Welcome to "Morning Hangover" -- an excellent way to start your day with the crew at TheFeed...no matter what you're recovering from. Every morning you'll hear musings from two of TheFeed's editors and have the chance to share your thoughts on what's going on in the gaming world. So buckle up, thank Highfather it's Friday, and keep reading!
Raymond Padilla: I want all of you to know, that I'm writing today's entry for your own good. You see, after reading your replies to Patrick in yesterday's Morning Hangover, I was under the impression that most of you hated Twilight. Yet the live blog for the Summit Entertainment Comic-Con 09 panel -- featuring Twilight -- was immensely popular. I was actually shocked by the numbers it did. While I can't share the exact figures, I assure you that it was huge -- I'm talking as-big-as-some-E3-press-conferences huge! So while I'm sure that some of you truly despite Twilight, I'm betting that some of you pretend to hate it, but secretly enjoy it. Today, I'm asking you to do one of two things. Either describe -- in great detail -- why Twilight disgusts you or come out of your Twilight closet.
(On a related note, yesterday G4tv.com's Billy Berghammer told me that he liked Twilight. Thankfully, I wasn't drinking anything at the time.)
Patrick Klepek: Oh, Comic Con. There's so much to love, so much to hate. My second year at Comic-Con has been an exhausting but satisfying trip so far. I haven't been able to check out or read up on any of the movie or TV-related panels, but when your job requires you to write stories about video games who brag about conceptualizing a section inside the butt of a giant three-headed dog, maybe there's not that much to complain about. Comic-Con is smelly, busy and big, but it's never been anything but. It's entertaining because it is so ridiculous and this year has been no different. Even James Cameron isn't safe from the horrors of Comic-Con -- look at what happened to his Avatar panel, thanks to the Twilight fans! Never change, Comic-Con, never change.
TheFeed gang wants your thoughts on gaming, tech, whether Star Wars nerds are mightier than Star Trek nerds, and more. Let everyone know what you're thinking and chat it up with your fellow readers. Leave comments on anything and everything that's on your (gaming/tech/nerd) mind! The reader with the best comment will win an autographed copy of Twilight (though it might be autographed by TheFeed's Stephen Johnson).
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julieroxy
I guess that I should write something instead of just doing posts. I like twilight but I also like True blood and who couldn't love buffy and angel. I would encourage any of you to read the vampire encyclopedia it has different species of vampires from different regions of the world. The whole sparkly thing threw me for a loop but every vampire is different. We should support our teens reading. I like stephen king and anne rice but would I let ny teenage daughter read them ...probably not. As of attacking the author because she is mormon is ridiclous. I am not mormon by the way. We should let these girls have there time obscessing about something just as we have with star wars, star trek or comics.
swill122
I am a Twilight fan.
If you're still reading, thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt.
I think the books were at times compelling, at times ridiculous, and at times a hoot and a half. And Stephenie Meyer could use a better editor. I thought the movie was impulsive and incomplete and far too unintentionally funny. And yet. I still love it all.
First, I'd like to express some serious upset at some of the derogatory comments about the Twilight fandom. Yes, the screaming and OMG-ing is frustrating and overwhelming and some ladies and gents could seriously tone it down at times, but at its core, my experience in this fandom has been exceptionally similar to the other fandoms of which I am a part. Dismissing the Twilight fandom as any less authentic or worthy of respect is disheartening, to say the least, and it reflects badly on everyone.
Isn't the whole point of fan culture that we are all accepting of others and their passions? I don't make judgments about members of other fandoms, whether or not I think a particular piece of art "deserves" followers. Who am I to decide what people should and shouldn't express obsession over? I know better than that. As a side note, I'd like to express concern over a few commenters' use of the term "fangirl" as negative. The boys get to be "fanboys" and that's a good, right? Why can't I be a "fangirl"? I don't squee all over the place, but I am passionate about a lot of things. In my opinion, the last thing fan culture needs is to alienate women and girls. I propose "fangirl" to be used hereinafter as a positive term.
I've read and watched and consumed everything vampire-related since I was old enough to understand what it meant (and, in some cases, before I really understood). And I have to say, I'm getting a little bored. What drew me to Twilight was the chance to read something different. Meyer mentioned that she never researched vampires before writing Twilight; she wanted to see what mythology she could create on her own. Which, in my opinion, might be better cause for praise than some writers who simply poach the work of previous authors.
I have something to say here, and it may come as a shock to some. "REAL" VAMPIRES DON'T EXIST. "REAL" SUPERHEROES DON'T EXIST. In fact, most of the things that fandoms are based on don't exist. Someone's massive brain created it, whatever it is you love. And who are we to fault someone for wanting to imagine, wanting to create something a bit different? Yes, I think the "sparkling" vampires are a little silly. But the idea that there may be another reason vampires can't endure sunlight? Brilliant. Anyone a Buffy fan over here? Remember Joss, who wanted to take the blonde cheerleader who dies in every horror flick and make her a badass vampire slayer? It was different. And it was brilliant, too.
I love Twilight for its potential. No, it's not the first time a story like this has been told. I don't think it's a love story, necessarily. I agree with a previous poster--it's about obsession and depression and self-flagellation and hate and fear and being impulsive and reckless and it's a deeply dark story that doesn't necessarily present itself that way on a first-read. The narrator (Bella) is extremely unreliable--no one who understands Edward and Bella would argue that he is "flawless" or that she is "plain," each character has deep-seated emotional flaws that cause unnecessary drama and angst, and some themes are highly controversial, for example, glorifying low self-esteem, accepting controlling relationships, rampant consumerism, and abstinence. I love that Stephenie Meyer wasn't afraid to go to some of these places and to explore some of these themes which, I would bet my life on, appear in some form in most works of fiction.
Anything that inspires people to read, create, and participate in a fan community gets two thumbs up from me.
Sorry for the novel.
In conclusion, can't we all just get along?
TMag13
I like Twilight (MOVIE) for 2 REASONS.............
Kristen Stewart
http://www.styletraxx.com/kr isten-stewart.jpg
and
Ashley Greene
http://www.makeup411.com/411 _product_images/0307_Ashley%20 Greene_Twilight_DeanaNewcomb.j pg
WOOT!!!! SUPER HOT!!!!
P.S. The Books SUCK!!!!!
AssassinBlood
Since you wished to know why people hate Twilight, I shall respond with my own opinion as to why I hate it.
Twilight is horribly written. The main focus is on Bella and Edward's relationship, but it is a horribly written one. Though the book tries to pass them off as "in love," they're just in all-out lust. Have you ever wondered why they liked each other in the first place? Edward is attracted to her because she smells good and Bella likes him because he's good-looking. There is no basis to build love on. Then they get together only after a month or so of knowing each other, and this somehow turns into a lengthy relationship that lasts three more books? On top of that, Edward is abusive emotionally and mentally. He takes a controlling part in the relationship and manipulates Bella; at one point he takes out the engine in her truck to keep her from seeing her friend.
Both Edward and Bella are Gary-Stus and Mary-Sues. Edward is portrayed as pretty much perfect. He has no flaws put into his character. Angsting about being a vampire, or even being a vampire, isn't a flaw. The way vampires are portrayed in this book makes no reason for his angsting. He is also described as being incredibly beautiful, so much so that Stephenie Meyer continually repeats this through a slew of adjectives for pretty much the whole book, pummeling it into our skulls that he is absolutely gorgeous. Bella is portrayed as a "plain, normal girl" when the book states otherwise. When she arrives in Forks, she immediately has three boys fawning over her (and, as paraphrased from Stephenie Meyer, "the male population of Forks High and a male teacher likes her"). Her blood is somehow so incredibly delicious that vampires want her, she somehow was able to tell Edward's eyes were changing color after only seeing him for a week, and Edward's mind-reading powers can't even read her mind, when it can perfectly read everyone else's. The whole universe of Twilight basically centers around her (probably due to the fact that Bella is Meyer's self-insert).
The vampires in this series have no weaknesses like garlic or running water. They're faster, stronger, and can hear and smell better than any human. They can't die unless cut up into pieces and burned. They can even walk in the sunlight and not be incinerated. They just sparkle like disco balls. Apparently, sparkling keeps them out of the sunlight, but let's be honest. When you look at a person that's sparkling, do you think vampire? No, you think they have glitter or something on. Since Twilight is based on a more realistic kind of world, the definition of vampire in there for nearly everybody is "Vampires have fangs/drink blood/stay out of sunlight." If that's the case, then why do her vampires need to stay out of the sunlight or even fear of being discovered? They don't even look anything akin to vampires, just regular humans that have been spruced up with super speed, super strength, etc. Do her vampires even follow along with the vampire lore other than drinking blood? It just seems to me she butchered the lore and used the term vampire to pass off her sparkling creatures.
The plot in the first book is barely there, and only appears at the very end but quickly gets resolved. There weren't even any hints towards this plot, and it just randomly showed up out of the blue as a vampire trying to eat Bella because of her blood's scent. He is then quickly dispatched at the end of the book. The other three books tries to build a plot up to a climax which, lo and behold, doesn't happen. Nobody dies in the battle that was supposedly going to happen and the last book created a large anti-climax. As a reader, I'd be sorely disappointed if there wasn't a climax. I'd feel cheated out of the story.
The books also have a whole slew of things that I won't go into topic here. Those include the sexist messages in this series, the book's purple prose, why the science Meyer supposedly based these books on fail, and why Renesmee (Edward and Bella's daughter) should not exist, or at least not be the perfect little quickly growing half vampire specimen she is. Most of these explanations can be found at this little collection of articles here (which I also paraphrased a bit in my own explanation):
http://www.twilightsucks.com /forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f= 20&t=73
A collection of other arguments and reasons as to why people hate this series can also be found on a site called Twilight Sucks:
http://www.twilightsucks.com /forum/phpBB3/index.php
Fiddytree
I'll say this, I'd rather hear about Twilight than Jon and Kate plus 8 or the Jonas Brothers
wingednike
I like the books because I love romance novels (aka the "bodice rippers) and the Twilight Saga is a romance series. It isn't a vampire novel, it isn't a self help guide, and it isn't REAL. The movie (and many fans) take it too seriously. It's fluff but it's entertaining fluff; does everything have to be a "someone's going to die in the end" Oprah's Reading Club book? There's a lot of humor interspersed throught the books and I like happy endings.
I've met the author a few times and she seemed very down to earth. She herself didn't say she was better than J.K. Rowling; I hate how the media always compares the two. The books are in two totally different genres written in two different styles. Imagine what the Harry Potter books would be like if they were told in first person narrative; they would be a completely different story.
Ferrence
Books are probably good but I've never seen worse acting in my entire life. I couldn't stop laughing, the movie was a disaster. The casting, the dialogue; it was putrid.
MrZippy1
Before I start my rant I will say I have never read the books or seen the movie excluding the sparkle part part because you see sadly my mom seems to have somehow managed to become interested in it. To begin with yes I will say out of all the things I hate about it sparkling vampires are the worst considering that it breaks away from vampires having to stay out of the sun and as I've read in the comments it is their true form which I feel no true vampire has a true form it only has two it can switch between human and as cliche as it is bat. Another thing I dislike about this series is just by the color tone of the movie and way they act it gives all the characters in the movie a very boring emo attitude which while I know vampires aren't supposed to be all happy they should not be so bland. The werewolf issue I have come to be aware of also disturbes me and makes me ask how the @$#% (stupid censores) a werewolf can change in broad daylight as shown in the trailer for the new twilight movie another thing I must point out is werewolves should be humanoid instead of just wolf like. The love interest thing also angers me vampires should not be nice they should kill and destroy not fall in love and protect people that just doesn't make for good story telling to have a lot of the story revolve around the perfect guy obsessing over the quiet emo like girl no matter how much tween girls make up the targeted fanbase they should still be treated to a more interesting story. Overall I fell this whole series is a sad excuse to make a love story with vampires used so shamefully and now werewolves for tweens and oddly enough as others have said even women into their 30s. I suggest anyone who reads or watches twilight to read any of the books others have listed or watch Bela Lugosi as Dracula even if just small bits as I have to really see what a true vampire is a creature of the night who preys on people not protects them even something quite drastically different from Dracula like 30 days of night at least portrays vampires as actual monsters and not the emo human loving ones in twilight. Also they should check out some real werewolves not the horrible day turning wolves in the new twilight and yes I know the next one is like new moon or something but the whole series to me is all the same awful love or as others see it obsession story with sorry excuses for vampires and werewolves. As a final note I must say I really know nothing about the twilight series as this was just my admittedly ignorant opinion. Sorry about the run on sentences as I'm sure there are quite a few any perfect english freaks out there and hey at least I know to not use aint.
TrustFall
Life is too short to read the Twilight series. My wife reads anything, and she had to really push to get through "Twilight" after all her friends kept raving about it. She would read me passages every now and then and I would laugh my a$$ off. Not my thing, but anything that encourages reading ain't a bad thing in my book. But for the love of God when you're done step up to something with a little more teeth (no pun intended). Vampire lovers have to check out King's "'salem's Lot" if they have not. Fans of wise-beyond-their-years teens should check out "Special Topics in Calamity Physics".
I did almost horf when I saw the New Moon preview before Harry Potter and the words "The Twilight Saga" came on screen. Oh, so its a SAGA now? Gah.
"True Blood" rocks though. I'm half through season 1 and loving it. Heard the first book wasn't as good but the series is good fun.
StrongestSaiyan
I don't like it primarily because it has one of the most over-used plots in history. The average girl or boy depending, gets wrapped up in a love interest that is somehow beyond normal and it's oh so special. Yawn. Besides, after watching Hellsing it is impossible not to compare all vampires to Alucard, and they all fall ridiculously short.
WhiteWolfAssassin
I hate Twilight because of how vampires and werewolves are presented in it. Also the book sounds like one giant cliche. I know vampire are fictional and many writers and films have there own different versions, but to turn them into neutered versions of there former self bothers me. The reason I like vampire portrayed more vicious is because how the curse of being a vampire not only changes you physically, but mentally as well. Let's face it, having to drink blood and live for eternity in hiding is going screw you up, no matter how strong minded you are. The point is that immortality changes people and it usually is not for the better. After centuries of living, you're going to be bound to become less then caring to humans, as you see human kind continue to make the same mistakes over ad over again.
WhiteWolfAssassin
I hate Twilight because of how vampires and werewolves are presented in it. Also the book sounds like one giant cliche. I know vampire are fictional and many writers and films have there own different versions, but to turn them into neutered versions of there former self bothers me. The reason I like vampire portrayed more vicious is because how the curse of being a vampire not only changes you physically, but mentally as well. Let's face it, having to drink blood and live for eternity in hiding is going screw you up, no matter how strong minded you are. The point is that immortality changes people and it usually is not for the better. After centuries of living, you're going to be bound to become less then caring to humans, as you see human kind continue to make the same mistakes over ad over again.
Wozman23
Not even the nudity could entice me to watch true blood, and that's rare for me. If there were boobs on C-SPAN, I'd watch. Vampires, however, i pass on.
redheadjhawk
everyone just watch true blood
bishop186
My girlfriend has all four books and the movie. I haven't read the books or seen the movie. I'm beginning to think I should just give it a chance, if for no other reason just so I can write a diatribe about how terrible/uninspired/etc the books are in good conscience. They never really interested me or grabbed my attention so I just really didn't care.
Granted, I prefer sci-fi myself. Give me Stephenson, Gibson, Dick, and Asimov over any fantasy any day.
pschlot1
Kristen Stewart is hot but in the words of a famous boy-wizard, "Your face sparkles."
Nuff said.
pschlot1
Kristen Stewart is hot but in the words of a famous little wizard boy, "Your face sparkles."
Vampires used to be hardcore dudes who fought Blade and had sex with 10 yr. old girls (Interview with the Vampire). But now they're artard-british pretty boys.
I have never read the books nor will I ever.
Jpeterson
I admit, I like Twilight. Currently near the end of the third book. I think the story is really good (except for the fact that vampires can go into sunlight, that's lame), but I think that Stephanie Myers is a sub-par writer. She should have co wrote it with someone who knew how to write better.
The first movie was good though and I'm looking forward to the next (but I wouldn't sit through a panel for it, let alone wait in line for said panel when I can just get all the info online), in fact if it wasn't for the movie I might not have started reading the books.
Greibach
I got some amusement out of the books. Some of the tween stuff is pretty weak/aggravating some times. The movie was really not that good from a cinematic standpoint, but I'm fairly forgiving with movies, so I didn't want to kill myself after watching it, unlike some people. And yes, I do read the better sci-fi/fantasy books, in fact I read a ton, and I recognize that she isn't a great author either, but in the end, even if you are a poor writer, if you write something that resonates with a huge audience, it is undeniable that you are at least a *successful* writer. I only read it because my friend already had it, and I was out of a book before a vacation =P
As for following classic vampire lore (or lack of doing so), I couldn't care less. I don't get upset when fantasy books try to use different kinds of magic, or come up with crazy races, or have elves that are nothing like the elves of classic fantasy. Its an author's choice to come up with whatever they want for their fantasy, and I don't want all (Insert fantasy creature/race here) to be the same wherever I read about them.
Oh, also, in the movie the sparkling was freaking retarded looking... it just looked like he was sweaty in the sun, haha...
MaceMan2091
Read all of the books. Read the first one two years ago. My girlfriend wanted me to read them so we could talk about it. The book series was Ok overall. I can see why it appeals to teenage girls. The sex driven obsession for a vampire and lust for the girls sweet orgasmic blood. It's funny because Bella gets pounded when they first have sex. Battered and bruised. Stephanie Meyer is a freak.
The movie director for Twilight, blowed though. Seriously the movie was horrible. Me and my GF didn't enjoy it at all. Already saw the wolves to New Moon and they look nothing like what I imagined. Just giant dogs on all fours.
(No clear point. Just venting a little)
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