The Monday Rant: Twilight

Before I get into how much Twilight annoys me, I just have a quick rant on another topic.

HELLO! It's NOVEMBER in MICHIGAN! Of course it's snowing. It's not weird. Get over it!

Okay, moving on.

When it comes to the Twilight series, I take my opinion of the books from my brother. I never actually stooped to read them, but he has. As he (and others) discovered, the book is fairly lacking in plot. Bella lacks a personality, which is what makes the story appeal to many women: That could be me! And who doesn't want an immortal with the body of a god to worship them? (I don't!) Women who have lost love or feel lonely (so, every woman who reads this book) suddenly find a world where someone perfect (other than the fact that he likes to drink blood) adores them, all of them - even their faults.

Why is this so scary? Because it's not realistic. It's porn for girls.

And the movies only propagate this fantasy further.

A lot of people compare Twilight to Harry Potter, but I'm not sure where they get this idea.

Here's a quote commonly attributed to Stephen King, but whether or not he actually said it, it gets the point across really well: “Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend.”

Harry Potter is about the importance of friendships, standing up for what's right, defending the weak, etc. Twilight lacks plot.

But they're both about mythical creatures, you may protest. To which I respond: yes. Yes, they are. But there is an age at which people can understand the difference between myth/fantasy and truth. There is an age (around 13) where a child can actually now understand the difference between Santa and Jesus - one is a story made up and one is truth. I see no harm in children of a certain age reading Harry Potter. They understand that the centaurs, giants, werewolves, and yes, witches and wizards are not truth. What is truly interesting is how well the Harry Potter books tell the story of Jesus. Sacrifice, love, putting others first, fighting evil. It's a good reminder that we are in a battle.

And Twilight is about a sparkly vampire's chiseled abs and the struggle of a personality-void girl to choose between him and another creature who may eat her. Wow.

Now go read Harry Potter.

Love and Unicorns (which are not mythical creatures, thank you very much),

LeahJoy