Twilight

[jethrien]

Watched the Twilight movie last night. It was wretched, of course, but not actually quite as bad as I thought it would be. The movie fixed a lot of the pacing problems the book had, at least. Bella and Edward were just as creepy and annoying as the book. (Although it wasn't the actors' fault - they were clearly doing the best they could with awful material.) But the minor characters were almost uniformly delightful. In the book, they were all cardboard distractions from Bella and Edward's DESTINED TWU WUVE!!!1!. In the movie, the actors are actually all adorable and breathe real life into their characters. I love the dad, and the vampire sisters, and all the boys who inexplicably flock to Bella's siren lure of dazzling beauty or something. Somehow, they all managed to have personalities and agency they just didn't have in the book.

An odd note, though - Forks had an awful lot of minorities. On one hand, I like seeing characters be Asian or black or whatever like it's no big deal and has no bearing on who they are. Color-blind casting is great. On the other hand - Forks is supposed to be rural Washington. Are the demographics really that diverse? (And of course, it's easy to slide a lot of minorities into three-line roles. It's not like any of the main characters were anything other than white.)

Oh, also, there's no way a town of 3000 people in the middle of rural Washington where everyone but one vampire has blue collar jobs can afford a prom like that. Just sayin'.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Twilight (and the rest of the books in the series) is set in the town of Forks, Washington. Surprisingly, Meyer chose a real town rather than creating a fictional one. The setting is significant because it is isolated, allowing the vampire/werewolf battles to play out on a small stage. Further, the region is heavily wooded, providing a hospitable environment for the werewolves. For decades, the timber industry drove the town’s economy. The vampires feed on the wildlife that lives in the woods. Finally, Forks gets the most rainfall in the continental United States. As a result, the skies are often overcast, important for the survival of the vampires, for whom sunlight can be fatal.
Forks is a small town of approximately 3,000 people. Its name comes from its location at the “forks” of four rivers: the Quillayute, Bogachiel, Sol Duc, and Calawah. While many people in Forks enjoy fishing, most people who visit are making a pilgrimage to see the setting for Eclipse and other books in Meyer’s Twilight series. The town has enthusiastically embraced this source of revenue. For instance, many restaurants have created menu options that tie into the novels, such as “Bellasagna” and “Ed- bread.” The town has even gone so far as to reserve a parking space for “Dr. Cullen” at the local hospital. The official Forks website is http://www.forkswa.com/.

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Twilight (and the rest of the books in the series) is set in the town of Forks, Washington. Surprisingly, Meyer chose a real town rather than creating a fictional one. The setting is significant because it is isolated, allowing the vampire/werewolf battles to play out on a small stage. Further, the region is heavily wooded, providing a hospitable environment for the werewolves. For decades, the timber industry drove the town’s economy. The vampires feed on the wildlife that lives in the woods. Finally, Forks gets the most rainfall in the continental United States. As a result, the skies are often overcast, important for the survival of the vampires, for whom sunlight can be fatal.
Forks is a small town of approximately 3,000 people. Its name comes from its location at the “forks” of four rivers: the Quillayute, Bogachiel, Sol Duc, and Calawah. While many people in Forks enjoy fishing, most people who visit are making a pilgrimage to see the setting for Eclipse and other books in Meyer’s Twilight series. The town has enthusiastically embraced this source of revenue. For instance, many restaurants have created menu options that tie into the novels, such as “Bellasagna” and “Ed- bread.” The town has even gone so far as to reserve a parking space for “Dr. Cullen” at the local hospital. The official Forks website is http://www.forkswa.com/.

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[lithoglyphic.livejournal.com]

Ed-bread?

[nanonicole.livejournal.com]

I wanted to have cheesy, fluffy books to read while I recovered this week, so I borrowed the Twilight books from a friend of mine, figuring I'd read about a book a day or something. But they're so awful that they're taking me a long time... and I feel bad stopping in the middle.

And I'm still tempted to see the movie.

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

Oh, go ahead, but I'd recommend seeing it the way I did - with mocking friends yelling at the screen, and a generous helping of rum.

I only got through the first book. I figured that was enough for authority to mock. I actually found them a really fast read - it wasn't until I stopped reading and thought back that I really started being appalled.

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

I actually enjoyed the movie. I suspect it works better in film than it does as a book, though I haven't tried reading it yet.