Are you on team Edward or Team Jacob? Do you know which team you are on? If you don’t know what we’re talking about here we are talking about Twilight. It has swept the nation in a way that has surprised alot of people. But not surprisingly young girls everywhere are going gaga for the sparkly vampire Edward and for the young werewolf Jacob. Young girls are taking sides ( or teams ) on who should win out for Bella’s attention. This is really sort of silly because the books have all been written and we all know how this story ends.
But the even sillier part of this is the name bestowed on Moms who have seemingly become as enamored with the story as their young daughters. Moms are reading the books and taking their daughters to the movies. Not just in proportionate numbers but in large numbers. So many Moms that apparently they required a name – “The Twilight Moms”. The facts that Moms are reading Twilight and taking their daughters to the movie and buying the T-shirts and other gear is not all that silly. The truly silly part of this story is the analysis that was discussed on TV this past week about WHY some Moms love Twilight.
On a serious news channel a serious psychologist was introduced and he said that there are so many Moms that love Twilight because they are not getting satisfied at home. Their romance at home has faded and so they are turning the to the movie.
Really? Could he be farther off the mark?
Twilight was originally written by a Mom who wrote a story that she thought her close friends would enjoy reading – it was written by a Mom for other Moms. It is at its heart a romance novel. A vampire that doesn’t turn into dust in the sunshine but instead sparkles? There have been some big liberties taken with the vampire legend. I have been reading vampire stories since high school when I first read Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
So, when I first read Twilight I was a little put off by the soda pop version of the vampire story but as romance novels go it was really well written and a very fast read as Stephanie Meyers, the author, does have a real sense of pacing the story line to keep you involved and wanting to know what was going to happen next.
Back to the silliness.
Moms are into Twilight because they are lacking romance at home. WRONG.
The appeal of Edward is that he is the perfect man – he adores Bella, he would do anything for her, he wants to do everything he can to keep her safe, he makes her laugh, he has a fast car and apparently tons of money and good manners but when it comes to physical contact he has to restrain himself and he leaves Bella to her self.
The problem is not that Moms don’t have enough romance in their lives – it is just the opposite – sometimes they just want to be left alone.
The Twilight series is very well written and even though we loved the story line of the triangle between Bella, Edward and Jacob it really wasn’t until the movie New Moon that we all fell in love with Jacob. We began to route for Bella and Edward in the first book but when we saw the performance of Taylor Lautner as the young Jacob tormented by the changes his body is going through in the process of becoming a grown up ( werewolf ). He was also not bad to look at. And even if we do have our own hunky guy at home there is nothing wrong with enjoying and appreciating the effort he took to bulk up for the movie.
So, whatever your reason for routing for one team or the other you will enjoy this new edition of the Twilight Series. The special effects in New Moon, the soundtrack, and the cinematography are much better than in the first movie
So, enjoy the movie but leave us Moms to ourselves.