Post by Megan on Mar 30, 2009 7:34:32 GMT -5
I'm not going to get into the Twilight/HP debate because I truly think comparing them is like apples to oranges, not to mention the idea that someone who likes one can't like the other is ludicrous and immature.
I would love an intelligent discussion about some of the pitfalls and shortcomings of the Twilight series, which I will admit I did enjoy on a superficial level. For me, the books were not superbly written- they were repetitive (someone PLEASE get Stephenie Meyers a thesaurus!), cheesy to the point of shuddering and eye rolling in some parts and everything was wrapped up a little too tightly for my taste (thanks for pointing that out, Adri).
As far as the epic love story, I just can't see Edward as the perfect boy. I can't even say man because regardless of having an extra eighty years under his belt, he seemed to understand very little about human nature despite being able to read the mind of everybody he came across. I'm not impressed by the angelic good looks (again, SM went beyond wtf reminding us of how pretty he was), the money or the *giggle* flashy car. On a side note, it's interesting that the housewife busted out with a Volvo as THE car.
To me, love is someone who knows you so well, that IF they had to, they would make the same decisions for you that you would for yourself but would NEVER presume to do so. However, I don't find it at all romantic the notion that someone would have the audacity to not allow me to exercise my free will. Edward was obsessively overbearing in my eyes and treated Bella like she was someone who wasn't just fragile of body, but fragile of mind. Even after she proved to him that she could accept who he was, what he'd done and fit a bit too seamlessly into his world, he still jumped the gun and removed himself from her life "for her own good" even though she had never given him one iota of an idea that she couldn't hang.
Speaking of Miss Swan- girls, since I don't have daughters I'll throw some parenting advice out there for my lovelies here. Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, do NOT let a guy define who you are and where you go in life. Bella is not a role model I would want for any girl who is just coming into adulthood or one that's already deep in the throes of it. She basically was handed everything people dream of in life- the husband, the child, the money, a stable life (vampire battles aside) and didn't have to make anything of herself in the process.
I know that SM wrote Bella as a wise-beyond-her-years teenager but fact of the matter is, a part time job in high school, a few advanced science classes to prove you have on a pair of smarty pants and babysitting your emotionally stunted mother doesn't and cannot replace the knowledge and wisdom that comes with things like busting your a** for a paycheck that barely covers your rent, a college degree and the experiences of growing up, surrounding yourself with good and bad people and coming out on the other side a bit battle scarred but okay.
Bella's experiences tried to be translated into an other-worldly version of all that and it just fell flat. Her huge emotional battle in a love triangle magially disappeared with a poof of "What the HELL Just Happened?
" dust. Seriously? The grand will-we-or-won't-we battle of life and death ended up with the oldies scowling, throwing up a "peace out" and leaving before anything good happened? Seriously??
I did find the stories entertaining if not wordy and with plenty of spots where I felt like I'd heard it all before. I get the point of the story- I do and in a very fluffy way, I can dig the Edward/Bella saga. But I also think that it's something that can't be taken too seriously or read too much into because then it just flat out doesn't make sense to me.
I would love an intelligent discussion about some of the pitfalls and shortcomings of the Twilight series, which I will admit I did enjoy on a superficial level. For me, the books were not superbly written- they were repetitive (someone PLEASE get Stephenie Meyers a thesaurus!), cheesy to the point of shuddering and eye rolling in some parts and everything was wrapped up a little too tightly for my taste (thanks for pointing that out, Adri).
As far as the epic love story, I just can't see Edward as the perfect boy. I can't even say man because regardless of having an extra eighty years under his belt, he seemed to understand very little about human nature despite being able to read the mind of everybody he came across. I'm not impressed by the angelic good looks (again, SM went beyond wtf reminding us of how pretty he was), the money or the *giggle* flashy car. On a side note, it's interesting that the housewife busted out with a Volvo as THE car.
To me, love is someone who knows you so well, that IF they had to, they would make the same decisions for you that you would for yourself but would NEVER presume to do so. However, I don't find it at all romantic the notion that someone would have the audacity to not allow me to exercise my free will. Edward was obsessively overbearing in my eyes and treated Bella like she was someone who wasn't just fragile of body, but fragile of mind. Even after she proved to him that she could accept who he was, what he'd done and fit a bit too seamlessly into his world, he still jumped the gun and removed himself from her life "for her own good" even though she had never given him one iota of an idea that she couldn't hang.
Speaking of Miss Swan- girls, since I don't have daughters I'll throw some parenting advice out there for my lovelies here. Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, do NOT let a guy define who you are and where you go in life. Bella is not a role model I would want for any girl who is just coming into adulthood or one that's already deep in the throes of it. She basically was handed everything people dream of in life- the husband, the child, the money, a stable life (vampire battles aside) and didn't have to make anything of herself in the process.
I know that SM wrote Bella as a wise-beyond-her-years teenager but fact of the matter is, a part time job in high school, a few advanced science classes to prove you have on a pair of smarty pants and babysitting your emotionally stunted mother doesn't and cannot replace the knowledge and wisdom that comes with things like busting your a** for a paycheck that barely covers your rent, a college degree and the experiences of growing up, surrounding yourself with good and bad people and coming out on the other side a bit battle scarred but okay.
Bella's experiences tried to be translated into an other-worldly version of all that and it just fell flat. Her huge emotional battle in a love triangle magially disappeared with a poof of "What the HELL Just Happened?
" dust. Seriously? The grand will-we-or-won't-we battle of life and death ended up with the oldies scowling, throwing up a "peace out" and leaving before anything good happened? Seriously??I did find the stories entertaining if not wordy and with plenty of spots where I felt like I'd heard it all before. I get the point of the story- I do and in a very fluffy way, I can dig the Edward/Bella saga. But I also think that it's something that can't be taken too seriously or read too much into because then it just flat out doesn't make sense to me.
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