why i disagree with all of you(:

Cultural phenomenons, such as book series, TV series, and other trends, usually have little to no effect on my interests. I was never a Harry Potter fan, and the only book series I have ever completed was Twilight. I was suckered into the trend freshman year of high school. I was never consumed to the point of obsession, but I’ll admit it was hard to put the books down. Bella and Edward, human and vampire, share a debatably cliché romance where one “completes” the other. Bella’s personality is transparent- she has very little sense of individuality, not a lot of confidence, and lacks excitement in basically all areas of her life. Stephanie Meyer created Edward Cullen, the epitome of perfection- Dangerous, dark and mysterious.. and relentlessly passionate, protective and selfless, to “complete” Bella, and give her readers a sense of fulfillment in the fact that a love like that exists, even if it is to reside solely in fantasy based romance novels. The passion rooted in Bella and Edward’s unity is what keeps readers turning pages. Later Stephanie Meyer introduces Jacob Black, Bella’s best friend and potential lover, as well as a sworn enemy of the Cullen family. Bella is now attracted to two men with an inbred but growing hatred toward one another, turning her cliché romance into an intense love triangle.
So I guess I just can’t agree with the overwhelmingly large number of people who bash the Twilight series and say it’s not a “real story”.. Because quite frankly, I think it is. It’s just a different kind of novel, one which tells a tale of love, lust and a little bit of the supernatural. This was not meant to appeal to Harry Potter fans, who instead find magic and myth more entertaining. They are both great novels, they were just created for different audiences.

Twilight (Lame)

Ever since I saw the first advertisement for the beginning of the twilight series I knew I would never be interested in seeing it.  All I got out of the commercial was a bunch of guys with their shirts off.  Does not sound like my kind of movie.  I'm sure most guys feel the same way unless he is trying to hook up with a girl who would like to go on a date to the movies.  Even if that is the case I probably would not go anyway.  With how much movies are these days spending that much on a Twilight movie just seems foolish.  The story line to this series is all about love and the plot looks rather corny.  But I'm a guy so why would I ever see Twilight.  Guys are not the target audience for this series anyway.  It is all the young females in the world that love this series.  All young girls want to see Edward with his shirt off and wished they could have him. 

The Twilight series does not compare to the Harry Potter series.  Harry Potter was watched by almost all audiences.  It had a wide range of fans at all different ages.  The fact that Harry Potter is not all about love separates it from Twilight as being a much better series.  The story line is much better compared to Bella doing all she can to be with a vampire.  Meyer has the fan base that he needs though.  Young girls will always fall in love with the romantic story line of Twilight.  I guess they find it fun to follow along with but that is something I wouldn’t be caught dead watching.  The part of the article that surprised me was how older women like the series.  I didn’t think women would be interested in a kid that is probably half their age but what do I know I am not a woman.  Great job by Meyers to attracted females of all ages.  He now has that solid fan base that just keeps getting bigger and bigger.  A fan base I will never be a part of.      

Pete Sulovski

Twilight

Personally I have no interest in the Twilight series because the plot is a little focused more towards the feminine liking and also the young audience. However, I can't say that I'm surprised of how big it has gotten now that Harry Potter is out of the picture. In todays society where the young culture is based of constantly being updated and knowing about the newest things. The only thing different between Harry Potter is the plot. They both have long running movies and book series, they both have a fantasy theme but at the same time in a current format.

Its only a matter of time before kids grasp onto the next hot story, and at this point in time it happens to be Twilight. To be honest I think the plot of Twilight happens to be a lot more dull than that of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. I think that might be because of the romantic part, but that is also what draws the young teenage girl crowd. Just give it two or three years until they run out of movies to make, and there will be a new series to take its place.

- Liam O'Neil

Twilight is Terrible

            Twilight is everything Harry Potter is not.  I have never read the Twilight series, and this essay assures me I will not regret it.  Harry Potter was the series of a generation.  The first book of the series was read to me in the third grade and I’ve been hooked on the story ever since.   The final movie released during my senior year of high school, symbolized the closing of a chapter.   Comparing Twilight to the mecca of young adult science fiction is absurd.

            Something the author of the essay pointed out, that I had not realized before, was not only how the lack of personality in Bella is relatable to all average young girls, but also just how loosely outlined all the characters are.  They really have no individual, or original personalities, and all you know about them is only what you can see through Bella.  All the characters in Harry Potter were explained in depth, and the reader could look into the lives of smaller characters as well.  The Twilight books are cheating readers out of a real story, but they continue to eat it up.

            While Bella is made so relatable that the reader can almost envision herself as the helpless vampire lover, Edward is the most stereotypical and unrealistic male romance novel character.  Harry Potter can relate to a wider male audience because characters exhibit masculinity as well as femininity, humility, and an overall lack of perfection.  Even as “The Chosen One” Harry is still a flawed adolescent with much more to learn, both as a wizard and a man.  In Twilight the main male character is perfect in every aspect, but above all he is any girl’s ideal star-crossed lover.  His profound and undying love for Bella is sickly sweet and would make any reader want to be swooped up in his stone cold arms, even middle-aged and “happily” married women.

            Another point the essay made was that Twilight is the modern day love story about the “underdog, quiet girl” who gets the perfect male specimen, different from all others.  However, like the author of the essay said, they are not equals, and Bella is not so ordinary.  The simple fact that Edward choses Bella, shows just how above average she is compared to other girls.  Also, Edward’s fabulous wealth, perfect looks, and acute sensitivity toward Bella make him completely unattainable by reality. 

            Twilight is a disgrace to the science fiction genre, but makes for a gooey romance novel.  If it wasn’t so relentlessly compared to Harry Potter before the release, it would never have sold as many copies as it did.  The only ways it is like Harry Potter would be the science fiction undertones, and anticipated growing series being made into hit movies, with hot actors.  In a nutshell, Twilight is terrible.

I want a wife

In the past Women have been portrayed as the one to take care of the children, cook, clean, and do other household chores. Brady wants to have an old fashion lifestyle, where supper is prepared on the table as the man gets home from a long day at work. I think what Brady is describing is a perfect wife for most every man. Not everyone wants a wife like Brady has described in "I Want a Wife" by Judy Brady, but I am almost certain that the vast majority of the male race would enjoy to have a wife like that. The way that Brady writes this demonstrates all of the different reasons why she wants a wife by using methods of repetition to get it into the readers brain. Brady also demonstrates that men are selfish and demanding by using the word "I" most commonly. The way that Brady writes this shows that she thinks that the women do all of the work and the men don't do anything, they just sit back while their wives do everything. I don't believe this is true, men go to work all day then come home to relax and then go to bed, but when the weekends come around this is where the men have to do the yard work. Brady's style and word choice go towards her theme of female repression. She uses techniques such as irony and repetition to get her points across to her audience.

Twilight...Don't Like It

I have never read Twilight, and I never want to read it; this essay only reaffirmed my mind. Also, I have read all seven Harry Potter novels and loved them. Now let me say this: where Harry Potter shines, Twilight fails. Interest: Harry Potter appeals to people of all ages, whereas Twilight only appeals to teenage girls and women. Harry Potter deals with many issues and leaves readers with a warm heart, whereas Twilight is all about sex and wars between vampires and werewolves (at least, from what I’ve heard). Harry Potter has developed characters that all play an important role in the plot, whereas Twilight, according to this essay, does little to develop even the main characters of Bella and Edward, and they are left with bland personalities. Honestly, from the negative views presented in this essay, it makes me wonder how anyone could enjoy Twilight.

Throughout the essay, the author brings up points that explain how bland and uninspiring the Twilight saga is. He even says that the books, “summon a world in which love is passionate, yet (relatively) chaste, girls need be nothing more than fetchingly vulnerable, and masterful men can be depended upon to protect and worship them if needed.” The author then writes up a summary of the saga that left me asking, “Really?” All I read was a bland depiction of an insecure girl falling in love with a vampire and struggling to cope with this. I was not interested before I read the summary, and I’m definitely not interested now. The author then says that Bella is left as a vacant character so the reader can fill into her shoes. Again, I asked, “Really?” In every other novel that I’ve read, characters are developed so that you can relate to them and understand why they do what they do. Yet in Twilight, a character is left plain and boring for the same reason? It makes no sense to me.

I really don’t understand how this saga can appeal to anyone, let alone teenage girls. Bella is dull and weak, Edward seems to dominate the relationship, and the plot is uninspiring. Maybe it’s just because I am a guy and the book doesn’t particularly appeal to men, but I don’t see why anyone would want to read something like this. I didn’t want to read Twilight before reading this essay, and after reading it, I never want to read Twilight.

Why I (Still) Want a Wife????

This confused me a little bit, only for the fact that I don't know if the writer is a male or a female, not that it matters but it would help to understand the writers point of view. This brings up gender inequality. How males are seen as the people who "bring home the bacon" and the females are the ones that bring up the kids, cook, and clean. It is in some cases sexist. It says that she wants part of her wives income while she is in school and when she is done with school, they can share the money that the both make to pay the bills and such. I cannot say much on this article for the sole reason that in some ways I do not understand it.
I do know that it is sexist in someways and shows the inequality between males and females.

by: Sarah Plisinski