I can’t help but comment on the enormous buzz about the new Twilight Movie "New Moon". The thought seriously occurred to me that perhaps this crazed attention and excitement could really just be some kind of deep seated backlash to decades of pushing feminist a agenda? i grew up during those decades and know the world has changed. Some things for the better, say salary parity, access to educational opportunities, etc. and then something’s were not so good; independence comes at a price. For example: I was on an elevator yesterday. A young man was already on the elevator when I got on, we picked up another man, when we hit the lobby, the young man shouldered his way to the front in a way that said – I was here first, the second and slightly older man, held the elevator door and said "after you", it was greatly appreciated and showed respect. Just an observation.
I bought the 1st Twilight book after it came out; I was looking for a good series of books for my pre-teen daughter (not for me – I didn’t read them). I wanted something clean, but engaging, and was drawn to these because the author, Stephani Meyers was LDS, I was LDS, I understood the values and respected them. The book sites offered good reviews. Prior to this – I had not heard any buzz, any twilight squeals from any of the more mature women I knew. Not only my 12 year old ate them up, but so did my 17 year old. They couldn’t wait for the next one. Then something interesting happened. The books seemed to catch on with an older age group, young women in their late 20 somethings and on up, generally married and with children and not married and no children – didn’t seem to matter. Their appetite grew rapidly (or rabidly) as most everyone has seen, that’s no secret.
I’m not surprised at the younger sets enthusiasm, hey I stood in line for hours to see Star Wars back when, I couldn’t wait to see it and went multiple times. I’m not saying the books aren’t good or well written or anything like that. (Personal declaration: I have never read them, I have relied on reviews as a gauge to purchasing for my children , because my purpose was something for my daughters – not for me – I am not interested in them.) I am just absolutely shocked at the over-exuberance about fictional characters. The hysteria expressed in their facebook posts, the fact that many purchased their tickets MONTHS previous to it coming out. They are in the rain after mid-night on a weekday to see this crap. They aren’t going out on dates with their spouses, but going in a mob with other women of similar age and enthusiasm.
It was interesting that my own daughters saw a certain creep factor in the Twilight craze. One noted a couple years ago, that the books weren’t fun anymore, now that all the older women were reading these books. The other, more recently, passed on going to the movie with a mob of folks, that included older women. Because as she pointed out… it was creepy.
I’ve thought hard about this and trying to be fair and reasonable (this my friends is hard as those who know me can attest to). At 13 it can be considered an age appropriate thing to have a crush on a character in a book or in a movie. At 23 it’s kind of weird, but at 33 or 43? It’s really just creepy. The thought "Get a Life" comes to mind or even "Grow Up? did they not have anyone open doors for them growing up? Did they not have men in their lives who understood it was their duty to protect them? or treat them like they are special? I don’t know the answer to those questions, that’s why I ask them. I never have gotten into chick-flicks or tear jerker movies, and I can understand the entertainment value of a good love story, but I do understand it’s just that "entertainment". At home I have a real relationship, I need to nag to get what I want done and wait patiently for the game to be over more often than I’d like to count. But it’s real life and I’m content with it and I don’t have to go to the movies to escape it.
