New Moon Casting News

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20234559_20234565_20273159,00.html

Follow the link to an Entertainment Weekly photo gallery of 15 of the new cast members for the film version of New Moon.

What happens next?

As much as I loved the ending to the series, I can't help but wonder what will happen next.

Bella has made the transition from human to vampire as seamlessly as possible, I think. She has adapted to vampirism so well, at least in part, because she essentially has given nothing up. Her transition was all gain. She has the child she didn't even know she wanted (who will be fully mature and virtually invulnerable in an astonishingly short time), her husband, and she gets to keep her family in her life, at least to a limited degree.

What will happen to Bella when the reality of vampire life sinks in? Although she and Edward should always have each other, Bella has never been all about Edward, despite criticism to the contrary. Charlie, Renee, Jacob, even her high school acquaintences have always been concerns for her. What happens if Renee gets hit by a car and is paralyzed? Or Charlie gets cancer? Will Bella still be "Bella" and try to fix everything by turning one or the other of them?

Let's say nothing like that happens: how will Bella deal with it when everyone she knows and loves dies? Or, more immediately, when they finally do have to leave Forks? Even with Charlie's limited knowledge and acceptance, they can't stay in Forks forever. Will Bella be able to deal with watching everyone around her grow old and die?

The Vampire Bella

One of the things I really liked about Breaking Dawn was the ending section, after Bella becomes a vampire. I've understood that Bella's unique affinity for vampire life and her special power have become a source of criticism for some readers, who believe her ease in adjusting to vampire life was too "pat" and made for less drama then they wanted from the end of the saga.

I have to say, the main thing I loved about Breaking Dawn was the transformation of Bella. I think her strength and power was foreshadowed throughout the series, so I have no problem with her being an amazingly strong shield. I also didn't have a problem with her self-control; she was the only one of all of them who was prepared for her life as a vampire beforehand, so she was able to temper her natural instincts with thought.

I think Bella was always destined to become a vampire. Edward was 100% wrong: he wasn't some aberration who showed up and ruined her life, he was the one who was destined to bring her into the life she was always meant for.

I'm interested to see what others think.

Why Did She Fall For Him

I've been enjoying the fact that my 62-year old Mom is now starting the saga and loving it. In perfect "Mom" style, she wants to know "is that girl stupid- running around with a vampire?"....she doesn't quite get how someone falls for a vampire.

Which got me to thinking. Did Bella fall for a man that just happened to be a vampire OR did Bella fall for the man because he is a vampire. That is, did his vampiric qualities (his charm, his looks, the mystery, the danger...the list goes on) actually cause her to fall in love.

-Robin

Age Of Readers

I teach elementary school, and my fifth graders are nuts over Twilight. They've read all of the books, seen the movie, and collect all of the memorabilia.

5th graders are 10-11 years old.

Is that too young? I know the series is marketed toward young adults, but is it really a series of books for kids? What do you think?

Deb

Most Compelling Secondary Character

If you could choose to have Stephenie Meyer write a spinoff novel about a secondary character, who would you choose, and why? The possibilities are many:

1. Jasper/Alice

2. Rosalie/Emmett

3. Carlisle/Esme

4. The Volturi, together or separately

5. James/Victoria

6. The Denali Clan

7. The Irish Clan

8. The Amazons

9. The rogue vampire who was Nahuel's father

And I could go on...

Personally, I'd love to see Carlisle's full story, along with how he and Esme fell in love. I'd also be fascinated to read the history of the Volturi from Aro's perspective, which would fit in nicely with his "histories" mentioned in the series.

Mary Sue?

I have often heard that Bella is a Mary Sue.

First off, I've never had a Mary Sue explained to me in the same way twice. From what I gathered this is what it means:

Mary Sue is a character who has no flaws or her flaws make her endearing. She is a "perfect" character that is supposed to be the culmination of the author's self-desires.

I cannot agree that Bella fits this definition. Her clumsiness is endearing, but she is also stubborn, untrusting, and oftentimes wrong.

I don't think I really have a grasp on what a Mary Sue is though.

So, I ask you:

What is a Mary Sue to you?

Is Bella a Mary Sue?

Does it matter?

What you hope for in the next movie...

One thing I really hope is that they show a lot of what Edward went through when he was separated from Bella - show that he suffered as much as Bella did when they were separated and that he had already decided to go back and beg her to take him back when she took a flying leap off a cliff.

What are you hoping they include?

Breaking News: New Moon

1. One of the most anticipated casting decisions (for me and my mom, anyway) has been made: Aro will be played by Michael Sheen, who played Tony Blair in "The Queen" and Frost in "Frost Nixon." I approve.

2. A new poster for New Moon has been released:

Down, Robin. I shall have mine framed.

-Deb

Victoria

So I know Victoria was a bad guy - but I thought she was a freaking great bad guy. Even better than James. Where James was like an animal who wanted only to track and kill, Victoria was cold, calculating. I also felt she was fairly tragic because she had had so much faith and trust in James, then he died. So, she wanted Edward to feel her pain.

What did you think of Victoria?

Twilight Movie vs. Twilight Book

Since the film version of New Moon is currently underway, I thought I'd ask about how you feel the movie "Twilight" impacted your interpretation of the book.

For instance, did the characters change in your head after seeing the film?  I know my Edward didn't look like Rob before, and I still catch myself thinking of him the way I did before.

Were any scenes changed for you?  Seeing the van scene played out made it seem so much more vivid to me.

Do you think the book translated well to the movie?  What shouldn't they had done?  What should they have done differently?  For me, I know a movie is different, but there were some liberties taken with the sequence of events that bothered me.

Thoughts?

Vampires: Traditional Vs. Twilight

One of the big complaints I've heard about Twilight is the way Stephenie Meyer redefined vampire lore for her series.  Some examples:

1. Vampires that don't sleep at all
2. Vampires that can move around in the day
3. No fangs
4. The venom thing
5. No acknowledgement of garlic, silver, crosses, stake through the heart, etc.

My personal take: before I read Twilight, all I heard was that it was a vampire romance story.  I was actually very intrigued by the changes she made to traditional vampire lore; it made the story more interesting to me.  

How do you think her vampire mythology compares with traditional mythology? 

The ending of the series...

So what did everyone think about the ending of the series?

I know that even amongst Twilight fans there are those who loved it and those who hated it.

The Bella having self-control thing I could handle because there were a couple reasons why that could have happened (mental preparation, drinking all that blood before turning, having been pregnant with a half-vampire are some of the ones I am attached to). But the rest kind of disappointed me.

It felt a little too Disney for me - everything was wrapped up too nicely in a nice little package. I wanted to see Bella go through the pain of never seeing Charlie again (I thought they were going to tell him that she died of whatever disease she was supposed to have). I wanted - well not wanted, but I think it would have added more depth to the story if one of the Cullens had died. If there had been an all out war between the Vs and the Cullens and their friends (thus adding another book to the series ;)).

And what was up with Bella having visions of a little boy? Who was the little boy?

Favorite Scene

One of the things that really impressed me about Twilight was how certain scenes were written so visually that I could picture them in my head with absolute clarity. I have a couple of favorite scenes and would be curious to know yours.

My faves:

1. Edward and Bella in the meadow at the end of Eclipse, in which Edward realizes that forcing Bella into marriage isn't making her happy and attempts to "give in," only to have Bella put on the brakes.

2. Edward, Jacob, and Bella in the tent

3. Bella, Edward, and Alice in the Volturi stronghold.

Jacob vs. Edward

Ok -

Amongst Twilight fans there are people on Team Jacob and people on Team Edward.

Which team are you on and why?

(will wait for responses before I post my own opinion! :))

Protecting her from Jacob

One of the major issues which inspires great debates about Twilight is the issue of Edward denying Bella access to Jacob.

To me, there is not enough of this to make an issue. Edward stops Bella from seeing Jacob a total of two times from what I can tell. (when he takes apart her engine and when he has Alice 'kidnap' her). And during the second times it happens, he comes to the realization that he is being judgemental and unfair. He apologizes and compromises with Bella to come to a decision that satisfies both of them (that he gets to drive her to the border, etc).

Furthermore, I feel that Bella was a bit at fault for Edward not understanding sooner. She never sits him down and explains to him why Jacob is not dangerous to her (that he shows control around her). She could have drawn parallels between the two of them, but she only defiantly states that she wants to see Jacob, that it's safe, and that he's being unreasonable.

What do you think?

Regarding Edward

Certainly one of the most polarizing figures in the series is Edward.  People seem to either really love him or view him as an abusive monster.

I love Edward.  For me, he evokes many of the dark, troubled heroes in some of fiction's greatest works.  I think he's got a little of Mr. Rochester, Mr. Darcy, Romeo, and Rhett Butler, as well as others.  What I like about Edward is that, although he is perfect for Bella, he is far from perfect, and he knows it.

Rob Pattinson's take on Edward was this: Edward has been in emotional cold storage since his transformation.  When he falls in love with Bella, it causes him to start feeling again, which makes all of his emotions intense, even painful.  I think a lot of Edward's actions, particularly in Twilight, make perfect sense when viewed through this lens.  His hot-and-cold treatment of Bella, his possessiveness, even his sneaking into Bella's house become, if not acceptable, understandable.

So what does everyone else think of Edward?

-Deb

Welcome!

Welcome to the Civil Twilight Discussion Blog!

We here at the Civil Twilight Discussion Blog welcome your comments on any of our posts.  We encourage debate.  Here are our rules:

1. Comments about blog entries should be civil and on-topic.

2. Disagreements should focus on the topic and not the poster.

3. When citing examples to back up your opinion, please provide source material.  For example, if you make the statement, "According to Stephenie Meyer," please link to the interview or website where you got that quote.

This blog is intended to view Twilight through many different lenses.  Scholarly viewpoints, social concerns, and entertainment value are all fair game.  I hope you enjoy!

-Deb