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Aug
24
Written by:
wyman
8/24/2010 6:20 PM
No, I have no knee-jerk reaction to the Twilight books. (I've seen all three movies and, in truth, my only real objection is the immeasurably irritating mannerisms of the female lead and the overreach of the teen angst exhibited therein.)
No, I don't see the devil in the pages of all non-Christian books, and I thoroughly enjoy good fiction!
No, I don't believe that Stephanie Meyer is trying to convert people to Mormonism.
And, yes, I do realize that John Granger's arguments here may be 100% false (though I doubt it) and that he may be reading way too much into these stories.
BUT, it must be admitted (a) that every author writes (knowingly or unknowingly) from their own point of origin and (b) that this is a fascinating article that raises some interesting issues.
Tags:
6 comment(s) so far...
Re: Is <i>Twilight</i> a Mormon Allegory?
Good points, Wym. I agree with you.
I've seen the movies. The 3rd one was good.
As for the female lead: I find her very irritating. Over the top. Too dramatic.
Personally, I think the best thing to come out of the whole Twilight experience is the set of soundtracks. Some good tunes on those.
By David Richardson on
8/24/2010 8:22 PM
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Re: Is <i>Twilight</i> a Mormon Allegory?
All I can figure, Dave, is that sputtering angst has mass-market appeal!
Frankly, the 2nd movie lost me when the vampire dude leaves Bella and she sits in a chair in her room for something like 6 months. I kept wanting her dad to come in and say, "Ok, that's enough brooding. Grab a rake and get out there and rake the yard." Ha!
By wyman on
8/24/2010 8:25 PM
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Re: Is <i>Twilight</i> a Mormon Allegory?
I remember reading this article in Touchstone. I was inclined to write the author off as a crank but the argument made a lot of interesting connections. Also, the article's historical source book, Refiner’s Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1640–1844, was written by a professor at OSU, was published by Cambridge University, and won couple of impressive sounding awards. I might have to read it through one day.
By Eugene Curry on
8/24/2010 8:58 PM
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Re: Is <i>Twilight</i> a Mormon Allegory?
Eugene, I had, or am having, the same struggle with the article. On the one hand I think, "Oh, c'mon!" Even so, the argument seems so overwhelming as to be at least a bit plausible. So who knows? But it is thought-provoking, and I appreciate that.
And the book does sound interesting indeed!
Keep it real on the left coast!
W
By wyman on
8/24/2010 9:01 PM
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Re: Is <i>Twilight</i> a Mormon Allegory?
A woman who was doing her PhD at Duke while I was there has written a book on the whole vampire phenomenon. Dr. Beth Felker-Jones, who now teaches at Wheaton, wrote it and it's called Touched by a Vampire. I haven't read it because of lack of access to the book here and little interest in the series itself, but I have thought of getting for April, who read all the books. Still, I trust Beth on this one, so if you're interested in more, there you go.
Way too much teenage angst for me. I wouldn't have thought that a 200 year old vampire would still be in the throws of teenage angst. Agreed on the overacting.
By Will Grady on
8/25/2010 6:23 AM
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Re: Is <i>Twilight</i> a Mormon Allegory?
Thanks Will. Sounds interesting. There is something to all of this, isn't there? I mean, you walk into a Barnes & Noble and you're going to see an entire vampire section. Would be interesting to hear Felker-Jones' take.
By wyman on
8/25/2010 6:22 AM
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