Parents and Their Kids

Twilight has affected our culture permanently in such a strong and sometimes negative way but can be a positive thing as well.  Some themes of Twilight are forgiveness, trust, friendship and love. 

“I thought I had explained it clearly before, Bella. I cannot live in a world where you don’t exist,”

-Edward Cullen, Twilight

What comes to my mind when I think about the positivity that Twilight brings is all the good openings parents can use when they talk to their teenagers about what goes on in their everyday life. For example in New Moon, Bella was trying to hurt herself just so she can see Edward. She became somewhat obsessed. The topics that come up in that situation are obsession and suicide. Those are some pretty heavy subjects that parent’s need to talk about with their kids. I believe being a teenager is harder than when I was a teenager.  When I was a teenager my life was fairly easy. I went to a Christian school, I didn’t have much bullying with texts and Facebook and I didn’t have many boy problems or girl’s gossiping behind my back. Teenagers today have a lot to deal with. A great way for them to escape is reading and reading the Twilight series.

That can be a positive.  Parents need to be a part of their kids’ lives. They need to know who their friends are. Which classes in school they enjoy or hate and they also need to know what they are reading. So many bad things can happen if parents don’t have all around knowledge of the child. By talking things out, it truly helps and even if your kid doesn’t seem like they want to talk, they really do. So in the end Twilight is only not and good read but is helpful for teenagers and their parents.

(2009). Talking with kids about tough issues. Childrennow.org. Retrieved November 7, 2010 from http://www.childrennow.org/index.php/learn/talking_with_kids/

Pop Culture & Lifestyles

Stephanie Meyers, I am sure didn’t realize what kind of mania she was going to release when she wrote Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. She like J. K. Rowling was just doing what she loved to do. Dipping into their imaginations and writing novel hit after novel hit, only to produce a massive fan base from the books and then the movies. It is truly mind boggling.

Now everyone wants to hop on the money train. They want to strike while the iron is hot. Vampire Diaries and True Blood are two of the most popular shows that are on The CW and HBO.

Vampire Diaries has somewhat the same story line as Twilight. Human girl falls in love with vampire. Vampire Diaries is The CW’s top rated drama. The show’s premier ranked in 5.7 million viewers and the second season still pulled in many viewers.

The HBO hit True Blood is about humans and vampires living together in a small fictional Louisiana town. And of course the two main characters fall in love; One being a human woman and a vampire. True Blood is still pulling in many viewers. True Blood’s fourth season premiers the summer of 2011.

So why are these shows so popular? And how do they affect our lifestyle? Vampires are a part of pop culture and the reasons for the popularity are vampires aren’t so scary anymore. Back in day vampires were killers, drinking victims’ blood and terrorizing towns, now vampires can be loving and understanding which appeal to the opposite sex. For example, in Twilight, the Cullen’s don’t drink the blood of humans but of animals. Edward falls madly in love with Bella and he refuses to turn her into a vampire to save her soul. How romantic.  Another reason for vampire popularity is people’s fascination with mythology. People love the idea of vampires controlling humans and loving them.

The Twilight franchise along with the other vampire shows can take a toll on the everyday life of the young people who watch it. It affects them mentally, emotionally and even physically. When teenager read vampire books it alters their minds. According to Maria Nikolayev of Cambridge University “We don't know exactly how literature affects the brain, but we know that it does.” Young teens who reads these types of books; their brains process information differently than an adult brain and they are prone to act out more emotionally than to think of their consequences thoroughly. For example in New Moon, Edward leaves Bella and she is so desperate to see him she starts acting out recklessly, such as jumping off a cliff just to see his face. Teens do what they read and see. It’s somewhat frightening of how this affects their thinking, which sometimes, they do not think rationally and clearly.

I personally believe that most teens do not do this. It depends on your environment. If parents stay connected to their teens and know what they are reading and watching I believe it helps them to see what is real and not. Parents must communicate with their kids. My parents were never nosy parents. I felt I could tell them anything even till this day. I like to read fantasy myself like Harry Potter but I know the difference and it does not affect my life in a harmful way.

I do believe vampires are here to stay as long as authors keep writing good novels, directors keep making great love stories and television keeps making hits. It’s now a part of our culture and lives.

 How to Understand Vampire Popularity in Modern Times. eHow.com. Retrieved October 21, 2010 from:http://www.ehow.com/how_5416842_understand-vampire-popularity-modern-times.html

(2010, September 19). Vampire books like Twilight may be affecting teens' minds. Daindia.com. Retrieved October 28, 2010 from: http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report_vampire-books-like-twilight-may-be-affecting-teens-minds_1440082