Can anyone explain me what's the problem with Twilight?!
And don't get me wrong, if you have a problem with Stephenie Meyer's work I'm not going to say anything about it but... why is so much people annoyed with the series?
From where I see it, there has been good things and bad things after the big fuzz of the series.
Good things:
- Let's face it, a LOT of young people started to read again (and most of them for the first time) books, real books, not magazines or well, magazines xD
- Stephenie is, actually, a good writer. And a very nice person.
- After Twilight a lot of indie authors or new brand authors got the opportunity to be published.
Bad, really bad things:
- Vampires were supposed to be cool, sexy and crazy, now in a lot of YA books they are sweet, caring and most likely very annoying with their "oh, please, stay away from me, I'm evil" stuff.
- Trying to use to the big fuzz of Twilight classics, real and amazing classics like "The Vampire Chronicles" by Anne Rice were re-edited with new covers to match the Twilight covers... and I have to ask to the editors and publishers: what's wrong with you, people?! Seriously?! Like Twilight?! Those books have nothing to do with Twilight!!!
Here the sad prove:
As you can see this happened in the UK version and the Spanish version of the books.
- There are a THOUSAND books that have the same start (if not the whole book) as Twilight. The same, with no difference. Where is the originality dear authors? I'm sure you can do so much better.
- Vampires are everywhere therefore they are becoming so freaking normal that it hurts. They were supposed to be special.
- I go to the cinema to watch every movie but that doesn't mean I like the actors because sorry but I didn't picture most of them like that... (please, fans of the actors, don't kill me, alright? Please).
So, as you can see, there's a lot of things that I don't like after Twilight. But I LIKE Twilight, I really do. I enjoyed every second with every book.
Ok, no, that's a lie, I hated New Moon, the whole book was really annoying... But I liked the series in general and I don't blame it for all the horrible things that happened after it. So, why the hate? I would really like to know your opinion, good or bad, about my post. Just be honest, I won't bite xD (bad joke, I know).
Some classics that are mentioned in the Twibooks are doing that too - Pride and Prejudice, Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights....seriously, check it out.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, I enjoyed the books, but we don't need to become TwiWorld. ;)
Courtney @ Fuzzy.Coffee.Books
I wondered about that, too. Now, my problem with the books is a little.. odd. When I was younger I liked them, but later I realised many things and some of them bothered me and this makes me.. a little bitter about most books like Twilight.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy that people start reading books, but it bothers me how some novels influence them. There is no real Edward out there and certainly not for the Bella's in this world. (Especially in the movies she lacks some personality.)
Many YA books are so very delusional with a naive heroine and the tendency to tell the reader that love is the most important thing in the world (which might be true, but there's more than romantic love and most readers don't focus on that. Instead they thinka ll they need to be happy is Edward and they simply have to wait for him. Which is untrue). Adult books, too, often imply that women can change their men or stuff like that. Which is the first statement you'll get from one out of [x] women who were beaten by their husbands. "I thought I could change him." or "But he had these nice, tender moments." (Not to mention that most girls don't realise how it's NOT love, but most of the times daddy issues and the wish to be loved. If you want to change him, you don't love him.)
And now there are 10000 girls out there, waiting for their Edwards, when there's someone else out there, someone who won't do everything right and protect them from the world all the time (which is the right f-ing thing to do, damnit!) and who'll not accept their mistakes as easily as the Cullen's obviously did.
Of course books aren't real life and often enough I take some time to read something written by Julia Quinn or Meljean Brook etc. - BUT Twilight's become more than "just a book". It feels like more people alive read this book than, let's say, the Bible. (bad example..) They can actually tell you in which chapter [insert random situation] happened and quote the whole thing.
Maaad world!
Ugh this upsets me. I mean I'm all for people reading The Vampire Chronicles, or the classics that I have undergone this...treatment. But I seriously hate this sale tactic. The covers are boring, and have little to nothing to do with with story.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like Twilight and thought it to be sub-par, but I liked the fact that people were reading more. Now it's gotten out of hand, everything has to be like Twilight. It's stupid. I'm glad I already own and have read these books because if this was the only choice I had for a cover at the store, I'd skip it.
I think one of the biggest draws/appeal that books such as Twilight offer to its adolescent female fans - is that it is *safe* romance/sexuality. Which is fine, it really is.
ReplyDeleteAs long as when these girls become women, they can learn to overcome what is psychologically termed "The Cinderella Syndrome". Or the emotional expectation of that unique prince [Edward] to rescue you & make everything somehow perfect.
Just my 2 cents ;D
I like Twilight but it annoys the hell out of me because Edwards is this really creepy stalkerish guy. Bella is a jerk because she goes back and forth between Jacob and Edward and strings him along. I think Jacob is the only really good character and he gets a raw deal. I think people like it because its just pure fantasy and wish fullfilment, who wouldn't want to move to a new place and have everyone love you? I think twilight is fun but its basically mental junkfood, I compare it to a twinkie quite a bit on my blog. Nothing wrong with a little twinkie but you shouldn't have too many!
ReplyDeletehttp://deadtreesandsilverscreens.blogspot.com/
I didn't like the Twilight books and I don't get all the copy cat covers but I don't get the hate either. Those books made tons of money, got people to read, and started a huge outbreak of great YA books. Plus as much as I hated them I still admit that they drew you in and made you want more so I don't get it either.
ReplyDeleteI can't stand the whole, lie in the corner and cry because my man left thing. It romanticizes obsessive controlling relationships and girls giving up everything for "love"
ReplyDeleteGranted what I know about Twilight is only from what I've heard and from watching the first movie, but it bugs me. It bugs me for stupid reasons and not-so-stupid reasons.
ReplyDeleteA. Vampires are NOT supposed to sparkle.
B. I think girls get FAR too crazy and obsessed about them. And this is coming from someone that waited 12 hours in line for Deathly Hallows part 2.
C. Bella seems like a very weak female character, for many reasons that are far too long to get in to here.
D. Edward is creepy, not hot.
E. There is something very wrong about a 1,000 year old anything being involved with a teenage girl. I had the same response to Buffy/Angel in Buffy the Vampire slayer.
The last three things could easily be shrugged of as, "Eh, it's just fiction," if it weren't for point B.
Also, last thing. I'm a circulation clerk at my local library, and sometimes it makes me want to start chucking books out the window when literally every fourth one (every third for YA) is a vampire book.
I just have a problem with the fact that it sucked almost every bit of originality out of the publishing world. All those generic books with the same plots as TWILIGHT? Yeah, well, they were published instead of potential masterpieces of innovation and style. The entire motivation-to-read pro was definitely wonderful, however.
ReplyDeleteAhh...I'm finished venting now.
I haven't read the whole Twilight series, but I enjoyed reading the first book. I like the covers for those books, but seeing the re-released covers of older, more "classic" vampire literature is just disappointing. =/
ReplyDelete''I'm with you, I enjoyed the books, but we don't need to become TwiWorld. ;)'' funny comment
ReplyDeleteI liked the twilight books it's just that I hate the films!!!!! Fuu I got that out of my system. Okay excepting New Moon which was boring and Breaking Dawn was missing that thing that they talked about the whole book but never actually happened (trying to not give away any spoilers here) I enjoyed reading them, once or twice, but no more, I mean there's book that I've read at least 5 times (cough Harry Potter cough) that I can tell you who said what when and to who (although not the exact page I'm not that obssessed^^) but Twilight I find that everytime I try to read it again I never find anything new. I liked her other book The Host better.
ReplyDeleteI never liked Bella or Edward that much actually as my favorite characters were always Alice and Jasper ;)
For one Vampires DO NOT SPARKLE! taht is my first objection, so stupid. It ruined the whole image of Vampires, made them seem pathetic.
ReplyDeleteNext Bella - she is so whiny and needy, the world ends because the vampire doesn't like her, her whole world is being accepted by a man. It shows women as inferior and weak. The exact opposite of what i want to see. Not a good role model at all.
Edward is just creepy, not attractive. I agree with 'SarahSparrow' on that aspect.
Bella spends all her time stringing both men along. Just pick one or none already. Also I don't agree with the very violent birth scene in the fourth book, just un-neccesary.
I like modern vampire novels and the twists they bring, but why do they all have to be compared to Twilight? Compared to a lot of these books Twilight seems very weak by comparison.
Ok vent over. :D Good post - great discussion.
I like Twilight, but if I see ONE MORE teenage romantic vampire book, I will not be held responsible for my actions. For me, the problem isn't Twilight - it's the bandwagon it created. It seems to be the 'easy' way to write a book - teenage vampires ftw.
ReplyDeleteI've read the first three books numerous times and I really like them. I wouldn't want my children to use Bella as a role model or anything, but they're pleasant and a good read.
But I LOATHE Breaking Dawn. In my opinion it's one of the worst books ever written, and I've read some garbage in my time. It sounded like badly-written fanfiction and I think that tainted the rest for me. Plus, anybody picking that book up without having read the others would have a terrible impression of the series as a whole.
I did not particularly like Twilight, myself, for many reasons.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, I was annoyed by their portrayal of vampires, but I could have gotten over that, but I had bigger problems.
1. Bella was not someone that I think anyone should wish to emulate. She had little depth and interests, outside of Edward. Sure, early on she liked to read, but by the time Edward left her, this outside interest was gone. Her whole life was Edward. Period. This is simply not healthy. You need interests outside of your partner, or at the very least interests that you can share with your partner. Her interest was her partner.
2. More issues with Bella. She was worried about being OLD when she was only 17. That's stupid. And even worse, she thought she wasn't pretty enough to be with him. Now this isn't exactly unusual for teens, but what really pissed me off was that when she became a vampire she became beautiful enough to be with him. That's just WRONG. She should have seen that she had always been beautiful; that she had always been good enough for him, and just hadn't been able to see it.
3. I simply didn't buy Edward's character. First off, he died in the South during a time in our history when he wouldn't have been this paragon of virtue portrayed in the book. He was a teen in the roaring twenties, in a poorer part of society (because if he'd been rich he would have died at home surrounded by family and servants). How in the world did this make him the gentleman that he acted like? Was is just cause he was born in the south?
4. Why was Edward still in High School? After all that time and all that living wouldn't the whole school experience and teen angst just be annoying? Half of us can't stand high school while we are there, and some can't stand teenagers just a few years after leaving. Why keep going back? To better fit in? That doesn't require going to high school. Plenty of people are home schooled...and plenty of college students look like high school students, and at least in college there is an endless amount of subjects to be studied.
Now that said, I don't begrudge anyone liking or loving the series. But for me there are far better books out there that I'd recommend.
I agree that the new covers for classics are irritating but all too often, teenagers do fall for the "judge a book by the cover" ploy. Companies realized that the Twilight Saga drew in millions of readers in a very short amount of time and decided to emulate the covers to see if they could do the same. While I have not bought any of these newly covered classics, I wonder if more young people have. I think we have to remember while certain things may not appeal to us, they do appeal to others and marketing managers are taught to look at trends. All in all it's not a bad ploy. Classics are recovered all the time.
ReplyDeleteTeenagers are different in that they haven't found the love of their life yet, but for adults who have figured out that love isn't all rainbows and sunshine, characters who appear to be perfect are a much needed escape from reality that we all sometimes need. Also, if the idea of idealistic love causes some of the young people to look a little harder before they leap...maybe it's not all bad. There is definitely not a perfect relationship out there, and honestly...Edward and Bella's was far from perfect. I think everyone looks at how the story ended and sees perfection...why doesn't anyone recognize the actual struggle they had to get to that point?
Just a few opinions on the other side of the coin.
~Kristin