Thursday, November 26, 2009

Completely un-"twitten" by Twilight

This week was marked by “Twihards” awaiting the premiere of New Moon, the latest movie installment of the ever-popular Twilight book series.

Twilight is unarguably the most influential “literature” on the market for teen girls today. I understand that fantasy is a dominant trait in youth fiction’s genre, but is this the kind of example that should be showcased?

The saga: Bella meets vampire Edward and becomes completely smitten with him. Bella and Edward breakup (gasp) and Bella slips into depression, considering suicide. Finally, Bella decides that in order to be with her true love, she must become a vampire, forever changing herself.

The books give an unrealistic expectation for love and no earthly male can live up to Edward’s standards. Bella portrays a classic ‘damsel-in-distress’ role, fully dependent on her better half. She is an example to girls that they are nothing without their man—something I'm sure all parents dream about for their daughters.

In addition to teaching girls how to pine for their boyfriends and turn over their souls, Twilight's success is a slap in the face to authors who have actually earned their place among the best-selling lists.

I hope the excessive popularity of all things Twilight will end before its lingo moves from Urban Dictionary to Merriam-Webster.

Today's verdict: People have taken the term "fan" and morphed into something that Merriam-Webster never saw coming.

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