1. I'm so tired of Twilight. Honestly, I had never heard of the series until the first movie was announced and I recall turning to a few of my friends and earnestly asking: "Have you guys heard of any of this stuff before?" Maybe it's just me, but it felt like literally overnight I lived in a Twilight-less universe, only to have it shoved in my face the next and become a massive part of pop-culture.

While in Best Buy the other day my girlfriend had called my attention to a special tin/lunchbox edition of the first movie with the tag line "Greatest romance since Titanic."

I don't even know what to say about that.

More on topic: I've been told that there is a strong abstinence message in the books, probably due to the author's religious views.

Posted at 1:45PM on Nov 17th 2009 by Reuben

2. I don't have a problem with the abstinence thing, but as far as girls who are "waiting for their own Edward Cullen to show up" goes, it bothers me to no end. I could go off on a rant how movies send a message to women on what and how their romantic relationships should be, and that every woman/girl deserves 100 roses every week, and we should all write love letters and send them every day, and romantic this and romantic that, but that's just the nature of the beast.

As far as Edward Cullen goes, trust me, he's not coming. He doesn't care about you and will not do anything the lease bit romantic. And all the women/girls around the world who think they know an Edward are mistaken 90 percent of the time. 90 percent of the time that Edward is just an asshole. So don't waste your time looking for Mr. Right, just look for Mr. Normal because that's the best most girls can hope for.

Posted at 2:07PM on Nov 17th 2009 by Mike

3. Totally agree with you. I hate the hype as much as I hated the books.
When I get over exposed I watch these

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZwM3GvaTRM
Buffy V Ed (on here before)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1glNuQiE77E
Emo Vampire song (fairly new)

Posted at 11:29PM on Nov 18th 2009 by De

4. Interestingly, BRIGHT STAR approaches a similar level of ridiculously sexy, romantic abstinence. You don't need fangs. Women's sexuality is based very much in the head and their heart rather than their groin. So an obsessive, all-consuming, not-really-requited crush is a great (SAFE) fantasy for women girls. Meanwhile the moms can also feel comfortable with it, since it is indeed so chaste.

Ultimately though, you're gonna have to end up in BREAKING DAWN (or TRUE BLOOD/Sookie Stackhouse) territory. It's called growing up. :)

Posted at 1:53PM on Nov 17th 2009 by ProgGrrl

5. Ok, I'll be upfront and admit I haven't read the books. But I've read excerpts. And believe me, what I read appealed far more to my groin than it did to my head or heart! The engine driving the Twilight machine most of all, I think, is lust. If you're a tween/young teen girl (I once was one), Twilight is to you what porn is to the older generation in terms of sheer sexiness - good enough for going solo, if you know what I mean. Young girls devour Twilight because it turns them on, and I don't think that that's conducive to abstinence. I really don't think it's the "great, safe" fantasy you imagine. Sure, there's plenty of sacharine-sweet romance and whatnot, but in the end it all comes back to sex, about which the characters constantly obsess. That just doesn't say "abstinence" to me.

Posted at 6:31PM on Nov 17th 2009 by Devon

6. Girls don't need Twilight to have overly high ideals of romance and while obviously Twilight does promote an ideal that doesn't exist and has a few iffy qualities, I don't think it is necessarily a bad thing if it causes a few girls to be more thoughtful and take their time a little.

As for Bella's almost worship of Edward? Yes, that was disturbing until I realized that Edward is much the same way in his appreciation of Bella. They actually matched each other perfectly; sometimes, irritatingly so.

Posted at 2:22PM on Nov 17th 2009 by Felicia

7. Cullen represents the converted rebel, the nice bad guy, the bla bla bla that women fantasize about. In doing so, their views of men become skewed and they pass up perfectly good guys that are acceptable, however potentially unremarkable for the ones that make them salivate. There is a sexual hunger which drives the abstinence motivations, creating a "I'll wait for my Cullen"/waiting for the right man" motivation which would also create a perfectly rational, in their minds, reason for having sex once they meet this man. It's high school as it always was. The girls who dream of making Mr. Right from Mr. Wrong work have been and will always be. The cliche is immortal.

It's actually a very smart move to write Edward as a character for young women, but it definitely focuses the target audience on this group of like-minded girls while completely alienating the majority of guys who find themselves in this normal category. It also creates an unreal expectation of men in general, much like most movies with hot female leads and fashion magazines do for women.

It's today's fantasy novels sans Fabio, add True Blood. (Some of the similarities in the novels are interesting, considering Harris wrote True Blood a while before Twilight came out. In a recent interview at a book signing in Decatur, GA, it seems she was quick to distance herself from the Twilight novels without offending the author, with comments like "Well, mine was first...")

I for one hope there are vampires out there. I hope they finally come forth and announce to the world that they are pretty much the same as they have been for centuries, and find most humanity curious, like a wolf finds a baby chicken curious right before he bites down on the thing's neck. Then we'll realize all this fantasy high-school girl BS tweeny crap completely missed the mark and we normal guys can all get dates to the dance again.

Posted at 2:46PM on Nov 17th 2009 by j

8. Thank you!! Thank you for saying exactly what I've been telling people. Twilight, IMHO, doesn't really promote abstinence, but rather a mentality that focuses obsessively on hot makeouts and lying in bed together just *aching* for sex. I suspect that the majority of young Twihards, whilst respecting Edward's insistence on premarital abstinence, are now more keyed-up about sex than they were before! But they'll be in for a disappointment when they find that sex doesn't always fulfill their sky-high expectations. Not *every* girl can have her own sexy stalker, after all.

Posted at 6:18PM on Nov 17th 2009 by Devon

9. The problem with the "abstinence" message is that there really isn't one. They want to, but he'll accidentally kill her if he tries. The other teenage "vampires" are sexing it up all the time. He actually gets her all horned up and promises to do her (and bite her) to get her to agree to marry him. (Does that make him a twat tease?) The reasons the author doesn't describe the sex act has more to do with her own psyche than her religion. She was an English lit major. She knows that cheap, poorly written romances are considered nothing more than soft core porn.

Posted at 11:40PM on Nov 18th 2009 by De

10. To all those young women who think that their Edward is out there, no maybe he doesn't drive a silver volvo and maybe he won't stay the night everynight but I, as a young woman myself, am sick and tired of people telling us girls to get a grip and settle for someone normal. Today's society tells us that the average (normal) male sits at home all day watching football and drinking a beer while he claims that his wife/girlfriend is too overbearing. Now I have no problem with football itself but lets face it, men today are lazy. They have it in their heads that their women should just shut up and be satisfied that they even chose to be in this relationship in the first place. I am saving myself for marriage and I really appreciated the whole abstenince concept that Stephanie Meyer brought to the books. And sorry but with the rising percentage of teenage girls getting pregnant, you would think that parents would be grateful for any idea that would encourage their teen to wait, and yes look for that MAN that will respect them and love them for who they are not who they pretend to be. ( And notice I'm not talking about a fictional character!!!!!)
Maybe Edward isn't real, but that doesn't mean we should settle for the average bum either.

Posted at 12:35AM on Nov 19th 2009 by Tiffany

11. The only reason for restraint in the book is that Eddie is afraid he's gonna freaking kill her if they get it on. Other than that, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to plow her. And Bella being a virgin? It's just part of her character. She's disturbingly normal and not particularly out there, for the most part she's shy. Her ever getting Edward's attention was LUCK along with some super-human bullcrap. He was drwn to her because he was curious. Why the hell couldn't he read her mind? That's it.

Posted at 12:38PM on Nov 19th 2009 by Leigh

12. The Entire Twilight Series in ONE SONG! Please watch this video where there are over 50 cast members who volunteered their time to help get Hot Lava Monster’s new song onto the soundtrack of Breaking Dawn. See the video at www.youtube.com/rocumentarian

Posted at 10:00PM on Nov 24th 2009 by the Rocumentarian

13. Those of us who choose to practice abstinence are made to feel alone most of the time with all the not-so-subtle sex themes that permeate almost every aspect of our daily lives. What is so wrong with a book that dares to introduce a theme of abstinence when most others safely stick to the overused pre-marital sex theme? I am tired of seeing the same thing over and over again. I think that Twilight shows the romantic side and benefits of waiting till you are married. And it is pretty hard to find anything wrong with that. Although entertainment is directed towards the majority of the population, people neglect to recognize that the minorities’ views are often being neglected in the process. Those who practice abstinence already feel separated from society, what is so wrong with a book that seeks to make a small bridge to include us?

Posted at 12:33AM on Nov 24th 2009 by Lana

14. Sure you can put a negative spin on anything you see! Perhaps the countless numbers of movies where girls go out drinking, having sex because it's cool and being lost are better for teenagers than a movie who makes them THINK about what they want for themselves, what matters to them.
Twilight was not a book set out there to teach abstinence nor relationships. It is a sci fi novel that most likely reflects the author's own fantasies... Please, give it a rest.
It IS inspiring to see that people CAN be protective, CAN make the right choice, CAN live with consequences of their decisions CAN control themselves. It makes people wonder if they CAN do some of that too. I don't see anyone shooting down all the disney classics that teach our girls how to have NO CONTROL over their lives, and have to be rescued all the time. Twilight bring up things that are noble, decent, sincere and strong as much as it brings up pent up sexual energy, death and agression... So what? The books rock - so said millions and millions of people who READ IT, so does the movies, so said millions and millions of people who WATCHED it, it has made tons of money, entertained tons of people, and that was the WHOLE POINT RIGHT?
You wish you had a series of books who got turned into movies who inspired a lot of people and entertained millions! Get over it!

Posted at 4:18PM on Dec 14th 2009 by karen