“About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was part of him, and I didn’t know how potent that part might be, that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.”
-Bella Swan, Twilight
That is a quote from the book/movie Twilight. Now you must be wondering how this makes sense. First Bella is talking about Edward being a vampire. Ok if it were me, we wouldn’t even be together. Second Bella mentions that Edward wants to drink her blood. Why isn’t she running for the hills and lastly Bella is unconditionally and irrevocably in love with Edward. Well that seals the deal. Bella loves Edward and that’s what connects the audience to the characters. Love. People love, love stories, especially teens. Teenagers are influenced by what they read or watch. They like to fantasize that they are Bella and that guys out there are all like Edward. He’s a gentleman, sensitive, charming, good looking and a vampire; a vampire that Bella wants to be with. She actually wants to be a vampire so she can be with him forever.
Teens love this, a passionate love story where nothing stands in the way of the characters. I understand when you’re young and you want to be loved, you will do anything to have that. I’m not arguing against the fact that they are in love. It actually makes the books/movies less gory and dark when you add a love story. My only concern is how far Bella is willing to go to be with Edward. She is willing to give up her family, friends and her life (vampires don’t have souls) to be with Edward.
Teens reading these books probably think it’s romantic and cool. As I said before teens want to be like Bella and Edward, meaning they want to imitate their relationship. A new teen trend, which is disturbing, involves teens biting each other’s necks. Teen are actually biting each other for fun. It’s not only unnatural but it can also lead to disease such as hepatitis, syphilis and HIV. Teens claim they bite each other to show affection and possession. Some teens also cut themselves so they can share their own blood with each other. They say it makes them closer, their blood runs through each other’s veins, they become one.
It’s the new times we are living in. What happened to the good old days when couples would just carve their names into a tree or hold hands while on a moonlight stroll? Twilight has opened teen’s eyes to new and somewhat scary ways to show love.
Meyer, S. (2005, October) Twilight. Retrieved September 19, 2010 from: <http://en.wikipedia.org/Twilight_(novel)
Chang, J. et. al. (2010, July 9) ‘Twilight’ effect: Are teens biting one another because of on-screen vampires? ABCNews.com. Retrieved September 18, 2010 from:<http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/twilight-movie-effect-teens-biting-vampire-fascination/story?id=11122324&page=1.
