To be perfectly honest, I think literary critics are being far too harsh in their reviews of Twilight. Speaking as one who has read all of and been (operative word) religiously addicted to the series, I can tell you that they are approaching their opinions on it from entirely the wrong angle -- it would be like sitting down at a Little League game and yelling at snot-nosed Tommy Johnson when he pitched a ball; you don't go into it expecting the kid to be the next Nolan Ryan.
Such is the case with Twilight. It's a "twinkie" book -- utterly sweet and soul-satisfying crap. You don't waltz into McDonald's and rant about how the food is Play Kitchen plastic chock full of MSG -- yes, buttertart, we know that, and that's why we like it. There's nothing wrong with having and liking the occasional twinkie. Apparently, some people consider twinkies gourmet food and have integrated them as a staple of their diets, and that's where we get into trouble.
I think there are a lot of folks out there who need to admit that, for what it is, Twilight is among the best (which, albeit, isn't saying much). It's perfectly condensed and cleaned up modern vampire stories (a la HBO's True Blood) for a young adult audience. Yes, it's predictable; yes, its purple prose is prevalent to the point of vomit-worthy; and yes, it would be doing the literary world a favor to have it taken out and shot at dawn. But despite all that, it's the perfect twee book to take off the shelf if you want something impossible and fluffy (or impossibly fluffy) to get out of your head with.
Such is the case with Twilight. It's a "twinkie" book -- utterly sweet and soul-satisfying crap. You don't waltz into McDonald's and rant about how the food is Play Kitchen plastic chock full of MSG -- yes, buttertart, we know that, and that's why we like it. There's nothing wrong with having and liking the occasional twinkie. Apparently, some people consider twinkies gourmet food and have integrated them as a staple of their diets, and that's where we get into trouble.
I think there are a lot of folks out there who need to admit that, for what it is, Twilight is among the best (which, albeit, isn't saying much). It's perfectly condensed and cleaned up modern vampire stories (a la HBO's True Blood) for a young adult audience. Yes, it's predictable; yes, its purple prose is prevalent to the point of vomit-worthy; and yes, it would be doing the literary world a favor to have it taken out and shot at dawn. But despite all that, it's the perfect twee book to take off the shelf if you want something impossible and fluffy (or impossibly fluffy) to get out of your head with.
Y'know what, I agree with this. I admit to reading Jezebel pretty frequently and every time I think "oh feminism is dead" I see some gross example of misogyny (like the way some movies and TV shows casually suggest that if a girl doesn't want sex and you just force her she'll start liking it ... GAG). But for the most part, I think knee-jerk boy-hunting all-men-are-evil-trolls is just a way to hide behind insecurity. It is! Many boys are incredibly nice and open-minded! I have six brothers, and while my sister and I are definitely a lot tidier and cleaner than they are, my brothers are very open-minded, intelligent, sensitive, thoughtful people. Growing up around that much testosterone has only made me appreciate boys all the more.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love shaving my legs, experimenting with makeup ... I love the power and confidence I feel when I know an outfit is sexy. Feminism is a weird issue because it does have good points but can often be taken way too far by a militant minority (think, PETA) but, um, in summary, I like boys.
Um, yikes, the transition there made it sound as if my brothers made me appreciate looking sexy. THEY DID NOT. That's something I discovered when I was older, and not around my brothers.
ReplyDeleteIf nothing else, boys are wonderful to provide the balance that keeps us from becoming androgynous and asexual like the Drac "Jerry" in "Enemy Mine."
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