing which really seems concerned only with never letting the truth get out… Do you think Reid and Pelosi look like they may have shared a pint between them?
Only the BEST MESSAGE EVER: Every problem can be solved by wearing a costume and punching things.
I apologize in advance to Fans of this movie for what I am about to say…
Any Vampire movie where said vampire does not burst into flames and die when hit by sunlight is not a vampire movie. I found myself hoping for this while I was watching the first movie. I have never been so dissapointed. (ok that last scentence was exaggeration.)
I'm waiting for "Oscar, the ordinary zombie," who just wants to be loved… Forget that "killing people and devouring their flesh" nonsense, he actually works at an organ bank and just consumes "leftovers." Right.
Just because something caters to one's moral values doesn't mean it should get a pass on criticism. The book, as pro-abstinence as it is, sucks. The movie, as it follows the book,sucks.
Bless it's heart for having some moral values, but… if something sucks, it sucks.
*MissQuinn*
Corollary: you can do anything so long as you've inherited a fortune from your dead parents!
Look up the Movie "Fido" It's hilarious.
Vampires should not sparkle, I agree. I have no plans to see the film or read the books, but I know many otherwise intelligent, hardworking women who adore this stuff, and as someone who happily reads the True Blood books I can't exactly mock them. I kind of love that they've proved for a second time that women can drive the box office to riches. So maybe we'll get some more quality "women's films" in the future…
Agreed, it sucks, but my point is that it IS moral. Ish.
One little error in your summary: Edward does not relent on turning Bella into a vampire on the condition to marry himOne little error in your summary: Edward does not relent on turning Bella into a vampire on the condition to marry him, he agrees to do it himself on that condition because he no longer has a say. Carlisle is going to change her whether he wants it anymore or not.
You also don't quite understand the whole "soul" issue. Bella SAYS that she is willing to give up her soul for Edward, but she only tells him that because HE is the one who believes she would lose it. She DOES NOT believe it is even a point of contention–she believes 100% that vampires have souls and are not damned!
Also, the issue of suicide must be taken in a different light because VAMPIRE suicide has a little different implications than human suicide. As a rule, in the world of Twilight, when a vampire loses their mate, they follow soon after, usually by trying to exact revenge. Of course, the only way a vampire ever loses their mate is if they are murdered, except in the case of Edward and Bella. He has ALWAYS planned to follow her in death, and his family understands this, though it does mean that Carlisle changes his mind about changing Bella.
I concur. The Mormon comment was an odd point to make. There was no follow-up in the article to explain relevancy, making it a non sequitur.
Stephenie Meyers, a Catholic
Stephenie Meyers, a Jew
Stephenie Meyers, a Democrat
Stephenie Meyers, a former convict
Stephenie Meyers, a Satanist…
Without context, what is Baehr saying? Mormons shouldn't write about Vampires? Mormons are subversive? Mormons are great Christians?
the whole 'let's all sneer and giggle at Twilight" reminds me of Tina Fey and her friends. Some remarks from
rotten tomatoes:
"Bella Swan is loathsome and not aware how insipid, self involved, narcissistic and whiny she is. "
"Shallow, vapid and cheesy, proving that melancholy eternity themes can sometimes be drenched in tedium – except for ferocious Twi-hards."
Now, this is a movie that broke records set by The Dark Knight. The book series has been the reason the book industry is still financially viable.
And even here, a commenter feels able to make a disgusting remark (you, Oscar)… something that, I might add, Edward would NEVER do when ladies are around. But then, Edward, and the saga, is infused with respect for 'old fashioned' virtue.
I can't get my head past the first sentence of this article… "“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” is the second of four vampire stories by Stephenie Meyers, a Mormon."
What the hell difference does it make if Stephanie Meyers is a Mormon?
Your use of unofficial in quotes implies skepticism that the FLDS aren't unaffiliated with Mormons. Perhaps you haven't heard. Mormons haven't practices polygamy since 1890.
If I were to ask my wife to make room for a second wife today, there are a few things that could happen. 1) My wife, who is also Mormon, would file for divorce. or 2) If my wife agreed (which is contrary to all our doctrine), she and I would be excommunicated. One thing is certain: 3) I would be arrested.
Mormons believe in obeying the laws of the land. Polygamy is against the law. Therefore, Mormons don't practice polygamy. If you want to suppose they would if it wasn't against the law, then you need to know that polygamy would have to be brought back in via revelation. Currently, however, the fastest way toward legalizing polygamy is thru legalizing homosexual marriage, and you must know how the Church stands on that. Polygamy being officially practiced by Mormons again is highly unlikely. You'll see it pushed by Hollywood before you see it pushed by Mormons, officially speaking.
Double negative. I meant "that the FLDS *are* unaffiliated with Mormons".
To the curmudgeon who wrote the original article here: one of the more interesting discussions between Edward and Bella is about marriage, and about chastity outside marriage being a positive virtue. There is, throughout the books, a concern for one's soul (Edward is convinced he has none, and therefore is doomed to Hell; and in the end he allows himself to hope that he has not lost his); and constraining one's natural impulse to be evil (ie, the Cullen vampires reject their desire for human blood, and in return, are able to form strong loving relationships among themselves)
That money is the greatest superpower of them all!
Chick dig cool cars.
The FLDS and other splinter groups are not Mormon, "unofficial" or otherwise, unless you consider Anglicans and other Protestants to be "unofficial" Catholics. They broke off from the Mormon church, just like all those other groups broke off from the Catholic church, but they are separate religions. They read the Book of Mormon, but that's no different from other Christian religions reading the Bible. It doesn't make the religions the same.
Stephenie Meyer is Mormon. She is not encouraging polygamy or child brides, she just wrote a (fairly stupid, badly written) series of vampire novels. The main vampire, despite being 120 years old or so, is still trapped in his 17-year-old state. He still has the same wacky hormones and deluded mentality of a high school senior. He's just been that way for a lot longer than the girl has.
I agree. There's a double standard here. Mindless pap for men featuring sexy women & things that blow up: good. Mindless pap for women featuring hunky men & angsty love: bad.
Twilight is disgusting garbage that promotes abusive relationships and pedophilia. Keep this far, far away from your children. The success of this makes me embarassed to be a 20 year old girl (aka the target audience).
Because Mormoms are evil pagans and don't care if everyone loses their souls, don't you know? J/k, I am a Mormon. Not sure why the author felt that was relevant, but whatever…
We have Islamist terrorists right here under our noses but the real threat to our young people is emo Vampires!
Good to have our priorities straight!
irrelevant correlation is irrelevant
When I was about 5, or 6 years-old, that show scared the schnikes out of me. It literally gave me nightmares. Then when springtime occured my friends and I were outside riding bikes and doing normal kid stuff, and didn't watch it, at least I didn't, after school anymore.
Good one. Mankind devised monsters and the scary for good reason, they were lessons in the purely evil, them versus us, and they sure weren't about understanding monsters and their redemption.
Sorry, but, with Meyers and Hollywood it has devolved into the stupid.
Give me a good horror flick any day.
Excuse me, but wasn't great umbrage recently taken here at the mere use of the term "Mormon"? As it stands, despite your misleading example, the "official" church has no great claim to the term, any more than a particular church can claim what are "official" Baptists or Lutherans. You follow the teachings of Joseph Smith then you are a Mormon, period.
I also note, somewhat amusingly, that both of you automatically jump to the "We don't have polygamy anymore!" defense when that wasn't mentioned. Curious, very curious indeed…
So, should he "convert" her, and they both remain hormonally messed-up teenagers for centuries to come, or should she stay human and grow old, and at some point we can talk about whether a 40-ish "cougar" is taking advantage of "someone who is only mentally" a 17 year old horny boy?
Dang, after hundreds of years you are still as stupid as when you were converted? Strange how the vampires leave that out of the sales pitch for would-be converts…
What, you're buying into the disinformation campaign?
So… Romeo and Juliet faking death/dying for their love is''dangerous''?
Give me a break. When you read Romeo and Juliet, you KNOW it's a story.
Same with the Twilight series.
I said nothing about the LDS church praciticing or not practicing polygamy, only that Meyer wasn't advocating it , or anything similar to it, in her book. When people say "Mormon," they mean a member of the official LDS church. As members ourselves, we don't tend to use it as much anymore as saying we're LDS, but we know what church is being referenced when people say it. I was using the term because it's what you used in your comment and I was relating my comments back to yours.
And, since this comment was too long to let through, I'll have to make a separate post to get to the main thing I wanted to say.
That movie is a work of genius.
The fact is that the FLDS church – the one that has been in the news for the past year because of "child brides" – is not the LDS church. They are not Mormon, and they are not associated with us. They broke off from our church more than 100 years ago. They are no different than the Anglican church compared to the Catholic church: each splinter religion broke off from the main one a long time ago over marriage issues. They are entirely separate religions, and to imply otherwise is fallacious.
Your use of the word "Mormon" in this context, and implying through your use of quotation marks that they're still fully-fledged members of the LDS church, is incorrect, as is the argument that anybody who believes Joseph Smith was a prophet is Mormon. The LDS church has made it very clear that these other religions are not linked with ours, and haven't been for quite some time, and has pointed out on multiple occasions to the press that the term Mormon is trademarked to our church, as holders of the copyright to the Book of Mormon, and use of the term regarding any other religion is incorrect.
Personally, I think it shoots both ways. The men like their mindless pap and dis the women's stuff, and the women diss the men's mindless pap in return. Each accuses the other of buying into fantasies, and both are correct.
Meanwhile, the larger culture (the ones who watch sports and sitcoms) considers both forms of fantasy to be trashy.
In the books, she becomes a vampire at age 18 or 19, and stays the same age forever, along with him. The vampires go through college repeatedly, so I'd assume they gain knowledge as they go along, but emotionally and mentally, they're the same age. Whether that's good or bad or right or wrong, I don't know and I don't really care. The point I was making is, they're just about the same age, regardless of how long he's been that age.
The somewhat harmless zombie is already appearing in paranormal (primarily chick-lit) fiction. The whole chick-lit thing is ruining all the good monsters.
[O]ne of the more interesting discussions between Edward and Bella is about marriage…
And when Bella divorces Edward, he will have to pay lifetime alimony. He'll wish he was a regular human!
How about Islamo-terrorist vampires?
The book series has been the reason the book industry is still financially viable.
Uh wow. Got any stats to back that up? Unless you can verify that outrageous claim, your whole post goes down in flames due to a massive lack of credibility. And, last time I checked, the one publisher who put out the "Twilight" books did not constitute the whole book industry. Not by a long shot.
Females have sold their souls for much less of a fantasy, for the will to believe makes it so.
I know! What happened to standards? I don't know why it bothers me that grown women like this– it really shouldn't. But it seems so adolescent.
I think the whole "sparkly" vampire thing is why some women like it. It's very non-threatening. They get to think they're flirting with something dangerous, but really, it doesn't go far beyond tepid.
What really bugs me about the twinkly vampires is that if a vampire could come out in the daylight, they'd be hugely more dangerous to humans and we'd all end up as food. They wouldn't be hiding in the woods somewhere trying to hide. It pretty much kills the vampire myth by taking away the weakness that allows humans to hunt them. I feel like Meyer has a total lack of understanding of what the vampire myth should be. This is just a teen romance with a chick-lit version of the bad-boy boyfriend who is "redeemed" by love. Ugh.
oh come on. the first vampire movie was made in 1909. the legend has been around for longer than that in literature. This movie or series is no more or less evil than any of the previous ones. Fun is fun. Not everything has to have a moral and a purpose.
I'm still trying to deal with zombies who move fast, so sparkling vampires are just as puzzling, but since both are fantasy I can accept it, with one sure thing you shoot them in the head.
Oh goody, you have "restated" my talking about those following Joseph Smith's teachings into 'believing Joseph Smith was a prophet.' You know, there are those who accept Mohammad as a prophet without following his teachings or being Muslims. But then, Prophet Joseph Smith, Prophet Mohammad, same difference…
There are now several Mormon, excuse me, LDS groups out there. Why not talk about the RLDS, now know as Community of Christ? They seem to have as much of a theological claim to being the "official" church as any.
FROM http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2009-01-1...
Stephenie Meyer sold more books in 2008 than any other author (22 million, according to her publisher) and did what no else — not even J.K. Rowling — has done in the 15 years of USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list: She swept the four top slots in 2008's best sellers with her Twilight series about a romance between a girl (mortal) and boy (vampire)….In a year when publishers and booksellers struggled with a dismal economy, Meyer carried the holidays, accounting for about one in every five books sold since Thanksgiving. Her dominance has continued this year.
AND AT WIKIPEDIA:
As of November 2009, the series has sold over 85 million copies worldwide[3] with translations into at least 38 different languages around the globe.[4][5] The four Twilight books have consecutively set records as the biggest selling novels of 2008 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list[6] and have spent over 235 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list for Children's Series Books.[3]
Wow – you have to be really stupid or intentionally offensive to draw a parallel between vampires and someone's religion. You do realize that vampires aren't real, right? Sometimes a vampire book is just a vampire book. To imply that Meyer was writing an allegory about her religion is idiotic.
Middle age women swooning over teenage, glitter wearing emos…
Sorry ladies, but we get to have FUN with this one
Way to solicit responses from all the smart alecs. Bravo.
So vampires can gain knowledge. Like how to manipulate people to get virtually anything they want, which takes us right back to the original post. And what do horny teenage boys want? Which is not going to change when they become vampires, no matter how old they get?
Thus we have returned to "ick." A sex-obsessed eternal teenager who knows how to manipulate confused young girls being passed off as "normal," without parental objection? Definitely icky.
and with vampires, 'lifetime' MEANS 'lifetime' as in ever after…
Doesn't anyone use garlic anymore?
Dude. U R hilarious.
So, as I get it, white boy vampires that only covets your daughter to suck the blood out of her veins and render her the living dead is on a higher moral plain than normal white boy teenager that wants into her pants. I think I read somewhere that this is what makes it all so "refreshing". How stupid is that. If I wanted to describe the end point stupidity of our current male loathing feminista driven culture it couldn't get better than this. Hey, normal guys, they really do hate your guts. The silly versus the sincere pick stupid metaphors.
I like my horror story/movie metaphors kept in the classic mode of good versus evil. It's fits with the human condition. I'll take Ripley's response to the Alien any day, you go, girl, over Stephenie Meyer's and Hollywood's mindless fluff.
I am a Charlaine Harris fan, and can boast of reading all of her books, except the last couple of Sookie ones. It was the fairy grandfather who did me in, altho I also faltered badly at the goblins in the slum bar.
Twilight is a woman's quest, ending in her making her family and way of life safe from the evil Volturi. Sookie, on the other hand, jumps from one weird lover to another (the vampire, the flying vampire, the tiger guy, the collie dog, and then… the fairy grandfather.) Sort of aimless, and finally, from Harris' point of view, increasingly desperate attempts to find another exotic being to magic up Bon Temps.
And I don't think there will be any 'women's films' in the future, except by accident.
what is this thing about "Mormons"? Is it some sort of prejudice I hadn't heard of before?
There are definitely things to be concerned about regarding this particular book, not least of which is Bella's reckless behavior in her heartbreak. Knowing teenaged girls as I do, this is an enticement if ever I've read one. They will try to emulate Bella's behavior because it's just so angsty and romantic. I will never forget some of the antics of my friends when I was a teen.
I don't think parents should stop their kids from reading the Twilight saga, but I think the big YA craze is something parents should definitely explore. So they know when they see their kid purposely doing dangerous things they'll know where it came from and how to help their daughter find some perspective.
And they should also be getting their kids interested in good writers. The Twilight saga is fast food lit and there are actually some very good YA writers out there — Neil Gaiman and Megan Whalen Turner to name two. Paranorma is big everywhere, so it's big in YA as well.
I just think it's a good idea to know what your kids are reading and watching. But trying to keep them from reading these things will only make them read them outside of your purview.
Yeah, I don't care for the whole fairy thing either; sadly, I think you're right about intelligent women's films, but a gal can hope!
In the novel, Dracula could walk in daylight.
Seriously. You don't think the publishers share revenue do you? I'm pretty sure the industry would have survived without "Twilight," even with a bad economy. In fact, I'd go so far to say that The Twilight series wasn't the only thing booksellers sold last year. Read the rest of the USA article. It mentions Oprah book club selections as well as other teen fiction as big sellers. Yes, she dominated during 2008. But Meyer isn't the industry in and of herself.
Good point. I think I always think of what I've read is traditional lore in that vampires have very little power in the daylight. But you're right, there's nothing to suggest Dracula couldn't have moved in the daylight. I kind of presume that vampires would be too powerful for humans to defeat if they didn't have the daylight advantage.
True, but he couldn't exercise his hypnotic/paranormal powers if I can remember properly.
*MissQuinn*
This is why I really dislike what vampires have become. Traditionally, they were undead animals who preyed on humans. They're dead. They're damned. But once you remove them from that moral and religious context, they become superheroes that dress like rock stars whose only downside seems to be that they can't walk around in the sun.
I read the first book and saw the first movie. Just about every woman I know is obsessed with these books and movies other than me. I don't get anyone over the age of 25 being obessed with this. I have friends in their 30s, 40s and 50s obessed like they are 13 year girls over these books. It was enjoyable book and movie but nothing grand. I don't find Robert Pattison that spectactular. He looks like a child to me. I prefer Anne Rice's books over this. Near Dark is my favorite vampire movie. I just saw the Swedish film based on John Ajvide Lindvist's "Let the right one in" (currently being remade by Hollywood as "Let Me In") and I thought it had more depth than "Twilight". The movie and book are very disturbing compared to the romance and fluff of a "Twilight".
I am SO glad you weren't going for the easy pun there…
And why are grown women liking this? Haven't you been watching all those teachers and those slightly pubescent boys lately?
Ick factor ^…very ^…
I'm a male science fiction and fantasy geek who has have plenty of discussions about Star Trek, Star Wars, and also vampires but my wife reads romance novels and I also really like romances to the point that I've read books on writing romance novels. The reason why I enjoy them was summed up pretty well in one of those books on writing romances. It said that, at their core, romance novels are about the victory of the female reproductive strategy. That is, they are about women taming boys to become dedicated and monogamous lovers and fathers. Despite being male, I know that societies are built by family men, not aloof adventurous boys. As such, it's a fairly conservative genre which is why you'll not only find romance novel series where the sexual content is toned way down but also religious romance novels. So I'm not about to sneer at romance novels or the women who enjoy them.
That said, I think it's legitimate to question to moral milieu and messages of a work like this and the set-up described here seems better suited to a tragedy than a romance. And given that vampires are traditionally damned undead creatures with an uncontrollable hunger to kill, I consider it a bit of a cop-out to water down the death, damnation, and/or hunger, turning them into perpetually young superheroes who dress like rock starts and who are allergic to the Sun.
"Do you think Reid and Pelosi look like they may have shared a pint between them?"
Surely you didn't think her face looked that way from the botox, did you?
I was going to go into a philosophical treatise on the nature of good and evil and the constant tension between liberty and security in a democratic society, but given the previous postings on this thread, I'll just say: If you want to have some fun, use explosives. Lots and lots of explosives.
Not this 40 yr old!!!!!
Just took my daughter and a couple of her friends to the midnight showing…sat through two hours of excruciation teen angst and while I could appreciate how and why the teen girls were so agog over Twilight/New Moon, for myself, I was getting bored to the point of extreme irritation. I found neither Pattison or Lauton (whatever his name is) appealing (although my daughter loves the Jake character because "stalking and watching someone sleep is creepy" and she likes Native Americans) and the whole "Im hurting you so you dont get hurt" to be WAY over done and over used. I also do not like the character of Bella (most teen girls I know are essentially sweet and funny and just lovable – this girl made me want to slap her) or the actress who plays her, whose entire range of emotion seems to be a waffle between Pain and Indignance, with Coldness thrown in for good measure. I decided after having to sit through a movie (with an audience that did indeed have just as high a population of middle-aged women squealing over Jake taking off his shirt or some such) that I will NEVER read the books now simply because I find this kind of pandering distasteful.
So I assure you I am NOT one of those 40 yr old Mamas who find herself giggling and squee-ing over the same teen heartthrob her teen daughter does. Give me my husband! Or Russell Crowe or Gerard Butler or John Wayne!! I get hot for real men…like men in uniform whom I know will lay down their lives for their country and their families, men I know who understand the meaning of the word service, sacrifice, honor, integrity.
I hated being a teen-ager…I remember angsting then, but then it was because I knew I wasnt old enough to meet up with mature men yet, and I so wanted to meet one. The boys of my own age were just that…boys.
My whole thing is; there seems to be this thing nowadays to "rehab" the monsters image all the time now, like they all got together and hired a publicist…
Zombies used to be a "hive mind" thing that; no matter how many you took out, the rest would overwhelm you and eat you alive. Struggle as you will, these dead but slowly moving, inexorable creatures that once were friends and family will destroy you; the conclusion was set in stone that you will eventually fall. That was inevitable, like PelosiCare.
Vampires are now just misunderstood stressed out kids that are always looking for love at all the wrong lunch counters…bleah…Vampires were frightening in that once one locked on to you, and it had permission from you to get inside your home, you would never be rid of it until it consumed your very essence, living off your death. Invisible to the world, (no reflection thing, night hunting, etc.), it would drain the very life from you until you joined the minions…
In a way, our female fatale IS food…Bella is already living only for Edward; he just hasn't had her FOR, excuse me, over TO dinner…
The "Twilight" novels are certainly huge sellers, but let's not kid ourselves: the book industry would still be humming along if they had never been written. They're important to the industry, but not vital.
I am not a Mormon, although I have a couple of friends who are, but I think you would do better in this case to leave off what seems to be verging into an anti-Mormon thread. Not only do I hate the movie, having seen it practically under force, but I do sense the moral implications bound up with the genre that were mentioned above. Those should probably be the point of discussion here. I have many problems with Mormon theology–and let's face it, although only fringe members still practice polygamy, the church only gave the practice up because the government made them–but on the other hand, they're not blowing themselves and innocent women and children up, either. Unlike some people.
I give Stephanie Meyer props for the fact that, according to her own account, she made the entire series up based on a really intense dream she had once. You have to admit, that shows some creativity. But it doesn't mean the novels and/or movies themselves are any good.
Like Bram Stoker's Dracula. If there is anything it is not, that would be a vampire movie. He walked out in the open in broad daylight. He should have been toast. What is up with that? Oh wait, the book also has him walking around in broad daylight without harm. Whatever.
“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” is the second of four vampire stories by Stephenie Meyers, a Mormon."
For a second I thought this was going to be written by a Prop-8 supporter. When I got to the end I read "Taken together, these elements, and 'New Moon’s' strong Romantic worldview, its occult and pagan content . . .," it turned out it was an Evangelical Christian. Oh well, same difference; intolerance masked as moral superiority.
"I hated being a teen-ager…I remember angsting then, but then it was because I knew I wasnt old enough to meet up with mature men yet, and I so wanted to meet one. The boys of my own age were just that…boys."
I think you hit on one of the reasons teenagers love these books without realizing. Edward is more than a boy.
I meant a gay Prop-8 antagonist.
Bless you for saying what so many of us are thinking. It's irrational for the whole phenomenon to bug me. What does it matter if other women like this stuff? But I feel like the tastes of teenage girls is taking over the box office and killing a genre I used to like.
My point was that I am a bit aghast that grown women are finding this story/these actors so attractive because they should be well past that teenage stage. I told my daughter that if I were fifteen I would probably be all fangirly myself. But since Im not, dont expect me to join you in the fandom. And even with that caveat Im not so sure I would be hooked because when I was fifteen, men (or who I thought was a man) like Harrison Ford and Pierce Brosnan were the ones I drooled over…not Sean Cassidy or Rob Lowe or any of the teen heartthrobs of the 70s/80s.
And Im really not sure what youre point is in saying that Edward is more than a boy. He's in the body of a teenager, consorts with teenagers, and looks and acts like a teenager.
Saw both of them. Found them boring, emo and silly. I would have loved it at 13. At 43, I rate it 4 maxipads & 6 Midol. Hide the razor blades if your tween is overly emotional. Otherwise, this too shall pass.
I really liked the first book a lot. It reminded me of how sweet, powerful and erotic just a kiss can be. Then I read New Moon. What the hell? I've had it up to here with the "Byronic hero." Stupid pansy. And the "change me into a vampire" stuff? Ugh. I still saw the movie, and actually I liked it more than the book. Movie Jacob was way more likable than book Jacob.
I really wish they'd turn the Anita Blake series into a movie (or at least books 1-8, before it got way too S&M and waaayyy to much sex) Anita's the type of gal who shoots first and asks questions later; and understands that the bad guys are evil. At least she waits until book 6 to get it on with the vampire. Alas, I don't think the American movie going public would like such a strong female, she's not passive and indecisive enough for the masses. Sad but true. Sigh.
She definitely deserves credit for tapping into something that people connect with. I'm not sure why it's so polarizing, I fall prey to the WTF reactions (as my comments demonstrate), but hey, I'm all for success.
I'm waiting for "Oscar, the ordinary zombie," who just wants to be loved
Yakumo Fuji from 3×3 Eyes?
Granted an Uu isn't really a zombie, so there might be a translation error from Japanese into English. For one thing, zombies usually don't seem to contain at least twice as much blood as your average human.
Of course, I think PVP Online already hit on what's next with the vampire craze:
http://www.pvponline.com/2009/10/16/milking-it/
Ah, you must be one of those people who thinks they know everything about God and religion. I'm an agnostic myself but I find it deeply offensive how easily you twist everything about the books and the religion to fit you're own prejudice. Let me show a little of mine (from some personal experience): you are either an atheist or a Southern Baptist right? Like Huckabee, who lost any and all respect from me when he started going after Romney JUST B/C HE IS MORMON. Disagree on the substance, fine. But bashing other religions is just so 14th century.
As someone else pointed out, you just started an anti-Mormonism thread and that is all. You have nothing of substance to say.
I just LOVE this argument! It does neither. If you insist on ignoring the FANTASY element of the novel including the FANTASY world in which it inhabits which makes Edward's behavior a little less weird (he's a VAMPIRE remember). And the pedophilia thing? Really?
If you don't like the book fine. But if you are going to join in conversation, at least have the decency to nut up with some facts.
And before you assume, no I'm not a Twihard. Just someone who's a wife and mother of 2, an attorney and who read the books, and while they are far from Pulitzer prize winning, were decent enough entertainment for me and millions of others. So quit acting like a liberal – you know, where you assume that people who don't agree with you are stupid (which is why you are embarassed, right?)
Ummm…are vampires able to consummate a marriage? No heart beat, no blood flow, no way a vampire can physiologically perform the rites of the marriage bed.
When my daughter (19) picked up these books, we bought them and sat down and read them all practically in one sitting. It was a dull rainy weekend and we had a pot of soup, and ate it up and ate up these books. They are the kind of stories that can't be put down, like being caught in a rushing river.
They are high, old-fashioned, operatic, (Italian opera) romantic melodrama, like the best of older comic books. They are also surprisingly and frequently hilarious, and I don't mean cynical/campy, but honestly funny–given the darkness of the themes. The reason the author of this article is unhappy is that Meyers does such a compelling, cinematic job of portraying adolescent obsession, a connection to another person that is beyond empirical. Maybe that is disturbing and glorifying, but I didn't take it that way. Camille rather glorified the courtesan, after all, as did Carmen.
Did the author of this article read the books? I'm not saying he should just because he wrote the movie review, but he might take a more sympathetic view of Meyer's stories as written instead of performed. The books are filled with moral dilemmas, serious confrontations of right and wrong, lots of loving family…and that doesn't happen in modern cinema or literature often enough.
I haven't seen either of the Twilight movies. My daughter hated the first movie version, so I never bothered. But the trailer of New Moon is alluring.
Fast moving Zombies I can deal with, at least that change makes them more of a threat. Don't get me wrong, people would probably be mega screwed if vampires could walk around in the sunlight without dying, but the whole sparkly thing completely elimanates the scary factor…
I mean, ever heard anyone yell "OH NOEZ, here comes the sparkly vampire!!" without using a mocking tone of voice?
Go read some of Baer's other stuff – the MOST important thing is almost always whether or not the filmmakers are Christians, and if so then the right KIND of Chrisitians.
"Twilight" is no more, or less, than the fetishization of pathological sexual-submissiveness that revels in the four-book-length transformation of an essentially independent, self-sufficient girl into a passive, self-immolating waif defined solely by the men in her life at any given moment – primarily a "vampire" who's basically a stalker and a "werewolf" who may as well carry around a neon "wife-beater" sign – who's sole meaningful contributions to her own story only involve self-inflicted wounding.
All of which wouldn't be SO bad… except it's also terribly written
I didn't like the movie for the melodramatic style and the wooden acting. It was ok overall as entertainment, but for one issue: Bella.
Bella is one of the dumbest female characters I've ever encountered. Her reliance on boys/relationships with boys for identity is not exactly the type of example I would suggest for young girls, the primary audience for this series. As far as actual mental capacity? Cliff diving on a whim, riding a motorcycle without a helmet, getting on some random guy's hog, etc… just so she could see Edward – idiotic. Also, how long did it take to realize Jacob was a werewolf? She had to get a demonstration – otherwise she'd never figure it out, even with all the hints thrown her way.
Beyond absurdity.
Geez, what's next?
Bella gets over her ordeal with the vampire boy and the werewolf boy, and starts college. In her ancient history class she notices a cute foreign boy – Egyptian – and thinks maybe he may be the one to help her end her heartache, but she discovers that he is from a family of MUMMYS!
Well, she survives it and the next year she changes her major to science and meets a cute boy in lab. She goes with him back to his hometown where he lives in a mansion up on a hill, but wonders why none of the villagers will speak to them. She discovers a secret room and OH NO HE's A MAD SCIENTIST and he's working on a CREATURE (who happens to be really cute and hunky)!!!!
This poor girl can't catch a break so after she survives the ordeal with the crazy scientist and his Monster Boy (homoerotic elements anyway) she takes a trip to South America to get away from it all and meets a cute boy who loves to swim in the lagoons…One day she notices his feet look a little funny and OMG HE IS A CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON!!!!
Edward of course comes back (in a Volvo because he's safety conscious) and saves her from every creature! YAY TEAM EDWARD!
Ok that's part 3-5, this could go on forever.
"Just someone who's a wife and mother of 2, an attorney and who read the books…"
Wow. You got nothing going for you.
"have the decency to nut up with some facts."
That's charming. "Nut up"? You must be a competitive roller skater, as well..
Any religion that requires special underwear be worn is off my chart.
God grant me the underpants to hear your special call.
there is a "Mormon Movement" but the primary church is the LDS church. The other groups splintered off. It is a The branch off groups don't associate themselves with the main church and vice versa. They are seperate denominations.
I would never tell the Lutherans and Episcopalians that they are actually Catholics, even though they branched off. A person or group's self identification and self association should be respected.
"my male friends think nothing of long discussions about Star Trek, or Star Wars; the younger bunch love "Transformers"; etc etc."
You seem to know some real spazs. Time to get yourself some *men* friends and not just *male* excuses for friends. Get yourself a powerful lover, too. A real one.
Have fun!
This is one twisted, morally degrading movie. No wonder it's so popular. All of the morally bankrupt, narcissic, hedonists came out for the premire this weekend. Too bad that is the majority of our young people (18-28) now. If this target audience even voted in the last election, I would bet it was for the political vampire, Obama.
Amen! And thank you for mentioning the extremely poor writing.
I agree. I don't understand the hate. All of my friends (all moms) and I have read the books and couldn't put them down. We are all conservative christian women who know fiction from reality. What I don't understand is how these books and movies have sparked such animosity. I doubt very many here have read them. There are moral themes to the book. My husband attends a christian movie group with some guys from our church. They watch a movie (not a christian movie) and then afterwards they talk about the themes in the movie that could relate to God and biblical principles. I believe the same could be done with these movies. And as far as Stephanie Meyers goes, I believe because she has faith in God she couldn't help but put some element of that faith into her books. Edward fears he has no soul. He doesn't want to take away Bella's soul. Obviously, having one's soul is important. Ultimately, these novels and movies are works of fiction that maybe make us think, maybe make us dream of true love, the kind that can overcome all obstacles even the bloodthisty vampire ones. I think one could watch worse and probably have.
Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Harry Potter, every work of fiction ever written – is just that. Fiction. If the foundations of what you believe and how you live your life are so shaky that a story that someone else has made up can cause you to question the realities of life, you already have much bigger problems than could be created by reading a work of fiction. I love the Twilight series. It is very entertaining and diverting. Because that's all it is.
Ugh I feel like I am on a lib site here. Why all the over-the-top elitist angst?! My favorite authors are George Orwell, Ayn Rand, Thomas Sowell, Stephen King, C. S. Lewis, and Tolkien, but I enjoyed Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books because they were an easy read and allowed for some escapism. I'll gladly discuss the themes and the quality of the story and story writing (or lack thereof) in these books. But I am quite sure that either way, they aren't damaging to our society or women.
All these little rape fantasies coming into play. Dreams of being over-powered by powerful and needing men.
They take you. You service them.
Do the ugly vamp-boys get any action?
http://www.motivatedphotos.com/?id=29867
/discussion
I would say YOU have nothing going for you Oscar since you are nothing but a troll who thinks his BM smells like roses.
Your mommy's calling, Oscar, time to change your diaper.
Somebunny, I agree with that assessment, at least for some of the posts. What happened to "live and let live". If you don't like it, don't watch it, don't read it. I don't have apoplectic fits over what OTHER people like. I don't understand why they like it, but to each their own. As Jefferson said: it neither picks my pocket, nor does me harm.
As for the "danger" of the books – if your teenage daughter takes these things seriously – beyond the fantasy that it is – then she has other problems you should be attending to. I read the Flowers in the Attic series when I was 14 years old (incest was the main theme, mind you), and I hardly developed a desire to sleep with a family member (I have no siblings) or anything else of a negative nature. They were ESCAPISM. And that is all. I had real life heroes and role models to look up to and I knew the difference between "fantasy" and "reality".
Sounds like YOUR fantasy Oscar. Projecting much. You are offering NOTHING to the conversation.
Troll.
I love these cutting edge retorts. You must be a blast in the courtroom.
Yeah – ya got me baby. You're a genius.
This is an excellent, astute analysis. What troubles me, too, is how the vampirism as hyper-romance is a "having it both ways" kind of thing. On one hand, the vampire attack is treated as a direct metaphor for sexual intercourse. Then, on the other hand, it's an inversion of substituting good for evil that treats the vampire as good, better, best in the romantic department than natural maturity into adult sexuality. So, yeah, this does play into really hating normal guys. What used to be the redemptive quality of horror films, of hard-won lessons in good being better than the evanescent attractions of evil, has been subverted entirely.
Yeah, just like we love your personal insults to people. Go get your diaper changed, it's starting to smell in here.
Troll.
Thanks for admitting it. Now go, mommy is calling you.
Thank you for your reply. I am not bothered by the honest critiques that I see here as I enjoy debate (and also agree with some of the criticisms on the story writing). However, I am disturbed by the personal attacks on the fans. You are correct that parents need to help their children navigate the fine line between fantasy and reality. It's just funny to me how intense some reviewers get in their fear (i.e. the writer of this review). But I guess those same people were afraid of Harry Potter when it came out too. I can think of much much worse!
P.S. I read the Flowers in the Attic series when I was a teenager too and often wonder how I would feel about my own child reading it (I don't have any yet though!).
Perhaps the whole thing is making an extreme feminist point that falling in love with a man is just like being the victim of a vampire.
There seems to be a longing for a simpler, real-life story revolving a round a mix of personality types. The real world has bigger dangers than the fantasy one containing vampires. Now, for a really good vampire book, read Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian, but be ready to be patient in your reading and to enjoy the ride. For a short teen novel with none of the fantastic but plenty of teen life and suspense, you may like to see my new release, Angela 1: Starting over. Just follow the link to my website. As for Meyers being Mormon, I doubt that has anything to do at all with the book.
Yes, an honest critique void of personal insults is wonderful. I have no problem with it because it's substantive and based on facts or at least one's reasonable interpretation of the writing.____Personal attacks on the author or the fans is just juvenile and loathsome . . . and bullying IMHO.____As far as my kids reading Flowers – yeah, it's not something I would give them and frankly my mother wouldn't have either if she had paid attention. She just wanted me to read something other than Sci-Fi and I refused. LOL! She saw these in the grocery store of all things (this is back in 1985! God, I just dated myself! LOL!) and thought it would be better than Sci-Fi. Years later I told her of the content and she was horrified! So, yeah, I would NOT give my children those books to read.____Twilight, however, I wouldn't mind my daughters reading eventually, but I would prefer they were at least 14 or 15, because although there is no "sex" in it, I could see how some scenes would bring prurient interests to the surface and I would rather they were a bit older and bit farther along in puberty so that they could understand those feelings better.
Sounds like the "Twilight" series is another link in the progression to blur distinctions between good and evil.
"Good" vampires are like "good" Nazis; a pointless parsing of shades of black.
Don't tell me "It's just a story." It is disconcerting to witness the progression of relativism over the past four decades.
No, the FLDS church IS the real Mormon Church. The folks in Salt Lake City sold their souls to the federal government.
Girls: Keep away from the Edwards. They are melancholy and will be emotionally abusive. And don't hook up with the Jacobs. They are impulsive and brutish and will be physically abusive. Instead, go for the Freds and Barneys or even the George Jetson types. Good natured family men that work hard for their family, are loyal to their job, friends and wives, and are Involved fathers.
The RLDS church has been an entirely separate religion for more than 160 years. They changed their name entirely to further disassociate themselves from our church. They also gave up their legal rights to the title "Mormon" as well as to the copyright of the Book of Mormon. Regardless of whether or not you feel they have a theological claim to being "official", they are not LDS and they are not Mormon, and they reject claims to the contrary just as loudly as we do.
I have yet to meet anybody who follows Joseph Smith's teachings, or believes in the Book of Mormon, without beliving that Joseph was, at least at one point, a prophet of God. If you can show me otherwise, I'll give you a little more creedence, but right now, your claims are still specious at best. You're tossing around straw man arguments that have nothing to do with your original point, and you have yet to address the rebuttal in any logical way. All you're doing is mocking because you can't prove your point.
Well, there you go again. You must like "restating." I say one can accept Smith as a prophet without following his teachings, you go on about people following his teachings (or believing in his book) that accept him as a prophet.
Your level of straightforwardness and honesty when discussing your religion is noted.
the plot of the first movie is a watered-down, teen version of alan ball's 'true blood' which is far superior in terms of scripts, acting, sets, and cinematography.
You have the same silly prattle from post to post. Your courtroom 'technique' must be a hoot.
If you aren’t interested or find it objectionable, then just don’t support the franchise.
Personally, I find it refreshing that a successful franchise doesn’t degrade men and women with pointless nudity and base behavior. I’m so tired of people being portrayed as ignorant tools with no moral compass or concept of consequences. The characters in the Twilight series demonstrate much more character and responsibility than any portrayed in “Knocked Up” et al. I would prefer kids watch the Twilight movies than some of the other things coming out of Hollywood.
Mormonism is all about squeaky clean values–they claim they are Christians (they aren't).and that their values are Christian. If a bona fide Christian author wrote a book about a love between a vampire and a teenage girl–promoting it as beautiful, Id say she wasn't much of a Christian as it would be clear she did not care about how this just serves to mainstream the occult to kids and glorify what throughout literary history has been the evil nature of vampires–they are a kind of glorifed demon in fact–souls that live forever disconnected from God who have an evil intent toward humans. Mormons ought to be ashamed this came from them, but I guess since there is no intercourse between the 2 leads, they think its a-ok. NUTS. Which really just shows whats wrong with Mormonism if this is what its adhearants want to push on teenagers.
Christians, as Mormons insist they are (but aren't at all ) ought not to be producing a product that promotes this kind of 'love' between an evil dark archetype (even thou Edward in this film is not going along with that). To have this kind of interaction between teens with werewolves and vampires–all symbols of evil and the occult and have it promoted by those who proclaim themselves to be a (really, THE) Christian chruch is the high hypocrisy indeed
re: Mormonism is all about squeaky clean values–they claim they are Christians (they aren't)
I am "they" pindey.
I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) and I am a Christian.
And I'm not trying to push the views of the book onto anyone. Neither is my Church. I already explained that I don't care for it all that much, but I DO know many who love it.
"If you want to know if I know that Jesus is the Christ–watch how I live." –H.B.E.
Twilight is FICTION!!! There is absolutely not truth to the seriese, vampires and werewolves don'e exist, so it's rediculous to say that it's dangerous for young adults to read these books because they portray usually evil creatures as the good guys. IT"S NOT REAL! I read a lot and I read all different kinds of books, and I loved this series. It was the first series since Harry Potter that I couldn't wait for each book to come out and have since re-read the series. Maybe this isn't the most well written series and it doesn't appeal to everyone in book or movie form, but it does appeal to millions of people men, women, and children so just drop it. I don't have any children yet, but this series will be one that I encourage my children to read because it is very old fashioned and it does have some great moral lessons and it's a great FICTIONAL story and I will not worry about it influincing the way they live make their decision. This is a great series becuse as an avid reader it grabbed my attention form the start Stephanie Meyer did a great job!
Spoiler alert: If you think that was disappointing, wait until the fourth book gets made into a movie. For about ten pages it looked like Bella might actually die…but then she didn't. I was heartbroken.
I would find your first point more interesting if Bella was persuaded by Edward that chastity was the best policy–but she never is. She hates marriage and only agrees to it because Edward's old-fashioned values are important to him. She is never shown to have changed her mind. I found it very disappointing. Your other points are good ones, though.
you have to be kidding me? pedophilia and abusive relationships? where did you get that from? The movie isnt that great but so are lots of other movies. Why do you give a shit? its not that big of a deal. Theres no way its harmful. you sound ridiculous. if it makes some people happy let them be happy you weirdo. You are getting way into this. which is dumb. and lame.
YOU GUYS ARE WASTING YOUR TIME GET OVER IT. TWILIGHT IS A GOOD MOVIE
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