I haven't read any of the Twilight books, nor seen any of the movies, and I don't really plan to unless it's with a group of people and the Rifftrax or something. Most of my knowledge comes from the parodies and discussions surrounding the series. I'm loath to condemn it too hard - after all, I enjoy the Vampire Diaries books, and I doubt they're that much better (the TV series totally is though). I suspect that if Twilight had been written while I was a teenager I would have been all over it. I agree that the series seems to promote an unhealthy, dangerous relationship and that should be talked about. However, some of the criticism of the series is getting creepily misogynistic.

What got me thinking about this was seeing two different video reviews of the New Moon movie (both giving spoilers for the whole movie): Bum Reviews and The Spoony Experiment. I really liked the Bum Reviews one, because the guy was clearly enjoying the lulz without getting all 'ew icky girls' about it. The Spoony one (which goes on for more than forty-five minutes about just how much he hated it), on the other hand, had a lot of good points, but it also had some upsetting parts.

In one breath (around 10:30), he talks about what a bad feminist example Bella is setting for young women, and in the next (around 12:00) he uses misogynistic slurs about her. And while we're at it, isn't 'cocktease of a whore' kind of an oxymoron? Though it seems to me that 'whore' is becoming the go-to slur for 'woman I don't like', maybe because 'bitch' is starting to get reclaimed in some ways.

His complaints about how Bella treats Jacob (13:00) sound pretty much like the Nice-Guy argument to me. According to Spoony, Bella is clearly in love with Edward, and asks Jacob for a lot of favours. Apparently Jacob granting those favours means she's obligated to go out with him. Maybe she's not being a very good friend, but she sure as hell isn't required be his girlfriend.

Finally, there's his comments about all the attractive shirtless men in the movie (42:50 onwards). Apparently anyone who wants to look at sexually attractive people should just look at porn. Okay, first of all, this is a series that's particularly popular among teenagers (not only teenagers, of course), and you want to encourage them to look at porn? Certainly plenty of teenagers would be happy with that, but not all would be comfortable with it, and I doubt their parents would be.

Secondly, where is all this porn that's not BL that's designed to appeal to women? It's notable that he spends a lot of time talking about 'googling titties', and doesn't seem to think about it much from the other side.

Thirdly, the big appeal of Twilight to those that like it is the emotional connection. cleolinda talks about Edward's 'tenderness' here. And this isn't something that's exclusive to women either - look at Kanon, Air, and Clannad, and other romance anime/games of that ilk. They're all about the women's emotional connection with the hero, and they're aimed at men. Just looking at shirtless pictures of pretty people is nice, but it's not going to give you that.

The thing about Twilight is that it ignores the Male Gaze. Notice how Spoony tells his male viewers, 'If you're hoping to see hot chicks, they exist in this movie, but they don't show you nothing.' (45:30) This is a series that doesn't care about what men think of it, and that's unusual. Here's another comment from cleolinda about how men seem to hate Edward the Pretty-Boy. Her theory is that Edward represents a type of masculinity that men don't want to be and therefore don't want women to be attracted to. And this is something that comes out in anime fandom as well - what's with the bishonen, why do all these women seem to like dudes who look like ladies? If nothing else, I've got to give Twilight props for being by a woman, about a woman (I don't know if it passes the Bechdel Test, but still), its first movie directed by a woman, aimed entirely at women, and hugely successful.

ETA: ...What the hell, why have half my icons disappeared?
ETA2: Aaaaand they're back.

Talking about Flora earlier... what I would love to see is a story about Mina from Dracula, Laura from Carmilla, and Flora from Varney. It could be set in the 20s so they could be flappers! Vampire flappers! And they could battle the Evil Elizabeth Bathory!

I've possibly given this too much thought.

The Vampire Diaries Episode 8

( Read more... )

I have new BPAL Mircalla perfume from their 'Literary Vampire' series! It's quite different from the flowery scents I usually wear, but I like it a lot, and Mum liked it too. I've also got their Mina Murray perfume from a couple of years ago, so I'll be all set should the opportunity arise for a spot of vampire-hunting.

I think it's a shame BPAL didn't make any Varney the Vampire scents, though. I haven't finished it yet, but I'm finding it great fun. I particularly like the heroine, Flora. There's a point when her brother is starting to figure out that the being behind her attacks is a vampire, and decides, 'I can't possibly tell he! She's too delicate!' And in the very next chapter she goes to him and says, 'It's a vampire, isn't it?' She's also good with a gun, and succeeds in shooting the vampire, defending herself and her mother while the boys are off graverobbing. Flora, and Varney in general, need more love.

Mum went to see The Vintner's Luck the other day. She didn't mention a gay relationship, but she wasn't terribly impressed with the movie. Apparently it was too slow-moving, and the atmosphere just didn't gel, or something. I've checked out a few reviews and they seem to agree with her. Besides which, only one review that I saw even mentioned the vintner's attraction to the angel, but most of them talked about a love triangle between him, his wife and another woman. I'm going to give it a miss.

University plans are coming along. I think I've more or less decided to major in Latin and do my research essay on the Aeneid (possibly Dido?). I could do a Greek course as well, but I'm worried that it might be a bit too much for me. I managed it back when I was an undergraduate, but I don't know if I have the energy any more. Just focusing on Latin should work out pretty well though.

I can't say I'm at all surprised, but the Vampire Diaries covers have been Twilightified, like so. The first one even has an apple on it! They could at least have picked an object that actually appeared in the book, like a ribbon or a ring or something.

I lied, I did end up watching the Vampire Diaries show. At first I was kind of they changed it now it sucks D: but now I'm they changed it now it's awesome! :D

( Spoilers for the book and show go here )

I re-read The Vampire Diaries over the last couple of days. I'd like to watch the TV series, but I'm not sure if I will since I don't seem to be watching ANYTHING these days. I rather hope it'll end up like Dexter, with the first season more-or-less following the books and the next seasons going in another direction.

I naturally expected the books to be similar to Twilight, but I was surprised at just how close the similarities were, particularly in the first book. A centuries-old vampire decides to go to high school for no particular reason (though unlike Edward, Stefan had never been before - maybe he'd seen some American teen movies and decided to give it a try). He is immediately drawn to a particular teenage girl and worries he's going to bite her, though in Stefan's case he seems to do better at keeping away from her than Edward does. Elena is the one who can't keep away from him. In fact, Elena ended up being more creepy than Stefan in that regard, declaring 'He will be mine!' no matter the cost after Stefan seemingly indicates he wants nothing to do with her and generally being obsessive. The girl can't take no for an answer.

( Getting a bit spoilery )

I might go on to the Secret Circle trilogy next. It was the first L. J. Smith series I read, and was always my favourite.

I may be on the verge of losing my computer again. The power cable - the replacement power cable I bought like a month ago - just threw a shitfit and it took me a while before I could get the power back. It's working now, but how long is it going to last?

At this point it's looking like a good idea for me to get a new computer next year. I just hope I can last that long.