August 11, 2009

Edward Cullen is a Creep

I must tell you, I have had numerous people tell me about Twilight. Some good, some bad. And from what I had heard, I was not impressed. But, because I feel that you shouldn't spout off about something you know nothing about- I decided to read it. I will tell you now, before you invest too much time, that I hated it. If that turns you off, click away now. I will also tell you that the fact that grown ass women find Edward Cullen to be an amazing man disgusts me. If that turns you off, click away now. It also is incredibly disturbing to me that young girls find Edward to be an ideal mate. If you don't want to hear about how he is an emotionally abusive asshole, then click away now.

So- for those 5 people that are still here with me, thanks. You may not agree with me, but I thank you for taking the time to hear me out. First, let me say that it has taken me a month to read this book. Granted, I was a little busy- but- unlike so many who have told me it was amazing, I fell asleep 9 times reading it. No exaggeration. Last night, I decided to focus and get this book out of my life.

I think part of my problem in reading the book, is that I had the actors in my head as the characters the whole time. And I am not entirely fond of them. In fact, thinking of RPats just creeps me out in general. I tried to get past it...but by no means is Stephanie Meyer a literary genius. She writes fiction for teenagers. Can't fault her for that, as I single handedly supported R.L. Stine and Ann M. Martin's career's during my teens. But- to say that she is a great author of our time, c'mon. Great authors of our time use a thesaurus. How many times can you say "dazzling" "sparkling" and "chagrin." I credit the dear friend who let me borrow her book for that knowledge, as she highlighted every occurrence in the 490 pages. Let me just tell you, it's a lot. I didn't REALLY get into the book until about page 345, when Bella is being hunted. That is when I started to turn the pages at rapid speed. The rest of the book was just too much set up, and the twist of the hunter being the one that created Alice was so juvenile. Because it is a book for teenagers.

You hear that, grown ass women who think Edward Cullen is a God? This book was written for teenagers. I have no problem if you want a light read. I really don't. Sometimes you just want something light hearted and entertaining. But when you cross over to this stage, you need to get a life. Yeah, I said it. Here is an excerpt from crazy town:

"In a way, Meyer has created the boyfriend we’d wish for our daughters and the cautious, responsible, gentlemanly son we’d be proud to call our own. Or, forgetting our age, she's created a character we wish could be our own love interest!"


Okay- Here is where I get to the serious stuff. Edward is not an amazing boyfriend. He is an abuser. Granted, we don't get to serious stuff until the last book (yes, I have heard about the sex scene), but there are so many red flags that it frighten me that girls think this is an ok relationship. Before you say I am overreacting, I would like you to take a look at something I became very familiar with in a college course that I not only took, but assisted in teaching for two semesters after.
This is the wheel of violence.

Now, please allow me to show you the read flags that I found simply in the first book of the twilight series:
-playing mind games
-controlling what she does, who she sees, who she talks to (and follows up by eavesdropping!!)
-using jealousy to justify actions
-using male privilege (making all the big decisions, acting like the "master of the castle")
-threatening to commit suicide
-making her do illegal things (or just lie to her dad and run away from home)
-blaming her (because she just can't seem to keep her little lamb ass out of danger)

Here is a pretty interesting article that I found that lines up personality traits of abusers with actions of Edward throughout the entire series. Since I haven't read the whole series, I will let you click through if you want some more back up. She even sites page numbers.

I don't even think I need to get into the other creepy things he does, like watching her sleep, smelling her, telling her he wants to eat her, allowing her to think for the first month that she was worthless and that he hated her.... that is all minor when you look at the big picture.

If you think I am being over dramatic, so be it. I just think that people should take a little more care in what their children are reading. After all, as a parent, it is up to you to teach your children love, respect and what constitutes a proper relationship.

And if you are just reading it for fun- by all means go ahead. I watch trashy reality shows, I can't judge you. I just hope you just take a moment to think about it from a different angle. That's all I ask.

Alright Twihards- let me have it!!!


13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Molly hates the whole Twilight series..........

Anonymous said...

Great article...I can neither agree or disagree with you on the character of Edward Cullen as I have to admit I only read about a third of the Twilight novel before giving up on it. As you say I'm sure its a fantastic book if you are 14 years old but as an adult it leaves a lot to be desired. I did read the Harry Potter series but as far I'm concerned that was a one off. This whole craze for having childrens books in the adult sections of book shops just has to stop. Thats the last time I will ever buy a book simply because its popular. I'm sure it makes a great Hollywood movie but to give this book any literary credit is quite frankly ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

Great article! I cannot believe how the female kind of any age see E.Cullen as the perfect boyfriend. He may look perfect (as the author mentions like 2398290823 times in the book) and seem like a guy out of the Regency era or something, but he is nothing but a pedophile. He may look 17, but he is like a century old. The only time he seems a little normal is in the last book, because there he is not mentioned much and the last book is worst of all anyways. I can't believe how woman want a man like him. He is abusive (psychologically), controlling and most likely to be one of the guys we see on TV that beat their wives and make them feel unworthy and meaningless. I hope there were more people that could see the real personality beneath the façade S.Meyer so childishly placed. And yeah, to give this book any literary credit is quite frankly ridiculous. I've read better fanfictions that it.

steph said...

I'm with ya, sister... Stephenie Meyer does not exactly command the English language; as for me, I hate her description of his skin... gag me, please.

That said, I have less of a problem with Edward (though he's a tool bag, for sure) and more of a problem with Miss-Too-Emo-For-Her-Face Bella Swan. Seriously, cheer up, child. I can't handle portraying such a weak and needy heroine. Personally, I'd prefer any little girl to read the Babysitter's Club series or Nancy Drew for that matter... because while those seriously put women in the kitchen and home w/ the kids, at least those girls are smart and strong-willed unlike Bella who would die without one of her boy toys.

Everyone told me, "if you love Harry Potter, you'll love the Twilight series." LIES, I tell you. JK Rowling is a fabulous writer; she definitely knows her way around the English language... and she has such powerful characters. I have read all the Twi books, and unlike HP, with each book, I grew increasingly ticked off with Mrs. Meyer. Grrr... just thinking about it frustrates me! That 4th book is the biggest piece of junk I've ever read, no doubt.

Amen, sister!

steph said...

Oh, unlike you, I found these books a breeze to get through. I literally became obsessed and read all 4 in just a few days.

When I read Twilight, I thought, "not too bad." My views progressed, and now that I've seen the movie and had time to stew, my hatred is cemented.

melissa said...

I got addicted to reading the books, but at the same time I wanted to throw them all against the wall! I kept wondering why I was getting so drawn in to this crap!!!!

I caught grammar mistakes, and I am HORRIBLE at grammar. So ya, that is bad.

And her over use of certain words...try reading all 4! She never learns new words. Word has a synonym finder dude...USE IT!

BUT, I still went and saw the movie. And I will probably go see New Moon. Masochism I guess.

But you can't blame Edward for wanting to eat her...he is a vampire and all!! :)

melissa said...

Oh....and it must be said- People who compare her to JKR and this series to Harry Potter- BULLSHIT! No comparison. Not even close. No Way. No How.

(and this all from someone who is ok with Twilight, even though I agree you hit everything spot-on)

Molly O. said...

And this is why we are sister soulmates Miss....I think it and you blog it! :)

I haven’t really ever written anything about Twatlight (for fear my brain might explode) but I'll give it a try.

I really didn't like the book from the beginning (shocker) but it went really fast for me (about 2 hours as I didn’t have to think while I read it...which shows you how much of a literary genius S. Meyer is). And by the end of the first book I wanted to stake him (or decapitate him or however they kill the bastards) and throw her under a bus because she is just as bad as he is. I mean 2505 pages and not an original thought in her head! (This is why Edward couldn’t read her mind as she is a mindless twatwaffle)

And what really baffles the hell out of me is why this girl survived the series! I mean this girl is a walking disaster. (This is coming from a girl who spends more time in emergency rooms than not) Seriously. She walks TOWARD danger. That’s balanced. She's a nutbag.

And of course the part about him watching her while she slept.....wow. I almost threw myself into oncoming traffic. If I woke up and saw someone just sitting in my bedroom watching me sleep I would have beat the shit out of him and called the cops. But noooo, she decides she’s in love with him. I...um...huh?

And tons of people are obsessed with these idiot books (and I say people because I have guy friends who like this shit) and think THAT IT IS ACTUALLY LITERATURE. This crap book about a VAMPIRE (how do these people not realize they don’t exist?) and an emo girl who falls in love with said vampire after like three days. And the first of those two days involved him almost losing control and slaughtering a whole classroom just so he could eat her because she smelled delicious. Where does that get fun? This guy who technically is a pedophile abusing this girl to the point where if he ever left her and she’d throw herself off a cliff (which she does in the second book because he leaves her) because she "can't live without him"....abuse survivors and woman's aid groups worldwide are not amused.

And as for the movies...I almost got killed watching the first one because as I couldn’t stop laughing when he made wind chime noises while he was sparkling in the sun. I mean I got looks of death. From TWIMOMS. Actually going to the second one could be fun as I could ruin the whole experience for all the Twihards out there. Of course I won’t walk out of the theatre alive...

Now you would think that these girls/guys obsessed with RPattz would HATE him because he keeps going on and on in interviews about how S. Meyer is obsessed with her own fictional character and is completely insane....nope. They think he IS Edward and he can do no wrong. This again makes me weep for the future. He has actually said that S. Meyer thinks she is Bella and that Edward is real...and that she is batshit bonkers for believing it. WIN. He also keeps talking about how he HATES Edward and can't stand girls thinking he IS him (apparently reality is going out of fashion). So just remember that RPattz is on our side.

But ultimately I take comfort in the fact that Twihards are too obsessed with a fictional character to ever reproduce... because in reality most guys that "sparkle" really aren't that into girls.

And just remember: friends don't let friends fall in love with unhealthy fictional characters.

Scott said...

A one Ms. CW-D (after admitting my most recent pastime to her, said I should come over and read your analysis)

I'll painfully admit to being on the third book. Yes yes... I'm a 12 year old girl.... with boy parts.

Kidding about the girl part. I am reading the damn books so make your own conclusions.

I wholeheartedly agree that Stephenie Meyer is by all means NOT a literary ANYthing. If I had a single thought in my head I'd attempt to write a book myself. Based on Twilight, it appears anyone can.

All that aside... I am enjoying them though it's frustrating for all the reasons you point out. Like all of them. I never read books. Like ever so when I actually started, I became a little OCD about it.

So there you have it. Guilt by association. I'm guilty of reading them, and I'm guilty of liking them and will be guilty of watching the movies. Guilty guilty guilty and moderately embarrassed.

All in a day, eh?

Anonymous said...

ive read the twilight series twice the second time around i realized. the same thing about edward cullen

Gomba said...

I once appreciated it's teen garbageness. Never liked Edward, I saw all of his creepy/abusive habits in the first like, 5 chapters or w/e. And then the fourth book and movie came out. I could barely keep it together during the movie and almost burned the fourth book before I finished it.

Anonymous said...

All that Twilight is is a book about a creepy, abusive vampire who obsessively stalks his whiny, annoying girlfriend. It is a piece of crap.

Unknown said...

Having not read the book, with only a slight chance of doing so, won't agree or .., but will say out of all the 'personal blogs' stumbled, yours caused me to stop, read and think. So for the one article having been read, gotta say less gagoliscious and not covered in a thick sauce of narcissism than most. Bookmarked (for now).