Twilight: A state of ambiguity or obscurity

I had no expectations when I agreed to see Twilight with my sisters yesterday. I haven’t done much with Anna lately, so when she called to ask me to the movie, I figured I might as well.

I said I started out with no expectations, but low expectations is probably a better descriptor. Face it, teen romance flick + vampire movie ≠ great movie. But Twilight certainly exceeded my expectations.

Grace told me afterward that I would have understood it better if I’d read the books–but I didn’t find it hard to follow at all (which is quite a feat for me, especially without subtitles). The plot was simple and relatively uncomplicated. Knowing that Edward was a vampire from the get-go meant that the entire first half or so of the movie (in which Bella figures out that Edward is a vampire) was pretty dull. The second half sped quickly through what little plot was present and ended with a set up for the next movie (big surprise).

What Twilight lacked in plot it made up in romance–endless shots of Edward and Bella lying next to each other in a meadow, Edward and Bella high in a tree, Edward and Bella at the piano, etc, etc. Which explains the appeal for Grace–and for the scores of young women who adore the movie.

Anna says that she found the concept of restraint and self-control found in the movie refreshing. I agree. You don’t often see self-control promoted in our pop culture. Twilight ups the ante on sexual restraint by having Edward be not only attracted to Bella sexually–but also attracted to her as food.

My primary “thing” against Twilight has always been, and continues to be, that I’m uncomfortable with the degree to which my younger sister (and some of her friends) have gotten into it–particularly, how much they’ve gotten into Edward. I don’t think that obsessions with any fictional or real character are healthy.

The ability of perfectly “okay” books or movies to become pornographic in the mind of a young woman is something that must be guarded against. Unfortunately, discerning what is appropriate and what isn’t is difficult to do. You can’t just check the nudity ratings and see whether there’s a sex scene. You can’t just check the language ratings. Maybe men can use such things to determine whether a movie is safe (I don’t know, I’m not a man)–but women’s minds are much too complex to rely solely on such crude screening devices.

According to screenit.com, Twilight has “moderate” sex and nudity–which consists primarily of a couple of cleavage baring scenes and two kissing scenes. Shouldn’t be a big deal for a girl, right? Not quite. I squirmed through the entire movie–the first half because all the character interactions were so awkward, but the second half because of the sexual tension on-screen. Edward and Bella didn’t have sex. They only kissed on two occasions. But the sneakier, more dangerous material was ever-present. Sitting atop a tree together, watching the view. Walking through the woods, not touching but oh so close. Edward watching Bella sleep. Edward protecting Bella. Intimacy. Closeness. The movie reeks of it. Stronger porn than any sex scene.

The movie wasn’t bad. But I must guard my heart. I won’t be seeing it again.