BooBerry
04-20-2009, 04:09 AM
So I wrote the following as a blog on myspace, since a lot of my friends have read these books and are into journalism. Figured I'd post it here with a few tweaks just to see what others had to say since I know a few others have read at least the first book.
So I just finished New Moon, the second book in the already cult-status Twilight Saga. There are two more books in print with one, or maybe more, novels being discussed. Already though, I’ve come to one conclusion about the series.
Bella Swan, the teenage girl whose love for a vampire is the catalyst for the series, is a horrible heroine and role model.
This is mostly true in the sense that this fictional character’s fan base is composed of mostly teenage girls. Young women who are already going through the tough transition of their schooling years, where romantic relationships often begin and heartache is not uncommon. So, why is this Bella chick a bad role model for these girls?
One, she falls in love with someone in a matter of weeks. She goes to a new school, develops a crush for the hottest guy in the place, and falls in love with him the second he tells her he loves her too. Wait, stop me because I’ve heard this. A guy… telling some chick he loves her… just so he can be with her. So whatever, they fall in “love”, whatever love consists of when you’re in your Junior year of high school.
But he runs with a dangerous crowd. A very dangerous crowd. Vampires. So what does Bella do? She stand by her man’s side. She sticks up for him, covers for the things she must keep secret, tortures herself by immersing herself into his strange world… and all for what? The boy she fell in love with a couple weeks ago. Yep. She throws her safety to the wind for a chance to be a part of his world. She risks her life, as well as the lives of others, to be with Edward. Edward, by the way, is a fairly selfish vampire who is just over a century old, but I’ll get to him in a minute.
Alright, so Bella is hellbent on staying Edward’s girlfriend. She’s already kind of needy and strange, but that can be looked past depending on the situation. Of course, Bella has to take her psychoness a bit further. How so? Well, she wants to be part of his world… literally. She wants to be a vampire. She wants Edward or someone in his family to change her so they can be together forever.
For-eve-r.
Edward says no, as he kind of should considering his world, and Bella accepts this for a while. Flash forward months later. All is fairly well. Until an incident that once again threatens Bella’s life drives Edward and his family away… for her safety of course. And they will never see each other ever again. Bella doesn’t take this well. She becomes depressed. Wicked depressed. She starts hearing Edward’s voice. She can’t sleep and has horrible nightmares. She freaks out when her Dad becomes concerned and hates when people dare mention Edward’s name. She becomes reckless, buying a motorcycle and jumping off sea cliffs. And she becomes a selfish wench.
Enter Jacob, a nice guy (also a werewolf) who has genuine feelings for Bella, and is, in his youth, willing to let Bella pass the time with him in an attempt to keep her own mind off Edward’s abandonment. He knows that she doesn’t feel the same way about him, but is content with just spending the time with her. It’s kind of like the trade off. But she does wind up leading him on, with her hugs and hand-holding and smiles. It’s all very selfish and nasty, the kind of trait most women wouldn’t want their daughter to have. Something happens. Edward re-enters Bella’s life. Er, actually she has to go safe his ass from danger. Sure, he save her from danger once… danger that his kind brought on, but still…
So she saves him and he comes back home and she completely drops Jacob even after all he’s done for her. And she brings back up the idea of becoming a vampire again, even putting it to a vote with the other bloodsuckers. Edward still despises the idea, but the majority does not.
So there is Bella. A weak, dependant, needy young woman who is helpless and prone to depression when the boy she “loves” leaves her behind. Even when it’s clear to everyone except her that Edward is no good for her, she goes for it. A whole world of danger and lying and secrets and war and betrayal. This, is what she chooses for herself. And the worst choice of all? Edward himself.
What a selfish bastard. Why would he bother even talking to Bella if he knew they could never be? And it’s not like he didn’t know any better, he’s over a hundred years old. He knew damn well how it could all end up. Yet he still did it and he still lead her on, showing her a world that he never wants her to be a part of, like a tease. Even when she comes to rescue him from his own self destructive ways, he refuses to let her fully into his world. It’s gross.
To say the least, Bella and Edward are the worst fictional couple in a long while. She’s crazy and he’s psycho. They do nothing but torment each other with their “love”, and neither one is strong enough to notice and walk away. Call me crazy but those are not the type of people, heroes, I want my kid reading about and looking up to. And if you think people don’t look up to them, you’re wrong. The saga has made millions… billions even. Sayings litter the internet about how Twilight gave girls false hope of love, about how they’d never find someone as good as Edward. It’s ridiculous. Of course, I have more books to read, and maybe Bella or Edward will wise up some. I doubt it, but maybe they’ll start making better choices for both themselves and each other.
Personally, I think they should go see a relationship counselor.
So I just finished New Moon, the second book in the already cult-status Twilight Saga. There are two more books in print with one, or maybe more, novels being discussed. Already though, I’ve come to one conclusion about the series.
Bella Swan, the teenage girl whose love for a vampire is the catalyst for the series, is a horrible heroine and role model.
This is mostly true in the sense that this fictional character’s fan base is composed of mostly teenage girls. Young women who are already going through the tough transition of their schooling years, where romantic relationships often begin and heartache is not uncommon. So, why is this Bella chick a bad role model for these girls?
One, she falls in love with someone in a matter of weeks. She goes to a new school, develops a crush for the hottest guy in the place, and falls in love with him the second he tells her he loves her too. Wait, stop me because I’ve heard this. A guy… telling some chick he loves her… just so he can be with her. So whatever, they fall in “love”, whatever love consists of when you’re in your Junior year of high school.
But he runs with a dangerous crowd. A very dangerous crowd. Vampires. So what does Bella do? She stand by her man’s side. She sticks up for him, covers for the things she must keep secret, tortures herself by immersing herself into his strange world… and all for what? The boy she fell in love with a couple weeks ago. Yep. She throws her safety to the wind for a chance to be a part of his world. She risks her life, as well as the lives of others, to be with Edward. Edward, by the way, is a fairly selfish vampire who is just over a century old, but I’ll get to him in a minute.
Alright, so Bella is hellbent on staying Edward’s girlfriend. She’s already kind of needy and strange, but that can be looked past depending on the situation. Of course, Bella has to take her psychoness a bit further. How so? Well, she wants to be part of his world… literally. She wants to be a vampire. She wants Edward or someone in his family to change her so they can be together forever.
For-eve-r.
Edward says no, as he kind of should considering his world, and Bella accepts this for a while. Flash forward months later. All is fairly well. Until an incident that once again threatens Bella’s life drives Edward and his family away… for her safety of course. And they will never see each other ever again. Bella doesn’t take this well. She becomes depressed. Wicked depressed. She starts hearing Edward’s voice. She can’t sleep and has horrible nightmares. She freaks out when her Dad becomes concerned and hates when people dare mention Edward’s name. She becomes reckless, buying a motorcycle and jumping off sea cliffs. And she becomes a selfish wench.
Enter Jacob, a nice guy (also a werewolf) who has genuine feelings for Bella, and is, in his youth, willing to let Bella pass the time with him in an attempt to keep her own mind off Edward’s abandonment. He knows that she doesn’t feel the same way about him, but is content with just spending the time with her. It’s kind of like the trade off. But she does wind up leading him on, with her hugs and hand-holding and smiles. It’s all very selfish and nasty, the kind of trait most women wouldn’t want their daughter to have. Something happens. Edward re-enters Bella’s life. Er, actually she has to go safe his ass from danger. Sure, he save her from danger once… danger that his kind brought on, but still…
So she saves him and he comes back home and she completely drops Jacob even after all he’s done for her. And she brings back up the idea of becoming a vampire again, even putting it to a vote with the other bloodsuckers. Edward still despises the idea, but the majority does not.
So there is Bella. A weak, dependant, needy young woman who is helpless and prone to depression when the boy she “loves” leaves her behind. Even when it’s clear to everyone except her that Edward is no good for her, she goes for it. A whole world of danger and lying and secrets and war and betrayal. This, is what she chooses for herself. And the worst choice of all? Edward himself.
What a selfish bastard. Why would he bother even talking to Bella if he knew they could never be? And it’s not like he didn’t know any better, he’s over a hundred years old. He knew damn well how it could all end up. Yet he still did it and he still lead her on, showing her a world that he never wants her to be a part of, like a tease. Even when she comes to rescue him from his own self destructive ways, he refuses to let her fully into his world. It’s gross.
To say the least, Bella and Edward are the worst fictional couple in a long while. She’s crazy and he’s psycho. They do nothing but torment each other with their “love”, and neither one is strong enough to notice and walk away. Call me crazy but those are not the type of people, heroes, I want my kid reading about and looking up to. And if you think people don’t look up to them, you’re wrong. The saga has made millions… billions even. Sayings litter the internet about how Twilight gave girls false hope of love, about how they’d never find someone as good as Edward. It’s ridiculous. Of course, I have more books to read, and maybe Bella or Edward will wise up some. I doubt it, but maybe they’ll start making better choices for both themselves and each other.
Personally, I think they should go see a relationship counselor.