He basically summed up everything I tried to say, and I did read the books and watch the movies. But Jason Evert know theology better than I do, so he has a much better way to explain the pros and cons of Twilight. Hope you take the time to view the video.
Archive for the ‘Twilight Untwisted’ Category
19 Aug
Twilight Untwisted: Breaking Dawn
Deforming Our Conscience
This was by far the most difficult book of the series for me to read. It took me less time to complete it because I couldn’t wait to be done with this series so I picked it up as often as I could. I prayed before and after I read it, because I was considering not completing this read. I know some may ask, “Why did you read it?”
As I mentioned in my first post on this series, Twilight Untwisted: A Catholic Mom’s Perspective I felt compelled to review this series and it has taken much discernment and prayer to make it through.
In my opinion, the series becomes more and more bizarre as the story progresses. While in honesty, I have come to understand how Stephanie Myer has been able to capture the attention of our youth, I fear for them, as they may have embraced the many fallacies expressed in this book. While older teenagers may be able to discern and disseminate the bad from the not so bad, I was constantly disturbed by the reminder that children as young as 10 -11 years old are reading this series.
I have three points I’d like to discuss: 1) The contrast between chastity and abstinence as it relates to the main characters; 2) the value of marriage & family; and 3) desensitizing of our conscience.
1) I mentioned in my last post ‘Relativism at Its Best in the book Eclipse’ that Twilight Moms have mistaken Bella and Edward’s choice to abstain from sexual intercourse until they are married as chastity. While chastity includes abstaining, one can abstain without being chaste, and this is what Bella and Edward do. Chastity would include purity in conduct and intention, along with restraint and simplicity however, while Bella and Edward deliberately avoid sexual intercourse they do not avoid the temptation, constantly creating opportunities and situations that could easily result into them giving in. Bella is not in full agreement with Edward and refers to the fact that his age, being 100 years old makes him old-fashioned. Is this the message we want our youth to embrace, that being chaste is old-fashioned? What’s wrong with Edward’s stance on abstinence? Why did I call him a puritan? While Edward’s stance is noble and conscientious, he is following a high moral code for the sake of following it, basing it on a law from his upbringing.
Chastity is a means to practice self-discipline and personal responsibility. It demands that people be treated with respect and dignity. We have to look at each other as complete persons and not as a means for our own pleasure. As human beings, with intellect and free will we can choose to act beyond our emotional and physical inclinations. We all have the inclination to sin and evil will present itself as a “good” and while sex is good it is meant for the enjoyment of married couples. Like everything else about our human nature, it serves a purpose and this purpose is a balance between an expression of love exclusive to husband and wife and procreation, without placing unequal importance on one or the other. However, to truly embrace this life, one would have to consciously avoid situations that could lead to temptation.
2) Bella views marriage much the same way she views abstinence as old-fashioned and unnecessary. It’s only because she wants to be with Edward so desperately that she begrudgingly marries him. With so many young couples choosing to live together before marriage, Bella once again represents the typical young adult who cannot see the value of marriage. I will write a whole other post on this topic, because there is so much to be said about the value of the Sacrament of Marriage. Another aspect of married life that Bella quite easily dismisses is openness of life. She initially is not open to life; until she finds out she is pregnant. Then she shares this thought…” I’d been unable to imagine that I would like being married until after I already was – unable to see that I would want a baby until after one was already coming…”
This comment struck me; before reading this series I had heard a few people mention to me that there was a pro-life theme in the series because while everyone is advising Bella to abort the pregnancy, she chooses to go through with the pregnancy. I don’t even want to get into how this story line fits into the pro-life theme because Bella is carrying a creature that is only part human. This is when the story takes on a bizarre turn of events. However, I mention it here only because I find that Bella’s comment holds a message for today’s young married couples who put off having children for some insignificant reasons. If more of today’s couples trusted in God, they too might be able to say, that while they couldn’t see themselves as parents, once they were pregnant they realized how much they wanted to be.
I can relate to this, as in our first years of marriage before our reversion in the Catholic faith, we too thought we had valid reasons to put off having children, until we realized we were pregnant. Even though it was unplanned and a result of our irresponsibility, when we miscarried we were genuinely saddened. This experience helped us to see, that we no longer had a valid reason to put off starting our family and 1 year later I gave birth to my oldest son.
3) Another character in the book, Jacob summarizes how we endanger our conscience when we constantly expose it to evil. While Jacob himself is a supernatural character, a shape shifter, he originally views the vampires as the “enemy.” As he finds himself in a situation where he spends more and more time with them, he shares this thought…” This was the problem with hanging out with vampires – you got used to them. They started messing with the way you saw the world. They started feeling like friends.”
There is truth in this statement. The “enemy”, satan has no power over us, we are saved through the blood of the cross, Christ bought our salvation with a heavy price of his own life. However, what satan can do – when we give him a doorway, by exposing ourselves to images, movies, books, etc., that damage our faith anddeform our conscience, – is confuse truth and lies. Satan cannot force us to do anything, we always have our own free will, but being the father of lies he can twist truths and present situations where we will be tempted to make choices that go against our conscience. That is why it is so important that we work to form our conscience well and that we rely on God’s help to make the right choices. We also need to rely on God’s mercy, as satan can also use our past mistakes to bind us in the chains of sin. When we feel hopeless, and begin to despair we can be certain this does not come from God.
I think this is the most important message of all, what is ironic is that I would place the Twilight series in the class of books that could deform our conscience, as it twists truths and devalues human dignity and human life. If you are searching for eternal happiness, for a man who fulfill all your needs, than I implore you to make room to get to know Jesus. We are both physical and spiritual beings, and we have needs that are both physical and spiritual, there is no human being that can fill those needs. God created us with a desire to seek Him, he doesn’t force us to love Him, but he does want us to choose to love Him.
30 Jul
Twilight: Untwisted: Eclipse
Relativism at Its Best
There is a running theme in the 3rd book of the Twilight Series, Eclipse that shows the main character Bella torn between to loves. At first glance one may think that Bella’s predicament is that she must choose between to ‘goods’.
Two good-looking, strong caring young men are willing to ‘fight’ to win her heart. Lest we forget that Bella’s choice is actually between two evils – wolf or vampire? Once again Bella’s overconfidence and selfishness reigns through as at first she deludes herself into thinking she can somehow have the best of both, showing her disregard for her own self-respect and for the ‘dignity’ of these two young men. I use the term dignity loosely here as I can’t forget that these are fictional, superhuman characters who are traditionally portrayed as villains.
For Bella, no ordinary human man will do, she must have a man with supernatural abilities, strength and unrealistic physical attractiveness that comes with being a supernatural being.
If she is the model for what todays teenagers are looking for then I surmise that what they are truly seeking is Christ. If they did seek him, they would find a man who had already fought to win their hearts, a man who has already laid down his life for them, a man who knows all there is to know about them and loves them despite their flaws and weaknesses.
Relativism at its best comes through the pages when Charlie, Bella’s Dad makes this statement in relation to Bella’s predicament, “the right thing isn’t always obvious, sometimes the right thing for one person is the wrong thing for someone else…”
If there is any truth in this statement – and I don’t believe there is – than any evil act is justified. Murder, stealing, cheating, etc., could be right for someone and wrong for someone else. If there is no universal right or wrong, then one could argue that slavery was right; Hitler was right… and today this argument is used to support that abortion is right.
Killing a child in the womb is right for some and wrong for others; killing grandma when she becomes a nuisance to care for is right from some and wrong for others…this list could go on and on.
There are many other themes that run through this book that I am saving for a separate post. I plan to discuss Edward’s stance on waiting to be intimate with Bella until they are married. Many Twilight Mom’s have understood this to be a great message for their teenage daughters, a message of chastity…this is not the message at all. The message is that Edward is 100 years old, and this makes him old-fashioned and a puritan. Bella and Edward are not practicing chastity, while they are abstaining from “going all the way” until they are married, their relationship is very sexual and they place themselves into near occasions of giving into temptation many times.
I also want to add, especially for those whose daughters have already read the books, that the movie is a mild version of the book; the intimate scenes in the movie are very much toned down, where as in the book it is very explicit.
9 Jul
What is Truth?
Twilight Untwisted: Book 2: New Moon
In New Moon, Bella continues her obsession with Edward as she handles the separation from him by withdrawing completely from the world around her; she becomes emotionless in effort to avoid feeling the pain of loss.
When she discovers that she can hear his voice through her sub conscience when she is in danger, she begins to purposefully place her life in danger. While she apparently is not attempting to commit suicide her thrill seeking could easily end her life.
She very easily uses other people for her own ends, while she does struggle briefly with the guilt of doing so; ultimately she keeps her mission clear that it is all about her own selfish motives.
There is an old song that says “the hardest part of love is letting go” If we forget for argument sake what it is that Bella has chosen to love, and see New Moon as a break-up story, we see that Bella’s unhealthy attachment to Edward makes it impossible for her to let go. She displays signs of depression, and an impulse control disorder.
Although Bella doesn’t see her thrill seeking attempts as suicide attempts, the mere fact that she is aware of the potential danger to her life and moves forward anyway is disturbing.
The Catechism of Catholic Church tells us: (CCC 2281) Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbour because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.
Bella seems to lack this natural inclination to preserve and perpetuate life. She is the personification of the culture of death in the way that she devalues her own life and disregards the importance of saving her soul.
At one point after she goes cliff diving and nearly drowns to death, she glorifies the near death experience. Similar to how she did at the end of the first book, Twilight when she indicated “death is easy, life is harder.”
In my opinion, Bella continues to set a poor example to our teenagers, who already face the complex of invincibility. We need to make sure our children understand how precious life is; that God willed their life out of love and any attempt to endanger or destroy life is a grave sin against God.
In the end we discover that Edward never meant to break up with Bella. He left her thinking it would be safer for her, if he and his family were not around, but he also struggled to deal with the separation. At the time he broke up with her, he believed lying about why he was leaving would make it easier for her to move on.
When they are reunited, Edward makes an observation that not only sums up Bella’s character but our modern society as well, “Why can you believe the lie, but not the truth?”
How have we as a society embraced the lie, and questioned the truth?
I leave with these quotes:
John 18:37:38 Jesus says to Pilate: “For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to Jesus, “What is truth?”
John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”
22 Jun
Twilight Untwisted and Re-evaluated
Five posts into this topic, and I am re-evaluating my take on Twilight. In my last post I questioned why all the wheat seems to come from the characters that traditionally portray the monsters, while I didn’t think I would be able to answer that question, I have since taken a second glance at this series, and with more prayer, discernment and discussion with my dear friends and husband I believe I can now answer this question.
I’d like to share this analogy with you. A young, inexperienced farmer purchases a piece of land, and at first glance is quite impressed with the land and the field in which he sees mostly wheat. He is quite proud of his buy and is looking forward to the harvest. Acknowledging that he is an inexperienced farmer, he calls on a more experienced farmer to help him at harvest time. He discovers that his field actually has a lot more weeds than he originally thought he had. He is certainly humbled, but grateful to his friends for his experience and willingness to help him, in ensuring that his next harvest will yield more wheat.
In humility at this time, I admit I feel like that inexperienced farmer. Once I started to actually attempt to cultivate the wheat in this series I have found it harder than I initially thought it would be.
The main issue in this series, why the good messages seem to come from the “bad guys” is as I said in post titled, The Progression of the Vampire, it is a reflection of society, where we have bought into the lie, that there really is no “bad guy” just misunderstood “good guys”
At first perceived as insecure, Bella is actually naïve and overconfident. She is deluded into thinking that she can control every situation that comes her way, that she can handle everything on her own, without the help of her family, especially her father. The lesson we can learn from Bella in this first book of the series is that this type of thinking only leads to disaster. When she meets James at the mirrored room in the ballet studio, it’s as if she is meeting her match and all of sudden she is no longer in control. She cannot control James, and she cannot defeat him on her own, in fact she spins a web of lies and betrayal with her parents and her friends and she almost pays for it with her life.
The good message the Cullen’s may have for the readers, are like lies disguised in truth, or like the wolf in sheep’s clothing.
The lessons we want to impart to our children, that I thought we’d find in this series, like chastity & family values; certainly can be taught to them without reading this series.
My continued review of this series will be less detailed, because I realize that while it is important that we know our faith, to pass it on to our children, and while I feel called to use my writing to pass on lessons in faith, I don’t need to refer to this series to do that.
In short, if you have not read this series…don’t.
If your children have shown no interest in this series…be grateful and direct them to more formative books, like the Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings, etc.,
As I said in my first post on this series, if your child has already read this series, and you are looking for a way to make the best of the situation, I implore you to pray and get to know the faith so that you can have those difficult discussions you will need to have to untwist the lie they may have already bought into.
14 Jun
Part 4: Twilight Untwisted:Why Are Women Attracted to Edward?
In this series, I am constantly asking myself: Why is it that most of the good/true messages come from Edward who represents the perversion of human nature, the monster? I don’t know that I can answer this, but this is the reality of Stephanie Meyer’s characters, the vampires, at least the Cullen family of vampires seem to care more about not going against their conscience than the humans do. Human nature is flawed, we are drawn to sin but we long for what is good, because we have a soul, God’s law, natural law is written on our hearts. Even people, who may not have a strong faith, will generally be people of good will.
Edward is the unnatural creature with the desire to kill, but he exercises his intellect and will by not giving into his temptation to kill humans. While, Bella who is human, fails to exercise intellect and will and responds immaturely and superficially; she is attracted to his physical attributes, his mystery and the danger their relationship represents. She makes it seem like her carelessness and disregard for the value of her life “doesn’t matter” since it is merely out of “love” for him that she places her life in danger. Still her conscience is trying to warn her as she shares a thought, “a tiny voice in the back of my mind, worried, wondering if it would hurt very much…if it ended badly.” She doesn’t listen to this small voice, in fact she continually justifies her poor decisions, like taking cold medication to help her sleep, even though she was not ill.
Edward’s supernatural abilities are limited around Bella as he can’t read her thoughts, like he can read everyone else’s so he has to listen to her words and body language. Edward’s nature, traditionally would be devoid of a soul, therefore would be without a conscience, yet Edward shows signs that this may not be so, because he longs to do what is good. He doesn’t want to be a monster. Though by his very nature, his existence relies on the death of another living thing, human or animal. He chooses the lesser evil, surviving on the blood of animals, thus placing more value on the human life. Edward says to Bella, “even if we’ve been dealt a certain hand…it doesn’t mean we can’t choose to rise above…to try and retain whatever essential humanity we can.”
In a certain sense Edward appears to be more human than some and because of his supernatural abilities, he also appears to fill a superhuman need all women have. Edward is genuinely interested in getting to know Bella to the very tiniest details of her life, he loves her, despite her weaknesses, flaws and awkwardness; he wants to protect her and continually fight the temptation to hurt her. Bella and Edward’s relationship includes a level of intimacy that many married couples lack. Edward’s protective nature meets a need that all women have to feel protected, yet somehow we do not feel that our honour, our dignity are protected by our husbands because they will in most cases, quite easily exploit women and treat them as objects for pleasure.
Edward in a sense raises the bar for our merely human husbands. Is this fair? No. Then what is it we are really looking for? If only a supernatural being could truly fulfill our desire to be treated with dignity what are we missing?
Many other Catholic moms have shared, that they don’t understand the appeal of this series; I think this is the key. If you already have a friendship with Christ, then you don’t see the draw to a character like Edward. I am not comparing Edward to Christ in any way. My theory is the cult following that has come from Twilight moms, stems from this supernatural desire that our human spouse’s cannot fulfill. We need to cultivate a relationship with Christ. He is a person, who cares about our tiniest details, who seeks to protect us and treat us with dignity.
11 Jun
Part 3: Twilight Untwisted: Wheat Among the Weeds
Reflecting on the parable that Jesus gave us in Matthew 13:24-30; Some of the reviews of Twilight that I have read from other Catholics, have focussed more on pointing out the weeds in this story. However, if we listen to Christ, he tells us that when we do that we uproot what is good along with the weeds. So I want to focus a bit more on the wheat in this series. Granted this may be difficult at times since the good messages come from the most unlikely characters.
In the preface of the 1st book of the series, Twilight, Bella begins with a thought process of how it is noble to die for someone you love, or in place of someone you love.
At first glance we’d have to agree with Bella, this is a “good way to die” It is exactly what Jesus did for us: (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 609)
By embracing in his human heart the Father’s love for men, Jesus “loved them to the end”, for “greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.” In suffering and death his humanity became the free and perfect instrument of his divine love which desires the salvation of men. Indeed, out of love for his Father and for men, whom the Father wants to save, Jesus freely accepted his Passion and death: “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” Hence the sovereign freedom of God’s Son as he went out to his death.
However there is more to this character than someone wilfully choosing to die a noble death. Bella in fact has sacrificed moving to the town of Forks to live with her father. Her parents are divorced and her mother has re-married someone who will need to travel. She doesn’t like the town of Forks and does not have a very good relationship with her father. However, she places her mother’s happiness before her own.
Bella describes herself as awkward; doesn’t fit in and doesn’t relate well to others, even her peers; she is uncoordinated, sarcastic, and morbid and has very low self esteem. She is surprised by any positive attention or act of kindness given to her by those around her, including her own father.
However, it seems Bella fairs well when the adults in her life need her to take care of them. She describes her mother as erratic, hair brained; and flighty and when she moves in with her Dad she takes on the responsibility of preparing his meals, grocery shopping, laundry, easily stepping into the role of caregiver.
When Bella attracts the attention of Edward, a vampire with a conscience she instinctively misunderstands his aversion to her as something she has done wrong, playing on her own insecurities. She quickly becomes obsessed with Edward after he saves her from a near fatal car crash.
Edward seems to toy with her; he gives her verbal warnings that she is better off not becoming friends with him, but then dazzles her with his actions, such as, the way he looks at her; treats her; follows her. He consistently gives her mixed messages, his action are incongruent with his words. This can be seen as his own internal struggle, as he is genuinely attracted to her but is well aware that their friendship could be fatal for her.
Bella’s obsession begins to manifest itself through her view that if she chose not to be with Edward this would be a “self-imposed purgatory”
We have no reason to believe at this point that Bella knows that purgatory is the place where souls are purified; purged of any sin before entering into heaven. However there is a sense that she knows her wish to be with Edward is wrong somehow.
CCC 1031: The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.
Bella knows that there is something inherently wrong with this situation; by choosing to move forward in this relationship with Edward she is purposefully placing her life in danger, but she acts on emotion alone, dismissing logic and intellect. Abusing her free will and devaluing her human life. Bella acknowledges and foreshadows that she could abuse Edward’s expressed desire to protect her from her own clumsiness by purposefully putting her life in danger.
CCC 2281: Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbour because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.
We’ll focus more on this aspect in the review on the second book, New Moon.
Bella’s character is quite disappointing at times, she has very little regard for her own life and seems attracted to unhealthy relationships. She sees herself as being out of Edward’s league, yet quite easily claims to be “unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him” As if she has no control over her reaction or who she chooses to love. In fact, we do choose who we love, because love is not a mere emotion. This is when we must use our intellect and our will, even if it may cause some discomfort, or pain of emotional loss. We have to use our heart and our mind to discern what is the overall good.
8 Jun
Part 2: The Progression of the Vampire
It is pretty clear to me that when we look at secular society, and if we study a bit about the history of the Catholic Church we find, that as we entered the Modern Age which began sometime in the 1600’s, many philosophers and scientists aimed to remove God from the equation, seeking to explain everything through reason and evidence alone. The mentality is that if it cannot be proven, with physical evidence then it simply does not exist. Approximately, 100 years later we have the first [1]Slavic and Hungarian legends of vampires appearing in 1730 to 1735.
The correlation in this is not coincidental, when society tries to sell that there is no God, and it reduces human beings to mere physical creatures, with no spiritual or theological value. We as people, who can think and feel, realize on some level this cannot be so. When we try to convince this part of us, of the lie, that there is no God, no heaven or hell, that we do not have souls; many find themselves drawn to the stories of fictional supernatural beings, which are immortal and amoral.
Originally, the supernatural creatures, like vampires, were portrayed as purely evil creatures, which were damned for denouncing God, however in recent years vampires have evolved, into creatures that are almost god-like, some even have a soul, and even a conscience.
The more secular society has embraced moral relativism, the more the vampires have been redeemed in literature and movies. Moral relativism, which is the belief that there is no universal right or wrong, good or bad; everyone decides right or wrong depending on their individual situations and the circumstances of society, has led to this progression of a vampire. Vampires who were once portrayed as instinctive, evil creatures who killed human beings to support their own survival are now being portrayed as having a conscience, and free will, and they are exercising their free will to avoid killing human beings, and instead are feasting on the blood of animals.
Following is a brief look at the vampires portrayed in novels, movies and television series since the 1800’s.
Most of us recall the original gothic novel from 1897, [2] Dracula, written by Bram Stoker. Stoker’s Dracula was mysterious, strong and could change form. Weaknesses included stakes, crosses, garlic, holy water and beheading. Stoker’s Dracula was clearly evil, persistent and hungry and mainly pursued the ladies.
From 1976 to 2003, Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles emerged. Two books in the series also became movies, Interview with a Vampire and Queen of the Damned. This series included the vampire Lestat’s exploits which kept readers entertained and included likeable vampires. Rice’s vampires are very strong and fast and some had special gifts like flying and mind reading. They are immune to garlic and stakes, but they do burn in sunlight. Rice’s vampires are perverse and amoral but have strong familial ties and bound by certain code of behaviour.
In 1997, Joss Whedon released a movie which then turned prime time television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Whedon’s vampires are extra-strong, tough and surly. They do turn do dust when staked in the heart, and sunlight and holy water hurt too. Whedon’s vampires are clearly evil, except for a vampire named Angel, who is a likeable character who is under a spell which gives him a soul, so he has a conscience and is seeking redemption for his past.
Now we have, Stephenie Meyer: Twilight novels are hits; the first two are now movies. Her vampires are strong, fast, have acute sense of hearing and no need for sleep. They do not have many weaknesses, other than fire and dismemberment. Meyer’s vampires are evil, however the Cullen family of vampires have free will choice, and they choose to live with the humans and feed only off the blood of animals.
As you notice, among even the weaknesses of the vampires has progressed, where Bram Stoker’s vampire disliked crosses and holy water, the evolved vampires are not affected much by the sacramental symbols. The modern vampire stories are reflecting modern secular society in aiming to remove anything that points to God. While this is not completely terrible, since as Catholics, we do not use crosses and holy water as magic symbols, we believe that holding a cross alone would not save us; we are saved by our faith in Christ, not by the sacramental symbols. These are symbols to help sanctify our actions and point us to God; it’s our faith in God that will save us. However, while the portrayal has changed, the reason many appeal to this supernatural creature is clearly because we know there is more to our human physiology, than simply the physical, we know we are spiritual beings as well.
[3]There is, in the spiritual order, a law analogous to the law of the conservation of energy, which I would express as follows: when the supernatural is suppressed, it necessarily finds expression in indirect and distorted form. What we have witnessed in the last fifty years or so is the attenuating, and in some circles, complete disappearance of the biblical worldview.
But in accord with the above-mentioned law, the supernatural will not be denied. The instinct for God and for a world that transcends the realm of ordinary experience is hard-wired into us and thus our desire, thwarted by the environing culture, will produce some distorted version of transcendence, some ersatz spirituality; Hence the world of vampires.
We cannot however look solely at the evolution of a vampire, without looking at how literature has changed over the decades as well.
Based on what I have learned through media courses and my understanding of writers and movie makers, what we read and see in movies or television is rarely a means to direct society. Usually, what is portrayed is a reflection of society. Writers, producers and directors are aiming to sell their story; therefore the aim is to make the story appealing to the readers and viewers. While secular media is a reflection of society, the Church is meant to direct society, that is why the Church is unchanging and secular media is in constant change.
[1] Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16 Dec. 2009. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/622530/vampire>.
[2]The Evolution of Vampires. A field guide to bloodsucking fiends through the ages;[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of Time magazine.] By Lev Grossman Thursday, Apr. 24, 2008
[3] Why Is Everyone Crazy About Vampires, By Rev. Robert Barron, November 19, 2009 http://www.wordonfire.org/Written-Word/articles-commentaries/November-2009/Why-Is-Everyone-Crazy-About-Vampires.aspx
7 Jun
Twilight Untwisted: A Catholic Mom’s Perspective
Close View of Thick Weaved Rope by Michael Melford
I am undertaking this project to evaluate Twilight from the only perspective I can, as a Catholic mom.
As parents we are faced with the daunting task of deciding what may or may not be proper reading or movie viewing for our children. However, as they get older we aren’t always given the option, as some books or movies that I would have steered them away from seem to be made available to them even within the confines of school and friends homes. Therefore at times, we have found it best to have open dialogue on what they are reading or watching and offer opportunities to teach them how the material relates to our faith and popular culture.
The goal of this critique is to analyze and separate the wheat from the weeds, to find ways to teach our youth about our rich Catholic faith. This series is very reflective of today’s society where most people don’t recognize a clear line between right and wrong and we have found this wish to redeem evil, as if it could be redeemed. It is also filled with messages that point to some basic theology.
In this review, I will attempt to avoid any disrespect or unkind regard for Stephanie Meyer, the author of the Twilight saga. My aim is to recognize that Stephanie Meyer is a talented writer – she has a gift and has used it to reach our youth, she has them enthralled and excited about reading.
I do find it disturbing however that many mothers have also become so enthralled with this series they are neglecting their household duties to spend time tantalizing about the characters in this series. There is an on-line community for these moms to meet, discuss and share their fantasies.
My first impression of Twilight is that it’s a twisted love story; while discussing it with others, youth and adults alike, fans and critics, I found so many mixed feelings and viewpoints – however, what was similar in all the discussions is that Stephanie Meyer has managed to get people talking about, chastity, modesty, souls, immortality and self-sacrifice.
I figure when you can sit in a room with people who are on different stages of their spiritual journey and you can talk about these tough topics, then there must be some wheat in the series, therefore I am seeking to untwist this love story.
Having read some of Stephanie Meyer’s interviews on-line, she claims that she writes only to tell a good story and the only intentional message is that of free will choice. However, I sense her writing is rich with messages, some are full of wheat, but of course there is also much to weed through.
So if you can relate to my situation, being a Catholic mom with a deep wish to raise children steeped in the faith while facing the challenge of living in this world that is full of distortions of truth and inconsistencies. The Twilight series has provided us with a new challenge to discern whether or not to expose/allow our children to watch/read this series.
Perhaps your teen, pre-teen has already read the series and watched the movies and now you want to use it as a teaching tool. Rest assured that is what you may find here; a resource to teach the faith to your teen/pre-teen through the choices that are made by the characters in this series.
Be warned, if you have not read the books or watched the movies, this critique will include spoilers. There is no way to complete a thorough review without giving away much of the plot/storyline.
11 Dec
Twilight Untwisted: Would you read it?
I am attempting to get an idea from my blog readers, friends and family if you are at all interested in reading my review of the Twilight saga.
Please vote on the poll at my site:
Greatly Appreciate it!
Living Water 