Why I’m Not a Fan of Twilight Anymore – Part One

Recently, in one of our articles about 50 Shades of Grey, I mentioned in passing that I’m no longer a fan of Twilight. This one sentence got an interesting response with several emails and comments asking me if I’d go into why I made that decision. Before I start, let me say that this was something sent to my heart. I’m not out here beating a drum and telling everyone that they need to heed these words. I’m only sharing what I know and what I’ve learned and asking that people make their own choices once they’ve read what I have to say.

A little over a year ago, I was very into Twilight. I owned all the books and the movies that were out on DVD. Several friends and I even had movie nights when we went to the movies in the theaters or watched them at my house. I figured that they were mostly clean harmless entertainment.

It all started for me with one question. In the Twilight books, there’s a lot of discussion about Edward’s soul. Bella loves Edward so deeply that she’s convinced that something or someone that loves so deeply can’t possibly be without a soul. She finally comes to the decision that even if it means she needs to give up her soul and any chance for an eternity in heaven, she would do so willingly. She loves Edward that much.

But here’s my question. What if Edward Cullen really DID die in 1917 and his soul isn’t in play here at all? What if whatever inhabits Edward is actually demonic? (Bear with me here. I know I’m going out on a limb!) And if that, then what if they’re all demonic? Jacob. The wolves. The Volturi. What if there are no ‘good or bad’ supernatural creatures but they’re all really on the same side and driving toward the same goal? That goal being to push Bella as far away from God as they possibly can. Just picture that for a minute. What if the wolves and the vampires and the legends and all the stories in the Twilight book are just a well crafted play to drive Bella away from God or anything even close to it?

I know it sounds crazy, but for just a minute, let your mind wander over that idea and imagine what it would look like. For me personally, I think it would look exactly like the Twilight saga. Every single thing that the wolves and the bad vampires and the ‘good’ vampires did drives Bella to make the decisions she does – and leaves her with seemingly no choice but those decisions. Interesting theory if you really consider it.

Beyond that idea though, let’s talk about what this next generation of teenagers has learned about love and about the supernatural world from Twilight.

Sacrifice: In each of the books, Bella ends up having to sacrifice her life for the Cullen’s or Edward. She goes willingly to her death again and again and again. In the first book, there’s the fight with James. In the second book, she’s got visions of Edward once he leaves that drive her to death defying stunts and then finally at the end of that one, she’s the only one that can save Edward. In Eclipse, the big battle and stand-off with Victoria all come about because of Bella and she happily cuts her wrist in order to save those she loves. (Even reckoning back to an old legend planted in her mind by the wolves about a first wife who sacrifices her life so that her husband and children can live.) And we all know how Breaking Dawn turns out – with Bella ultimately having become a vampire herself – sacrificing her life to have Edward’s child. The way the books are written, it all seems really noble and huge and beautiful. But think clearly about it. Bella is a young, insecure, uncertain teenager throughout this process. Even by the end of the final book, she’s only just 18 years old. She doesn’t even make it into her twenties. And yet she’s been called upon to make all of these life sacrifices for ‘love.’

> >   Part 2 of this article can be found here < <