There has been a dramatic increase in occult activity and symbolism in main stream media in the last few weeks. From witch and demon costumes to bloody skull candles, you can find a bit of Halloween almost anywhere you go. I think we can all agree this increase is expected behavior for the weeks before October 31st. What struck me as odd this year is the extreme focus on vampires.
Television shows and movies have taken a dramatic turn to satiate the public’s new found obsession, for which I hold one book series accountable.
Twilight.
Let me be the first to admit, I loved reading the series. Kudos to the author, Stephenie Meyer, for creating such a compelling story. After I read the third book, the anticipation of waiting for the fourth to be released nearly drove me up the wall. I went to the Twilight website regularly checking for updates, joined FB groups, and even pushed all of my friends to read them so we could talk about it.
So what is it about Twilight that makes it such a gripping tale? I like to think it is Edward’s (the vampire) love for Bella (the leading lady), but even if we overlook the fact that Edward is a vampire, he has a few less-than-innocent qualities that may be trumping even love when it comes to drawing readers in…
1) Wealth
2) Power
3) Immortality
4) Unnatural beauty
5) Mind-reading and other “powers”
I’d caution everyone that reads the series to take a step back and make sure their interests do in fact lie in the love story and not with learning about occult activity or glorifying the false idols in the list above. As adults, it is easier to focus on the parts of the book that are in line with our values, but I worry it may not be as easy for young readers (the target audience) to differentiate.
pish posh.
Hahaha. I had a feeling you would react that way. You aren’t the audience I’m worried about though.
Yes yes, i see the point. but it still had to be said. 🙂 i still love you though!