I am fed up with the American idea of "love."
"What is love?"
Lately, it looks like Bella and Edward.
No thank you.
... Or, yes please?
A recent reviewer of Twilight mused,
In short, these viewers were engrossed in the film's fantasy world -
and I'm not talking about the whole vampire-and-werewolf fantasy.
I'm talking about the film's fantastical view of love...
Eclipse takes romanticism to another level,
giving us two male protagonists who are practically god-like:
Edward is a knight in shining skin who props his beloved Bella on a pedestal;
Jacob is a dark-haired pinup idol, sensitive and vulnerable even as he's virile and strong.
They are creatures of pure imagination -
preternaturally powerful and kind and desirable and desirous.
No wonder teens who are still mulling what true love looks like are attracted to these characters.
No wonder grown women -
many of them who fell in love, got married and found their relationships
weren't wall-to-wall passion and joy forever and ever -
find themselves drawn to them, too.
"What is love?"
Lately, it looks like Bella and Edward.
No thank you.
... Or, yes please?
A recent reviewer of Twilight mused,
In short, these viewers were engrossed in the film's fantasy world -
and I'm not talking about the whole vampire-and-werewolf fantasy.
I'm talking about the film's fantastical view of love...
Eclipse takes romanticism to another level,
giving us two male protagonists who are practically god-like:
Edward is a knight in shining skin who props his beloved Bella on a pedestal;
Jacob is a dark-haired pinup idol, sensitive and vulnerable even as he's virile and strong.
They are creatures of pure imagination -
preternaturally powerful and kind and desirable and desirous.
No wonder teens who are still mulling what true love looks like are attracted to these characters.
No wonder grown women -
many of them who fell in love, got married and found their relationships
weren't wall-to-wall passion and joy forever and ever -
find themselves drawn to them, too.
(To read the entire review, click here. As an aside, I've never been a huge fan of this site's movie reviews. It is generally too conservative for my taste. This one, however, seems pretty spot-on.)
I didn't mean to make this a Twilight bash. In fact, I have always enjoyed Twilight-- the books and the movies -- and make it a point to defend its merits whenever possible. This reviewer makes a point to emphasize the movie's many 'positive elements,' pointing out
Edward loves Bella just as deeply as she loves him.
But his is a more mature, selfless love.
He's positively chivalrous when it comes to courtship,
always looking out for Bella's wellbeing...
But this entry isn't about Eclipse, per se. It's about the love that is displayed, glorified, and embodied in it, and how that concept has drastically influenced American culture; therefore influencing me.
Yes, I'll admit it. I have been influenced by both Twilight and America's idea of love. It's almost impossible to not be.
And it's not just women who are confused about love. This article details the effects of Axe Body Spray's effect on young men who are convinced that "These sprays along with a little of your innate charm (you do have innate charm don't you?) will cause women to go to great lengths to find you" ("Does Body Spray Make You Irresistible To Women?"). Just as women have created false ideals of manhood via Jacob Black and love via Edward's obsession, men have equally falsified real femininity by assuming that a squirt of cologne will cause the animal within every sex-goddess to fall at their feet in submission.
This entry also isn't meant to bash our culture and its screwy advertisements. I don't want to bash anyone or anything in particular. My confusion and frustration is not due to one thing. But, I'm still confused. And frustrated. With a few painful breakups under my belt, I'm not exactly jumping at the prospect of "falling in love" any time soon, even though everything around me screams in favor of its necessity. Not that I even know what "falling in love" or "loving" someone even means, apparently. Yet, Twilight and our culture make me feel so out-of-the-loop and despondent when we don't have anything in common. Maybe I don't want it, maybe I want something else. I hope I want something else.
But what is it that I want?
And we're back at the beginning.
This didn't make much sense, did it? Me either.
I didn't mean to make this a Twilight bash. In fact, I have always enjoyed Twilight-- the books and the movies -- and make it a point to defend its merits whenever possible. This reviewer makes a point to emphasize the movie's many 'positive elements,' pointing out
Edward loves Bella just as deeply as she loves him.
But his is a more mature, selfless love.
He's positively chivalrous when it comes to courtship,
always looking out for Bella's wellbeing...
But this entry isn't about Eclipse, per se. It's about the love that is displayed, glorified, and embodied in it, and how that concept has drastically influenced American culture; therefore influencing me.
Yes, I'll admit it. I have been influenced by both Twilight and America's idea of love. It's almost impossible to not be.
And it's not just women who are confused about love. This article details the effects of Axe Body Spray's effect on young men who are convinced that "These sprays along with a little of your innate charm (you do have innate charm don't you?) will cause women to go to great lengths to find you" ("Does Body Spray Make You Irresistible To Women?"). Just as women have created false ideals of manhood via Jacob Black and love via Edward's obsession, men have equally falsified real femininity by assuming that a squirt of cologne will cause the animal within every sex-goddess to fall at their feet in submission.
This entry also isn't meant to bash our culture and its screwy advertisements. I don't want to bash anyone or anything in particular. My confusion and frustration is not due to one thing. But, I'm still confused. And frustrated. With a few painful breakups under my belt, I'm not exactly jumping at the prospect of "falling in love" any time soon, even though everything around me screams in favor of its necessity. Not that I even know what "falling in love" or "loving" someone even means, apparently. Yet, Twilight and our culture make me feel so out-of-the-loop and despondent when we don't have anything in common. Maybe I don't want it, maybe I want something else. I hope I want something else.
But what is it that I want?
And we're back at the beginning.
This didn't make much sense, did it? Me either.
amen, sister friend