EDIM 25 - The Twillight Saga Expository Pt. 1
Today, I finished reading Twilight, and by that I mean the saga. It took some doing. However, I persevered in the face of extreme lovey-dovey drama and overly sensitive overly reactionary peoples/vampires. Because what the heck, vampires and werewolves. No, not really, I just bullheadedly decided that I was going to read this whole freakish series and find out for myself whatever was the rave, instead of asking girls who could never figure out how to explain it right. That never ended very well, even if mildly insightful and entertaining.
Well, now I know why. Seriously, men are from mars, women are from venus, and yet both sides can't seem to figure out that the other side does not think like them. No really, I mean that. Sure, lots of people complain and acknowledge that their opposite(s) can't think common sense, but few make the connection that what is common sense is different from one side to the other. Who knew huh. To explain or be understood, you've got to take responsibility and venture across the gap yourself, as no one else takes the initiative. Either that, or find someone special who garners enough interest in you to deem coming halfway in working together to understand differentiating thought-processes worthwhile. That sure turned down a rabbit trail, let's cut it off quick before bad things happen.
Twilight is not even all that bad of a series..... but I digress.
Jokes, uncalled-for heavy sarcasm and boy/girl communication tutorial aside, it's my turn to attempt the presentation of reasons, wherefores, and how-to-ever-afters of Twilight; this generations somewhat violent and rather viral vampire sensation. And by that I mean a partial explanation as to why it's so intriguing to teen girls. Scary stuff, this. Yes I know I'm late doing this but I wasn't going to in the beginning, I pretty much couldn't resist any longer. What a rotten weakness.
This is going to end up short and bittersweet, I can tell. In summary, human and vampire fall in love, and go through multiple near death events. This sets the stage for *cough* the "heart" of the story, Edward and Bella way over the top drama non-stop for four (yes four) books, I'm not even kidding. Initially, that would sound stupid/trite and as expected to a good many people, but it's not the drama that makes things intriguing, as in drama for the sake of being dramatic. The frank truth is that Twilight contains a great deal of emotional subjects close to heart for girls. Enough time spent in description and believable girl-thought for these subjects to twine with a reader's own experiences; Twilight certainly isn't badly written.
Books are many things, but one is this: that they are written by humans, for humans. And from the heart, to the book, to the movie screen, stories are told that take something dear, and blow it up big. Bigger than life in ways that we always wish we could be, or feel, or embody. There are more factors to Twilight, but the primary strength observed by my own feeble intellect is this description -almost a walkthrough- of foundational girl truths that are easily and deeply relative. Many girls get stuck (as guys do as well unfortunately) working out what this or that feeling, what it means or where it came from or what to do about it. Twilight is like being in the mind of someone with the same things, someone with believable thinking and most importantly, conclusions, based on the ground covered as per that point in the book.
I'm not particularly advanced when it comes to understanding women (it's time to change the term), yet an abundance of truth can be obtained from the bible. Women were created to flourish and shine when loved, cherished, cared for, and protected. Ephesians 5:25 puts things perfectly.
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."
Gave himself up for her, Christ died for us. Knowing myself and men, sometimes we/they think more literally then is healthy. Many husbands really would die for their wife, or in place for their wife. However, Verse 28 adds to the picture by including that husbands should love their wife as their own body. As myself. This makes things clearer. Their is a tremendous difference between be willing to die for the one you love, and living each day with the one you love before yourself. Food, time, entertainment, priorities. These, are not so easy to uphold. They require real sacrifice. Yet embracing that worldview isn't a life of servitude. In the same chapter, wives are exhorted to respect their husbands, something truly empowering for men, and something a man will not get without caring for his wife. It's a circle, and it can either be a circle of biting pain held together by original love, or a circle of continuously building love, started by original love. Women were created the more graceful side, not capable of greater love then men, simply more apt to spread it around.
What does this have to do with Twilight? Well I knew when I started. Things sort of ended up in Wonderland again, but I had a goal in mind originally. It was a good rabbit trail though, worth going down. Today covered my main observation, part two tomorrow might not be very cohesive. I've a lot of smaller thoughts and notes on this series. Takeaway point of this entry: Twilight was written by a girl, for girls, and wildly succeeded due to good writing building upon stuff relative and important to every girl in existence.
Edit: Part 2
Well, now I know why. Seriously, men are from mars, women are from venus, and yet both sides can't seem to figure out that the other side does not think like them. No really, I mean that. Sure, lots of people complain and acknowledge that their opposite(s) can't think common sense, but few make the connection that what is common sense is different from one side to the other. Who knew huh. To explain or be understood, you've got to take responsibility and venture across the gap yourself, as no one else takes the initiative. Either that, or find someone special who garners enough interest in you to deem coming halfway in working together to understand differentiating thought-processes worthwhile. That sure turned down a rabbit trail, let's cut it off quick before bad things happen.
Twilight is not even all that bad of a series..... but I digress.
Jokes, uncalled-for heavy sarcasm and boy/girl communication tutorial aside, it's my turn to attempt the presentation of reasons, wherefores, and how-to-ever-afters of Twilight; this generations somewhat violent and rather viral vampire sensation. And by that I mean a partial explanation as to why it's so intriguing to teen girls. Scary stuff, this. Yes I know I'm late doing this but I wasn't going to in the beginning, I pretty much couldn't resist any longer. What a rotten weakness.
This is going to end up short and bittersweet, I can tell. In summary, human and vampire fall in love, and go through multiple near death events. This sets the stage for *cough* the "heart" of the story, Edward and Bella way over the top drama non-stop for four (yes four) books, I'm not even kidding. Initially, that would sound stupid/trite and as expected to a good many people, but it's not the drama that makes things intriguing, as in drama for the sake of being dramatic. The frank truth is that Twilight contains a great deal of emotional subjects close to heart for girls. Enough time spent in description and believable girl-thought for these subjects to twine with a reader's own experiences; Twilight certainly isn't badly written.
Books are many things, but one is this: that they are written by humans, for humans. And from the heart, to the book, to the movie screen, stories are told that take something dear, and blow it up big. Bigger than life in ways that we always wish we could be, or feel, or embody. There are more factors to Twilight, but the primary strength observed by my own feeble intellect is this description -almost a walkthrough- of foundational girl truths that are easily and deeply relative. Many girls get stuck (as guys do as well unfortunately) working out what this or that feeling, what it means or where it came from or what to do about it. Twilight is like being in the mind of someone with the same things, someone with believable thinking and most importantly, conclusions, based on the ground covered as per that point in the book.
I'm not particularly advanced when it comes to understanding women (it's time to change the term), yet an abundance of truth can be obtained from the bible. Women were created to flourish and shine when loved, cherished, cared for, and protected. Ephesians 5:25 puts things perfectly.
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."
Gave himself up for her, Christ died for us. Knowing myself and men, sometimes we/they think more literally then is healthy. Many husbands really would die for their wife, or in place for their wife. However, Verse 28 adds to the picture by including that husbands should love their wife as their own body. As myself. This makes things clearer. Their is a tremendous difference between be willing to die for the one you love, and living each day with the one you love before yourself. Food, time, entertainment, priorities. These, are not so easy to uphold. They require real sacrifice. Yet embracing that worldview isn't a life of servitude. In the same chapter, wives are exhorted to respect their husbands, something truly empowering for men, and something a man will not get without caring for his wife. It's a circle, and it can either be a circle of biting pain held together by original love, or a circle of continuously building love, started by original love. Women were created the more graceful side, not capable of greater love then men, simply more apt to spread it around.
What does this have to do with Twilight? Well I knew when I started. Things sort of ended up in Wonderland again, but I had a goal in mind originally. It was a good rabbit trail though, worth going down. Today covered my main observation, part two tomorrow might not be very cohesive. I've a lot of smaller thoughts and notes on this series. Takeaway point of this entry: Twilight was written by a girl, for girls, and wildly succeeded due to good writing building upon stuff relative and important to every girl in existence.
Edit: Part 2
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