Did Twilight really suck that much?

[spartan231490]

Not really. as I said above, I've read it, and it's not nearly as terrible as everyone says. It's certainly not great, but it's not really below average either. Hell, if you limit yourself to young adult fiction, which is what twilight is, it's a fair sight above average.

As for Steven King, I haven't been impressed by anything he's done. I certainly don't consider him much of an authority. I form my own opinions, using my own observations, I really don't care what who said about what.

I dislike a great many things, people, books, purse-dogs, spinach, Mr. Boston Vodka, the list goes on. I don't make a point out of "hating it" all over the internet. I truly believe that people who do that with anything; whether it's twilight, or CoD, or Bieber; are just trying to make themselves feel better about their own horrible lives.

So by making a point out of hating the haters, online, you're trying to make yourself feel better about your own pathetic, miserable life, as you put it? Now if I was a betting man, I'd probably say you're going to disagree with this portrayal of your rationale, if not the condescending assumptions about your life. When you see why you reject that claim, you will also see why we reject yours.

I'm not hating haters, I'm offering my opinion because I don't think that this trend should prevent people from reading a book that isn't all that bad. There are definitely better things to read, but there are a whole lot worse too.

You guys are the ones who keep quoting me, I'm just defending my position because I believe that it is valid.

Also, fyi, when I want to feel better about my life, I hate on stupid people. And american cartoons. I never claimed I was above this, although I certainly don't do it very often. It's really the same thing as bullying except on a larger scale, by putting others down, you are artificially elevating yourself above them. By putting down the book, you are artificially elevating yourself above all those who like it. Which is why people tend to hate on things that are popular, because it elevates them above a larger group of people.

 

[Jakub324]

I managed to sit through 45 minutes of it and can confirm that it is one of the most boring films to come out ever.

 

[lunam-kardas]

I read my sister's copies of it to be sure and I can now tell you with all certainty: Yes, yes it is that bad. I'm not going to insult anyone by repeating the issues this book likes to punch in the face, we all know what they are. Do a damn google search if you're that curious.

 

[ReservoirAngel]

I managed to sit through 45 minutes of it and can confirm that it is one of the most boring films to come out ever.

Believe me, you got off light. I've seen all 3 currently-available films multiple times and that shit will haunt me forever, knowing that I've wasted hours of my life on it.

 

[Asita]

I'm not hating haters, I'm offering my opinion because I don't think that this trend should prevent people from reading a book that isn't all that bad. There are definitely better things to read, but there are a whole lot worse too.

So wait, when we say we don't like the book we're 'hating" and doing so to 'feel better about [our] pathetic miserable lives'. But when you make a claim belittling the people expressing their dislike of the book you're just expressing an opinion? No, that's a double standard.

 

[Snotnarok]

The hate came from bad writing followed by people getting attacked for having an opinion. There was as a guy who got jumped at his school by a 'pack' of twilight fans who beat him up with text books and scratched him. Nice bunch.

there whole forums that have stories of people getting attacked for not liking twilight

Ah well there you are then, the more you know and all that.

 

[Krantos]

The issue, I think, is that it's mediocre and popular. Much like the Dan Brown books in that way. Elitists hate when sub-par material becomes rampantly popular.

Why? IDK. My guess is they're afraid of it bringing the medium down.

My biggest issue is that it is basically porn for 14-year-old girls/guys. Bella is just a blank slate girls/guys can project themselves into. The two Guys in the book are basically nothing more then the two archetypal Ideal Boys: The Holier-Than-Thou-Gentleman (Edward), and Forbidden-Bad-Boy (Jacob).

It's all an adolescent fantasy, no more so than a hetero teen wanking off to his favorite actress. Harmless, but nevertheless irritating when it becomes this popular.

 

[A Distant Star]

As a book Twilight is kind of trite, it's writing is poor but strangely engaging. It's no worse then any of the old pulp romances... which is to say that it's throw away literature, but that doesnt make is unenjoyably. I didn't much like it myself, but as a male in his late 20s, I am far from the target demographic.

Where Twilight is a big problem is in it's politics. It's politics are at best anachronistic, at worst dangerous. Twilights attitude towards relationships and sexuality are, well... creepy. Not that I inherently find that to be a problem, I read Chuck Palahniuk and China Mieville books, but there's a self awareness to both those authors books. Choke is a depraved book about a sleazy sex addict. But at no point does it present it's characters as being admirable, it doesnt bestow the virtues of showing up at sex addiction anonymous meetings to pick up chicks as being virtuous. And that right there is the crux of Twilight. It is completely unaware of how creepy it is, and so is most of it's fan base.

Sneaking into a girls room to watch her sleep is not romantic, it's creepy. "Imprinting"* on the new born child of the woman you have spent the past 3 books lusting after is mega fucking creepy. I dont hate Twilight, but I fear the lessons naive teen age girls will take away from it. How it will shape the attitudes towards relationships and sex of these so called "Twihards".

On the other hand, maybe I am over estimating the impact it will have on developing young girls. (Hint: I probably am) Maybe they will out grow there obsession and Twilight's childish attitude towards sex and romance for something more real and healthy. Only time will tell really.

*For those how have not read the book. Imprinting is something Werewolves do to young children to create a sexual and romantic attraction between themselves and the child when the child becomes older (Its been a long time since I read the book, but I think the age was 14). Basically you look at a baby and say, one day you will be my wife, and to make sure you dont have a say in the mater, I'm going to do some mystical werewolf mumbo jumbo on you so I will be totally hawt when you grow up. Out of everything in the Twilight books it is the thing that creeps me out the most... it's basically the ultimate form of date rape.

 

[spartan231490]

I'm not hating haters, I'm offering my opinion because I don't think that this trend should prevent people from reading a book that isn't all that bad. There are definitely better things to read, but there are a whole lot worse too.

So wait, when we say we don't like the book we're 'hating" and doing so to 'feel better about [our] pathetic miserable lives'. But when you make a claim belittling the people expressing their dislike of the book you're just expressing an opinion? No, that's a double standard.

You would think so, wouldn't you.
I didn't initiate this convo, I was asked for an opinion, and I offered it, you're the one who keeps pushing it. As you conveniently left out of the quote, I already told you that I'm not above hating to make myself feel better. I'm just not doing it right now.

 

[Asita]

You would think so, wouldn't you.
I didn't initiate this convo, I was asked for an opinion, and I offered it, you're the one who keeps pushing it. As you conveniently left out of the quote, I already told you that I'm not above hating to make myself feel better. I'm just not doing it right now.

I left it out of the quote because it wasn't relevant. I never made the claim that you don't do it at all. I said you're doing it now and making use of a double standard to claim that your opinion on the topic was more valid than those with contrary views by characterizing your perspective as 'just an opinion' and the opposing views were simply belittlement for the sake of the speakers feeling better about their 'pathetic miserable lives'. Do you really expect that people won't pick up on the implicit value judgement there? Or how it's used as an out of hand dismissal of opposing views without actually examining their merit?

 

[MartialArc]

I suppose people hate it for the same reason people hate Call of Duty. Because it's popular. Or something.

No, it's genuinely just a bad movie. Although I can only speak for the first, thankfully haven't had to sit through the rest as of yet.

Its kind of a tween drama, one of those movies marketed towards a very specific and angst filled demographic. If you're not part of said demographic it probably won't do much for you. All the hate is because its popular, if said angsty tweens just saw the movie and then shut their mouths about it the series would kind've just quietly faded into obscurity and nobody would've really cared.

Honestly I think its fading into obscurity pretty quickly anyway, probably as a result of the 15-17 year old girls it was marketed to getting older and less angsty. So brace yourself for the next phenomenon.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

TEEN WOLF!

Teen Wolf was a film made in 1985.... :/

As a lot of people have said Twilight is just porn. It's a female fantasy.

Although definately not my fantasy...

Edward: 'I like to watch you sleep I find it fascinating'

Spoiler: What did you just say?!?!

 

[Death God]

I don't hate the book. I appreciate (as a fellow author) its ability to rise to fame as quick as it did. What I don't like is the movie, or the plot (love struck teen choosing between necrophilia and bestiality), or the way its target audience acts. But, as a book, in and of its self, I don't hate it.

 

[William Dickbringer]

-SNIP-

hate it because of the fans nothing like getting a death threat for not liking it (this was in school not over the internet) plus they even made me read "the most exciting part of the book" and it was bland really now I just dislike it and avoided it like the plague (although I did hear it reinforces 50's stereo-types which gives even more reason to avoid and it's all one big metaphor for abstinence so yet even more reason for me to avoid)

 

[AngloDoom]

make me want to punch a kitten/puppy/pony/fluttershy.

DON'T YOU DARE.

OT: I actually read all of the books. I read the first out of curiosity, since all my friends were at the time. I found it not too bad, actually. It was a wank-off about vampires, sure, but it had some new ideas about vampires and found an audience in young girls very well.

That said, it wasn't well written by any means. It was horrific pacing that only gets worse as the books progress. The protagonist was a Mary Sue to such an extreme it made me ache in embarrassment, which made the ridiculously controlling and unstable relationship between herself and the two main 'hotties' of the book actually rather worrying.

Overall, I wouldn't hate Twilight based on that. No, I hate it because women I know will seriously say they find Bella's actions in the books the actions of a strong woman and can see no fault in them. Despite, y'know, trying to kill herself when her boyfriend left her.

 

[estoria-etnia]

It's a novel full of fail, that's what it is. Meyer did absolutely no research and brags about this, not caring about the fact that she pulls shit out of her ass and then goes: YEP THAT IS FACT. It also probably doesn't help that the books are very offensive and they promote abusive relationships and very anti-feminist. They're poorly written and the characters are basically cardboard cut-outs of various high school archetypes or even just plain cardboard cut-outs. No one has any personality, no one undergoes any character development, and there is no plot. Whatever little plot there is is buried under pages upon pages of ultraviolet prose of ZOMG EDWARD IS SO LURVELY. There's how Meyer pulls shit out of her ass to explain her vampires ? and she tries to do so scientifically using actual biological FACT, making it so fun and easy to tear apart ? and her logic makes about as much since as trying to eat an ice cream sandwich while in the middle of a volcanic eruption. Seriously, this is a bad series and it's full of unnecessary padding, bad logic, good idea, bad execution, poor characters, failure to research ANYTHING, and just overall terrible, terrible writing.

I could go on. But then this block of text would be even larger.

 

[The_Echo]

snip

I had a bunch of text written, but I figured, instead of spilling my second-hand knowledge of the book, I'd direct you to this series. He sums it up pretty nicely, I think.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

The badge on my profile isn't enough to understand my opinion of it?


I read through the books out of the library and only got through book 2 before stopping. I gave it its chance to impress me and it failed miserably. I haven't looked back since and I certainly have never watched one of the movies.

 

[Hexenwolf]

I suppose people hate it for the same reason people hate Call of Duty. Because it's popular. Or something.

I think it's because it's poorly written. The story is predictable, the main character is as personable as cardboard, and the descriptions (mostly of edward) are annoyingly repetitive.

Or rather, a combination of it being poorly written and popular. If it was just bad, barely everyone would care. But it being low quality and popular inspires a certain rage in people, ie: "how can something this shoddy have this large a following when there are much better stories out there going unrecognized (comparatively)."