I have taken part in a pop-culture phenomenon. I will proudly admit I began and continue to participate in this 'fad' mostly because it is fun to be a part of something.
It is one of great debate, the masses of society have broken apart and formed teams. The trend I am referring to is, of course, The Twilight Saga.
If at this point you chose to stop reading, this just proves the point that one can not like something in 2012 without being criticized, judged, or having an unwelcome opinion forced upon you. But that is ok. As I also said, this is a very touchy topic for many people.
In 2008 during my first College Program, I was very close with a girl at work, Catrina. She introduced me to Twilight, the book that is. She and her roommates were super excited for the movie that was soon coming out. I had no clue what this Twilight was, but man were her roommates excited over the trailer for this movie. I remember all of them surrounding a computer watching it on YouTube. Catrina was so surprised I had never even heard of Twilight that she lent me her copy of the book. I can not remember if I finished it before the movie came out. I went to the midnight showing with her and her roommates. I remember I was very annoyed that night because I couldn't pay attention very well to the actual movie because of all the screaming. Every time a new character was introduced in the movie, there was screaming. Every time there was a witty piece of dialogue, there was screaming.
Twilight and I did not get off to a good start. Once I could, I watched Twilight again on DVD and I was surprised. I enjoyed it. I really like the style the movie was shot in. The secondary characters, like the other kids at the high school, felt like they could be real kids you'd meet at any high school in America. There was an 'un-perfectness' about it. There was less use of the steady camera work, the camera techniques are not cookie cutter techniques. It felt a bit lower budget than the more recent installments. They had to depend more on the script, and keeping the story lines accurate.
Many people are turned-off by story lines involving vampires, and other 'monsters.' I do not really understand this. They are immortal beings who feed on the blood of others to survive. I think that is valid across the board when it comes to the portrayal of vampires in entertainment (where else would vampires exist lol?). I've heard some people are disappointed because in this particular series, the vampires 'sparkle' in the sun light, can be seen in mirrors, and drink the blood of animals.
I just see this as a variation. For example, the trolls in the Harry Potter series, and The Lord of the Rings are different, as are the elves, and various other creatures. There are no fantasy stories where different creatures are the same in every story.
Other people do not like the sappy love story, and that is personal taste, I can respect that.
Some do not understand the story, or take time to understand the story. (This information taken from a brief survey I asked some of my family members).
With this said, why do I like the Twilight Series? I've broken it down into this:
50% fun being part of a trend
35% fun to mock
15% I actually find some good substance in the story
50%
It is fun going to the midnight showings of the movies. I have been to every one (except Eclipse, I think I was working or it did not work for one reason or another). It is fun knowing what is popular online, and following the progress of the movies. It is fun being able to participate in conversations revolving around Twilight.
35%
On the flip-side of being part of a fad, it is also mildly fun to be amused by how seriously people take Twilight. The screaming, the ruckus, the fan-fiction etc.
15%
I will reveal this section in a future post. There is actually a lot that I find valuable in the Twilight Series. This one post is long enough.
What are your opinions on the Twilight Series? Do you have anything that is hard to 'like' because of criticism?
Until next time my friends...
xxx
2 comments:
I'm not a fan. I don't like the writing and the only person in the movie that I do like as far as acting is Ashley Greene. I can appreciate the main concept I just think it could have been executed better. There's a lot of plot gaps (most of which I can't remember, because I try to block out every memory of the writing I don't like lol). I've watched all the movies so far, though. If they're on or someone is watching them I will watch them and try to get into it. I guess I just wish that they were done better. And that I didn't absolutely despise Kristen Stewart and I just really, really dislike Stephenie Meyer's writing. I definitely prefer Suzanne Collins and J.K. Rowling 100% over Stephenie Meyers.
As far as the monster thing...I don't have a problem with that. I've always found vampires really interesting and mythical creatures interesting. I guess if someone else had written the story, I would have liked it a lot better.
But, it's totally fine that you like it. You have every right to like what you like regardless of what other people think. Everyone has different tastes.
I've always stood by the things that I like, whether or not people criticize me or not. I was harassed REALLY badly growing up because of the music I listened to, but I'm stubborn and I've always known who I was and if people didn't like it, even though it hurt me, it didn't change who I was.
I knew you did not like Twilight :) I know a lot of people who don't and as I said, I sort of do, but I like being part of something more, if that makes sense...
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