Wherein I defend Twilight
Alright folks, I need to say this because no one else is saying it and it needs to be said.
People love to hate Twilight. People who haven't even read the books or seen the movies pass around Twilight hate memes like candy.
Some of the most popular reasons people claim to hate Twilight and my responses:
1) Bella is stupid/not a hero/has low self esteem/has no control, therefore Twilight is stupid.
Actually, this has helped to launch the story into popularity by making the reader identify with the protagonist. It's not the first story with a protagonist who is human and utterly normal including neuroses and self esteem issues, and it won't be the last. To say "it's stupid for people to like this" or "I don't understand why people like this" makes me think you didn't think about it very hard. Just because *you* don't like it means you either don't like the genre or can't identify with a character like that for whatever reason. (Or more likely, you bought tickets to the bandwagon ride.) It's not because Twilight is stupid.
2) The relationship between Bella and Edward is unhealthy, therefore Twilight is stupid.
Again, no objection to the premise (actually here's a little more about that). My objection is that this fact somehow leads to "Twilight is stupid". Once again, this detail actually helps drive the popularity of the story (even for myself). Like the article I linked to explains, the situation is framed perfectly for abuse--although the story contains no explicit abuse that I can remember.
For one thing, of course a vampire love story is going to include danger (duh?). People drawn to this kind of story are of course going to be drawn to the idea of danger as an alluring part of love/sex/relationships, even if in their personal lives they don't pursue or tolerate danger. It's a FICTIONAL story designed to ENTERTAIN by engaging in FANTASY.
Why someone would pick apart a fictional story as if they were judging a friend's life is baffling to me. It's *supposed* to be sensational and edgy and dangerous for Bella. That's what makes you turn the page. It makes it a GOOD STORY.
I do know someone (and I'm sure there are many, many more) who actually don't see or realize that the relationship is modeled after an unhealthy one. In my opinion those are the same people who are unlikely to recognize an unhealthy relationship if they were in one. It doesn't make the danger and control issues any less erotic, or Twilight any more stupid. And it doesn't make the reader any more likely to BE in an unhealthy relationship.
Again, it's just a fucking story. A GOOD ONE, if you like vampire love. And if you don't, well, go read a different fucking book.
3) Twilight is mormon propaganda that teaches abstinence and that girls will get pregnant the first time they have sex (aka "mormon abstinence porn"), therefore Twilight is bad.
This whole thing is just stupid. I could not tell by reading that the author has any particular opinions on sex or religion. And the "abstinence" that people keep screaming about is only having to do with ONE character for whom it makes perfect sense from his cultural point of view and a practical point of view of you know, not killing Bella.
Yes the book is erotic at times, is that bad? There are a lot of Young Adult Fiction books with erotic themes (like maybe all of them? what else do they want to read?)
And claiming that the nature of Bella's pregnancy is somehow supposed to be a lesson to readers that they are supposed to absorb into their personal lives..................... it's just a story element in a fucking vampire book. I can't shake my head enough.
4) Vampires shouldn't be sparkly, therefore Twilight is stupid.
Exactly which version of vampire is acceptable to you? Long fingers? Long fingernails? Pale? Bat-like? Actual bat? Turns into a bat? Turns into shadows? Sleeps in Coffin? Sleeps in Cave? Sleeps upside-down? Doesn't sleep? Can only be killed by wooden stakes? Or is it just that you think that nothing new should ever be introduced into fictional races?
For the record, the author has several new spins on vampires, including
1) daylight doesn't hurt
2) they don't sleep at all
3) they don't have sharp teeth
4) they sparkle in daylight
Is it just that sparkly doesn't fit your deeply personal invested image of vampires? I really doubt you actually care that much.
I think it's pleasant to have NEW things in fiction once in a while, don't you?
And now I'll address some of these garbage memes directly:
This image implies that Bella is a wilted flower and not a hero. In actuality, Bella spends every other chapter saving other people, including her mother, Edward, Jacob, her father and her baby--most of the time against the wishes of other people. Other people do some saving too, but guess what, Eowyn and Hermoine were not lone heros either. The difference is that Bella is never recognized as a hero by the other characters or held on a pedistal by the story (and the situations presented are more or less "everyday" by comparison to LOTR or Harry Potter). Her nature to risk her safety for the safety of others is so inherent in her personality that it's a background detail in Twilight. Why not compare Hermoine's weak moments with Bella's strong ones? Well because that doesn't help your promote your sheep-driven hate of Twilight, that's why.
This image states that the love story shown in the opening credits of Up is a better story than Twilight. Whoever wrote that must have been mistaking "story I'd rather hear" with "relationship I'd rather be in". There's a reason the love story in Up is only 8 minutes long--because it's NOT THE INTERESTING PART OF THE MOVIE. If it was they would have made it longer than 8 minutes. It's a plot device used to launch the rest of the movie. The love story/stories in Twilight are what most of it is about, because it's INTERESTING. And CONTROVERSIAL (why am I writing this whole thing to begin with?). Therefore, it's A GOOD STORY. It turns the pages and it makes the people talk, and spawns the haters. I think the very fact that this image exists is proof that it's incorrect. Of course "better story" can always be argued because tastes are wide and varied... but if you want a reasonable comparison you should stop taking the word of people who have never even read Twilight and/or do not enjoy that genre of story to begin with. You have to compare it based on people who enjoy the genres being compared. Comparing anything else is like a gross misuse of statistics, so shame on you.
This image implies that Bella being attracted to Edward is a bad idea. People keep making fun of this as though it was some grotesque mistake/oversight in the characterization that proves it's a terrible story. I'm going to let you in on a secret: the author of Twilight KNOWS this and did this on PURPOSE because it MAKES! AN! INTERESTING! STORY!. This would be like making fun of Clifford the big red dog for being red. Whenever I see someone making fun of this it makes me think that person is stupid for not getting it--OR they obviously know nothing about Twilight.
After all that, I admit these images are amusing, but SRSLY most of you have no idea wtf you are talking about.
People love to hate Twilight. People who haven't even read the books or seen the movies pass around Twilight hate memes like candy.
Some of the most popular reasons people claim to hate Twilight and my responses:
1) Bella is stupid/not a hero/has low self esteem/has no control, therefore Twilight is stupid.
Actually, this has helped to launch the story into popularity by making the reader identify with the protagonist. It's not the first story with a protagonist who is human and utterly normal including neuroses and self esteem issues, and it won't be the last. To say "it's stupid for people to like this" or "I don't understand why people like this" makes me think you didn't think about it very hard. Just because *you* don't like it means you either don't like the genre or can't identify with a character like that for whatever reason. (Or more likely, you bought tickets to the bandwagon ride.) It's not because Twilight is stupid.
2) The relationship between Bella and Edward is unhealthy, therefore Twilight is stupid.
Again, no objection to the premise (actually here's a little more about that). My objection is that this fact somehow leads to "Twilight is stupid". Once again, this detail actually helps drive the popularity of the story (even for myself). Like the article I linked to explains, the situation is framed perfectly for abuse--although the story contains no explicit abuse that I can remember.
For one thing, of course a vampire love story is going to include danger (duh?). People drawn to this kind of story are of course going to be drawn to the idea of danger as an alluring part of love/sex/relationships, even if in their personal lives they don't pursue or tolerate danger. It's a FICTIONAL story designed to ENTERTAIN by engaging in FANTASY.
Why someone would pick apart a fictional story as if they were judging a friend's life is baffling to me. It's *supposed* to be sensational and edgy and dangerous for Bella. That's what makes you turn the page. It makes it a GOOD STORY.
I do know someone (and I'm sure there are many, many more) who actually don't see or realize that the relationship is modeled after an unhealthy one. In my opinion those are the same people who are unlikely to recognize an unhealthy relationship if they were in one. It doesn't make the danger and control issues any less erotic, or Twilight any more stupid. And it doesn't make the reader any more likely to BE in an unhealthy relationship.
Again, it's just a fucking story. A GOOD ONE, if you like vampire love. And if you don't, well, go read a different fucking book.
3) Twilight is mormon propaganda that teaches abstinence and that girls will get pregnant the first time they have sex (aka "mormon abstinence porn"), therefore Twilight is bad.
This whole thing is just stupid. I could not tell by reading that the author has any particular opinions on sex or religion. And the "abstinence" that people keep screaming about is only having to do with ONE character for whom it makes perfect sense from his cultural point of view and a practical point of view of you know, not killing Bella.
Yes the book is erotic at times, is that bad? There are a lot of Young Adult Fiction books with erotic themes (like maybe all of them? what else do they want to read?)
And claiming that the nature of Bella's pregnancy is somehow supposed to be a lesson to readers that they are supposed to absorb into their personal lives..................... it's just a story element in a fucking vampire book. I can't shake my head enough.
4) Vampires shouldn't be sparkly, therefore Twilight is stupid.
Exactly which version of vampire is acceptable to you? Long fingers? Long fingernails? Pale? Bat-like? Actual bat? Turns into a bat? Turns into shadows? Sleeps in Coffin? Sleeps in Cave? Sleeps upside-down? Doesn't sleep? Can only be killed by wooden stakes? Or is it just that you think that nothing new should ever be introduced into fictional races?
For the record, the author has several new spins on vampires, including
1) daylight doesn't hurt
2) they don't sleep at all
3) they don't have sharp teeth
4) they sparkle in daylight
Is it just that sparkly doesn't fit your deeply personal invested image of vampires? I really doubt you actually care that much.
I think it's pleasant to have NEW things in fiction once in a while, don't you?
And now I'll address some of these garbage memes directly:
This image implies that Bella is a wilted flower and not a hero. In actuality, Bella spends every other chapter saving other people, including her mother, Edward, Jacob, her father and her baby--most of the time against the wishes of other people. Other people do some saving too, but guess what, Eowyn and Hermoine were not lone heros either. The difference is that Bella is never recognized as a hero by the other characters or held on a pedistal by the story (and the situations presented are more or less "everyday" by comparison to LOTR or Harry Potter). Her nature to risk her safety for the safety of others is so inherent in her personality that it's a background detail in Twilight. Why not compare Hermoine's weak moments with Bella's strong ones? Well because that doesn't help your promote your sheep-driven hate of Twilight, that's why.
This image states that the love story shown in the opening credits of Up is a better story than Twilight. Whoever wrote that must have been mistaking "story I'd rather hear" with "relationship I'd rather be in". There's a reason the love story in Up is only 8 minutes long--because it's NOT THE INTERESTING PART OF THE MOVIE. If it was they would have made it longer than 8 minutes. It's a plot device used to launch the rest of the movie. The love story/stories in Twilight are what most of it is about, because it's INTERESTING. And CONTROVERSIAL (why am I writing this whole thing to begin with?). Therefore, it's A GOOD STORY. It turns the pages and it makes the people talk, and spawns the haters. I think the very fact that this image exists is proof that it's incorrect. Of course "better story" can always be argued because tastes are wide and varied... but if you want a reasonable comparison you should stop taking the word of people who have never even read Twilight and/or do not enjoy that genre of story to begin with. You have to compare it based on people who enjoy the genres being compared. Comparing anything else is like a gross misuse of statistics, so shame on you.
This image implies that Bella being attracted to Edward is a bad idea. People keep making fun of this as though it was some grotesque mistake/oversight in the characterization that proves it's a terrible story. I'm going to let you in on a secret: the author of Twilight KNOWS this and did this on PURPOSE because it MAKES! AN! INTERESTING! STORY!. This would be like making fun of Clifford the big red dog for being red. Whenever I see someone making fun of this it makes me think that person is stupid for not getting it--OR they obviously know nothing about Twilight.
After all that, I admit these images are amusing, but SRSLY most of you have no idea wtf you are talking about.