posted
What if Edward Cullen, aka Creepy Twilight Vampire Dude, had made the mistake of stalking a genuinely strong woman? This video answers that question in brilliantly-edited, hilarious fashion.
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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posted
I did read the Twilight books, and enjoyed them, but yeah, if you apply real life to them at all, Edward is very much a creepy stalker. That was very well done.
Posts: 132 | Registered: Feb 2009
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posted
Oh, that was so funny! It seemed really put together for a remix, even if the frequent costume changes were a bit distracting.
Posts: 701 | Registered: Jul 1999
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I was less distracted by the costumes than by the extreme differences in color between Buffy and Twilight. Buffy was warm and colorful, where as Twilight was stark, washed out and pale.
Obviously that's intentional, but you don't always notice it without extreme comparisons.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
Holy cow, and I thought the concept of Twilight was seriously creepy. Seeing those clips makes me wonder if the reality is actually much, much creepier than I imagined.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
Never read Twilight, and now I never will... Edward looks disgusting just from these clips, I can't imagine what a whole book/movie about him would be like.
Posts: 2222 | Registered: Dec 2008
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The clip of "Edward" dying is actually Cedric Diggory's demise from "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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posted
I read all four of the Twilight books recently and if I hadn't seen the previews for the movies I might not have found Edward quite so creepy. If he had any sense of humor maybe.
I don't think of Buffy as a truly strong woman.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
Edward is seriously creepy in both books and movie. In fact, I thought the movie did a good job of portraying the book faithfully. I listened to a lot of young girls that I taught and friends of my daughter whine about how the movie wasn't like the book and they didn't like it - I think the reason they didn't like it is because it was too much like the book. The stalker activity is easier to brush off in print than when you see it on screen.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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quote:I don't think of Buffy as a truly strong woman.
But she's about a million times stronger than Bella - even emotionally speaking. I would pay good money to see Buffy take out every last character in those books, except maybe Charlie. And as she wipes them out, I would eat popcorn and cheer.
The stalker stuff was creepy. The 'if he/she/it doesn't love me, I'll kill myself' stuff was nauseating. I waited in vain for even a hint that all this 'love' really was, as sick and twisted as I found it, or some nasty consequences, or a character to make a difficult choice, or something . Unfortunately, that didn't quite happen.
Posts: 1528 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:I don't think of Buffy as a truly strong woman.
Buffy was seriously flawed and loved a good dysfunctional relationship. But as angsty and occasionally twisted Buffy's love life was in the series, she's still miles ahead of Bella in the categories of character and maturity.
Besides, Bella was just boring. No real friends, no hobbies, no sense of humor, clutzy beyond reason, etc.
Posts: 1733 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Buffy was a strong woman because she was three-dimensional, not because she was flawless. Whereas Twilight fetishized stalking, BtVS showed how such behavior is incredibly destructive for both people concerned.
It's true that Buffy could be, at times, just as impudent, starry-eyed, and foolish as her Twilight counterpart, but she was just as often smart, cautious, and clever. More importantly, she learned from her mistakes, thought about the ramifications of her decisions, and grew as a person over the course of the show. She had brains, morals, and a strong sense of self, which is infinitely more than can be said about Bella.
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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quote:I don't think of Buffy as a truly strong woman.
Interesting, breyerchic, why not? That is, what characteristics of a strong woman do you think Buffy lacks?
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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In all seriousness, though, I think this is a case where the execution makes all the difference. Buffy's relationships with Angel and Spike definitely had a touch of the creepiness that infuses Bella and Edward's "romance." But whereas Meyers writes as if this is acceptable behavior for a couple (indeed, she doesn't even seem aware that it could be construed as creepy), BtVS always emphasized that both of Buffy's vampiric relationships were troubled at best, and effed up at worst. Even moreso, they used the relationships to explore the raging emotions that give rise to such situations in real life, and how people (good and bad) react to them.
To give a specific example of what I'm talking about, consider Buffy and Giles's conversation after he finds out she slept with Angel (and in doing so, unleashed all sorts of nastiness upon Sunnydale). There is acknowledgment on both sides that she screwed up, that neither she nor Angel were thinking properly when it happened, and that the consequences will be dire for everyone involved, and quite a few others besides. Then Giles does something truly remarkable: he expresses his respect for Buffy, and his love and support. In one brief scene, we get a complex discussion about the mine-laden topic of teenage promiscuity, and a deepening of the relationship between a young woman and the man who is rapidly becoming her surrogate father.
Try to find that level of writing anywhere in Twilight.
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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posted
Bella also constantly needs to be rescued/locked away for her own safety while Buffy herself gets rid the vampires and other evil creatures.
Posts: 399 | Registered: Dec 2008
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posted
Vampire romance is, for some reason, currently very popular and I don't get why. It usually sucks, and Twilight is no exception -- in fact, it may be the epitome.
It took me ages to watch Buffy -- I only watched it about 2 years ago. All 7 seasons. I was wary of the vampire romance but glad I watched it because it really worked in that show. Buffy wasn't a weak girl falling prey to a monster, she was a strong girl with a human side falling prey to her own vulnerabilities.
Having found Buffy acceptable, I grudgingly went ahead and read the first Twilight book -- or at least 3/4 of it. But Twilight was everything that had kept me away from vampire romance...and it wasn't even written well.
Posts: 2392 | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
I don't think people are reading just because it is a fad. I think Stephanie Meyer is a good storyteller - terrible writer but a good storyteller - and I think that she has really tapped into something.
I also don't think it's a mystery as to why the idea of the gorgeous, rich, brilliant, best-looking guy in school being madly in love with you and only you but also not being a threat in any way is so appealling. It's like The Corys in the Simpsons - it's understandable that a young girl who isn't a grown up yet and therefore does not want a grown up life would love the idea of the ultimate dangerous safe guy.
In other words, while I am not part of the phenomon, I'm not willing to dismiss it as just a fad followed by stupid people. I think that's fairly rude, but more importantly, it's missing WHY this is such a big deal.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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I believe that Vampire Romances work because they tap into something psychological that's precisely what Twilight uses. Vampires appear most often to be preying upon young girls: they are sexy and dangerous, the dark stranger, the older man etc. The whole idea of Buffy is to reverse that, which is why the opening scene of Buffy is so important. From the first five minutes, the original appeal of vampires is turned on its head. The appeal was still there, though, of course and so the romance still occurred.
If we hadn't had Buffy, I think that Twilight would seem much more normal. Twilight belongs to an older vampire myth, whereas Buffy modernized it.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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quote:The latest in the hot and highly profitable line of pre-teen supernatural fantasy romance books, “Lightning” tells the story of a young and tragically misunderstood girl with low self-esteem, new to the area and the school, who falls in love with the one mythological being of horror she shouldn’t. Author Lyzabeth Mary Sue Powers wrote “Lightning” in segments for herself on her LiveJournal page over the summer of 2008, and was gratified to see such widespread appreciation from her bank account.
Read the first chapter!
=====================
“Lightning” by Lizabeth Powers
Chapter One:
I approached my new school with trepidation borne from past experience. No point in trying to fit in, as my alabaster hair and waifish looks automatically kept me from fitting in to any of the established cliques. My stylish clothes wouldn’t fit in here, nor would my professional hair style or my curiously clear teenage skin. I didn’t know what the kids at this school would be like, but as my own interests included reading books and brooding I was sure we’d have nothing at all in common.
I believe that Vampire Romances work because they tap into something psychological that's precisely what Twilight uses. Vampires appear most often to be preying upon young girls: they are sexy and dangerous, the dark stranger, the older man etc. The whole idea of Buffy is to reverse that, which is why the opening scene of Buffy is so important. From the first five minutes, the original appeal of vampires is turned on its head. The appeal was still there, though, of course and so the romance still occurred.
If we hadn't had Buffy, I think that Twilight would seem much more normal. Twilight belongs to an older vampire myth, whereas Buffy modernized it.
I actually do get it. I say I don't, but it's more a matter of scale than anything else...there's a core to vampire romance -- the dark and dangerous man wrestling with his own dark side -- that is appealing even to me. I spent a lot of time as a teenager reading such romance.
And to a certain extent, I even get the scale, though I think it's a study in human psychology rather than a study in literature. There are millions of published books out there and only a few climb to the top of that heap -- often not the best.
My best friend loves this book and we've talked at great length about it. We're never going to agree, but it's actually kind of refreshing to have a friend I can disagree with. Posts: 2392 | Registered: Sep 2005
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Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
quote:Originally posted by Chris Bridges: And a good time to bring this up again:
quote:The latest in the hot and highly profitable line of pre-teen supernatural fantasy romance books, “Lightning” tells the story of a young and tragically misunderstood girl with low self-esteem, new to the area and the school, who falls in love with the one mythological being of horror she shouldn’t. Author Lyzabeth Mary Sue Powers wrote “Lightning” in segments for herself on her LiveJournal page over the summer of 2008, and was gratified to see such widespread appreciation from her bank account.
Read the first chapter!
=====================
“Lightning” by Lizabeth Powers
Chapter One:
I approached my new school with trepidation borne from past experience. No point in trying to fit in, as my alabaster hair and waifish looks automatically kept me from fitting in to any of the established cliques. My stylish clothes wouldn’t fit in here, nor would my professional hair style or my curiously clear teenage skin. I didn’t know what the kids at this school would be like, but as my own interests included reading books and brooding I was sure we’d have nothing at all in common.
quote:Originally posted by Christine: I actually do get it. I say I don't, but it's more a matter of scale than anything else...there's a core to vampire romance -- the dark and dangerous man wrestling with his own dark side -- that is appealing even to me. I spent a lot of time as a teenager reading such romance.
And to a certain extent, I even get the scale, though I think it's a study in human psychology rather than a study in literature. There are millions of published books out there and only a few climb to the top of that heap -- often not the best.
But you can have all of that written with skill and a strong, smart, resourceful heroine who isn't a self indulgent, willfully miserable, absolute bore of a human being.
Posts: 101 | Registered: May 2009
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posted
reminds me of a piece of flare my wife showed me on facebook(or possibly myspace) that said: "and then Buffy staked Edward the end" that was a funny video, and luckily i have a Buffy dvd coming from netflix in the morning.
Posts: 2332 | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Christine: I actually do get it. I say I don't, but it's more a matter of scale than anything else...there's a core to vampire romance -- the dark and dangerous man wrestling with his own dark side -- that is appealing even to me. I spent a lot of time as a teenager reading such romance.
And to a certain extent, I even get the scale, though I think it's a study in human psychology rather than a study in literature. There are millions of published books out there and only a few climb to the top of that heap -- often not the best.
But you can have all of that written with skill and a strong, smart, resourceful heroine who isn't a self indulgent, willfully miserable, absolute bore of a human being.
Yes, exactly. Didn't I say something like that? Posts: 2392 | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Christine: I actually do get it. I say I don't, but it's more a matter of scale than anything else...there's a core to vampire romance -- the dark and dangerous man wrestling with his own dark side -- that is appealing even to me. I spent a lot of time as a teenager reading such romance.
And to a certain extent, I even get the scale, though I think it's a study in human psychology rather than a study in literature. There are millions of published books out there and only a few climb to the top of that heap -- often not the best.
But you can have all of that written with skill and a strong, smart, resourceful heroine who isn't a self indulgent, willfully miserable, absolute bore of a human being.
Yes, exactly. Didn't I say something like that?
Yes. I thought this was one of those conversations were everyone says the same thing over and over because we can't get over how true it is.
Posts: 101 | Registered: May 2009
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quote:Originally posted by Christine: I actually do get it. I say I don't, but it's more a matter of scale than anything else...there's a core to vampire romance -- the dark and dangerous man wrestling with his own dark side -- that is appealing even to me. I spent a lot of time as a teenager reading such romance.
So did I, thanks to the Bronte sisters.
Posts: 11187 | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
"Lightning" took me back to high school English classes where a couple of classmates collaborated on a serial story called "Rose." It was about a woman and her vampire lover. They would read a chapter every so often, and the class would crack up. One aspect was Rose's negligee - pronounced "sha-swa" but spelled differently every time. Unfortunately I lost my copy years ago.
I enjoyed the video. I haven't seen Buffy or Twilight but I have read all the Twilight books. (I read a wide variety of things.)
Edited to add: I should point out that as a teenager I read my dad's collection of Doc Savage books, so Twilight didn't seem all that bad in comparison. Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
In my opinion, Twilight is the quintessential naive "good-girl" fantasy. She wants to enjoy her sexuality without the danger of going all the way. She wants a passionate man who loves her enough to keep her safe. I think it's about desiring the experience without being truly at risk. Me, now that I am grown, I prefer a little more edge to my fantasies. I want dangers real, and choices to have consequences. In Twilight, Bella never really grows up, and neither does Edward. It seems to me that he's been 17 all of his hundreds of years. That makes it much easier to appreciate Twilight. Just figure that when you become a vampire in the Twilight world, you never age emotionally or psychologically, just like your sparkly immortal body.
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Second of all, that particular phrasing (perhaps with an additional space or two) has been common since long before Twitter tweeted.
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