Feminism Is For Everyone

Sep 6, 2008,11:42 PM

the twilight craze

So I'm sitting here and surfing the internet (because I have nothing better to do) reading reviews on Amazon.com for Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Now, I've only read the first two and as such will only include details from Twilight and New Moon, so no spoilers please. (Even though I find these books less than stimulating I loathe spoilers because I feel compelled to finish the series.)

Anyway, moving on. I found the one-star reviews particularly interesting because they point out the painfully obvious flaws in the series that Edward-biased fan girls probably don't recognize in their sparkly haze of adoration. I'm not knocking their adoration for fictional characters by any means--mine comes in the form of Harry Potter. For those of you who have read at least the first two books, you know that Bella absolutely cannot function without Edward. In fact, she is so dependent on him for her happiness that college is Plan B if Edward won't turn her into a vampire so that she can spend the rest of her existence with him. Sure, it's great to be in love, but what kind of message does this subconsciously plant in the malleable minds of young girls?

It perpetuates the idea that it's okay to throw your life away for a boy. But it's not. Especially when you're barely 18 years old. You can't count on that relationship lasting forever when you have so much more to experience. It perpetuates the idea that you can't be independently happy without your man and if you can't be happy with your single self then you still have some growing to do.

While it's all fine and dandy to daydream about charming boyfriends like Edward Cullen who are perfect in every way, it should stay as a daydream if that means giving up your independence as a person. At least Edward realized that it was best for him to leave for Bella's best interests; he actually wants her to go to college and not make some rash decision to become a vampire.

Labels: books