Another Vampire Blockbuster? Why?

Maybe the vampire represents the bad boy for the tweens.

it’s for kids mostly

My entire family went to see this movie and that’s all they talked about all weekend, I think us older folks don’t spend enough time with these young kids and that is why we are so far apart, myself I cannot imagine being away from my grandchildren any more than a day or two at the most my daughters the same, we are a very close family so when they clued me in about this series i was ready to listen, and they loved it, they buy all the hats,books t-shirts,sweatshirts the marketing in incredible…so find out what the kids are into and get in there with them, trust me it will keep you young and happy…One Happy Grandmother.

I haven’t seen the movies yet, but I read the books after my 50-something sister recommended them. I can understand the teen and tween infatuation with them; Edward (vampire) would do anything for Bella, the all-too-flawed (at least in her own eyes) human heroine. Jacob is not just the best friend a girl could ever hope to have, he’s just as sexy as Edward — and warm, too. He may not be as “perfect” as the vampire, but in some ways that makes him better for Bella, and he adores her too. The girls whe read and watch seem to divide into “camp Edward” and “camp Jacob,” hoping that one or the other will end up with Bella. The boys who read it, and some really do, probably want to BE Edward or Jacob. And if you read the books carefully, the underlying theme is that pre-marital sex will kill you — literally. What else would you expect from a writer who’s both Mormon and a mother of girls? I don’t know if the teens see that theme, but if parents read it, they should. My clever niece, the mother of a toddler, described the writing as a “literary trainwreck” but it didn’t stop her from reading all four books. I agreed — but I read them all too.

The media vampire phenomenon is such because teens – thru late 20′s are in need pyschological escape. Some clinicians think this may be due to artificial sweeteners / preservatives being introduced more and more over the past 2 decades in the food supply of western countries, accounting for the increased diagnoses of hyperactivity in adolescent males and bipolar syndrome in females. Vampire fantasies – and addiction to networked online video / computer games like World of Warcraft – offer releif from the chemically-induced mental turmoil that modern American teens, and their subset tweens, have become unable to endure.

I didn’t like the books that much. In fact, I could barely finish NEW MOON without gagging. However, I give kudos to the film crews for Twilight and New Moon because they’ve managed to turn out a couple of entertaining films from poorly written material.

I remember what it was like to be a teen girl with your first serious crush. When every look from him sent your heart to your throat, when simple innocent touches meant you felt weak and dizzy. A kiss could stop your world. This is the essence of Bella and the biggest appeal of Twilight. Being young and so breathlessly, recklessly in love. Twilight Moms, perhaps, have fallen in love with the books and movies because it’s a fun, romantic, perfect escape. Who wants to talk about the economy and household chores and bills? Not me. I’d rather daydream a bit too, about sexy vampires or smokin’ hot werewolves. The appeal for the teen girls is simple. They long for a love like Bella’s, something real and lasting. In this fast world, it’s an awesome pg-rated escape for them too. Taylor and Robert don’t hurt, of course.

I saw the movie with a friend and we both really liked it. Leave it to critics to hate popular movies. I remember in the 80s the critics didn’t like Grease II, I thought it was good but not as good as the original w/ John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. “Edward” and “Jacob” were both handsome devils I wouldn’t have minded meeting and I’m not a tween, far from it. Maybe it’s because of the war times that everyone needs to fixate on something else other than the government and their problems.