November 25, 2008
Your Thoughts on Twilight
I’ve heard really mixed reviews. The people who don’t like the book, hated the movie. The people who loved the book, loved the movie.
I only read the first book. And while I understand that people have some really good reasons grounded in feminism as to why they think Twilight is sexist, I still enjoyed that first book. I’d like to find out more about the ways that this book is looked at as sexist, but it seems that it’s the later books that get that way more than this first one.
Any way, I’m interested in what your thoughts are on this as well as if you saw the movie and if you thought it was good.
One thing that had to be good though: the bad guys. I mean, come on. They were pretty scary in the book.
Are they scary in the movie? Oh, and how was Charlie? And how was the small town depicted? And Edward? Was he in CGI or did have human flaws?
QUICK THOUGHT: I just posted this as a myspace bulletin and we got 15 comments in one hour’s time. Click below to read those comments which are pretty diverse. Please add your thoughts by posting a comment here on the blog. Please remember to be respectful!
Comment:
The series is horribly sexists. Not that Meyers has an obligation to write only stories with a strong female protaginist, but parents need to tell their daughters that Bella is not someone they should look up to. But I enjoyed the movie for what it was…a movie based on a book. And of the series, Twilight is by far my favorite book. The only two things that bothered me immensely were the make up (I know they’re vampires and supposed to be pale, but Carlisle and Japser just looked ridiculous to the point that it was distracting.) and the giant flaming plot hole leading up to the climax. The book had her leave Alice and Jasper at the airport for a reason and they just didn’t address it in the movie. I just couldn’t get past that hole.
Comment:
i think some people forget to draw the line between being chivalrous and being sexist. Twilight is definitly the first. -Delete-
Comment:
I read the books and saw the movie and I loved them both. I really think they hit the key points in the movie! Charlie is HILARIOUS in the movie, he’s slightly different than his book personality, but only with Jacobs dad (spaces on his name). The scary guys were awesome! I think how they portrayed the three vampires was awesome! The small town seemed like a small town to me, although the school is one big school rather than a few buildings here and there, but that’s okay to me. Edward was AWESOME as well! Robert Pattison did an awesome job and I don’t know the different between CGI and not CGI lol but when his skin had to sparkle, it did. Oh my favorite scene was the baseball scene hands down! And I’m not sure I really see the big deal with the feminism in the book, it’s a girl falling in love with a vampire, I’m not sure how its sexist personally. The movie was awesome and you should soo go and see it!
Comment:
I enjoyed the books (I’ve only read the first two in the series) and the movie! I don’t think it is sexist at all. Not every female character written has to be some strong role model…that’s not how life is. I haven’t read the last two books, but maybe Bella learns and grows stronger. I do agree the books are still better than the movie. I can’t recall ever seeing a movie adaptation that I liked better than the books. I went in the theatre just happy to see the characters come to life. I wasn’t expecting mind blowing special effects from such a low budget film. I also didn’t expect a script that matched the books exactly. That would be kinda silly since the script isn’t done by the author but a professional script writer. So you have to understand that the story is in the hands of a different creative mind that will put their own style in it. Alot of people bitched about not liking the actors picked for various roles… I didn’t see any major problems with the choices. Even though the book gives character descriptions keep in mind that every reader can still picture a character differetly…
Comment:
Everyone says the books are sexist, but that is because chivalry is dead and whenever a rare occurrence is seen people call it sexist. The movie was good, but I don’t like how fast everything seemed to pass by and the movie felt quite hollow compared to the book, but I understand that there was so much they couldn’t fit in. Charlie was really great, he was quite funny and I wish my dad was more like his character. The best part is that they don’t make Bella seem like such a whiney idiot that the books did, that is the one thing I despise about the books.
Comment:
I’m a fan of the books but I was not overly impressed with the movie. I think they camped it up way too much and the effects were not that great. It sort of felt more like a made for TV movie. I did think they had the right actors for the characters though. I especially liked the interaction between Bella and Charlie.
Comment:
Twilight made harry Potter get held back 6 months! :O :[
Comment:
I read the books and I think they are poorly written (I'm a creative Writing major), but what kept me reading was the plot, I wanted to know what was going to happen next. It's hard for me to judge the movie since I knew what was going on, unlike someone with no preconceived notions... So from my pov the movie was better than the book, the actors were good except the girl who played Bella. I don't think the entire movie was suppose to be so serious and there were many funny/goof parts to laugh at. Yes it was a rushed version of the book, but most book to movies are because of time constraints.
Comment:
This series is massively sexist. Bella is so weak and dependent on everyone up until the last book; she’s a horrid role model for young women. I understand that these books are incredibly addicting, but honestly, they're horribly written and the plot is equal to that of a trashy romance novel. It sickens me that people would even compare the Twilight series to Harry Potter. I mean, JK Rowling managed to put all of this hidden meaning and mystery into her work, while Meyer leaves the words as empty as the plot. I wrote an article about this for my school newspaper, so I have a pretty solid opinion. Sorry for the rant. :] -Delete-
Comment:
i loved the books, but i was a bit disappointed in the movie. the relationship between edward and bella seemed really strained, almost painful. i couldn’t really tell that they loved each other, just that they wanted each other, which is NOT love. physical attraction is a big part of a relationship, but it isn’t everything, and that’s what it seemed like to me… like the only reason bella and edward loved each other was because they were so insanely attracted to each other. the rest of the movie was fine, but considering that the whole story is about edward and bella’s relationship, i didn’t really enjoy it…
Comment:
that movie was terrible. but almost in a funny way because it was SO bad. the acting was awful! yes, charlie and billy did a good job. jacob was totally uncovincing, i hope they find a bigger actor to play him later. and edward was a lot more awkward in the movie. and jasper was really funny to watch. the bad guys were alright but yes, the movie was god-awful. not saying i dont recommend watching it, please do if you can get a good laugh out of bad movies, i know i can!
Comment:
The movie was terrible. And I loved the book. I just feel it left out little parts that meant a lot to the readers. I disliked most of the cast, except for the supporting cast. They were so great! But yeah, if you see the movie with high expectations, you’ll more than likely be let down.
Comment:
The bad guys (James, Laurent, and Victoria) we’re amazing. haha. Charlie, he was hilarious hands down. Him and Billy were just too great for words. 
I personally liked the movie but there are a few things thats irked me but than again people have to understand that its not going to be exactly like the book. There was some funny parts, parts that made you go ‘awwww’, and than the more intense scenes. I’ve seen it twice now and I plan on going back to see it. Oh and as for Edward I thought that he had human flaws. He wasn’t just this happy go lucky oh im a vampire guy. He got upset he reacted to things, he had his faults. I think Rob did an amazing job as him. But all in all, I enjoyed it alot. -Delete-
Comment:
i loveee the books and thought the movie was preety bad, it had it moments though. like the baseball scene, it was awesome and the part when bella and edward arrive to school and he’s wearing the ray-bans, that was awesome to. i kinda knew it was gonna suck, so i wasn’t to dissapointed, so i guess that’s the good thing about not having high expectations. -Delete-
Comment:
i thought overall the book was better. i mean they left a lot of the good parts out from the book of course like every movie would. i don’t know but i think there were a lot of parts in the movie to my opinion that were awkward. but i still love how it was. i only hope that the second movie that they might make is better than the first one. i think overall they could have done it better.
Nic
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I enjoyed the book, keeping in mind the audience it was written for was slightly younger than me. As for the movie, I didn’t set my expectations too high and as a result I enjoyed it. The chemistry between Edward and Bella was good, the actor who played Charlie was great. Such a perfect flustered father! On the other hand the makeup job on the Cullens was horrible and poor Edward looked like he’d been doused with craft glue and sparkles for the ‘sunlight’ scene.
Christie
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I haven’t seen the movie yet (it doesn’t come out in the UK for a few weeks), but I have read the books. Taken with a grain of salt the series is quite enjoyable to read. It’s a compelling story – you have to know what happens next. The writing style is by no means extraordinary, but for the most part it’s fun guilty pleasure reading! As for it’s potential as sexist, I repeat that the books need to be taken with a grain of salt. It’s a teenage vampire romance – of course it’s going to feature a damsel in distress who’s madly in love with some dangerous creature, etc, etc, but it’s not a book written to model one’s life after.
kimmer
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I agree with Nic…I had very low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. You could tell it was no huge budget blockbuster but still a pretty good movie. As others have said before me, the movie version of a book just isn’t as good as the book. Kristen Stewart (Bella) is not a very good actress but she pulled it off ok (only a few stops that I laughed when I wasn’t supposed to). I really like Rob Pattinson (Edward) so I thought he did a great job. The bad guys were pretty scary (I thought James was dead-on from the book), but Vitoria just didn’t do it for me, not wild enough looking.
The make-up was for sure an issue, with a few of the Cullens looking quite comical. The sparkle scene was interesting but really, how could you make a guy sparkle and make it look real?? Over-all I give it a thumbs up. As for the book series, I enjoy them as a fantasy vampire novel, not as a self-help, how to be in a relationship kind of book. I don’t think they’re sexist but that’s just IMO.
Shelly
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I really enjoyed the movie. It was (in my opinion) very similar to the book, which I liked about it. There were some things that were annoying/awkward/strange, but overall it was pretty well done.
@CGI/makeup: I didn’t think they did this too well. Sure, the Cullens were pale, but Bella was pretty much equally pale; yes, she IS supposed to be pale, but the Cullens weren’t remarkably different. I also didn’t like the effects when Edward was in the sunlight, it sort of looked like he had scales and just wasn’t anything like the way I’d imagined.
@Forks: I think Charlie and Billy were portrayed very well; personally, Jacob is one of my favorite characters, but I didn’t like him as much in the movie (but that could just be because I didn’t like the way he looked). And Forks was great, the school and everything was perfect.
@Lawrence, James, Victoria: I think they were awesome. They were pretty scary, especially the scene at the end in the ballet studio with James. And the foreshadowing with Victoria was great.
Molly
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I, like a few others, set myself up for a whole lot of disappointment when I saw the movie, and as such, it wasn’t too bad. Admittedly, some of the scenes were completely awkward, and the acting slackened in these instances. And I agree that the makeup could have been done better on the vampires.
I absolutely loved James, Laurent and Victoria. Probably some of the best acting in the entire film. Charlie and Bella’s mom were also done quite well.
The first book isn’t really that sexist, but Bella does become rather…lame, I guess, and doesn’t support the strength that a woman can hold in a relationship (or in her life). Maybe it’s because her every thought is somehow about Edward, and she never does or thinks anything worthwhile unless it’s with him or about him.
Karen
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So I saw the movie at midnight. In retrospect, I may have liked it more if I had seen it when i was, you know, awake.
As an actual movie…it was okay. It wasn’t as engaging or as deep as I wanted it to be, and there was a LOT of the main plot points (like the power of their love) left up to cryptic stares across the room. (Which seemed odd, especially since there was a pretty heavy use of voiceovers).
The baseball scene was fantastic. And the villains were definitely cool. The action scenes were incredible. But the rest (the emotional parts) seemed a little bit forced.
On the sexism question… the issues I had with the book I also had with the movie. Bella makes a COMPLETE personality change just because of a boy. I don’t know if that’s sexist or just commentary on love – because I’m pretty sure boys/men are capable of that too (and do act that way).
But at the same time, Edward ALSO makes a lot of changes because he falls in love with a girl. I mean, he doesn’t have a lot of personality to start with as written in my opinion – but he is also willing to drop everything for her, just as she is for him. He’s just immortal so the stakes are lower.
Sexist? Less so in Twilight, I think.
Maggie Holt
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I am a little hesitant to write anything…
But I will.
I have not seen the movie. I have no plans to see the movie. I have no incentive to see the movie.
I have only read the first two novels. I read Twilight, and thought, “Wow! This is really good!” A month or so later, I read the second, after my sisters (and a couple friends) urged me to. I read it, and I hated it. After reading that second book, I had no intentions whatsoever of reading the next books.
No matter how much I may have enjoyed the first novel, the second one was a deal breaker for me. I’ve heard many times, “But Maggie, the third is SOOOO much better! I know you’ll love it!”
Sorry. I just don’t want to. If the first book was the besst (which is the case that I hear most often), then I have no reason to continue reading. I have gotten all that I can out of it.
Excuse me while I go search for my new British edition of Deathly Hallows. I must scrutinize it, since I know there are things I did not gain in the first or second reading.
Brenna
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Like others, I went in with very low expectations and ended up liking it a whole lot. I read the first book, hated it, read New Moon in a day, got addicted, bought and read Eclipse the next day, and loved it, and spent the next few months waiting and waiting for more. Then…I read Breaking Dawn, and hated the whole thing again.
So from someone who hated the first book, I think they did a better job in the movie. I really like Kristen Stewart and think she did a good job with Bella. I liked the general personality that movie Bella gave off more than book Bella. Robert Pattinson made me like Edward, who in the books I hate. The movie had some funny parts and I think they handled the awkward Bella/Jacob relationship well. But like in the book, the overall villian thing was like, “meh…”
I think it’s because the story isn’t about vampire villains or the Volturi…its about Bella and her relationships. The other stuff always felt forced to me.
Tita
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I really liked the books… Like Nic, I know they are geared towards younger people but I did like them. As for them being sexist, I could not agree more. Edward has this “I know what’s best for you attitude” while Bella is all “OMG! I love you! Make me a vampire!” The only thing is that I really believe they should have been written from Edward’s perspective (I read the first chapters of Midnight Sun and found them a LOT more interesting that Twilight).
The movie was OK. I am not particularly displeased with it, but I think it could have been better. I did like Charlie a lot (even if he’s a bit different from the book). Carlisle was a disappointment though – I thought he would be… Hotter =P
My hubby truly disliked it, but then again, he’s not into that type of movies that much.
Christina
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Twilight is an entertaining teen romance romp, but Twilight is sexist and Bella is not a good role model (though Alice, for the most part, is), and I can list specific examples.
1- Girls should have role models that can move on with their lives and not become SUICIDAL when their boyfriends leave them. The excuse the book provides for Bella’s risky behavior is that she can “hear Edward’s voice” when in dangerous situations. So she becomes irrational when her man isn’t around? She stops socializing healthily with her friends? Lives only off of her memories for him? Draw a line between romantic pining and pathetic moping, please. Bella is no Ginny Weasley, to be sure.
2- The series portrays the boys (Edward and Jacob) as being out of control in their pursuit of Bella’s affections – call it “chivalry” if you want, ladies, but to me modern chivalry should be based on mutual respect and honor, not two sex-charged bucks charging each other with their antlers ramming into each other in the forest over a doe who DOES NOT appreciate their anger towards each other. Perhaps Meyer believes she has demonstrated that the boys were wrong in their actions, but I believe the way the book is written romanticizes this war-of-the-lovers scenario beyond what it should be.
That’s merely two examples, but the first example propels the entire first half of the 2nd book and the second example propels the entire 3rd book. I would provide more but on that basis alone I would argue the books are significantly sexist. A few minor characters are fantastic role models (Carlisle, Alice) but the protagonists are not. Plus, the book conveniently includes gorgeous, breathtaking characters (all the vampires) that perpetuate beauty stereotypes. That in itself isn’t enough to condemn a book since character counts, but I’ve already explained character issues in the previous paragraphs.
Stephanie
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OK. So everyone saying that it’s sexist… that’s part of Bella’s character. She’s not supposed to be a role model, I mean, Hellooo would you want your daughter looking up to someone who is falling in love with an uberdangerous vampire?? But anyway. Just had to get that one out.
Anywho, I thought the movie was fantastic. I always separate movies from books [that's why the HP series never bummed me out], but without reading the book you would have no clue what was going on. Things were insanely rushed, except for the part where Bella and Edward are in the woods and she tells him she knows what he is and that she’s not scared. That took FOREVER.
Laurent and James were AMAZING. I didn’t really like Victoria, but that might be because I superdisliked the character in the books…. But she didn’t even have any lines that I remember… James only had a few… I was sad. But that’s how it worked best, I assume.
I wouldn’t change it, to be perfectly honest. It was a great interpretation of the novel, I think. There could have been more emphasis on different things, or something like that, but the way it was done was great. I loved the movie a lot. I would definitely recommend it, if you’ve read the books. If not… you might be confused.
:]
Zareen
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I reeeely like the twilight series (of course not as much as HP but STILL its really good). But I was really disappointed by the movie. As some other people mentioned, if you don’t read the book, then you won’t get anything in the movie. Everything was really rushed and they didn’t explain half the stuff. Also, Edward didn’t look “sparkly” in the foresty scene…and that was one of my favorite scenes in the book…*sigh* Laurent looked really messed up too. So, basically, the movie was nothing like the book but the book is awesome.
Samantha
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I love the books, not because they are great literature, but because they have a great plot that keeps me interested, and characters I can get attached to. Overall I thought the movie was great. In my opinion it was very true to the book, as much as it could be anyway when boiling down such a long book into 2 hours. I was sad a lot of the back story of the Cullens (Carlisle in particular) was cut out, but I expected that. I figured that they would boil it down to the main story between Edward and Bella, and then the hunt with James. The things that they did change didn’t bother me at all, and I even loved the scene they added in with the Cullens cooking, even though it wasn’t actually in the book it was still very true to the characters. Overall I was just really glad to see these characters come to life on the big screen.
As for the books being sexist, I don’t really see it that way. I can understand what would make some people say that, especially perhaps in New Moon and Eclipse. I guess it just depends on how each individual person interprets the character. I see Bella as someone who is generally a very strong person, she grew up taking care of her mom, she never really cares that much about what other kids at school think of her, and even though she does have her moments of weakness around Edward, she still stands up to him when she feels strongly about something. It’s like there is all this pressure on women, that if you’re not a strong, dominating, force of nature, then you’re just weak and going to get walked all over. There is a happy medium, and there is a time and place for everything. What’s so wrong with a guy being a little chivalrous now and then?
And in response to someone who mentioned how Jacob and Edward were like two bucks charging at each other in the woods, I think that is a part of the “animalistic” nature of their characters. Jacob is half wolf, and Edward is always described as having animal like features when he’s angry, he’s a predator. The high school guys on the other hand, who are just human, are completely normal in their pursuit of Bella (asking her to prom, carrying her books, Mike being on her team in volleyball even though she’s terrible, etc…). I think there is purposely a strong distinction drawn there between the two groups of guys.
Christine
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wow… I’m really impressed. Usually when Harry Potter and Twilight are used in the same sentence (or Twilight is mentioned on a Harry Potter website or vice versa) wars begin to break out. This is so respectful.
The only thing I have to add is that I really like Harry Potter and Twilight. And I’m glad that even though I couldn’t see HBP then, I was able to see another great movie. 
j
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What is the big deal about the “teeny bopper” flick Twilight. I am so sick of hearing about this movie. Went to see it and didn’t think anything of it. It was ok…not like harry potter flicks. So they say, GET A LIFE to all the 39, 40s and over women who walk around buying posters to hang in their bedrooms and buy Team Edward shirts! Get a life and gimme a break!