How to Talk to Girls About the Messages of New Moon

My friend Alyssa posted this link to an excellent blog by a female writer and educator named Rachel Simmons. She writes a fantastic blog post about how Twilight can be used by educators as a teaching tool. While, she looks at the two movies, her lesson plans can also extend to the books. So I'm posting part of her blog here along with my response. This is an important issue. As much as I dislike and belittle Twlight, its impact on young, teenage girls in PHENOMENAL which is really disturbing. Someone needs to sit down and have discussion with these girls without belittling them. In the words in Simmons, "Challenging it would be like taking on rock and roll." So here's the post in italics. My comments are below.


I think there’s been enough written about the dizzyingly bad messages “New Moon” telegraphs to girls. Among the cringe-worthy morals of this story: When you’re in love, the only thing that matters in life is your man. If you get dumped, your life is over, so feel free to act suicidal to get him back. Even if he tells you he never wants to see you again, manipulation and game-playing are effective ways to get his attention. Your friends are only ornaments; just kick them to the curb when he comes back.

No matter how you slice it, Bella Swan’s one reason for being is Edward Cullen. She’s got no hobbies. She’s got no opinions. She pretty much has no friends. The girl has nothing on her or about her that extends beyond one burning, fangy desire: Get. Edward. Back. Is it any wonder that when Bella extends her hand to the mind-reading Italian vampire, he is stunned to see “nothing?”

Which puts adults in a thoroughly uncomfortable position. Sitting in a sea of girls twittering and swooning at the phenomenal acting skills of Taylor Lautner’s torso, I found myself praying quietly for a scene where Bella paints, or sits on a bus with the debate team, or does something unrelated to obsessive, self-destructive pining. And I began to wonder how we could talk to girls about this film.
My suggestion is that we don’t come down like a ton of bricks on it. That’s a debate we’re sure to lose. Twilight isn’t just a phenomenon of dollars; it’s a social obsession among girls. It’s something they bond over and believe in together. Challenging it would be like taking on rock and roll.
So let’s talk with girls about New Moon on their terms and ours. This is a terrific opportunity for you to communicate your own values as a parent about intimacy, love and relationships. 

This is a really great work of writing and very informative. I read this to my fiance who is soon to become a high school English teacher; he’s bemoaning the fact that he’s going to have to read Twilight eventually because it’s what the students are reading. I think this a great way to use popular fiction to facilitate class discussion.

I read all four books and saw the first movie, and personally found myself disgusted. I personally found Bella to be very flat and uninspiring. She has zero personality; she defines herself entirely through Edward. Contrary to what some say said, I don’t think Bella has any hobby much less a deep love for reading books. She only reads ONE book (albeit over and over): Wuthering Heights. If you think about it, that’s another book which revolves around a couple with an equally, actually more, destructive relationship. They’d make interesting companion pieces.

I can see how New Moon in some ways, accurately captures the loss and despair teenage girls feel after a break up (the whole world is over; I’ll never find love again). But the level of obsession, to the point of danger, that Bella has is disturbing. I really dislike the way she treats Jacob. I personally think he was better for her; their relationship seemed more playful and intimate than the control, distance, mixed with intense, obssessive passion that characterized her and Edward’s relationship. However, after Edward comes back Jacob turns into a total jerk. Both are at least borderline abusive towards her; it's a running joke that while watching the Twilight movies you can check off all the things on the domestic abuse hotline list.

Issues about sexual activity also need to be discussed. To me the whole book reads like tract on on abstinence. Edwards constantly tells Bella they cannot have sex until they are married. Bella just throws herself at Edward, not concerned the least bit about the consequences emotional or physical. Edward's reason for not wanting to have sex seem more belittling than noble; he's afraid of "breaking" or "hurting" her. Way to perpetuate the stereotype and paranoia. Granted, Bella enjoys it later on in spite of all the injuries. Why is it the fact after all the hinting and denying, when the two are finally married, the reader never sees them having sex?! It's like saying, this is something secret girls aren't allowed to see. I'm not in favor of a hardcore smut scene, but it'd be nice to see a little action, even if cloaked in metaphors, like romance novels. Lastly, comparing Twilight to other “high school” or “teenage” vampire novels to see how they treat similar issues could make another great lesson.

Exploring the Darkness to Find Mediocrity: Review of Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Triology

Just recently I picked up Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy. I finished Daughter of the Blood within a week, and found myself desperately ordering Heir to the Shadows because the former ended on a cliffhanger. All the while, I thought to myself this series isn't that great, Bishop isn't a very good writer, so why am I stuck on reading these books? What is so addicting about these stories involving the "Darkness" and "Witch?"

After I finished the first book, I was uncertain as to whether or not I liked it. I picked up the second because I hate cliffhangers and wanted to give the series a fair shot. I've officially decided I don't like the series, yet I ordered the third book, Queen of the Darkness. People have asked me, "How can you say you didn't like the series when you read all of it?" I've boiled it down to three things: I hate not knowing how things end, I hate cliffhangers, and I'm a sucker for an fantasy epic type romance.

To give a little background info for those unfamiliar with the series. These books are about a sort of Amazonian/matriarchal kingdom that has been twisted. A girl named Janelle is the prophesied savior of the kingdom, she is Witch--encompassing all the powers of the "Darkness" (the magical force of world). She meets with three men, Saetan, Luciver, and Daemon, influences all their lives. They all swear to protect and serve her. All the while there are multiple evil forces in the supernatural and the physical world all trying to take control of Janelle and thus gain power of the world.

I find this book series has a lot in common with another book series, I didn't like but plowed through quickly as well: The "Study" Series by Maria V. Snyder. I think Anne Bishop has a lot of the same issues as Snyder. Her main character is a Mary-Sue; she's perfect. Janelle is a prophesied messiah witch. She's beautiful, kind, compassionate, strong, powerful, and everyone loves her on sight. Her only flaw: she's measely at basic magic. Hmmm...sounds a lot like the supernatural equivalent of the physical clumsiness Yelena suffered from. While Yelena mastered super fighting skills in two days, Janelle masters advanced magic in a day.

The secondary protagonists (Luciver, Saetan, Daemon) are all pretty predictable. The over protective brother; the gentle understanding father; the passionate loyal lover. Yes they are all demons and all have personal issues, nevertheless FLAT. We're starting to get into Twilight territory here... However, I think Bishop's writing skill far exceeds Meyer's. Okay back on topic!

I think one of my largest problems with the series is that I had no real understanding of the world created. Most fantasy novels seem to take place in a medieval-esque period. Kaeleer, Tereille and the other locations seemed to want to be set in a Medival world with kings, queens, nobility and such. People travel in carriages and by horseback. However, I just could not get over how modern everything sounded; the characters wore button up "suits" smoked cigarettes; one of the characters had spikey, short blonde hair and wore spikey boots; and those "dark blue trousers" Janelle and many other characters wore seemed a cover for blue jeans. Furthermore, I still don't understand the magical and hierarchy system. It's really complex, and Bishop just throws you in the world with only a short list of the jewel colors and the different Blood (magical people) ranks. I don't understand the magical travel systems of webs and winds. The books just resound with modern influence. It suggests to me that Bishop doesn't have a clear idea of the world she created.

Bishop's books hold an interesting premise. She knows how to appeal to the emotions and get you invested in the characters, even though their personalities and actions are predictable. She does believe in writing strong, female characters. She throws in a major cliffhanger at the end of book one and finally states an official romance that has been brewing between Janelle and Daemon. However, her story drags like a twenty pound sack of flour. It takes forever to get to the action. You have to slog through more than half the book over 200 pages of exposition before you get to the action. I have to say my venture into her realm of "Darkness" was really "meh." I'm not impressed with Bishop's writing. I'll probably be finished with her after reading the third book in the trilogy. I have to know what happens otherwise it's going to bug me forever, especially now that there's a romance involved.