Ok, so people ask me and tease me all the time about liking Twilight. i always respond that my reasons for liking the series are not the typical. Finally, i'm going to attempt to explain myself. first, let me share some conclusions i've come to about why most Twilight fans are fans.
In my mind there are 2 categories: 1: the preteen/teenage fan (and a few women my age that share this reasoning too) who loves the fairy tale and dreams of this flawless, perfect, and for most, unattainable love that comes so young for Bella. They hope that the fantasy can come true for them.Pluss there are pretty boys to look at. 2: the Twi-moms-( if you are one, please don't be offended by my generalization- this is just what i have observed) who love it because they are at a point in their lives where reality is very very real and in many cases, far from a fairy tale romantically. for them, Twilight is an escape back into the fantasy of love they dreamed of when they were young. Plus, there are pretty boys to look at.
I believe that in many cases entertainment is what we bring to it. i'll get into what i bring to it in a minute, but first, let me illustrate what i mean- and you can sontrast the following view with my own. i have a friend who has some major issues with wilight because of her own life experience and relational past. she was in an abusive controlling relationship, so the actions that i see in Edward as protective and caring, if slightly paranoid at times, she sees as darker- manipulative and controlling. she has been treated this way by someone who was just awful to her, so that's what she gets out of it and i understand that. but it's her opinion, just like the following is mine, based on my relational experience.
Ok, so i tell people i like Twilight because it bears many many similarities to my own story of young love and marriage. they often respond with an eyeroll and one of 2 questions: "oh, so Scott is a Vampire?" or "Oh, does Scott Sparkle?" and i get exasperated. no, he is not a Vampire, he does not sparkle, no my guy best friend when i was young was not a werewolf, my life has never been in danger from other people like scott... yadda yadda. but here are some notes i took off the top of my head this morning to illustrate what i mean:
Twilight
-physical similarity to Bella
-age similarity
-clumsy
-new girl in town
-not great relationship when we first met-but strangely drawn to him-roller coaster friendship phase- never sure he even liked me much till ge told me he loved me.
-he is frustrated by my clumsiness
-my dad is like Charlie-not super expressive but protective and loves me to bits- was never entirely sure of what to make of us
-his family larger and very different from mine, but very accepting, loving, embracing-I fit right in.
-he is a musician.wrote me a song on piano
-met a guy around the same time who I became close friends with-who was also a possible romantic interest who "made sense" for me, but I just didn't feel as strongly about him.
-Bella and I love the same books-particularly Austen.
-Scott and my physical relationship very similar-intense but chaste and abstinent
-he's always made me feel I'm the only woman he notices.
-I've never understood why he loves me-he feels so above me, and it boggles my mind he'd want me. In the beginning this made me constantly think he'd get tired of me, or wake up and realize he was too good for me.
-Debussy-particularly Clair de lune.
-he likes hiking. I'm far too clumsy.
-we went to prom together.
New moon-
-it was Scott's family that threw my 18th Bday party.
- Scott broke up with me at one point "for my own Good" I was a disaster the entire time we were broken up. Just as bad as Bella. Truly. During this time, my best guy friend was my rock- I knew he had feelings for me, but I only wanted Scott back. Fortunately, unlike Jacob, my friend respected this. When Scott and I got back together it was even better than before.
Eclipse:
-Scott and I got engaged at 18
-I am, like Bella, the more physically aggressive one.
Breaking Dawn
-got married very young, against all the odds and people questioning whether it was too soon.
-wedding night chapter very similar to our wedding night-esp with Bella feeling totally lost as to how things would go. Literally had the same thoughts as her.
-being married was immediately right and natural.
This is by no means a complete list, and if i read the books through and took notes i'm certain i could come up with a few hundred more, including quotes and moments, but these examples serve to illustrate the reason i love twilight. for me it reminds me that sometimes fairy tales do happen, and while my relationship isn't perfect (really, neither was Edward and Bella's- they fought often!) i'm incredibly happy in it and i love remembering where we came from. so there. :-)
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1 comment:
Thank you for sharing your explanation of your love of "Twilight". I've had an experience like that before. I watch the movie "Phenomenon" almost every time it is on because the relationship between John Travolta's character and Forrest Whitaker's character reminds me of my husband's relationship with his best friend. It is less "frat boy" and more caring than you usually see between two male friends on screen.
Perhaps Meyer had a relationship like yours and that's why she was able to write the Twilight books without a smirk.
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