The Twilight series is the most sickening trend in my lifetime. The books are not literature, are not well written and are not encouraging young women to read; they are encouraging young women to consume.
Sadly, I have read the book Twilight. My best friends mother lent it to me thinking I would enjoy it. This was before Twilight mania began. The book is written for young women, probably between the ages of 12-17.
The focus of the book is a high school girl who becomes stalked and harassed by a 100-year old high school "boy". (Why a 100-year-old would want to attend high school is beyond my comprehension. Unless he has a wish to meet Chris Hansen.) This "boy" sneaks into her bedroom and watches her sleep and does not allow any other males to come near her. The main character sees this as romantic. Emotional abuse is not romantic, Ms. Stephanie Meyer.
The only reason why people think Twilight books are good is because, unlike the DaVinci Code, they actually understand the plot. It is written in the same reading comprehension level as the Babysitters Club, R.L. Stine's Fear Street Series and Sweet Valley High. The average American stops reading novels after high school, thus never developing their critical thinking skills beyond the Lord of the Flies. This one reason why Twilight is popular amongst adults.
As a feminist, I must also point out society's obsession with dumbing down girls. The main character of this book rarely thinks for herself. All decisions are made for her by her 100-year-old boyfriend. She doesn't question why this person watches her sleep or knows where she's at 24 hours a day. She just quietly accepts the fact that that's how romantic boys act and violence towards her is just a part of being in a relationship.
Young women are eating this up and discussing which 100-year-old male vampire they love most. They are buying posters, sound tracks and t-shirts with the actors and actresses on them at Hot Topic and wait in long lines to see the new movie. Buy, buy, buy! Don't' spend your money on more books (since Twilight makes you want to read so much.) Buy a load of crap and secretly wish you could be bitten and abused by a 100-year-old man!
If I could, I would pluck every Twilight book out of every young woman's hands and replace it with The Secret Life of Bees.
I love the book "The Secret Life of Bees" and even the movie was pretty good. Isn't a shame that Stephanie Meyer is getting so much money for such same old same old?
ReplyDeleteShe's getting so much money because a really good marketing firm got behind her.
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