Fiction...Its just Fiction! (A rant concerning the Twilight series)
When Did Fiction Become Anything But?
I’ve been reading about a lot of controversy concerning Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight” series, both in this community and in other friends’ journals. It seems there are many opinions out there regarding the “message” these books are sending young girls. Which has me asking, since when does fiction have to have a message? And since when should the message of a fictional book be taken seriously? It is, after all, fiction. Elementary school children first being taught to use the library are taught the difference between fiction and non-fiction. They’re taught that fiction books are made up, figures of the author’s imagination, and are not to be believed. It’s the non-fiction books that are factual and should be listened to. This is something that every child grows up knowing. So why, exactly, is the Twilight series being taken so dang seriously??
When I first grabbed Twilight off the shelf at my local bookstore and decided it needed to come home with me, I didn’t even know there was any hype behind it. (Hey, I tend to live under a rock. Leave me be.) I bought the book for two reasons: #1-It was on sale, and #2-The little blurb on the back drew my attention and I thought it’d be a fun, easy read. And once I opened it and started reading, I couldn’t put it down. I’ll admit it, I loved the first book. And the second. And…I’m still undecided on the third. I liked it, but I’m not sure I love love loved it as much as the first two. But anyway, I digress. I loved the books for simple reasons. I loved them for the fact that they didn’t take a whole lot of thought to process-a good way to wind down after a long day at work. I loved them because the plot (and yes, I believe there is one, despite those of you who say that there isn’t) had enough stuff that made me go “OMG…wait…what?!?,” and also enough stuff that was so predictable it made me chuckle. I also loved them because I could easily associate myself with Bella’s character. Not because of the teen angst or the love me, love me not, but simply because of her absurd clumsiness. Anyone that knows me can vouch for the fact that I’m incredibly accident prone and can trip over a perfectly flat, even stretch of sidewalk. And so did Bella, throughout all of the books. So it made me chuckle, and I could emphasize. So again, I really, really liked the books. End of story.
But, as I came out from under my rock, I found that thousands of enraged parents are pissed about the “message these books are sending to teen girls.” Umm…what? Apparently these books tell teen girls that its ok to regard boys as “god-like” and “angelic” and that its ok for them to stalk you and sit outside your window at night as long as they’re cute and you love, love, love them! Which, okay, I’ll give the over-reacting parents enough credit to admit that there is some of that in the books. Bella frequently refers to Edward as “god-like” and to herself as “plain and ordinary”, and he did climb in her bedroom window at night at watch her sleep. Yup, it happened. So therefore, if you listen to all of this hype, these books go against feminism in general and portray women as weak and on and on and on.
But again? The books are fiction. Plain and simple fiction.
Which leads me to my next thought. How many of these parents so upset by this message let their children play video games involving violence, theft, and hot women with outrageously big boobs? (Hello, Grand Theft Auto, anyone?) Or how many of these parents allow their children to read fashion magazines depicting stick-thin models, with articles about how to achieve the perfect body and yada yada yada? Or even better, how many of these parents allow their children to watch reality shows on MTV and various other channels which depict women as being 5’7”, 100 pounds, blonde, tan, spoiled, and brainless? Have they ever thought of the “message” that comes out of any of that? Or what about the first time their teen daughter stumbles upon a Harlequin romance novel in the public library, or book store, or even *gasps* on mom’s bed side table?? What kind of message does that portray? Was any of that ever considered?
Now, I don’t have children. So you can all yell at me and tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about if you wish. But I plan to have them someday, and my best guess is that given the option of them playing video games or reading a book that *might* go against feminism or portray a negative message, I’d still pick the book. Because books stimulate the brain. They stimulate the imagination and leave you to fill things in on your own. They build your vocabulary (you wouldn’t believe the words I learned as a teenager by looking up ones I didn’t know from books I was reading). They’re BOOKS. Books are GOOD.
People need to relax. They need to remember the definition of fiction, and realize the fact that every single thing in this world does not have, or need to have, some hidden message. Where all the books you read as a kid sweet and innocent with a 100% pure message??
Ok, I’m done with my rant. On with the hate mail!!
I’ve been reading about a lot of controversy concerning Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight” series, both in this community and in other friends’ journals. It seems there are many opinions out there regarding the “message” these books are sending young girls. Which has me asking, since when does fiction have to have a message? And since when should the message of a fictional book be taken seriously? It is, after all, fiction. Elementary school children first being taught to use the library are taught the difference between fiction and non-fiction. They’re taught that fiction books are made up, figures of the author’s imagination, and are not to be believed. It’s the non-fiction books that are factual and should be listened to. This is something that every child grows up knowing. So why, exactly, is the Twilight series being taken so dang seriously??
When I first grabbed Twilight off the shelf at my local bookstore and decided it needed to come home with me, I didn’t even know there was any hype behind it. (Hey, I tend to live under a rock. Leave me be.) I bought the book for two reasons: #1-It was on sale, and #2-The little blurb on the back drew my attention and I thought it’d be a fun, easy read. And once I opened it and started reading, I couldn’t put it down. I’ll admit it, I loved the first book. And the second. And…I’m still undecided on the third. I liked it, but I’m not sure I love love loved it as much as the first two. But anyway, I digress. I loved the books for simple reasons. I loved them for the fact that they didn’t take a whole lot of thought to process-a good way to wind down after a long day at work. I loved them because the plot (and yes, I believe there is one, despite those of you who say that there isn’t) had enough stuff that made me go “OMG…wait…what?!?,” and also enough stuff that was so predictable it made me chuckle. I also loved them because I could easily associate myself with Bella’s character. Not because of the teen angst or the love me, love me not, but simply because of her absurd clumsiness. Anyone that knows me can vouch for the fact that I’m incredibly accident prone and can trip over a perfectly flat, even stretch of sidewalk. And so did Bella, throughout all of the books. So it made me chuckle, and I could emphasize. So again, I really, really liked the books. End of story.
But, as I came out from under my rock, I found that thousands of enraged parents are pissed about the “message these books are sending to teen girls.” Umm…what? Apparently these books tell teen girls that its ok to regard boys as “god-like” and “angelic” and that its ok for them to stalk you and sit outside your window at night as long as they’re cute and you love, love, love them! Which, okay, I’ll give the over-reacting parents enough credit to admit that there is some of that in the books. Bella frequently refers to Edward as “god-like” and to herself as “plain and ordinary”, and he did climb in her bedroom window at night at watch her sleep. Yup, it happened. So therefore, if you listen to all of this hype, these books go against feminism in general and portray women as weak and on and on and on.
But again? The books are fiction. Plain and simple fiction.
Which leads me to my next thought. How many of these parents so upset by this message let their children play video games involving violence, theft, and hot women with outrageously big boobs? (Hello, Grand Theft Auto, anyone?) Or how many of these parents allow their children to read fashion magazines depicting stick-thin models, with articles about how to achieve the perfect body and yada yada yada? Or even better, how many of these parents allow their children to watch reality shows on MTV and various other channels which depict women as being 5’7”, 100 pounds, blonde, tan, spoiled, and brainless? Have they ever thought of the “message” that comes out of any of that? Or what about the first time their teen daughter stumbles upon a Harlequin romance novel in the public library, or book store, or even *gasps* on mom’s bed side table?? What kind of message does that portray? Was any of that ever considered?
Now, I don’t have children. So you can all yell at me and tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about if you wish. But I plan to have them someday, and my best guess is that given the option of them playing video games or reading a book that *might* go against feminism or portray a negative message, I’d still pick the book. Because books stimulate the brain. They stimulate the imagination and leave you to fill things in on your own. They build your vocabulary (you wouldn’t believe the words I learned as a teenager by looking up ones I didn’t know from books I was reading). They’re BOOKS. Books are GOOD.
People need to relax. They need to remember the definition of fiction, and realize the fact that every single thing in this world does not have, or need to have, some hidden message. Where all the books you read as a kid sweet and innocent with a 100% pure message??
Ok, I’m done with my rant. On with the hate mail!!