My Beef With Twilight

Anyone who knows me, also knew that this one was coming eventually. I am glad I decided to wait. With the release of the newest installment of the Twilight series hitting theaters at midnight tonight, I decided it might be time for me to share exactly why I dislike Twilight so much.

Now, for those of you who don't know what the Twlight series is, well, never too late to learn I suppose. Twilight is a series of books written by Stephanie Meyer, about a girl who falls in love with a vampire. It has also recently been made into a movie series. Doesn't sound so bad right?

Now, I'm sure I'll receive the same response that I always do from Twilight fans and supporters: "You're just jealous!"

And, quite frankly, I'll be one of the first to admit, I am. Though that isn't the primary reason I hate Twilight. That will come later. So lets start the list shall we?

Reason #6: I am indeed, jealous.
- Ok, lets be honest about this one. Just about every guy who knows what the Twilight series is, and more importantly, how many girls like it, is jealous of the male characters in Twilight. They are created to be some of the most attractive guys a mind can imagine. Particularly Edward and Jacob. And while this one barely makes the list, I have to include it because it is true. Though you won't catch me admitting it a second time. The fact of the matter here is, these characters are IMAGINARY. And in that sense, a person can make them as appealing or unappealing as they deem necessary. That said, I could write a book about the most attractive girl I can imagine, adapt it to the big screen, get the most attractive actress to play her, and guys will be going crazy for my story in no time. In essence, Twilight has done just this to girls. So, while I am slightly jealous, it is all unrealistic anyway. That is a fact that far too many people need to realize. I have said it here time and time again... if you are willing to obsess over looks and give in to selfish bodily desires, then you cannot grasp the concept of true love. There are so many girls out there who obsess over the looks of Edward and Jacob, and in fact go to the movies just to see these guys take their shirts off. In the end, while it would indeed be nice to have looks like that, I am also able to realize what most others don't. A life like that is hollow, and devoid of true love. Because true love cannot be based on looks.

Reason #5: Twilight ruined vampires.
- Yes, this is indeed one of the most cliched arguments against the Twilight series. However, for those of you about to close the page because you aren't interested in hearing this all over again, notice that it is only NUMBER FIVE on my list. The best (and most original) reasons are yet to come. Anyways, I couldn't argue this point at all. Vampires were once the stars of horror films. Scary beyond all reason and possessing otherworldly powers, vampires were once actually quite terrifying. They also had certain weaknesses that made them possible to defeat, yet plenty of strengths that made defeating them difficult. And yes, here it comes... Last I checked, they couldn't go out in the sunlight. Nor did they sparkle when they did so. Nope. They melted. Yes, it is a highly cliched argument, but that doesn't make it any less valid. I mean, seriously... what happened to the real vampires? Last I checked, it was every person's worst nightmare to have a vampire show up on their windowsill. Not their greatest dream. Other than un-scarifying them, Twilight had a lot of other negative effects. Like I mentioned earlier, what happened to the sunlight thing? And what about garlic and stakes? As far as I've seen, the Twilight series fails to include any of this. Not only that, but it goes to absolutely ridiculous means to sidestep them, especially in the sunlight case. And, since when did all vampires become attractive teenagers? From what I can tell, the Twilight series has started a chain reaction that has transformed vampires for the worse. Call me old fashioned but... I liked it better when vampires were scary.

Reason #4: Its not about the Writer... its about the Fans.
- If I were like many other anti-twilight supporters, this is about where I would start ranting about Stephanie Meyer's horrible writing style. But I'll refrain. I recognize that no authors are exactly the same, and as such, each has their own writing style. Writing this blog now, I recognize that my own writing style is unique. And not everyone will like it. With that said, I'm not going to criticize the series over the writing style used to create it. I'm also not going to bash the fact that it is obviously one big fantasy dreamed up by Stephanie Meyer, in which, the main character, Bella, is actually symbolizing Stephanie herself. It is ok to enjoy a book or movie and become a fan of it. It is entirely different when one develops an obsession with it. The fact of the matter is, it is all IMAGINARY. So, take my word for it and don't let it rule your life.

Reason #3: Bella is always depressed.
- I can understand character originality. What I can't understand, is when a book/movie goes to such lengths to promote such a bleak outlook on life. The entire series begins with Bella moving to Forks, Washington. She is completely depressed by the idea, which was her own idea to begin with! Does that make any sense at all? Not only that, but when she does fall in love, the story makes no attempt to get brighter. In fact, she finds a way to look down on just about everything that happens. Even after he life should have turned around. As far as I'm concerned, people like this do actually exist. Not only that, but they still haven't figured out that life could be much worse. They could have cancer, or live every day barely knowing if they'll find another meal. They could have to live through the winter with only a box and a couple of newspapers for warmth. As far as I'm concerned, Bella is in none of these situations, and neither are most of the people who act like her. Compared to those, I don't think moving to Forks is such a bad thing. So if you think your life is bad, just remember... there is always someone out there who has it worse. And it would help if she actually smiled a bit. Just saying.

Reason #2: Bella rejects everyone and appreciates no one.
- Now we're starting to get really serious. And this is indeed the second biggest reason I dislike and disagree with the Twilight series. I think the title here says it all. But as usual, I'm going to go a bit more into depth. The first thing I'm talking about here, is the fact that Bella rejects some of the other guys vying to win her heart. Now, when anyone has multiple people who are interested in them, it can be a difficult situation. However, the fact that she rejects the ones that are actually willing to make an effort for the one that could really care less... now that makes my case right there. And I should be quick to point out that, I'm sure she did have reasons for pushing them away. But, from what I can tell, she should have had plenty of reasons to push Edward away too. So why didn't she? I mean, its not like he cared or anything. I have a couple of examples to go along with this, although it has been a long time since I read the first book, so bear with me. I recall that one of her friends took an interest in her, even going so far as to offer to carry her books for her and similar polite gestures. Yet, she simply wrote him off as annoying and silently hated him for trying too hard. This is actually similar to some real-life circumstances that I have covered in my blog before. For girls, it can often be about the thrill of the chase. This has been confirmed by dating experts (as little as that says), who say that a girl will often pursue a guy who cares less for her than others simply because it is more exciting to try and get a guy like that and keep him. I have already stated my opinion about that being just plain stupidity, and a course of action only taken by those who still have some growing up to do. But you see what I'm getting at there. Another example (just to make sure I'm not being unbiased): I also recall a school dance from the book, one that was supposed to be a "girls' choice" dance. A guy asked Bella whether or not she was going to ask him to said dance. Now, this, I can understand her disgust with. The unfortunate truth is, many guys are indeed arrogant like that, so her decision there, I can hardly argue with. Unfortunately, not all of the guys Bella meets are like that, and neither are all guys in real life. So I'm not letting her off the hook that easily. Aside from relationship issues, Bella also seems to hate everyone around her, with the exception of Edward. Whether that is her friends, her father, or just some random person she goes to school with, she always finds a way to hate other people. As you can guess, I don't exactly believe in this type of outlook. In my opinion, one should not hate other people unless given a really good reason to do so. Yet Bella can't seem to think positive when it comes to anything else either, so I suppose I should be surprised that she extends her terrible outlook on the world to people as well.

Reason #1: The love story is false.
- Everyone I have ever talked to that is a fan of the Twilight series always gives me the same argument: "The love story is amazing." I have to admit, when I was thinking about reading the book, I knew there was something out of place. When I finally did read it, my suspicions were confirmed. The love story is actually complete bogus. Not because it doesn't happen in real life, because, vampires aside, it does. The problem I have with it is that relationships formed the same way the relationship between Edward and Bella was, rarely ever represent true love. And what is this problem? If you haven't guessed it by now, perhaps you should read some of my older blog posts because... THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS BASED ON APPEARANCES. That's right. The relationship between Bella and Edward is based on nothing more than physical attributes and surface personality. For that reason, this makes number one on the list. And for those of you who want to argue, refer back to the first book, and all of those scenes where all Bella can do is stare at him and think about how gorgeous he looks. While everyone does this at some point in their lives, only the dumb and immature actually pursue a relationship based on it. And those that do usually end up in the gutter eventually. Granted, there are a LOT of people in the real word that do this. But as I said before, true love is not based on looks. And what about Edward? Well, he is doing it too, seeing as he only showed any interest in Bella to begin with simply because... she smells good. Hmmm... I don't know about you, but that seems like a really ridiculous way to judge a person. And for those of you who are still arguing that they did get to know each other before starting a relationship, give me a break. She barely knew him. At all. And in my opinion, that is a recipe for disaster in any relationship. A couple of other things should also be noted about their relationship. First, any guy who looks the way Bella describes Edward and Jacob would have a bunch of other girls crawling over each other to get a chance to date them. Therefore, Bella would probably draw the ire of a lot of other girls who wouldn't be too happy about the "outcast" getting him first. Instead, in the books and movies, they seem to care less. At least from what I've read. Second, any person with half a mind would know that someone who looks and acts like Edward does is probably nothing but trouble. Once again, while this same situation occurs very often in the real world, how could anybody paint a picture of true love when they know Edward reflects every aspect of a "bad boy," the likes of which I have pointed out in previous blog posts. The fact of the matter is, guys like that in real life rarely care about anyone. So for one of them to single out a girl and suddenly fall in love with her is completely preposterous. Possible, yes. Likely, no. And as such, I don't recommend falling in love with someone who doesn't have a good heart, and therefore reward them for not wanting to change for the better. True, everyone makes mistakes. However, to reward someone for continuing to make the same mistakes is the quickest way to lose sight of what is important.

In the end, I could go on and on about what I dislike about the Twilight series. I could probably go even further had I read past the first book. However, I found myself highly fed up with it, and therefore, I decided not to continue reading the series. Nor am I interested in seeing any of the movies.

The fact here is, it isn't so much what the story contains that bothers me. It is what the readers take away from the story. A book and movie series as popular as Twilight obviously influences a large number of people. And as such, the points I listed above, as well as many others, are perceived as truth by readers, whether they know it or not. Twilight continues to set the wrong standards on relationships in the minds of teens and young adults everywhere. So, in essence, I'm not slamming the story so much as those who are willing to believe that the picture of relationships that Twilight paints is completely accurate, and therefore, is something that they should model their own relationships after. And for those Twilight fans who disagree with me, be honest. I'm sure you have, at some point, considered your dream relationship to be just like that in Twilight. And as I have said, such a relationship can exist, but not the way it is portrayed in the books and movies. No, in order to find true love, one must be able to push aside the things that don't matter, such as looks, and get underneath all that to what really matters. The heart.

The Most Epic Wish Ever

I know it has been a few days since 11-11-11, and I would have posted earlier if I hadn't been so busy with school and work.

Anyways, I, like many others, chose to make a wish at both 11:11 times on that day. And I couldn't help but ask myself why.

First of all, what is a wish? I can be many things to many different people. To me, a wish is a deep desire that my heart has. One that I feel strongly enough that I'm willing to wish on a star, or a sunset, or in this case, a unique and symbolic date and time.

Of course, I often feel a bit childish for continuing to believe in wishes. But then, I began to think more about it. Obviously, making a wish such as I did on 11-11-11, I would have probably drawn the ridicule of certain people. Many would have others believe that wishes are childish and foolish. And that they have no effect on what happens in real life.

Either way, I'm not going to go around telling people that they do have an effect. I'm not really sure whether to believe they do or not. But I can't help but hold on to the childlike belief that they do indeed come true.

And even then, why wouldn't one want to keep that sort of childlike belief? While many people dismiss characteristics of children as largely un-adultlike, I can't help but disagree. Now, I'm not going to go around saying that acting like a child is not a bad thing. However, maintaining some childlike innocence is something that anyone and everyone should strive for. I mean, belief in such a small thing as wishes can give life a much deeper purpose.

I was encouraged even more by my friend's participation in my "wish ceremony," which really involved nothing more than writing a wish on a sheet of paper and burning it, in the hope that the smoke would carry the wishes skyward.

I had hoped to have come up with a bit more elaborate ceremony, but I suppose a lone wish alongside my best friend isn't such a bad thing either.
Even more encouraging was the aftermath. When I left my friend's house later in the evening, I had a chance to see a rare sight. The moon was ringed by a halo. You heard me right. When the conditions are just right, a ring of light will appear around the moon. I'm not going to ruin the moment by getting too scientific about it, but it was there. And it made me think... perhaps things might just be starting to turn in the right direction for me. Perhaps my ultimate wish will finally come true.

And what is that wish, you ask? Well, as always, I can't tell.