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 Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 11:41 am
Quote: 4 Reasons Why Twilight Is Bad For Your Love Life * by Erin Meanley, Single-ish, Glamour Magazine, on Mon Aug 10, 2009 2:25pm PDT Some of you told me I wouldn’t like Twilight, but I bought the book anyway just to see what all the hoopla was about. Well, I finally finished it, and…I appreciated the romance-factor, but I couldn’t help thinking it was giving girls the wrong idea about love and relationships. I did a feminist reading of Twilight and here’s what bugged me: 1. Bella has no outside hobbies.After she moves to Washington, Bella makes a few friends, but she’s not interested in them. Mostly her life is about Edward, Edward, Edward. But what relationship can survive that? Take it from Simone de Beauvoir, who writes about this in The Second Sex: Two lovers destined solely for each other are already dead: they die of ennui, of the slow agony of a love that feeds on itself. (65 cool Outside interests breathe life into a relationship. If you want a healthy one, you better get a life, whether you’re a dead vampire or not. On the other hand, Romeo and Juliet were teenagers obsessed with each other, so I don’t know what to make of that. 2. The guys are totally unrealistic.Women are always writing male characters how we’d like guys to be—not how they really are. We’re setting up expectations. In Twilight’s beach scene, Mike Newton brings Bella “sandwiches and an array of sodas to choose from” (11 cool . Excuse me, but a teenage boy at a beach is either going to be goofing around with the other boys, throwing marshmallows, or spending hours in the water. 'Bella, I know you hate the prom, but I was just dying to surprise you with a designer gown...and slow-dance with you.' (hee hee--FYI, that is not in the script.) 3. Bella is brainwashed.Bella tells us repeatedly that Edward the smug vampire is “too perfect,” (256) “flawless,” (261) and has an “angel’s face” (262). I nearly got brainwashed. But it’s like, he could kill her at any second, yet she continues to trust and lust. Of course he doesn’t kill her, so we’re supposed to be grateful and think highly of him. Such manly restraint! But he is always talking down to her about her safety, like she’s a porcelain doll. He tells Bella he can’t leave her alone for a second. Even doing laundry, he speculates she might fall into the dryer. Really? There’s nothing wrong with being a klutz, but even joking like she can’t possibly function…well, that doesn’t do wonders for a girl’s confidence. It turns her into a dependent. And as my mom says, no one loves a helpless woman. Obviously, for the story, it’s the knight in shining armor thing, I get it, but I don’t have to like it.
4. Bella is a domestic diva.She cooks for her bachelor dad every night. (Okay, I guess cooking is technically a hobby. But she doesn’t do it out of joy, really. It’s more out of a sense of obligation.) Bella does laundry, too. But I think we only see her do homework once. See, she’s too busy feeding a man to stop and feed her mind. There’s nothing wrong with cooking for a man, but doing it in tandem with constantly getting saved by a guy and worshipping said guy…it’s just too much. At least Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast loves to read, right? But! I am not saying I didn’t enjoy the book at times, and that I wouldn’t have swooned at 13. I just worry that some people will read it without a critical eye (I know, it is just a story). Some girls might expect their love life to look just like Bella’s. Now that’s what I call scary. Do you agree or disagree? Is Twilight evil and brainwashy, or did I just go crazy on a harmless piece of fiction?
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 11:58 am
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 11:59 am
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:06 pm
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:28 pm
The target audience yes it has for the most part brainwashed them, it's killed what few brain cells they had to begin with. They probably use it as a how to manual now! No Bella has no life outside of Edward, except when she cooks for Charlie, does homework, and laundry. She doesn't seem to wanna do anything else but be with her precious Edward who she can't function without.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:32 pm
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:45 pm
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 4:33 pm
They have 4 reasons, I have 10.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 8:10 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 3:05 am
Since numbers 1-4 mirror what I say, here are my reasons 5-10;
5. Bella is a sexist stereotype
Considering the fact that most women nowadays are independent, this is a throwback to more sexist days. The really dumb fact is that Stephenie Meyer's a woman, and yet she writes about a female character who is weak as hell! Seriously, how dumb can she bloody get? It is said that women with a lot of internal strength are more human than sexist stereotypes against them. Then again, it's true.
6. Edward is too good-looking, but where is his soul?
Seriously, he's too perfect, and it's so damn annoying! The problem with society now is that, most people are superficial, and base a person's worth in having good looks, and not in one's words and actions. True, having looks is part of the equation, but it is a very minor one. It's a good thing to take care of oneself. However, Stephenie Meyer and many others write about guys that have perfect looks, with less than gentleman-like manners. At least Yuu Watase didn't do that in her creations, like Fushigi Yuugi or Ayashi no Ceres and the like. Ms. Watase's male characters have character development, and are real gentlemen. Well, most of them anyway. But I think we are getting too far from the discussion itself.
7. Bella is a weak woman, especially in her will
Her willpower is weak, especially when she's looking at Edward. Seriously, she should've just resisted and became decent. But alas, Stephenie Meyer had to make her weak as hell!! The problem is, since many young people are impressionable nowadays, they get the idea of being like Bella, and that is never a good idea in a relationship.
8. Bella can't function without Edward
Although this has been raised in #3, let me expound on it. If the guy knows that she can function without him, then he knows that she has a life. However, it is not the case, and it's one of the arguments about the series' sexism. A lot of people might say it's not, but it is sexist!
9. Edward creates too much of an expectation for guys
Seriously. With the fact that most people nowadays are too impressionable (no offense), it also affects guys in ways that most don't see. Many guys want to be like Edward/Jacob/Jasper just because they're all some good-looking piece of fiction. Dudes, cosplaying is one thing, but becoming like Edward/Jacob/Jasper everyday just to impress girls is just a bad call. Really bad. Dudes, if you try to become the Edward/Jacob/Jasper just to impress the ladies, then you have lost all your self-respect and you must reclaim it, now!
10. Bella is a wrong rolemodel
I cannot stress this point enough! Ladies, if you expect your life to be exactly like Bella's, then you must reclaim your self-respect, now! You have the willpower to destroy such sexist portrayals on you, then you must prove the sexists wrong!
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 5:17 am
Loved the article, and loved your addition to the article, Angelo. Epic win.
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 10:03 am
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 10:29 am
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 3:39 pm
Princess Julia Of Heart  【Julie Says://】
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 5:40 pm
Nara_Neji_02 Loved the article, and loved your addition to the article, Angelo. Epic win.
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