Did Twilight really suck that much?
- Thread starter retyopy
- Start date
I have read all of the books so i don't think i am talking out of my arse when i say that:
- The books are badly written and i found it sometimes difficult to read due to this. It does not scan well and the pros are to me rather 'statico' and not in a good way. This is something that her editor really should have picked up on, it's really odd that this wasn't fixed before going to press.
- Bella is an unlikable protagonist who is basically left as a blank slate for the reader to fill in. She is underdeveloped as a character which is inexcusable given the fact the the whole thing is told mostly from her point of view. Add to this level of characterization given to Edward then it becomes clear that the author was projecting onto the character of Bella thus the lack of characterization for her and that Edward was her idea of a 'troubled sexy anti-hero but not really coz he's a good guy'. If that sounds crazy then you understand the trouble with the characters. This is fine if your writing a fan fiction, but not for a novel.
- The antagonists are given no depth, we never find out any motivation for there actions other than 'because' and 'they are bad vampires because they drink human blood', oh and that one of them is a bit pissed at Edward because he defended Bella.
- The author uses the books to promote her own beliefs and gives no heed to the fact that there are other ways of thinking that are different to her ideals but no more wrong or right. Although this is nothing new and we cant really just single out the twilight books for this.
I could go on but this is already turning into a wall'o'text so i'll leave it at that.
TL
R
The books are at best mediocre, and are only so popular because it's and idea who's 'time has come round again'.
- The books are badly written and i found it sometimes difficult to read due to this. It does not scan well and the pros are to me rather 'statico' and not in a good way. This is something that her editor really should have picked up on, it's really odd that this wasn't fixed before going to press.
- Bella is an unlikable protagonist who is basically left as a blank slate for the reader to fill in. She is underdeveloped as a character which is inexcusable given the fact the the whole thing is told mostly from her point of view. Add to this level of characterization given to Edward then it becomes clear that the author was projecting onto the character of Bella thus the lack of characterization for her and that Edward was her idea of a 'troubled sexy anti-hero but not really coz he's a good guy'. If that sounds crazy then you understand the trouble with the characters. This is fine if your writing a fan fiction, but not for a novel.
- The antagonists are given no depth, we never find out any motivation for there actions other than 'because' and 'they are bad vampires because they drink human blood', oh and that one of them is a bit pissed at Edward because he defended Bella.
- The author uses the books to promote her own beliefs and gives no heed to the fact that there are other ways of thinking that are different to her ideals but no more wrong or right. Although this is nothing new and we cant really just single out the twilight books for this.
I could go on but this is already turning into a wall'o'text so i'll leave it at that.
TL
R The books are at best mediocre, and are only so popular because it's and idea who's 'time has come round again'.
the book and movie both are legit shit, though i also take anything that has the nads to compare it self to Romeo and Juliet, especially when they call it "true love" or that bullshit even though Shakespeare was more or less making satire and parody about the ridiculousness of the subject, proving someone doesn't no shit about literature.
God forbid anyone dislike anything ever, right? We should all be forced to like everything, all the time! Or else we have pathetic miserable lives and we aren't just discerning individuals who put thought into what we spend our money on and what entertainment we consume. I'm allowed to say I don't like something, deriding me for it is ridiculous.spartan231490 said:
Also, it's funny, do you come on message boards to deride people for their taste in entertainment to feel better about your own pathetic, miserable life?
I have not read the book so I couldn't tell you. But like Call of Duty,Justin Bieber,and all those other popular things,it has made stereotypes out of those who like it.
I did see a riff of the second movie though and yes,it does suck THAT much.
I did see a riff of the second movie though and yes,it does suck THAT much.
I've read 200 pages of it. I can say by experience, that I find it awful. The thing that annoyed me, is that it couldn't go 10 pages without describing how beautiful a person was. I got it the first 10 times...
There are a lot of good reasons to hate Twilight.
First of all, they are poorly written. Stephanie Mayer seems to think that because she can use adjectives she is somehow a good writer. Also she seems to think that the protagonist should be an uninteresting ***** of a woman. Apparently that is the perfect character for people to project themselves onto.
secondly, Bella is a *****. She is cold and sarcastic and manages to still be as interesting as a spoon. She seems to not really like the people around her except for her boyfriend and the other men that are interested in her. And then she plays with the emotions of the men in her life who like her (for some strange reason men like her). Especially Jacob. At one point she tells Jacob that she loves him but she loves Edward more. This happens after she kisses Jacob. And that is just one instance.
Third, Bella is a co-dependent dumb-ass who is completely lost without having her boyfriend around. When Edward is gone she sulks and mopes around like a piece of her died. She seems to believe that she cannot continue living. She starts doing things that could kill her because she starts seeing Edward when she does life-threatening things like jumping off of a cliff into freezing water and rocks. And we are supposed to be okay with that. I'm sorry but that is unacceptable. Especially when you consider that she is in high school. A high school relationship is completely pointless in the grand scheme of life. Knowing this, this makes Bella seem like another dime-a-dozen angst-ridden high school student. Who cares?
Fourth, Edward is an abusive dick-hole who constantly berates and belittles his girlfriend. He gets upset when Bella trips for fucks sake. Whats even worse is that Bella takes all of this in stride. She accepts that Edward is an abusive prick and takes it. She also doesn't mind that Edward was stalking her. In fact, she seemed to think that that proved that he loved her. That is ridiculous.
I could go on for hours because there is so much BS in this series, both the books and movies, but what it really comes down to is this:
People hate Twilight because it sucks. It is nothing but crap. A lot of people hate it for dumb reasons but there are a plethora of legitimate reasons to hate this cultural pollutant of a series of books and movies. It is not just so we can hate something. It is just awful.
First of all, they are poorly written. Stephanie Mayer seems to think that because she can use adjectives she is somehow a good writer. Also she seems to think that the protagonist should be an uninteresting ***** of a woman. Apparently that is the perfect character for people to project themselves onto.
secondly, Bella is a *****. She is cold and sarcastic and manages to still be as interesting as a spoon. She seems to not really like the people around her except for her boyfriend and the other men that are interested in her. And then she plays with the emotions of the men in her life who like her (for some strange reason men like her). Especially Jacob. At one point she tells Jacob that she loves him but she loves Edward more. This happens after she kisses Jacob. And that is just one instance.
Third, Bella is a co-dependent dumb-ass who is completely lost without having her boyfriend around. When Edward is gone she sulks and mopes around like a piece of her died. She seems to believe that she cannot continue living. She starts doing things that could kill her because she starts seeing Edward when she does life-threatening things like jumping off of a cliff into freezing water and rocks. And we are supposed to be okay with that. I'm sorry but that is unacceptable. Especially when you consider that she is in high school. A high school relationship is completely pointless in the grand scheme of life. Knowing this, this makes Bella seem like another dime-a-dozen angst-ridden high school student. Who cares?
Fourth, Edward is an abusive dick-hole who constantly berates and belittles his girlfriend. He gets upset when Bella trips for fucks sake. Whats even worse is that Bella takes all of this in stride. She accepts that Edward is an abusive prick and takes it. She also doesn't mind that Edward was stalking her. In fact, she seemed to think that that proved that he loved her. That is ridiculous.
I could go on for hours because there is so much BS in this series, both the books and movies, but what it really comes down to is this:
People hate Twilight because it sucks. It is nothing but crap. A lot of people hate it for dumb reasons but there are a plethora of legitimate reasons to hate this cultural pollutant of a series of books and movies. It is not just so we can hate something. It is just awful.
Well, since it got super-popular, I raided my girlfriend's bookshelf and started reading the first book. I reached the second chapter and I could not read any more. The story was bullshit - but that's to be expected, it's the first part of a child's series - the first Harry Potter was a bit crap too. However, Harry Potter was well written. Twilight was not.
I'll be honest, though, I have seen all of the movies that have reached Sky. I, worryingly enough, found them to be quite well put-together films. They have a bullshit story to work with, and to be honest, Eclipse seemed more like a parody to me.
I'll be honest, though, I have seen all of the movies that have reached Sky. I, worryingly enough, found them to be quite well put-together films. They have a bullshit story to work with, and to be honest, Eclipse seemed more like a parody to me.
Only seen the first movie. And christ is it a bad film, like seriously terrible BUT it is also one of the funniest movies I have ever seen.
My problem with Twilight is mainly that they took the most sinister and most powerful of the classical horror monsters(werewolves, zombies, vampires, mummies)and turned it into a pathetic teen drama. She has taken the vampire myth and changed it so much that it isn't a reimagining, it's a rewrite of the original text.
It's like remaking a manly movie and then changing the ending to he learns to ballet dance.
Its also opened the gates for others to follow suit as can be seen with the recent TV show Teen Wolf. Werewolves are cool and vicious killers, not whiny teenagers more worried about girlfriends than killing the population of the village(I haven't actually watched it so correct me if I'm wrong).
Also from what I've read about the books they are badly written but not exactly from reliable sources. Girls read them for the romance but it seems to me that the films are what truly made them popular because now the fangirls are fantasizing about Robert Pattison
TLDR: Turned super stylish killing machines into prissy teens that sparkle in the sun. Also badly written.
It's like remaking a manly movie and then changing the ending to he learns to ballet dance.
Its also opened the gates for others to follow suit as can be seen with the recent TV show Teen Wolf. Werewolves are cool and vicious killers, not whiny teenagers more worried about girlfriends than killing the population of the village(I haven't actually watched it so correct me if I'm wrong).
Also from what I've read about the books they are badly written but not exactly from reliable sources. Girls read them for the romance but it seems to me that the films are what truly made them popular because now the fangirls are fantasizing about Robert Pattison
TLDR: Turned super stylish killing machines into prissy teens that sparkle in the sun. Also badly written.
Nope. It's a genuinely poorly written piece of drivel, anti-intellectual clap-trap manufactured for an easy audience more interested in a genre piece than a good story. Taking a popular concept (As in My Little Pony) which thick people will fancy because it's simplistic and plays to them on the most base of terms, the emotional equivalent of a porno, and vomiting it up with as much stylized and cliched structure as possible. Incredibly effective.retyopy said:
And the movies were even worse from what I understand, even more of the same. I say "from what I understand" because I was only ever able to stomach about 5 min. cuts at a time of the horrifically cliche hyper-saccharine teenage fantasy.
However, when I bought a CD for my roommate, and I got a copy of the book and cut a hole in it to hide his actual present, MAN that was funny when he opened it. Damn.
Okay, I'll come right out and say I physically clinched from embarassment watching twilight and my mouth fell open from disgust reading the actual book. They have some of the most atrocious lessons and story I've ever seen, but I don't want to be like every other person and simply state my disdain.
Instead, let's actually explore what makes Twilight not just a terrible romance novel, but a dangerous one to. I'll be quoting Leigh Alexander here as she describes very accurately the kind of messages Twilight is teaching young girls. Enjoy.
Instead, let's actually explore what makes Twilight not just a terrible romance novel, but a dangerous one to. I'll be quoting Leigh Alexander here as she describes very accurately the kind of messages Twilight is teaching young girls. Enjoy.
1.
In Real Life: I feel mousy, self-conscious, clumsy and insecure. I will spend high school being awkwardly groped at sporting events by boys for whom I have no particular affinity, and then after I reject traditional standards of beauty for myself I will marry a man who mostly stays out of my way and with whom I struggle to enjoy sexual chemistry.
In Twilight: I feel mousy, self-conscious, clumsy and insecure. I am the perfect partner for a heart-stoppingly gorgeous supernatural super-strong man who will live forever and love me forever until time stops.
2.
In Real Life: Now that I have a boyfriend I don?t really feel like seeing my shitty friends anymore and when I am finally overcome with guilt for completely blowing them off I make a half-hearted attempt to reach out and they can no longer make time for me, resentful that I have been too absorbed with my relationship to feign interest in them.
In Twilight: My gorgeous supernatural partner has invited me into his world and I no longer need anyone or anything else. My family and friends hang around expressing their concern until I feel like acknowledging them again.
3.
In Real Life: My gorgeous, powerful boyfriend enjoyed my company for a while, but when I became needy he started to think about how every other girl in school also is attracted to him and given that he has lived for a couple centuries and will live forever he thought about seeking someone more ?on his level.?
In Twilight: Despite my lack of discernible ?special? traits, my gorgeous, powerful boyfriend maintains his eternal devotion to me and is demonstrably suicidal when separated from me.
4.
In Real Life: My boyfriend leaves me inexplicably, probably to have an affair with someone else or because I was too demanding or otherwise not good enough. I am never able to process or understand the breakup.
In Twilight: My boyfriend leaves me inexplicably, but I later learn he was simply trying to ?protect? me and suffered immensely in exactly the same ?wrenching? fashion as I. We reunite and he promises never to abandon me again.
5.
In Real Life: The hot guy on whom I relied when I had problems with my boyfriend is pissed at me for leading him on. He decided he had too much self-respect to stand around watching me make out with my boyfriend and that he had better things to do with his life than spend it waiting around on me. We are no longer friends because when he got over the heartbreak he felt used and misled.
In Twilight: The hot guy on whom I relied when I had problems with my other hot guy will always love me, being my friend forever even though I went back to my boyfriend. He loved me for its own sake, not because he was expecting something back. If things do not work out with my boyfriend, he will still be waiting.
6.
In Real Life: My boyfriend disabled my car to prevent me from seeing a male friend. My friends, family and I are creeped out by this controlling behavior that could portend future abuse.
In Twilight: I am a prize at the core of a centuries-old war between two supernatural races. These two men are fighting over me and both have my well-being at heart.
7.
In Real Life: I really enjoy the emotional rapport that my boyfriend and I have and yet I feel he is pressuring me to be more sexual than I would otherwise prefer. I often wonder what portion of our relationship is explained by his physical interest in me, and fear being ?used for sex.? As a result, using my sexuality is the only time I feel assured of my power in any interaction with men, but I must be cautious not to push it too far or else I must be responsible for their reactions.
In Twilight: Even when I feel ready for sex and would like to do it with my boyfriend, he resists, telling me it is a sacred thing we should do when we are married and he loves me too much to place my virtue at risk. My boyfriend encourages me to use self-restraint and blames himself for his response to my body.
8.
In Real Life: I have a confusing and painful future full of loneliness, indecision and unwanted responsibility to look forward to when I graduate high school.
In Twilight: I have an eternity of sparkling, great sex, lying in fields and gamboling in the woods with my hot boyfriend who will love me until the end of time to look forward to when I graduate high school.
In Real Life: I feel mousy, self-conscious, clumsy and insecure. I will spend high school being awkwardly groped at sporting events by boys for whom I have no particular affinity, and then after I reject traditional standards of beauty for myself I will marry a man who mostly stays out of my way and with whom I struggle to enjoy sexual chemistry.
In Twilight: I feel mousy, self-conscious, clumsy and insecure. I am the perfect partner for a heart-stoppingly gorgeous supernatural super-strong man who will live forever and love me forever until time stops.
2.
In Real Life: Now that I have a boyfriend I don?t really feel like seeing my shitty friends anymore and when I am finally overcome with guilt for completely blowing them off I make a half-hearted attempt to reach out and they can no longer make time for me, resentful that I have been too absorbed with my relationship to feign interest in them.
In Twilight: My gorgeous supernatural partner has invited me into his world and I no longer need anyone or anything else. My family and friends hang around expressing their concern until I feel like acknowledging them again.
3.
In Real Life: My gorgeous, powerful boyfriend enjoyed my company for a while, but when I became needy he started to think about how every other girl in school also is attracted to him and given that he has lived for a couple centuries and will live forever he thought about seeking someone more ?on his level.?
In Twilight: Despite my lack of discernible ?special? traits, my gorgeous, powerful boyfriend maintains his eternal devotion to me and is demonstrably suicidal when separated from me.
4.
In Real Life: My boyfriend leaves me inexplicably, probably to have an affair with someone else or because I was too demanding or otherwise not good enough. I am never able to process or understand the breakup.
In Twilight: My boyfriend leaves me inexplicably, but I later learn he was simply trying to ?protect? me and suffered immensely in exactly the same ?wrenching? fashion as I. We reunite and he promises never to abandon me again.
5.
In Real Life: The hot guy on whom I relied when I had problems with my boyfriend is pissed at me for leading him on. He decided he had too much self-respect to stand around watching me make out with my boyfriend and that he had better things to do with his life than spend it waiting around on me. We are no longer friends because when he got over the heartbreak he felt used and misled.
In Twilight: The hot guy on whom I relied when I had problems with my other hot guy will always love me, being my friend forever even though I went back to my boyfriend. He loved me for its own sake, not because he was expecting something back. If things do not work out with my boyfriend, he will still be waiting.
6.
In Real Life: My boyfriend disabled my car to prevent me from seeing a male friend. My friends, family and I are creeped out by this controlling behavior that could portend future abuse.
In Twilight: I am a prize at the core of a centuries-old war between two supernatural races. These two men are fighting over me and both have my well-being at heart.
7.
In Real Life: I really enjoy the emotional rapport that my boyfriend and I have and yet I feel he is pressuring me to be more sexual than I would otherwise prefer. I often wonder what portion of our relationship is explained by his physical interest in me, and fear being ?used for sex.? As a result, using my sexuality is the only time I feel assured of my power in any interaction with men, but I must be cautious not to push it too far or else I must be responsible for their reactions.
In Twilight: Even when I feel ready for sex and would like to do it with my boyfriend, he resists, telling me it is a sacred thing we should do when we are married and he loves me too much to place my virtue at risk. My boyfriend encourages me to use self-restraint and blames himself for his response to my body.
8.
In Real Life: I have a confusing and painful future full of loneliness, indecision and unwanted responsibility to look forward to when I graduate high school.
In Twilight: I have an eternity of sparkling, great sex, lying in fields and gamboling in the woods with my hot boyfriend who will love me until the end of time to look forward to when I graduate high school.
The book? Well i haven't read the book, but paperback seems to be a better stand in for the characters than arguably living humans. It's still just as offensively stupid, but the Hollywood conversion could have been what made it pass the spectrum from mere shit to shit that makes you want to die. Or maybe the book was that awful and you just remember it favorably because it didn't let you see the retarded sparkle vampires. Take your pick.
The books did suck. In the fact that the vampires in it. Aren't vampires. If you change the entire mythology, and vampire itself, it's no longer a vampire!
Vampires, die in the sun, or take damage. That's just a fact. If a supposed vampire doesn't die in the sun, it's not a vampire.
I feel disgraced that Stephanie has been able to get away with creating a new breed of vampire.
The sparkles vampires came about from a sub-culture of vampirism. The original vampires were supposed to be seductive, vicious, intelligent, monsters, demons, half human, half bat.
A lot of books, and movies have taken these key things about a vampire, and only used a few of them. For example, blade. As awesome as it was, the vampires weren't shown to be particuarly intelligent, or seductive. (Unless you count whorishness as seductive.) The vampires, were just monsters that were incredibly good at deception and killing.
In Twilight, it's done the same thing as blade, but the opposite. It doesn't concentrate on the vampires being a menace to society, or demon-spawn monsters. It concentrates on their seductive and intelligent side. Without using their key traits, and their key... erm, biology. It's just stupid that Meyers called them vampires. Because they aren't. The only relation they have to vampires, is that they drink blood, and are incredibly pale. But Margaret Thatcher showed these traits, and she wasn't a vampire... or...
Vampires, die in the sun, or take damage. That's just a fact. If a supposed vampire doesn't die in the sun, it's not a vampire.
I feel disgraced that Stephanie has been able to get away with creating a new breed of vampire.
The sparkles vampires came about from a sub-culture of vampirism. The original vampires were supposed to be seductive, vicious, intelligent, monsters, demons, half human, half bat.
A lot of books, and movies have taken these key things about a vampire, and only used a few of them. For example, blade. As awesome as it was, the vampires weren't shown to be particuarly intelligent, or seductive. (Unless you count whorishness as seductive.) The vampires, were just monsters that were incredibly good at deception and killing.
In Twilight, it's done the same thing as blade, but the opposite. It doesn't concentrate on the vampires being a menace to society, or demon-spawn monsters. It concentrates on their seductive and intelligent side. Without using their key traits, and their key... erm, biology. It's just stupid that Meyers called them vampires. Because they aren't. The only relation they have to vampires, is that they drink blood, and are incredibly pale. But Margaret Thatcher showed these traits, and she wasn't a vampire... or...