Twilight Spoof

Check this out, if you haven't seen it already:

The Host Movie

I don't know if any of you have read The Host, but Stephenie Meyer announced on her website today that it's being made into a movie. I really enjoyed the book, so I'm curious to see how the movie turns out. Sounds like Meyer's keeping herself busy!

The Twilight Saga: New Moon Trailer in HD

In Case Anyone is Still Reading...

I was talking to Momz the other day, and she made the following observation:

"I'm so glad I've gotten past the whole Twilight thing."

It made me think, as Momz comments most often do. Am I over my Twilight obsession?

No. Not really. I'm not continuously re-reading the books, but I just re-read New Moon, and am lazily re-reading Eclipse.

I am visiting the New Moon Movie site as well as Entertainment Weekly's Special Twilight Coverage section to see new pictures from the film.

(In case you want to know, it's looking good. Volturi look awesome. Edward makes me want to weep gently. I'm even feeling warm about Jacob. I'm very excited.)

I have finished a draft of my own "vampire novel." (Not fanfic, not based on Twilight at all, but thought I'd mention it. 97,000 words. Anyone know an agent?)

I have a rough sketch of an upper-level high school/college-level course called "Twilight and its Impact on American Culture." If I ever get that Ph.D, I'll be rarin' to go.

But all is not lost! I have not invested hundreds of dollars in the officially licensed Twilight dolls and have dismantled the scale model of Forks/LaPush in the basement. I did not bid on the Authentic Certified Copy of Bella's Engagement Ring on eBay. And when my son appropriated my Lion and Lamb keychain, I let him keep it.

So I suppose I'm getting better. How about you?

New Moon Movie Site

The New Moon movie site is up, and though there's not much there now, there should be more to come. At least you can watch the trailer repeatedly...

New Moon Movie Site w/ The World of Twilight

Imprinting

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the series is the way some werewolves find their mates: imprinting.

Imprinting takes the idea of "love at first sight" to a completely different level. Of course, the primary criticism of imprinting comes from the three major imprinting storylines:

1. Sam & Emily: Sam imprints on Emily, Emily rejects him, Sam grievously injures/disfigures her, she accepts him. The implication here being that the abuse theme begun with Bella/Edward is being carried to a conclusion: women should love their abusers so they stop abusing.

2. Quil & Claire: Quil is physically mature, Claire is two. If imprinting is primarily sexual, how can this not be an endorsement of pedophilia?

3. Jacob & Renesmee: Jacob is physically mature, Renesmee is a newborn. See the above criticism.

Again, I believe most of these criticisms stem from people not taking into account the alternate reality in which this story is told, but I'll admit that the imprinting aspect has really been the only thing about the series that has given me pause, upon reflection. (When I read them the first time, it didn't bother me at all.)

The Sam/Emily imprinting didn't bother me, and still doesn't. I frankly don't see what the fuss is there. The werewolves unpredictability is documented thoroughly throughout the story, it is entirely possible that Sam could genuinely lose control and injure Emily. It is also possible that bonding would take place between them during her healing process.

I don't believe the relationships between Jacob/Quil and Renesmee/Claire are abusive, but these make me more uncomfortable. I don't believe that imprinting is only sexual, though naturally it has some sexual component. What bothers me is the idea that all a woman really needs from a relationship is complete adoration from a man. I don't have my books to hand, but Jacob, explaining it all to Bella, says something like, "Why wouldn't she want him, in the end?" and "That kind of adoration is hard to resist." My personal experience has been that love has to be much more mutual, so the idea that a completely one-sided infatuation can blossom into a meaningful and lasting relationship is hard for me to swallow.

Of course, we never get any perspective from the female half of the equation. Renesmee seems devoted to Jacob from the beginning: is there a "magic" at work on the female half as well? And did Emily just resist it out of loyalty to her cousin, Leah? If the imprinting impulse worked both ways, it would explain a lot.

And put my mind at ease.

Nitty Gritty: Edward

Continuing in our discussion of the characters and controversy of the Twilight series, let us consider:

In my opinion, Edward is certainly the hero of the series. Some would disagree. If he isn't, then who is? Jacob? Hmm...

Edward is certainly where a lot of the controversy regarding the series lies. The most common claim, of course, is that Edward is abusive. Some of the actions cited:

1. He grabs her by her jacket collar to prevent her from driving herself home after she fainted in Biology (Twilight)

2. He sabatoges her car, follows her, has Alice take her, etc. to keep her from Jacob (Eclipse)

3. He withholds sex from her as a punishment (Eclipse)

4. When they finally do become physically intimate, he is so rough with her it leaves her severely bruised (Breaking Dawn)

I find most of these criticisms ridiculous, because I believe those who espouse them are holding Edward to a double standard. They expect him to behave like he's a wise, mature, experienced being (like a 110-year-old vampire) while also expecting him to have comparable behavior to a typical teenager. In other words, when he behaves like a vampire, the criticism is based on him not being exactly like human 17-year-old boys, but when he behaves like a human 17-year-old boy, he's criticized for behaving like a vampire.

One of the things I love about Edward's character is this very dichotomy. He has been frozen, emotionally, at a stage in which he had not experienced a serious relationship. Emotionally, he is just as inexperienced as Bella. He makes mistakes, the same mistakes a guy in high school would make in his first relationship.

Take the first example: he grabs her by the jacket collar to prevent her from leaving. I don't want to go into too much detail, but I had several male friends in high school that would have (and did, frankly) treat me just like that. It was playful. It was flirtation. Sometimes it was annoying, but we were all learning how to behave like men and women. Why can't Edward experience this?

The "stalking" in Eclipse is very realistic, to me. The intensity of a first love often prompts people to behave irrationally. The fact that Edward recognizes his mistake, admits it, and changes his behavior despite his continuing jealousy says volumes.

I have to say, I believe that Edward is being victimized by the extreme hypersensitivity of today's society. Think about characters in some of the "classics" of romantic literature: Mr. Darcy, Mr. Rochester, Heathcliff, Romeo...by today's standards, are any of them truly admirable men? I don't think so. Some of the very criticisms leveled at Edward apply to these classic characters, but because we are able to view them through the lens of their time, we excuse their flaws. I think Edward needs the same consideration: one cannot judge Edward's actions and motivations unless one accepts Edward's reality.

I love Edward. I think he's a good person. And a fine hero.