Wednesday, December 9, 2009

All right, all right. I am going to weigh in on New Moon/the Twilight Saga, even though it really needs no more discussion.

Yes, I was one of those high school girls whom Twilight was made for. Yes, I read the first two or even three books eagerly, and yes, I was in love with Edward. Now, I understand that Twilight is a literary tragedy, but as a novel for teenage girls, it's really all right (except for the part about making the next generation of teenagers think it's sexy to be stalked a la Edward). But the movies -- especially New Moon -- are just painful. New Moon portrays Edward as a super-intense cool guy who in turn broods and simpers at Bella. The film doesn't at all capture the few good characterizations that are found in the book: we loved the book-Edward for his early-1900s gentlemanly style, his smooth assertiveness, and his almost-too-domineering attitude and...his sense of humor*. None of these things made it into the film (certainly not the humor). While it's a little too much to say that Edward's character in the novel is complex, it's certainly more faceted, interesting, and sexy than in the films.

And that is why I'm now on Team Jacob.

*By "we" I mean "I".

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