On the fifth day of Sparklemas...

[cleolinda]

... my blogger gave to me: IIIIIIIII'M NOT A FAAAAAAAN.

MSNBC: Why doesn’t ‘Twilight’ have a Team Bella?

And there I am, front and center--described as "Cleolinda Jones, a 31-year-old 'Twilight' fan from Birmingham, Ala," in a turn of phrase that elicited great chagrin on Twitter.

Comments

[beth_shulman]

1) I'm having the same struggling-with-fandom situation (If you're not a fan, why do you know so much about it?) Gosh. I'm in it for the lulz, okay?

2)Good reviews? This may be an alternate universe. Heh. The trailer still cracks me up, though.

3) MSNBC may have just lost the little credibily they still had. DO YOUR RESEARCH, people. It's in your job description.

Also: Twilight den mother is so awesome and so, so apt.

[cleolinda]

Well, I mean, I talked on the phone with the reporter and made it pretty clear (I thought). I think any confusion there is a matter of space considerations--they couldn't spare an extra ten words to describe conflicted feelings I myself have a hard time articulating. Or they decided not to mince words and call it what it is.

Although, really, we could have solved this problem by simply saying "writer" instead of "Twilight fan."

[beth_shulman]

True. And at least she went straight to the expert :) A+ for effort.

[mdmbrightside]

Although, really, we could have solved this problem by simply saying "writer" instead of "Twilight fan."

Or "commentator." Possibly "informant."

[eregyrn]

But "conflicted Twilight fan" would work, and not take up too much extra space; and it would at least hint that there's more to the story.

[cleolinda]

Well, in the end, what I actually said will probably indicate that. Those are not the words of an unquestioning fan.

[countykent]

Did she think she was going to interview a...well....creepy TwilightMom type person and roll over you with a condescending smackdown? Not even finding out who you really are as far as TWILIGHT is concerned (and how AWESOME) is so unprofessional, not to mention annoying.

Read an ECLIPSE article on SFGate (the online verion of our lovely San Francisco Chronicle) and there's a photo caption with "James Pattinson" as Edward. Clearly, there is something seriously wrong with the Bay Area's relationship with TWILIGHT. We just can't commit....to go all the way (and actually get all the facts) OMG....it's too haaaaaaard and scary and angsty (and not cool enough for our San Francisco asses...*cocks head, lights cigarette*).

[cleolinda]

No, I think she knew--I think she was asking me with the intention of getting something critical. Someone had recommended me, I think. It's really possible that at an editing stage, someone simplified whatever she actually called me into "Twilight fan."

[diddakoi]

I liked how she spent a large part of the article talking about how teenage girls feel about Bella, and consulted only one teenage girl. Every other person quoted was in their thirties. Every one. I'm not counting the message board people she quoted, because even though they're probably 13, there's no real way to tell.

[octotoes]

I'm also wondering why she interviewed Cleo in Alabama, but every other contributer is from California. Perhaps it was easier for the author to poll her friends?

[diddakoi]

Well, the byline says she's from the Bay area. Maybe she took the more professional route and just stopped random people in a public place. Although you'd think if she wanted teens she could have hit up a Hot Topic on a Friday night and been fine.

[octotoes]

Truth. I live in the Bay area and I have to pass by a Hot Topic every day on my way to work. The high schools hre are open-campus, so I'm sure you can guess where the kids are spending their 4th period study hall.

[diddakoi]

What does open campus mean?

[octotoes]

It means that the students don't have to stay on campus when they have a free period; they can come and go as they please. A far cry from the study halls and independant research we were forced to do in my high school! So at any given point in the school day there is a gaggle of high schoolers crowded around Ho Topic and the local pizza shops/taquerias.

[litlover12]

MSNBC still had credibility?

[beth_shulman]

Heh. Not anymore.