Twilight: The Death of Feminism

Chris91 wrote:

Beyond death, actually.

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Princess Muse wrote:

The vampires living amongst humans aspect of it, trying to integrate by going to school, getting jobs etc.

Also, the vampire/werewolf war.

Those are two parts of the story that could have made a great story, if the focus hadn't been on emo-Sparkles and his Sue bride.

Lol that's not a story. Those are plot elements that I read in the Japanese comic "Chibi Vampire".

Did I say they were original story points? No, I said that focusing on those would have made a better story.

Focusing, not solely using those. Obviously you would have to pad out those ideas and incorporate them to make them a full novel.

And drop the high school aspect, and you've got Underworld. Sorta.

Yeah except without Kate Beckinsale there's nothing really worthwhile in Underworld.

Kinda the issue I was dancing around, that.

Chaltab wrote:

Yeah except without Kate Beckinsale there's nothing really worthwhile in Underworld.

I'd have to second that. Anyhow, apropos of our least favorite vampire saga, there's an article in MSN Lifestyles that might be of at least passing interest to you all; it poses the delicate and valid question Is "Twilight" Bad For Your Love Life? One segment that merits particular attention is the author's description of Edward's effect on Bella:

Bella tells us repeatedly that Edward the smug vampire is "too perfect," (256) "flawless," (261) and has an "angel's face" (262). I nearly got brainwashed. But it's like, he could kill her at any second, yet she continues to trust and lust. Of course he doesn't kill her, so we're supposed to be grateful and think highly of him. Such manly restraint!

But he is always talking down to her about her safety, like she's a porcelain doll. He tells Bella he can't leave her alone for a second. Even doing laundry, he speculates she might fall into the dryer. Really? There's nothing wrong with being a klutz, but even joking like she can't possibly function ... well, that doesn't do wonders for a girl's confidence. It turns her into a dependent. And as my mom says, no one loves a helpless woman. Obviously, for the story, it's the knight in shining armor thing, I get it, but I don't have to like it.

Sounds like something that might have been posted here at WGW, doesn't it? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Anyhow, this article makes a lot of worthwhile points about the less-than-beneficial ideas about relationships the "Twilight" books(and movie adaptations of same) convey to their fans. I don't know whether it'll make any impression on the "Twilight" fangirls out there, but it certainly gives the rest of us something to mull over. And frankly, I happen to agree with a lot of what the author says.

Damn, you beat me to that one! I was so glad to see one of the chick magazines not oozing and drooling over Twilight.

Quote :

In Twilight's beach scene, Mike Newton brings Bella
"sandwiches and an array of sodas to choose from" (118). Excuse me, but
a teenage boy at a beach is either going to be goofing around with the
other boys, throwing marshmallows, or spending hours in the water.

Mike Newton has a snack bar built into his chest! He's awesome like that!

I actually tried to read Twilight, and just could not get into if for the life of me. After reading the first three chapters, I just put the thing down and walked away from it. The funny thing is that it did not get a reaction from me in any way, shape, or form. I didn't hate the book, and I didn't think it was a total piece ofl crap. Sure, it wasn't a masterpiece, but I've seen worse things printed. In short, it's forgettable, and just a book that is cashing in on a preteen market that it happened to strike a cord with.

Jocelyn wrote:

Damn, you beat me to that one! I was so glad to see one of the chick magazines not oozing and drooling over Twilight.

That makes two of us. To hear most media outlets tell it, you'd think Twilight was the greatest literary work since Paradise Lost instead of an overwrought third-rate teen Harlequin ripoff. Most national entertainment critics, regardless of gender, seem strangely reluctant to point out the skewed perspective on relationships that Smeyer or the makers of the Twilight movies present in the depiction of the Bella-Edward romance. Or should I say anti-romance, since Twilight is to genuine romantic feeling what Kryptonite is to Superman.

Chris91 wrote:

Jocelyn wrote:

Damn, you beat me to that one! I was so glad to see one of the chick magazines not oozing and drooling over Twilight.

That makes two of us. To hear most media outlets tell it, you'd think Twilight was the greatest literary work since Paradise Lost instead of an overwrought third-rate teen Harlequin ripoff. Most national entertainment critics, regardless of gender, seem strangely reluctant to point out the skewed perspective on relationships that Smeyer or the makers of the Twilight movies present in the depiction of the Bella-Edward romance. Or should I say anti-romance, since Twilight is to genuine romantic feeling what Kryptonite is to Superman.

They probably don't want the piles of badly written hate emails and tweets from the insane fanbrats. I can't completely blame them for that, but still...call a spade a spade. Twilight is crap.

Trioculus wrote:

Chris91 wrote:

Jocelyn wrote:

Damn, you beat me to that one! I was so glad to see one of the chick magazines not oozing and drooling over Twilight.

That makes two of us. To hear most media outlets tell it, you'd think Twilight was the greatest literary work since Paradise Lost instead of an overwrought third-rate teen Harlequin ripoff. Most national entertainment critics, regardless of gender, seem strangely reluctant to point out the skewed perspective on relationships that Smeyer or the makers of the Twilight movies present in the depiction of the Bella-Edward romance. Or should I say anti-romance, since Twilight is to genuine romantic feeling what Kryptonite is to Superman.

They probably don't want the piles of badly written hate emails and tweets from the insane fanbrats. I can't completely blame them for that, but still...call a spade a spade. Twilight is crap.

But they don't have to be vitriolic about it - the article here wasn't. It just listed the unrealistic, cheesy, or otherwise-unattractive items of "romance" in the book and spelled out why they don't work. I didn't find the tone to be at all unreasonable.

Of course, then again, I realize I am a reasonable adult in possession of all my faculties and good judgment, as opposed to a glitter-dribbling Twihard fanbrat, and therein lies the principal difference between ability to hear reasoned criticism versus dissolving into screaming hysterics over a hint of negative portrayal. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I read that article on Friday and started laughing over it. I told my younger sister about it and she said that she thinks the article was wrong and that Twilight is a great example of how relationships actually are. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

And I've finally started reading Breaking Dawn. Once I'm finished, I'm going to post my opinions on both the book and the series as a whole. Only one of my roommates has read the book, but she said it was absolutely amazing, so I'm hoping she's right and that it's not a pointless snorefest.

*Sigh* [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Quote :

Can you resist the allure of Edward's myriad charms—his ocher eyes and
tousled hair, the cadence of his speech, his chiseled alabaster skin,
and his gratuitous charm? Join Edward and Bella as you learn vocabulary
words to improve your score on the *SAT, ACT, GED, and SSAT exams!

. . . gratuitous. Yeah, that's the word for Edward, all right.

Well, I finished Breaking Dawn, and I must say that it surprised me. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The first section was a little dull and I didn't understand why Edward was being a douche to Mike at the wedding. I didn't mind the fade-to-black sex scenes, though, because I didn't wanna read exactly what Bella thought of Edward's sparkly penis. The second section was really annoying because I hate Jacob and I definitely didn't wanna be in his unfunny thoughts for 200 pages. Seriously, what the fuck was up with all the blonde jokes? And he imprinted on a newborn baby. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] The last section was pretty good, but very long. Like, I didn't care how everyone looked in Bella's new eyes and I definitely didn't care about how awesome their baby was. Jacob wasn't as annoying in the third section, but still creepy as fuck. What irritated me the most about the book was that it could've ended a lot earlier than it did. I mean, there were chapters upon chapters of build-up for some epic fight with the Volturi that didn't even happen. They just stood there and talked. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

The series overall isn't nearly as good as everyone says and there's not that many likeable characters. I'd rank the books: Breaking Dawn > Twilight >>> Eclipse >>>>>>>>>>>> New Moon. None of the books really had anything satisfying about their conclusions because plot points just got swept away the moment they weren't important anymore. All conflicts got resolved quickly and easily, sometimes in just a few sentences.

At least I'm done now. The next Twilight-related thing I have to do is see New Moon with my younger sister.

Miss Prince wrote:

Seconding this.

I don't like this Edward Cullen. He's much more powerful than any human, yet he spends great deals of time around a small group of humans who are of little to no consequence in the grand scheme of things; wasting his time with this inexplicable obsession with one tiny, pathetic human even though he has infinitely more knowledge, experience, and power than any of them. The idea is nothing short of ridiculous.

I can only assume this means the Q are fans of irony.

My dear, I have no idea what that could possibly mean.

A story in pictures!

Q wrote:

He's much more powerful than any human,

Spoiler:

Q wrote:

yet he spends great deals of time around a small group of humans who are of little to no consequence in the grand scheme of things;

Spoiler:

Q wrote:

wasting his time with this inexplicable obsession with one tiny, pathetic human even though he has infinitely more knowledge, experience, and power than any of them.

Spoiler:

While I figured the irony was intentional, I couldn't resist.

Miss Prince wrote:

A story in pictures!

Q wrote:

wasting his time with this inexplicable obsession with one tiny, pathetic human even though he has infinitely more knowledge, experience, and power than any of them.

Spoiler:

While I figured the irony was intentional, I couldn't resist.

.....that picture...is....um... it makes my brain do bad things. Why did i forget this image? -stares-

I checked, and it turns out I still ship it, yes indeed