Cambridge Deems Twilight Worthy of Analysis

[Cpu46]

Studying the impact of media on kids is an interesting field of study. I just wish they'd pick a better book than Twilight. Replace that with Artemis Fowl, or the Bartimaeus Trilogy, and we'll be golden.

Someone else read the Bartimaeus Trilogy? Hooray!

Read the first one, was good. Havnt realy gotten around to the other 2.

OT: I vote that manditory twilight reading is unconstitutional or falls under cruel and unusual punishment.
I tried to read the first chapter (still dont know what posessed me to do that), I had to run Skag gully on runthrough 2 in Borderlands while listening to Through the Fire and Flames to get my awesome back to operational levels.

 

[Good morning blues]

Anybody who claims this is a bad idea knows nothing at all about culture studies. Twilight says a hell of a lot more about contemporary western cultures than anything Douglas Coupland's written in the past decade, even if it doesn't mean to.

That western cultures like books which have 20 pages dedicated to how Edward looks without his shirt on? Forgive my crudeness, but even a cursory examination of this series it appears as nothing more as shower nozzle masturbation material written by a lonely woman.

Oh hey, I guess I just earned a diploma from Cambridge.

Yes, exactly! I'm not saying that the books aren't retarded - I'm saying that they tell us a lot about the people that read them. Just because they aren't good books doesn't mean that we can discount the millions of people that read them as idiots. Millions of people pay attention to this shit, so academics need to figure out an explanation for that. Twilight says a lot about what its readers want and how they see the world, just as what you read or watch or play says a lot about what you want and how you see the world.

 

[Kajin]

Uhm... How to I put this as eloquently as possible? It's about damn time.

 

[superdance14]

I actually read Twilight for analysis at school.

I tore that crap apart.

 

[RebelRising]

Studying the impact of media on kids is an interesting field of study. I just wish they'd pick a better book than Twilight. Replace that with Artemis Fowl, or the Bartimaeus Trilogy, and we'll be golden.

Someone else read the Bartimaeus Trilogy? Hooray!

Yup. They're good books, what can I say?

Really good books, I have to agree. There's a titanic myriad of hackneyed and generic fantasy literature, but that trilogy is fantastic. It's clever, educational, exciting, and just well-written.

 

[Kuchinawa212]

I predict that THIS is how the internet will react:

[HEADING=2]"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!"[/HEADING]

no silly I was going to react with a:

[HEADING=2] AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH [/HEADING]

This is just a early April fool's joke right?

 

[MR T3D]

I just thought of a possible solution. Require that all students studying Twilight in school also read Bram Stoker's Dracula (and, if they want to add some more pop culture, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). Then they'll realize that the old-school vampires are much cooler than the glittery new ones.

hell.
yeah.

 

[Caliostro]

Anybody who claims this is a bad idea knows nothing at all about culture studies. Twilight says a hell of a lot more about contemporary western cultures than anything Douglas Coupland's written in the past decade, even if it doesn't mean to.

This isn't being examined in a sociology class, or social studies class or anything of the sort... This is being examined as "literature". Calling Twilight literature is like calling fecal matter french cuisine.

Harry Potter... I can see... I mean, IMO the series goes downhill after the fourth book, but it has literary qualities. It's no Shakespeare, Edgar Alan Poe or Douglas Adams, but it's quite worth analyzing.

...But Twilight?? What's next, Michael Bay's Transformers as Movie Directing 101?

Here's a full analysis of Twilight: Female masturbatory material as written by a lonely and sexually frustrated woman. Tada. Shall we analyze Juggs next?

 

[DemonCleaner]

"So class,can anyone tell me why this piece of literary shit was so damn successful?"

"Isn't because there are lonely fat chicks?"

"Very good, you get an A"

 

[HotFezz8]

doesn't surprise me. that said i severly doubt they will have anything good to say about it though...

 

[Joe Matsuda]

What.

The.

Potato chips.

 

[Macgyvercas]

I predict that THIS is how the internet will react:

[HEADING=2]"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!"[/HEADING]

Ninja'd.

SON OF A *****! Damn it! WHY? It doesn't have an impact on children it has an impact on moronic teenage girls and middle-aged women. Why the fuck would they do something so horrible?

Ninja'd again.

It's trash and it should be burned, that's all. It's time we got our WAAAAGH on and get rid of Twilight once and for all.

(This is just a joke, please don't hit me with a warning mods.)

Wow. Times ninja'd. You guys are good.

I can not possibly see how this is a good idea. If you want a good vampire story, Cambridge, read Bram Stoker's "Dracula".

EDIT: The only possible use I can see for studying Twlight is for a "How Not to Depict Vampires" class.

 

[Olikunmissile]

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE. Damn this book! Damn it to hell!

 

[RJ Dalton]

As much as my brain wants to kill me for saying this, Twilight is just as worthy of analysis as anything else that's been written in the long history of words on paper.
It's just not worthy of any praise.

 

[Good morning blues]

Anybody who claims this is a bad idea knows nothing at all about culture studies. Twilight says a hell of a lot more about contemporary western cultures than anything Douglas Coupland's written in the past decade, even if it doesn't mean to.

This isn't being examined in a sociology class, or social studies class or anything of the sort... This is being examined as "literature". Calling Twilight literature is like calling fecal matter french cuisine.

Harry Potter... I can see... I mean, IMO the series goes downhill after the fourth book, but it has literary qualities. It's no Shakespeare, Edgar Alan Poe or Douglas Adams, but it's quite worth analyzing.

...But Twilight?? What's next, Michael Bay's Transformers as Movie Directing 101?

Here's a full analysis of Twilight: Female masturbatory material as written by a lonely and sexually frustrated woman. Tada. Shall we analyze Juggs next?

Tell me, what makes Harry Potter more worthy of study than Twilight? Is it just the fact that you don't like Twilight? I suspect it is. That is about as far from a "full analysis" of Twilight as it is possible to get; you have not mentioned Mormonism, celibacy, rape, or relationship power imbalances, and even if you had, that's barely scratching the surface.

I took a literature class where we read dreck like "Interview With the Vampire," and we pulled some interesting and noteworthy information out of it; the next semester, the same thing happened when they read "The Secret" and "Jonathan Livingston Seagull."

I'll reiterate: the fact that "twilight" is not a good book does not mean that we cannot learn anything from it.

 

[SideburnsPuppy]

I love how Twilight is only mentioned in passing, but that seems to be all anybody is capable of talking about. Now, before I retreat to my throne of gold, I shall contribute to the discussion:

I think it's great they're analyzing "Pop Art." It seems the most recent "classic" is The Catcher in the Rye. I don't know if I've talked about Catcher yet, but considering I'm nowhere near as famous as Furburt or Cpt. Oblivious, I'd just like to throw out there that I thought Catcher in the Rye was rather poor, but that might just be because Catcher says to challenge authority and authority seems pretty big on Catcher. Or maybe because it rests on the crutch of being full of "symbolism."

 

[Brotherofwill]

If that what we believe is trash is appealing to a wide range of kids then we should take this material and ethically treat and respect or something for our next generations hopes and worries. After this we ethically burn it in a big fire. It's still trash lady...

 

[TheIr0nMike]

I can understand the inclusion of more modern books, movies, and even certain video games, but including something even the people involved in the movie hate [http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/pattinson-gets-to-the-heart-of-stephenie-meyer-and-her-twilight-series] is (for lack of better words) completely fucking retarded.

 

[Heathrow]

Definitive proof that Oxford is, in fact, the superior university.

 

[Comma-Kazie]

No. No, no, no no, no, NO.

How in the hell can they seriously use such low-quality writing into a curriculum? Even as an example of what not to do, it's just . . . no.

For once, I'm at a loss for words.