Opinions on Twighlight series.

[Fiannan]

Just wondering what people's opinions of this "Mormon Vampire" series. Yeah, I know the vampires are not actually church members but they could easily be any young adult group -- well, except for a thirst for blood.

At work today several of my female collegues were almost in rapture over being able to go see the sequel to the original movie. When I mocked the original movie (hey, come on, I grew up with Barnabas Collins -- a manly vampire, not some metrosexual with fangs) one lady immediately said I should not do that since a Mormon created it.

Is this a new form of missionary work? Maybe more Mormons should look into writig novels then. Or perhaps some people think it is a form of occultism and will introduce young people to the darker side as some of my friend's parents said about "Dark Shadows" and would not let them watch it.

Opinions?

[Col. Flagg]

Good thread topic. I've been wondering the same thing actually because my two girls (ages 12 and 14) are really into the Twilight series and I don't know what to think? On the one hand, it's just sci fi fantasy that my girls recognize as such, but on the other hand, the series deals with vampires and black magic (so to speak), which is Satanic power. The Harry Potter series is the same thing (wizards, warlocks, ghouls, etc.) and the powers they deal with are derived from darkness and Satan (in a way). I've told my girls that they need to realize the powers they're seeing the characters use in the books and on screen are dark powers and Satanic in nature and to understand that Dad doesn't care for it and prefers that they don't read or watch the series, but I've left it up to them to decide whether they're going to keep an interest. So far, they've maintained an interest. IMHO, this can be a way Satan can try and lure people to developing a curiosity in dark power and magic, which can obviously lead to other things, but I've decided to leave it up to my girls. They're strong enough in the church that I don't think they'll be affected in such a way as to cause them to begin exploring Satan's power and they know I am worried about them watching and reading the series and so far, they've only shown an interest in the story and romance. Guess we'll see how it plays out.

[ShawnC]

Metrosexual with fangs! I love that!

I am in agreement. But certainly not that this film is a missionary tool. My personal opinion is that when a "mormon author" becomes this popular with the world, that there is some dark side involved here. Plus the theme is vampires and warewolves? Shapeshifting??? Sounds a little occultish to me. That being said, my wife is going with some friends tonight. They get all "raptured" by it, she seems to just want to go to dinner with them and chat. I did speak with my wife about it asking her to please use some spiritual discretion with this kind of thing. She rolled her eyes at me.

I did watch the original film with my wife. The plot and acting was sooooo tremendously horrifically bad that I actually had to almost supress vomitting, I'm not kidding. Horrible horrible movie. the actors have no talent whatsoever, and if that closely reflects the storyline in the book, then I will say that the book is nothing but drivel.

Shawn

[minuet1]

The book was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than the first movie. A thousand times better. I haven't seen New Moon yet, but I hear it better quality than the first movie. I do think many times we will find exactly what we're looking for. If we are just looking critically at the Twilight series to see Satanism, occultism, the dark side, or what ever, that's exactly what we'll find. If we are looking to gain positive messages from the story I believe we'll find those also. Just depends on what you're looking for.

[patriotsaint]

I dont' like the series. Granted, I've only read a small sampling at the request of my wife, but I found the writing less than spectacular and the plot downright terrible. She also asked me to view the first movie which I didn't care for either.

I think it's a bad idea for so many young girls to be reading these books. There are many sexual suggestions that I wouldn't want my impressionable daughter reading. One example is the fact that the vampire stays in the girl's room at night during book one. Even if nothing explicit happens, this is not behavior I want viewed as acceptable or normal. There are many other examples that have been pointed out to me, but suffice it to say......I'm not a fan.

I'd much rather have my daughter reading Little Women, Anne of Green Gables or a number of other classics that actually teach something and are well written. This is just a book version of Holywood trash. Why do we waste time on such books, when there are thousands of worthwhile books out there to read that are both literarily sound and morally uplifting?

"If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy.....we seek after these things." A story about a vampire that fights his urge to ravish a young girl hardly qualifies.

[tribrac]

All the nations are fast approaching the brink of ruin. Search the most enlightened nations now dwelling on the earth, and you will learn that they live upon fiction, delight in shadow, run after error, greedily drink down falsehood, and hate truth. This is particularly the case with the nation in which we live, as everyone knows, who is acquainted with its religious, political, and moral classes.--Brigham Young

[ndjili]

I am one of the few women that I know that did not like the books. It was so mushy it was embarressing to read. The books really do have some pretty occult stuff in it. I think by the last book when she has abusive sex with her vampire hubby (pretty much I mean she wakes up with horrible bruises and what not but likes it) gets preggers with a vampire baby that it killing her from the inside out, then drinks human blood while still human (saying mm that tastes good) and then has a half vamp/ human baby that they feed blood to from a bottle I'd had enough. Eh that's just me.

P.S. I'd also heard in interveiws where the actor who plays Edward was asked by a 7 year old girl to bite her so she could be a vampire and well lets talk about the crazy rapturous way very impressionable girls live in these books makes me a little weary.

[MasterOfNone]

The "darkness" used in a book (or film) is not inherently wrong. No one ever says The Lord of the Rings is "occultish" (and it's not, it's deeply Christian in fact). It depends on what it is teaching, not the symbols it uses.

I've no idea what the Twilight series teaches, however, as I've neither watched nor read (though no doubt will at some point). If they promote a bad message, or are gratuitous, then that's another mater.

I found out that Elder Holland had commented on the Potter series: "You are well aware of the Harry Potter books and movies by J. K. Rowling. One of the reasons the books are so popular, I think, is that they show children victorious in battle against dark forces. They give readers hope that, even in total darkness, there is that spark of light. Despite the powerful evil arrayed against them, they know they can defeat the darkness. But fundamental to the message of the Harry Potter books is the idea that children don’t—indeed, can’t—fight their battles alone. In fact, the one gift that saves Harry over and over again is the love of his mother, who died protecting him from evil. Without any question one of those best “defenses against the dark arts”—to use a phrase from the Harry Potter books—is close family ties. Parental love, family activity, gentle teaching, and respectful conversation—sweet time together—can help keep the generations close and build bonds that will never be broken."

Full speech: http://www.lightedcandlesociety.org/new ... 202006.htm

[ndjili]

Yes but though Harry Potter may use fantasy (and good writing) to tell a good-vs-evil story.....Twilight is more about a girls obssesive love affair with a vampire and she spends the whole first 3 books of the series trying to get some and also trying to become a vampire. I dont think the occultic undertones is as bad as the sexual ones.

[patriotsaint]

Not to mention the subtle jabs at motherhood and marriage.

From what I understand the girl has an aversion to marriage in the story. She wants to remain "free" instead of being tied down at a young age.

Also, the whole "baby is a parasite" bit angers me. Our culture today embraces the false idea that children are parasitic burdens. They "kill" your independence and fun just like this baby was killing the girl in the story.

[ChelC]

I don't know anything about it that I haven't heard from relatives (who love it, ick). I honestly thought my SsIL were teasing me when they were explaining the plot. I'd asked them what it was about since I'd heard so much about it and they started in about vampires and I sat there smiling waiting for the punchline. The punchline was that there is actually a market for effeminate vampires. Go figure.

[Fiannan]

Wow, lots of interest. I have to say this, when I was a little kid my parents allowed me to watch anything I wanted to on TV. Granted, the early 1970s were pretty clean, well...at least not so in-your-face comedy. Laugh In was innuendo that children would not catch. However, Dark Shadows was interesting and I watched it every chance I got after school.
I remember when they tried to bring the series back in the late 1980s. The Ben Cross version was really close to the original I guess because I knew everything that was going to happen -- even though I had perhaps seen a scene when I was a kid. I remembered it. The first I ever heard of ouija boards, astro projection or alternate dimensional travel was from this show. I do not think it affected me negatively, but in the show Barnabas was a tormented vampire who wanted a cure for the curse a witch had placed on him 200 years earlier.
Twighlight has vampires who have learned to control their lust for blood and are good (like in Nightwatch 1 and 2?) and have special powers for shapeshifting (like in Underworld and Nightwatch?) and some have telepathy (like in True Blood?). They have special powers and can even come out in the day (like in Blade 3) and I guess can even father children (like in Blade?). Problem is, they are cool and seem more wholesome than a EFY testimony meeting. One wonders if this will interest some people in our church and some people to look into Wicca as there is a lot of New Age overtones.
That all being said, the movie is really week in plot. The archetypes are predictable and boring. And yes, while sex is not engaged in, it seems the main character's virginity is turned into a fetish and the metaphor for sex is whetehr he will bite her and make her his eternal companion. Freud would have a field day analyzing this film.

[shadow]

delight in shadow

I feel so.... used

[Col. Flagg]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film ... light.html

Vatican sinks teeth into vampire film Twilight
The Vatican has condemned The Twilight Saga: New Moon, a Hollywood teen film about vampires and werewolves, as “dangerous” and morally empty.

Interesting... here's the Catholic church condemning as 'immoral' and 'dangerous' a film created from a series of books started by a Mormon author. Talk about strange times.

[Fiannan]

Not to mention the subtle jabs at motherhood and marriage.

From what I understand the girl has an aversion to marriage in the story. She wants to remain "free" instead of being tied down at a young age.

Also, the whole "baby is a parasite" bit angers me. Our culture today embraces the false idea that children are parasitic burdens. They "kill" your independence and fun just like this baby was killing the girl in the story.

And some interesting innuendo in the movie when the little goth-looking girl tells the human girl that they will be such good friends and the male vampire makes a comment about her thoughts. Don't most vampire movies use this as forshadowing something is going to take place between two characters? Wonder how many teenage guys forced to go to the movie with their girlfriends are wondering if the human girl might have to choose between the wimpy male vampire or the cute girl vampire? Haha

[ShawnC]

This caught my eye a little bit. Forgive me if I misunderstood your post please.

The first I ever heard of ouija boards, astro projection or alternate dimensional travel was from this show. I do not think it affected me negatively, but in the show Barnabas was a tormented vampire who wanted a cure for the curse a witch had placed on him 200 years earlier.
Twighlight has vampires who have learned to control their lust for blood and are good (like in Nightwatch 1 and 2?) and have special powers for shapeshifting (like in Underworld and Nightwatch?) and some have telepathy (like in True Blood?). They have special powers and can even come out in the day (like in Blade 3) and I guess can even father children (like in Blade?). Problem is, they are cool and seem more wholesome than a EFY testimony meeting. One wonders if this will interest some people in our church and some people to look into Wicca as there is a lot of New Age overtones.

Underworld and Blade and such movies are R rated as far as I understand? A few comments on that...
http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/art/ ... priate.htm

As for it not effecting you negatively. Seems like maybe it has???

[Fiannan]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film ... light.html

Vatican sinks teeth into vampire film Twilight
The Vatican has condemned The Twilight Saga: New Moon, a Hollywood teen film about vampires and werewolves, as “dangerous” and morally empty.

Interesting... here's the Catholic church condemning as 'immoral' and 'dangerous' a film created from a series of books started by a Mormon author. Talk about strange times.

Thing is, it seems Twilight's message is subtle while your typical vampire movie is not so subtle. If we analyze vampire movies psychologically the vampire is a combination of the Jungian shadow and fallen soul and the Freudian id. In other words, as adorable as he or she is, they are psychopaths. In the Twighlight series we see a reversal of roles -- the vampires are the ones covered by honor and codes of morality and the humans are just unenlightened and governed by emotion.

[Fiannan]

This caught my eye a little bit. Forgive me if I misunderstood your post please.

The first I ever heard of ouija boards, astro projection or alternate dimensional travel was from this show. I do not think it affected me negatively, but in the show Barnabas was a tormented vampire who wanted a cure for the curse a witch had placed on him 200 years earlier.
Twighlight has vampires who have learned to control their lust for blood and are good (like in Nightwatch 1 and 2?) and have special powers for shapeshifting (like in Underworld and Nightwatch?) and some have telepathy (like in True Blood?). They have special powers and can even come out in the day (like in Blade 3) and I guess can even father children (like in Blade?). Problem is, they are cool and seem more wholesome than a EFY testimony meeting. One wonders if this will interest some people in our church and some people to look into Wicca as there is a lot of New Age overtones.

Underworld and Blade and such movies are R rated as far as I understand? A few comments on that...
http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/art/ ... priate.htm

As for it not effecting you negatively. Seems like maybe it has???

I do not want to get into a debate on whether people should see R rated movies or not. I will just point out that 95.5% of the human race lives in countries that do not have R, PG, or PG 13 rating systems. I bought Underworld in Russia and watched it in Scandinavia. I will note that the original Battlestar Galactica could easily have aquired an R rating. You have 12 planets whiped out, Starbuck is involved with a prostitute, there is a scene where humans are being eaten alive by larvae of some insect race and tons of violence. What would King Kong have been rated -- the 1933 version? Oh, and why is it every time I think about the old series and the character Baltar I think of Senator Harry Reid?

[ShawnC]

This caught my eye a little bit. Forgive me if I misunderstood your post please.

The first I ever heard of ouija boards, astro projection or alternate dimensional travel was from this show. I do not think it affected me negatively, but in the show Barnabas was a tormented vampire who wanted a cure for the curse a witch had placed on him 200 years earlier.
Twighlight has vampires who have learned to control their lust for blood and are good (like in Nightwatch 1 and 2?) and have special powers for shapeshifting (like in Underworld and Nightwatch?) and some have telepathy (like in True Blood?). They have special powers and can even come out in the day (like in Blade 3) and I guess can even father children (like in Blade?). Problem is, they are cool and seem more wholesome than a EFY testimony meeting. One wonders if this will interest some people in our church and some people to look into Wicca as there is a lot of New Age overtones.

Underworld and Blade and such movies are R rated as far as I understand? A few comments on that...
http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/art/ ... priate.htm

As for it not effecting you negatively. Seems like maybe it has???

I do not want to get into a debate on whether people should see R rated movies or not. I will just point out that 95.5% of the human race lives in countries that do not have R, PG, or PG 13 rating systems. I bought Underworld in Russia and watched it in Scandinavia. I will note that the original Battlestar Galactica could easily have aquired an R rating. You have 12 planets wipied out, Starbuck is involved with a prostitute, ther eis a scene where humans are being eaten alive by larvae of some insect race and tons of violence. What would King Kong have been rated -- the 1933 version?

Wasn't so much the rated R thing as to the you not thinking it has affected you negatively. Some of your writing and the casualness of it sounds like perhaps it has? Again, I may have mis-understood what you were saying.

[kathyn]

The little bit I read of Twilight leads me to believe that the whole series is very sophomoric. Just because the author is Mormon doesn't mean this should be read by LDS or that it has any merit. I am very uncomfortable with the idea that the baby has to drink blood from a baby bottle. That's just really sick! I saw the movie (purely out of curiosity). It was just awful.

[believer]

I read the first book, but none of the others, and have not seen any of the movies, nor have I wanted to.

The thing I felt was objectionable was the total emotional verbal descriptions while they were making out, even though they did not go all the way. Many of these young girls are just awakening to these kind of emotions, and the descriptions really are emotionally stirring. I would not want my young daughter going to these movies or reading the books. I found those things more objectionable than the vampire or occult with all their powers.

[Swan Song]

WOW! I've heard about the books and movies, but haven't seen them at all. I had NO IDEA they are so evil! Especially when they start degrading mothers, children, babies (drinking blood from a bottle??) That is horrific to me. I will avoid these things like a plague. They are not lovely, praiseworthy or of good report. Good point that just because a Mormon wrote it doesn't make it OK.

Sounds like the author is getting a little carried away with her fame and all.

[AussieOi]

how many teenage girls HAVENT had sex due to the characters "example"?


did Samantha and Dr Bombay from Bewitched lead you to witchcraft?


just. more. hollywood


better throw out your highlander tapes, etc etc etc

[ktg]

I have two 16 year old boys who think the movie is stupid, but they have lots of friends who are girls and LDS and ALL of them freaked out about how good the first movie was. 2 of them are our neighbors and I think they've watched it like 30 times. Last I knew they were ALL freaking out about the new movie and how they couldn't wait to see it. There's something concerning about that for sure.

LOL. I just checked facebook and some of these girl's comments about seeing the movie last night just make me laugh. They're obsessed.

[Fiannan]

I have two 16 year old boys who think the movie is stupid, but they have lots of friends who are girls and LDS and ALL of them freaked out about how good the first movie was. 2 of them are our neighbors and I think they've watched it like 30 times. Last I knew they were ALL freaking out about the new movie and how they couldn't wait to see it. There's something concerning about that for sure.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29001524

Stephen King has stated:

“People are attracted by the stories, by the pace, and in the case of Stephenie Meyer, it’s very clear that she’s writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It’s exciting and it’s thrilling and it’s not particularly threatening because it’s not overtly sexual.”

He further explains, “A lot of the physical side of it is conveyed in things like, the vampire will touch her forearm or run a hand over skin, and she just flushes all hot and cold. And for girls, that’s a shorthand for all the feelings that they’re not ready to deal with yet.”

If I am interpreting him right it is psychosexual in its appeal, but on a stealth level. I am not entirely sure that is better than a more overt movie would feature. I have always been more suspicious of a message that is subliminal rather than obvious. If we want to play with psychology there are a lot of possible messages in the movie but for now I will let Mr. King's observation be food for thought.
On a less psychological note the Vatican has weighed in:

The film, above, contained “an explosive mix” of good-looking protagonists dabbling in the supernatural, said Monsignor Franco Perazzolo of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture. The film’s occult imagery represented a “moral void more dangerous than any deviant message”, he said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film ... light.html