*This shall be an open discussion. I invite anyone on either side of the fence to state their views. also, I'm trying to spare feelings as best I can by discussing a certain behavior, not any certain persons.*
I was shopping at Winco a while back and I knew that I was facing a weekend with nothing to read and the library closed for a holiday, so I checked out what books they might have for me to buy. That's right, I said buy. As in purchase. Last time I did that - I don't even remember the last time I bought a book.
Aside from Danielle Steele, which isn't really my thing seeing as I get plenty turned on without having to read about other people doing it, the only thing they had that didn't involve religious stigmata, (also not my thing), was Twilight. I've read it before, of course, as have most females in America. It would be an easy read, finished quickly, just enough to get me through the weekend, so I bought it. But my feelings have not changed since I wrote this tidbit about freaks and are there really such things?
About a week after I finished reading Twilight, I saw a piece on an entertainment show late one night that reaffirmed my opinion that a huge portion of Twilight fans have taken their passion too far. There was a group of middle-aged women sitting on a couch, and they were telling an interviewer why they loved the series by Stephanie Meyer so much. One woman said, "It just makes you feel so...Happy!", and then she giggled like a 12 year-old. My thought was, "Her husband is a huge failure."
I could go off on a tangent right here about the possible reasons why more women are on anti-depressants in Utah than in any other state, but I shall refrain. Because I know a couple of people who are on them legitimately, as far as I know. I'm no doctor.
I understand the appeal of the book, to some extent. It is a good story. What I don't understand is public reaction to it. Everyone expects obsessive behavior from teenagers, but the Twilight series has become a major social fixation for women of more mature ages. Is it just the book? Is it the movie? Is it both? I've seen decals on people's car windows proclaiming love for Edward Cullen, I've seen women with teenage daughters of their own wearing t-shirts stating which team they are on; Edward or Jacob. I've heard of women who have vampire posters in their cubicles at work. And the list goes on... Is this type of feeling towards a book/movie healthy? Maybe there's nothing wrong with it?
When I was 16 or 17 I had a thing for Chris O'Donnell. I loved the Batman Forever movie so much that I talked my little brother into letting me have his Robin action figure, and I hung the plastic replica of my daydreams from the rear-view mirror in my Ford Aspire. He became a little soft and melty in the sun, but he spent a good three months in that sculpted pectoral shrine before he had shriveled like a metallic prune. So I'm not saying that I've never been a party to the behavior we're discussing, but I was much younger then. Currently, I do have a conceivably unhealthy affection for Willy Wonka . Both the wisdom of his imaginary person and his candy products. But for the most part, I keep it to myself and only think of it when I'm trying to decide between Nerds and Twizzlers at the grocery store.
For another example, the Harry Potter series also created a flurry of crazed fans...but it's not the same thing, I suppose. Is it because Harry Potter doesn't contain much romance? What exactly is the difference? Are there more examples of this kind of social phenomenon?
What I really want to know is this: Why is there so much hysteria over this book series? Yeah, it's an entertaining story, but what is the deal beyond that? Is it lust for the characters? Is it a secret wish that a reader could switch lives with the fictional heroine? An escape from real life that one is reluctant to leave? There are lots of amazing books out in the world, but I don't know of anyone so flustered and passionate about Shakespeare or Tolstoy pieces that it consumes a piece of their identity. I find myself perplexed by this behavior.
Theories? Thoughts?
Whoa, I'm sorry, I had no idea I wrote that much! I'll shut up now.
ReplyDeleteI've actually kind of wondered the same thing. I know why I love the books. I love a lot of books, and they tend to be very emotional for me. I go so far into the imagination of it that I feel exactly what they are feeling, and I can be emotional about it for a couple days afterward even. There have been times when I finish a good book and am sad that it's over, and I pine over "missing" the characters like they were real people that had gone away. For this same reason, there are some books that I won't read again because of how emotional or sad or upset they made me.
ReplyDeleteSo one theory could be that the people who get so wrapped up in this kind of thing have the same feelings, but they have a hard time finding that kind of emotion, or attachment, or love, or excitement in their real lives. Another thing I have thought of, and this might be kind of preachy, but it could be one of those things put out there for us to choose: are we going to indulge in spending all of our time on an obsession, or have we learned self-control enough to force ourselves to have moderation and spend most of our time doing worthwhile things?
The first time I read the Twilight books, I mentioned to my MIL that I couldn't put them down and hadn't hardly done anything else in days. She got rather disgusted with me and commented that why couldn't we read the scriptures with that much gusto and spend that much time on them. My answer is this: obviously, I can't spend that much time reading anything, no matter what it is, on a consistent basis. Because it is who I am and what I love, I tend to get lost in a book like that every so often, maybe once a year? And there have been times in the past when I have read the scritpures that much, and spent much of my time doing so. But... moderation in ALL things, right?
One thing I have learned though: for reasons I can't explain, these books do have a tighter, more emotional hold on me than ony other (novel) I have found. So I know now my limits. I will never again read the first two-thirds of New Moon, because I cry for days. The way Bella's pain is described just resonates with me, and I feel it deeply. And I know I will read them again sometime, but I have to time it right, because I know I will be depressed when it's all over and I have none left to read!
Oh dear. I just lost the longest comment ever written.
ReplyDeleteOnce I pick myself up off the floor, I will see if I can write it again.
Having not read the books, I am probably not qualified for comment, but I am married to someone who has read (and liked) the books. She sees it however as what it is - a well written thought out fantacy / romance / adventure. With 3 delicious characters. I admit I definately liked the second movie better than the first, but i thought it was kind of ho hum as well. As for the fanatics - I guess all of the guys in the 70s and again in the early 2000's with the Star Wars saga were kind of freakish as well. As for me - "I am a Hobbit!". Middle earth is REAL. Anyone want to disagree?
ReplyDeleteOkay - attempt #2 (a summary anyway):
ReplyDeleteI read all the books. I can't say I enjoyed the writing at all. I thought it was pretty amature. But the story, well, it's a very good story.
Here's my spin on the fanatics(I am mostly addressing the middle-aged married women fanatics here, not the teenage girls who are prone to obsession over any little thing):
1) This is the perfect love story for many women. A young girl is wanted beyond any other need by not just one, but TWO seemingly perfect men. She gets to choose her mate between two candidates who most people would never even get the chance to know, let alone be romantically involved with.
2) This story takes place in a much easier world. Sure, there are conflicts, but none of them involve financial issues, job losses, foreclosures, broken down appliances, problems with children, or any of the other worries that plague women these days.
3) There is passion in this story on a level and with a consistency that rarely occurs and could never last in a normal, real world relationship.
4) All ends happily and no one really gets hurt.
I have heard of many happily married and in love women reading these books and comparing their husbands to Edward - causing their marriage to flounder. Let's face it, not many men who have been married for 15-20 years and are concerned with the daily affairs of life and providing for his family can hold a candle to these books in the romance department.
Perhaps it's a sign that we have let the romance go in our relationships. But it does make a very interesting case in social studies. :)
I think the whole Edward vs Jacob thing is goofey. IT IS FICTION. Get a life, be compassionate about something that matters. Volunteer in a womens shelter, go rock a baby in an ICU, go to a high school and help troubled teens. Enjoy the book, move on. Life is so much more important than FANTASY.
ReplyDeleteHow about them toes!