I saw Breaking Dawn last night, and it was . . . better than I expected, actually! I mean, the subject matter is intrinsically ridiculous, but they did a reasonable job with it. It was awful in an entertaining way, rather than awful in a dull way. It was, to use one of my favorite new words, hilarrible - simultaneously horrible and hilarious.
My feelings on Twilight in general are moderate in a way that's pretty boring but that I don't really hear people mention much, so to put it out there: It's, you know, okay. I've read all the books and seen all the movies. They're not my favorites. I don't love them. But they're far from the worst books I've read or the worst movies I've seen. (Breaking Dawn isn't even the worst movie I've seen in the past month.) I think they're only such a Thing because of external factors, and the books themselves are just . . . enh. Not good. But not the worst thing in the world.
I've heard a lot of people say things like "I loved those books until I realized Bella's behavior was wrong," or "because she's a doormat" or "because she's not a good role model," and that totally rubs me the wrong way. It often sounds like it really means either "I loved those books until people told me I shouldn't" or "I secretly still love those books but think I shouldn't admit it." And . . . but why? Since when does liking something mean agreeing with decisions made by the characters? I rarely hear anyone saying "I used to like Rebecca but Mrs. de Winter is such a doormat that she literally lets her husband get away with murder." or "Those people in Wuthering Heights are all such bad role models!" or "I watch Dexter but don't worry! I know people shouldn't actually be serial killers!" So the fact that people - many people - say this sort of thing about Twilight smacks of what Sarah Rees Brennan talks about here about an assumption that young girls don't understand the concept of fiction and therefore YA books should always have good role models. And really, people like things for all kinds of reasons, and I would never assume that because someone liked a book or a character, they agreed with or wanted to emulate that character's actions.
Some more interesting Breaking Dawn-related links:
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the RPatz
Robert Pattinson Says Stuff Sometimes
Twilight, Fetish, and Protecting Girls from Themselves
The Harsh Bigotry of Twilight-Haters
When Is It Okay for You to Hate Twilight? Here's a Guide.
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