Anti-Twilight Essay

Adair Bones-Poe
Canan
Controversial Issue Paper
November 14, 2010
                                           For the Love of Twilight
      Girl meets boy, boy meets girl. They fall in love and the boy turns out to be a vampire. It sounds like an intriguing story, right? Is it a good enough story to fight over? Apparently the obsessed fans of Twilight think so. They are willing to fight at the drop of a hat with anyone who does not share their opinion. The series is just not good enough to fight over. There are numerous stories of "Twi-hards" (Twilight fans) fighting naysayer's. While this topic may not be controversial in a typical sense, it definitely causes arguments.
   Out of opposition of the Twilight series, the Anti-Twilight Movement rose. On it's website, it's states that it's cause is bring attention to the series flaws, such as  poor writing, abusive and shallow relationships, and "true love". "So why do we care so much anyway? Because it's indicative of a pattern in society to idealize unhealthy and abusive relationships. This book teaches our generation that abusive relationships are okay-- no, ROMANTIC, even. Not only is this book a moral threat to our youth, but an assault on literature itself. It's unoriginal, amateur, openly abusive, and dare I say it, sexist.
Educate yourself. Join the Movement. Don't support Twilight. (Anonymous)"
    Before Twilight, it was safe to debate and voice your opinion on a book. "Our school journalism team makes a monthly magazine with various topics. (An) issue came out… and featured two opposing views of Breaking Dawn (the last in the series). Curious, I read them over. The Breaking Dawn supporter rambled on about how the series' ending left her breathless. The writer [of the anti Breaking Dawn side] called Breaking Dawn a literary piece of trash. Then the (Twilight fans) came, they were fairly pissed after reading the anti article. On my way out of last period, there was a big crowd around the lunch room. I'm sure you can guess what happened. Three fans were beating the hell out of the anti article writer. While calling her a bitch, one actually screamed "How dare you insult Stephenie's writing!" Anyway, Justice has been served, to some extent. After I left school on Friday, the three girls were taken to a juvenile facility, and are currently serving suspension, though I'm not sure how long it is. The girl who wrote the article said she was doing fine, she had to get a few stitches above her eyebrow and her lip was split." (Newitz) A witness had said on the Anti-Twilight Movement's forum and it was picked up by another website. It was wrong of them to beat the writer up, but putting her opinion lightly may have been a better idea.
  One Twilight fan takes things too far. "OK, I don't hate Twilight. But I'm not in love with it either. Here's what happened. At lunch…every single girl at the table (was) talking about Twilight. I try to tell them about the crazed fan girl attacks that have been going on lately (which is making me dislike the series more and more). One of the girls actually tried to talk some sense into me! She tried to explain that the Fan girls were just angry. And I said, 'If people who don't like Twilight, get on obsessed fan girls nerves that much Twilight should be destroyed!' Some of the girls at my table understood. Some got really pissed. One of the girls marched off steaming. I thought I had made my point. But of course in Algebra I went to go sharpen my pencil, and that girl who marched off was in my class. (S)he came up behind me and tried to slit my throat with a shank! She screamed 'How dare you say Twilight should be destroyed!' Now, I had to do something. So I took my pencil out of the sharpener and stabbed her in the side (thank god (I) had already sharpened my pencil or she wouldn't have felt the stab). She lost concentration for a second or two, so she could look at the pencil sticking out of her. Without such a strong grasp, (I) was able to break free. By now students were restraining her as she kicked and screamed. She was expelled, but I got after school detention for defending myself (our principal is a ass)! If you were about to die, Would you fight back? So I'm talking over the detention with my idiot principal, back to the matter at hand, Has the world gone mad? Its a book! Nobody should obsess like that. I mean god! She tried to kill me! Because I said that the fan girls are really hurting people? That just proves my point. (Newitz)" It's not right to hurt others because of differing viewpoints and opinions. Yes, the victim was being attacked, but she should have stabbed her attacker. However, it could have been the first thing she thought of. While being attacked one can't always think levelheadedly.
    The last testimony is the final straw. A victim of a Twilight fan was shot. "Not with a gun but with a signaling rocket,…me and 3 friends (1 female 2 males) were talking about how much Twilight sucks ass and were bashing it. We were down by the fishing docks on the north strip of the island watching the fishermen unload their catch when apparently a (Twilight fan) overheard us behind some shipping basins (for stowing fish). She apparently just got off her fathers boat, and had a whole bunch of equipment. Including a red Orion single shot/use hand-held rocket flare (you know those tubes that you are suppose to hit the bottom and the rocket flies out? (A)nyways she overheard us talking and pulled out this flare, from her basket of stuff. The last thing I (heard) was the cap flying off the front. With a loud psshhh sound my friend yelped and dropped to the ground. The (flare) bounced off him and flew to the ground. We kicked the flare away, just then the parachute popped out and a bright red light (nearly) blinded all of us. Four fishermen ran over to help, one saw everything and restrained the (Twilight fan) (who was kicking and screaming). My friends left arm was sizzling were the rocket motor had burned him (thankfully not the para-flare or it would have been much worse). One of the fishermen shoved all of us in his pickup truck and drove us to the local hospital where my friend is still unable to completely use his left arm. The girl is being held on $50,000 bail for attempted murder with a deadly weapon. We plan to go to court in a week with all of us as witnesses (Newitz)." It certainly wasn't a smart idea to openly insult or 'bash' Twilight. Those who oppose the series should careful choose when to bring the topic up.
   The series author, Stephenie Meyer hasn't said anything about this issue. On her website, she herself refutes her series flaws, claiming that Edward is only protecting Bella rather than stalking her and that many of her female characters are strong and self-reliant while in actuality they are shallow and two dimensional. It seems that the authoress lives in her in her own fantasy world and sticks her head in the sand when it comes to criticism.
  This series and it's author is not worthy to fight over. The series horrible and the author is a hack who actually awoke one morning and decided to write a book. Fortunately, the series has ended and there are only two more Twilight movies to be made. Afterwards, hopefully the series will be forgotten and Stephenie Meyer will not write another cancerous book. If the fans have anything to say about it, Twilight will live on in the scars they have created on the naysayer's bodies.