Twilight Movie

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FluteOfTheNewWorld
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Twilight Movie

Post by FluteOfTheNewWorld » Tue Nov 18, 2008 10:17 pm

You guys I just went to the San Diego premier of twilight and in case any of you are fans... IT IS FREAKING AMAZING!!!

If there are any twilight fans at all on this site you MUST go see it!!
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Re: Twilight Movie

Post by The Aceman » Fri Nov 21, 2008 8:55 am

The movie is rarely "as good as" or "better than" the book. Plus the characters never look like you pictured them while reading it. And then when you reread it later, all you can remember are the movie characters and the movie sets, and can never remember how you originally pictured it. Completely ruining rereads of the book, sorry I'm still bitter over the Harry Potter movies. On the other hand, I have heard a lot of good things about this movie already.
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Re: Twilight Movie

Post by Hostrauser » Fri Nov 21, 2008 10:02 am

My wife and her friends read the books and were addicted by their "cheesy goodness." They didn't think the books were any good, but they were engrossing and they couldn't put them down. They've come to the conclusion that Stephanie Meyer is an allegorical genius, since the entire series of books pretends to be all about teenage lust and love when the underlying message is that sex is bad and that horrible things happen to you if you have pre-marital sex (Stephanie Meyer is an extremely conservative, fundamentalist Mormon, after all). The series is an interesting study in social culture, as I think some of the young readers aren't consciously picking up on the extremely heavy-handed subtext of her novels (Breaking Dawn is basically a gigantic pro-life argument masked as a fantasy story).

From the Washington Post
Elizabeth Hand wrote:Educators, readers and parents have all made much of the fact that the Twilight series promotes a wholesome version of teen love for its dreamy, predominantly female readership, citing how the books' protagonists practice abstinence (as opposed to, say, the lewd excesses of Harry Potter's cohort, or those out-of-control Pevensie kids).

Yet there's something distinctly queasy about the male-female dynamic that emerges over the series' 2,446 pages. Edward has been frozen at the age of 17. But he was born in 1901, and he doesn't behave anything like a real teenager. He talks and acts like an obsessively controlling adult male. He sounds far more like a father than a boyfriend, and Bella's real father remains a detached if benign figure. Bella consistently describes herself as stupid, accident-prone, unworthy of her beloved's affection. Edward incessantly warns her not to hurt herself, and indeed she makes enough trips to the emergency room that it's a wonder social services never investigates her home life. Her clumsiness leaves her bruised or bleeding (the blood offers a perpetual temptation to Edward); she's described as breakable, physically small despite her average height. Edward's habit of constantly pulling her onto his lap or having her ride on his back further emphasize her childlike qualities; she also faints easily, and during the course of the series is carried by various characters, male and female.

And there are constant reminders that she's not responsible for the effect she has on Edward or Jacob. This bland passivity has been excused as a way of allowing female readers to project themselves into Bella's place, but the overall effect is a weird infantilization that has repellent overtones to an adult reader and hardly seems like an admirable model to foist upon our daughters (or sons).

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Re: Twilight Movie

Post by JenKozy » Fri Nov 21, 2008 11:36 am

:roll: (directed at the article. IMHO, teenagers are not looking that deeply into these books.)

You know... at least kids are turning off their TV's, stepping away from the computer, ignoring their cell phones and picking up books and READING!

I was at the midnight showing of Twilight last night. It was really good. And I am of the school of thought that the movies and the books are going to be two seperate art forms, different than the other. That's how I look at the Harry Potter series and that's how I choose to look at this series. I love the HP movies, love the HP books and the same with Twilight. Lets see what they do with the other books. I hear they might combine New Moon and Eclipse.
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Re: Twilight Movie

Post by Hostrauser » Fri Nov 21, 2008 12:11 pm

JenKozy wrote::roll: (directed at the article. IMHO, teenagers are not looking that deeply into these books.)
But that doesn't mean they're not having an impression, and that's the point.

Look, I'm not saying "DON'T READ" because of this. Just trying to say "be aware of subtext."

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Re: Twilight Movie

Post by surfinginjello » Fri Nov 21, 2008 9:00 pm

I saw the premiere last night and I would give the movie a B+(comparing it to the book which I would consider an A+). I came in to the movie expecting it to be all right after seeing previews with really awkward acting, but in the context of the movie the acting was good for the most part. There were awkward scenes but I believe it was the director's style and I can live.There were a few disappointing scenes that I felt like they could have played on more. From a teenage girl's point of view it was wonderful. Robert Pattison fulfilled the part of Edward Cullen PERFECTLY!

So if you read the books and enjoyed them, I recommend seeing it, its worth the money.
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Re: Twilight Movie

Post by The Aceman » Sat Nov 22, 2008 7:10 am

Hostrauser wrote:My wife and her friends read the books and were addicted by their "cheesy goodness." They didn't think the books were any good, but they were engrossing and they couldn't put them down. They've come to the conclusion that Stephanie Meyer is an allegorical genius, since the entire series of books pretends to be all about teenage lust and love when the underlying message is that sex is bad and that horrible things happen to you if you have pre-marital sex (Stephanie Meyer is an extremely conservative, fundamentalist Mormon, after all). The series is an interesting study in social culture, as I think some of the young readers aren't consciously picking up on the extremely heavy-handed subtext of her novels (Breaking Dawn is basically a gigantic pro-life argument masked as a fantasy story).

From the Washington Post
Elizabeth Hand wrote:Educators, readers and parents have all made much of the fact that the Twilight series promotes a wholesome version of teen love for its dreamy, predominantly female readership, citing how the books' protagonists practice abstinence (as opposed to, say, the lewd excesses of Harry Potter's cohort, or those out-of-control Pevensie kids).

Yet there's something distinctly queasy about the male-female dynamic that emerges over the series' 2,446 pages. Edward has been frozen at the age of 17. But he was born in 1901, and he doesn't behave anything like a real teenager. He talks and acts like an obsessively controlling adult male. He sounds far more like a father than a boyfriend, and Bella's real father remains a detached if benign figure. Bella consistently describes herself as stupid, accident-prone, unworthy of her beloved's affection. Edward incessantly warns her not to hurt herself, and indeed she makes enough trips to the emergency room that it's a wonder social services never investigates her home life. Her clumsiness leaves her bruised or bleeding (the blood offers a perpetual temptation to Edward); she's described as breakable, physically small despite her average height. Edward's habit of constantly pulling her onto his lap or having her ride on his back further emphasize her childlike qualities; she also faints easily, and during the course of the series is carried by various characters, male and female.

And there are constant reminders that she's not responsible for the effect she has on Edward or Jacob. This bland passivity has been excused as a way of allowing female readers to project themselves into Bella's place, but the overall effect is a weird infantilization that has repellent overtones to an adult reader and hardly seems like an admirable model to foist upon our daughters (or sons).
Hmmmm, well that just made me not want to read this book. I had enough Mormon abstinence teachings shoved in my face during my entire childhood. You know there's a reason Utah has one of the highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation (and at times has had the highest). Too many Mormon parents teaching their kids nothing but abstinence, and nothing about protection. It's frustrating as well because the parents are completely blind to this problem. I've tried arguing this point to my mom, and I might as well have been arguing with a brick wall....sigh....which is the second problem with many religious folk, the inability to be open-minded towards ideas that may be different then what they were taught their whole lives.
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Re: Twilight Movie

Post by apocryphal_doom » Sat Nov 22, 2008 10:18 pm

The Aceman wrote:
Hostrauser wrote:My wife and her friends read the books and were addicted by their "cheesy goodness." They didn't think the books were any good, but they were engrossing and they couldn't put them down. They've come to the conclusion that Stephanie Meyer is an allegorical genius, since the entire series of books pretends to be all about teenage lust and love when the underlying message is that sex is bad and that horrible things happen to you if you have pre-marital sex (Stephanie Meyer is an extremely conservative, fundamentalist Mormon, after all). The series is an interesting study in social culture, as I think some of the young readers aren't consciously picking up on the extremely heavy-handed subtext of her novels (Breaking Dawn is basically a gigantic pro-life argument masked as a fantasy story).

From the Washington Post
Elizabeth Hand wrote:Educators, readers and parents have all made much of the fact that the Twilight series promotes a wholesome version of teen love for its dreamy, predominantly female readership, citing how the books' protagonists practice abstinence (as opposed to, say, the lewd excesses of Harry Potter's cohort, or those out-of-control Pevensie kids).

Yet there's something distinctly queasy about the male-female dynamic that emerges over the series' 2,446 pages. Edward has been frozen at the age of 17. But he was born in 1901, and he doesn't behave anything like a real teenager. He talks and acts like an obsessively controlling adult male. He sounds far more like a father than a boyfriend, and Bella's real father remains a detached if benign figure. Bella consistently describes herself as stupid, accident-prone, unworthy of her beloved's affection. Edward incessantly warns her not to hurt herself, and indeed she makes enough trips to the emergency room that it's a wonder social services never investigates her home life. Her clumsiness leaves her bruised or bleeding (the blood offers a perpetual temptation to Edward); she's described as breakable, physically small despite her average height. Edward's habit of constantly pulling her onto his lap or having her ride on his back further emphasize her childlike qualities; she also faints easily, and during the course of the series is carried by various characters, male and female.

And there are constant reminders that she's not responsible for the effect she has on Edward or Jacob. This bland passivity has been excused as a way of allowing female readers to project themselves into Bella's place, but the overall effect is a weird infantilization that has repellent overtones to an adult reader and hardly seems like an admirable model to foist upon our daughters (or sons).
Hmmmm, well that just made me not want to read this book. I had enough Mormon abstinence teachings shoved in my face during my entire childhood. You know there's a reason Utah has one of the highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation (and at times has had the highest). Too many Mormon parents teaching their kids nothing but abstinence, and nothing about protection. It's frustrating as well because the parents are completely blind to this problem. I've tried arguing this point to my mom, and I might as well have been arguing with a brick wall....sigh....which is the second problem with many religious folk, the inability to be open-minded towards ideas that may be different then what they were taught their whole lives.
O.o

I don't know whether to be offended at this or not. I'm Mormon but I've never lived in Utah, and I've actually heard form my parents that some of the Mormon kids in Utah do a lot of things that they are not at ALL supposed to do. I don't understand this. I believe in abstinence (heck, I don't even have a girlfriend).

It depends on the kid. If they are receptive to abstinence, like me, then the protection argument is unnecessary. However, not everybody is, so I agree that protection should be taught in schools at least.

As for Twilight, adults who don't like pro-life don't have to read it. I've never read any of them, but 0 out of all of my friends who have read it looked deep enough to find any symbolism. Which doesn't surprise me. High School kids don't seem to be very good at that sort of thing. I know I'm not. We got Catcher in the Rye (which I didn't like terribly; did you have to stoop that low to open philosophical discussions about the shortcomings of the modern world?) and my English teacher told us about all these symbols and I was like "Wow, I read all that and I never would have guessed on my own what you just told me."

Anyway, I doubt they're being very influenced.

EDIT: I do take offense to the comment about "fundamentalist Mormon." Fundamentalist Mormons are those guys in Texas who got raided over the summer, and practiced polygamy, and would have gotten excommunicated from the Mormon church that I know. Also, it kind of sounds like fundamentalist Islam, which is the terrorist sect.
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Re: Twilight Movie

Post by The Aceman » Sun Nov 23, 2008 9:48 am

Not trying to offend any Mormons, I have lots and lots of family and friends that are Mormon, I just strongly disagree with some of their teachings, and some of their implementation of those teachings. And believe me, I have seen time and time again, Utah kids raised in Mormon families have a much greater tendency to rebel to the extreme because of they way they are raised.
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Re: Twilight Movie

Post by surfinginjello » Sun Nov 23, 2008 10:13 am

I didn't even notice the mormon subtext teachings until now. It just shaped how the book was written. These books have been selling very well and I loved them. I just think the targeted audience of teenage girls were to entranced by Edward Cullen then to think of the mormon influences.
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Re: Twilight Movie

Post by Zarathrustra » Sun Nov 23, 2008 2:30 pm

I was planning on reading Twilight and seeing the movie until I came across this thread. I should've waited until I did these to read this forum. Unfortunately I'm a bit too curious.

One thing I can say is that in my opinion, people are over-advertising this movie. Too often have I walked into a theater and saw a movie that was perfectly fine but was incredibly disappointed because of the commercials and trailers (I seem to recall a movie about a little more than 290 Spartans).

I can safely say that most teenagers do not look into deeper symbloism or themes within books or movies. I do now because of the teachings forced upon me by my English teacher last year. Now Twilight, as some of you are saying has a lot of these conservative views and underlying themes. That doesn't exactly thrill me as a liberal. But I guess I'll deal when I go to watch it. Another factor affecting my decision is the severe bashing that this movie recieved in a recent South Park episode.

Now I have a question to impose. Should I go and watch this movie without reading the book because I will unwillingly compare the two, or should I read the book before I see the movie just to expose myself to more literature and put down the remote? Just looking for suggestions.
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Re: Twilight Movie

Post by surfinginjello » Sun Nov 23, 2008 5:07 pm

Zarathrustra wrote:
Now I have a question to impose. Should I go and watch this movie without reading the book because I will unwillingly compare the two, or should I read the book before I see the movie just to expose myself to more literature and put down the remote? Just looking for suggestions.
Read the book first. The movie was kinda over hyped and I went in with low expectations and it surprised me how well it was. As I said earlier the book is an A+ and the movie is a B+. And really unless you really look deep into the book the conservative views are not obvious. I won't call myself a conservative and I wasn't offended by what Stephenie Meyer wrote. There are really only two times I can think of some big issues being confronted. One, pre-marital sex in the 3rd book and abortion in the 4th. But really she doesn't say " don't have pre-martial sex cause you'll go to hell" its more " if i do, i may kill you because i'm a vampire" . It makes more since when reading the book and I don't necessarily want to post it due to the fact that it would give some stuff away. If you want to pM me I'll tell you what really happens. The first two books are really eh not issue orientated.

Also South Park makes fun of a lot of things. I wouldn't use that as a movie/book review.
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Re: Twilight Movie

Post by JenKozy » Sun Nov 23, 2008 5:32 pm

Does anyone else find it funny that we are talking about religous subtext's and these books are about Vampires and Werewolves?

:wink:
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Re: Twilight Movie

Post by Zarathrustra » Mon Nov 24, 2008 12:05 pm

[quote="surfinginjello]Also South Park makes fun of a lot of things. I wouldn't use that as a movie/book review.[/quote]

The fact that South Park made fun of it makes me want to see it. I know that if it's worth being made fun of on South Park, it should be pretty good.
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Re: Twilight Movie

Post by Zarathrustra » Mon Nov 24, 2008 12:07 pm

JenKozy wrote:Does anyone else find it funny that we are talking about religous subtext's and these books are about Vampires and Werewolves?

:wink:
Yeah. I kinda noticed that. IRONY FTW!!!!!!!!!
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