Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Jonathan's Blog from the Source two cents on Twilight's New Moon
JONATHAN’S BLOG FROM THE SOURCE.
My Two Cents After Seeing Twilight's New Moon
Posted: 22 Nov 2009 06:50 PM PST
Twilight's sequel The New Moon proved to not only be THE pop culture phenomenon of the year, but the biggest opening weekend of the year, grossing 72.7 million on it's opening day alone (beating out Dark Knight), and raking in 140 million for the weekend so far (it's Sunday as I write this).
Todd (our movie review guy), David (our director of content development) and I went to see the movie together on Saturday while attending the YS National Youth Workers Convention in Atlanta (yes... we cut the convention to see a movie!)
So what did I think?
It's soooooo hard to approach this film unbiased. Twilight fans are so emotionally invested in the characters of the saga that they are borderline obsessive. Combine that with what we already knew going into the film about the "self-destructive" messages present in the story... it's hard to know how objective I can be. But here goes!
Bella really needs to get a life!
Wow... it's really hard to watch this girl. Yes, I know that girls feel emotions. Yes, I know that it's difficult when someone breaks up with you. But Bella's emotions are on steroids. The film offers several scenes where we see Bella anguishing over her loss... my wife didn't make that much noise having my children!
Her self-destructive behavior was probably even more-so than we predicted in our Youth Culture Window article we wrote about the film last week. I'm surprised she didn't just pull up her sleeves and start cutting away.
Here's some of her lines I jotted down during the film:
"You're my only reason to stay alive."
"My pain was my only reminder that he was real."
"I'm not a car that you can fix up. I'm never gonna run right."
When Bella took off with a stranger on the back of a motorcycle (with no helmet), her friend said, "You're insane! Suicidal!' Bella simply replied. "That was such a rush."
Her self-destructive behavior gets worse as the film continues.
At the end Edward wants to commit suicide too. He says, "I couldn't live in a world where you don't exist."
Yes, we saw similar attitudes from Romeo and Juliet. But New Moon preaches it in a language that young girls understand fluently. I encourage you to watch the film and see this for yourself.
Add to that the fact that Bella gets in a love triangle between Jacob and Edward, allowing herself to be so emotionally tied to each, that it's unfair to both guys. The film doesn't seem to present any problem with this kind of two-timing behavior. It's hard to imagine what young people are learning about love and relationships from films like this.
In addition, Bella and Edward discuss the possibility of losing their soul when becoming a vampire. Bella quickly dismisses the reality, finally resolving that it's a sacrifice she's willing to take. Again... no big deal... according to the film makers.
Hmmmmmm.
Bottom Line: Bella is a terrible role model. Bella was a turd in the custard.
Parents, I don't recommend you letting your tweens or teens watch this. I'll be so bold to say, SKIP IT. The film is completely clean and deemed "okay" by many. Don't let the lack of sex or language fool you. The negative imitable behavior from this film is at an all time high.
My Rod Mock's two cents:
This is a movie about Vampires... Nuff said.
http://ping.fm/0tEp1
My Two Cents After Seeing Twilight's New Moon
Posted: 22 Nov 2009 06:50 PM PST
Twilight's sequel The New Moon proved to not only be THE pop culture phenomenon of the year, but the biggest opening weekend of the year, grossing 72.7 million on it's opening day alone (beating out Dark Knight), and raking in 140 million for the weekend so far (it's Sunday as I write this).
Todd (our movie review guy), David (our director of content development) and I went to see the movie together on Saturday while attending the YS National Youth Workers Convention in Atlanta (yes... we cut the convention to see a movie!)
So what did I think?
It's soooooo hard to approach this film unbiased. Twilight fans are so emotionally invested in the characters of the saga that they are borderline obsessive. Combine that with what we already knew going into the film about the "self-destructive" messages present in the story... it's hard to know how objective I can be. But here goes!
Bella really needs to get a life!
Wow... it's really hard to watch this girl. Yes, I know that girls feel emotions. Yes, I know that it's difficult when someone breaks up with you. But Bella's emotions are on steroids. The film offers several scenes where we see Bella anguishing over her loss... my wife didn't make that much noise having my children!
Her self-destructive behavior was probably even more-so than we predicted in our Youth Culture Window article we wrote about the film last week. I'm surprised she didn't just pull up her sleeves and start cutting away.
Here's some of her lines I jotted down during the film:
"You're my only reason to stay alive."
"My pain was my only reminder that he was real."
"I'm not a car that you can fix up. I'm never gonna run right."
When Bella took off with a stranger on the back of a motorcycle (with no helmet), her friend said, "You're insane! Suicidal!' Bella simply replied. "That was such a rush."
Her self-destructive behavior gets worse as the film continues.
At the end Edward wants to commit suicide too. He says, "I couldn't live in a world where you don't exist."
Yes, we saw similar attitudes from Romeo and Juliet. But New Moon preaches it in a language that young girls understand fluently. I encourage you to watch the film and see this for yourself.
Add to that the fact that Bella gets in a love triangle between Jacob and Edward, allowing herself to be so emotionally tied to each, that it's unfair to both guys. The film doesn't seem to present any problem with this kind of two-timing behavior. It's hard to imagine what young people are learning about love and relationships from films like this.
In addition, Bella and Edward discuss the possibility of losing their soul when becoming a vampire. Bella quickly dismisses the reality, finally resolving that it's a sacrifice she's willing to take. Again... no big deal... according to the film makers.
Hmmmmmm.
Bottom Line: Bella is a terrible role model. Bella was a turd in the custard.
Parents, I don't recommend you letting your tweens or teens watch this. I'll be so bold to say, SKIP IT. The film is completely clean and deemed "okay" by many. Don't let the lack of sex or language fool you. The negative imitable behavior from this film is at an all time high.
My Rod Mock's two cents:
This is a movie about Vampires... Nuff said.
http://ping.fm/0tEp1
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Twilight New Moon
Twilight's 'Emo' New Moon
If you have been anywhere around tween girls in the last few days, you've probably heard the news... Twilight's sequel, New Moon, is coming to theaters Today.
This is probably THE most anticipated film of the year by teenagers. The buzz for this film is huge. Even if kids aren't Twilight fans, they are going to be hearing nothing but Twilight for a few weeks. Some kids will just go to see it to see what all the buzz is about.
The question many of you might have is- what message will this film be communicating to our kids?
David and Jonathon just wrote a Youth Culture Window article answering that very question, an article that specifically addresses some of the self-destructive messages the film conveys. Here's just a snippet of that article:
Twilight Goes ‘Emo’
Bella’s Self-destructive Dependence on Edward
There’s a New Moon rising this Friday night in theaters… and your kids won’t miss it. The question is what will this new film in the Twilight Saga communicate to our kids?
The first film was labeled “harmless” by many, despite its numerous subtle messages. (Hey girls, wouldn’t it be romantic if your boyfriend snuck into your room in the middle of the night and made-out with you on your bed?) Harmless?
However, in the second film, Bella seems to take an emotionally-charged turn that’s self-destructive in nature. Whew! It’s a good thing we don’t live in a world where millions of young girls have low self-esteem and engage in self-destructive behaviors because of it.
(Awkward pause)
So… what will this New Moon look like?
The New Moon is FULL
The Quileute Tribe. The Volturi. Shape-shifters. Many adults may not yet know what these fictional agents have in common, but without a doubt, they’ll combine for the biggest event in youth culture this week.
For months, millions of teenagers have been counting down the days to this coming Friday night, November 20th, when New Moon, the second film in the Twilight Saga, is released in theaters around the world.
Youth media and marketing have capitalized on the “pop culture phenomenon” and have taken every opportunity to promote the new film in as many different venues as possible. Tons of websites have been created around the plot and cast (like The Twilight Saga, Twilighters Anonymous and New Moon Movie). MTV has highlighted exclusive previews of the upcoming film at both of their awards shows earlier this year and bloggers have been following the cast and speculating about the movie for weeks. When New Moon's soundtrack was recently released, it easily climbed to #1 on the album charts. Further, The Twilight Saga has even caused other TV networks to offer their own version of vampire stories given the success of this franchise. And of course, vampire merchandise has generated incredibly high sales in several retail stores...
CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE
The article goes on to talk in greater detail about Bella's emotional self-destructive behaviors.
YIKES! Scary stuff.
If you have been anywhere around tween girls in the last few days, you've probably heard the news... Twilight's sequel, New Moon, is coming to theaters Today.
This is probably THE most anticipated film of the year by teenagers. The buzz for this film is huge. Even if kids aren't Twilight fans, they are going to be hearing nothing but Twilight for a few weeks. Some kids will just go to see it to see what all the buzz is about.
The question many of you might have is- what message will this film be communicating to our kids?
David and Jonathon just wrote a Youth Culture Window article answering that very question, an article that specifically addresses some of the self-destructive messages the film conveys. Here's just a snippet of that article:
Twilight Goes ‘Emo’
Bella’s Self-destructive Dependence on Edward
There’s a New Moon rising this Friday night in theaters… and your kids won’t miss it. The question is what will this new film in the Twilight Saga communicate to our kids?
The first film was labeled “harmless” by many, despite its numerous subtle messages. (Hey girls, wouldn’t it be romantic if your boyfriend snuck into your room in the middle of the night and made-out with you on your bed?) Harmless?
However, in the second film, Bella seems to take an emotionally-charged turn that’s self-destructive in nature. Whew! It’s a good thing we don’t live in a world where millions of young girls have low self-esteem and engage in self-destructive behaviors because of it.
(Awkward pause)
So… what will this New Moon look like?
The New Moon is FULL
The Quileute Tribe. The Volturi. Shape-shifters. Many adults may not yet know what these fictional agents have in common, but without a doubt, they’ll combine for the biggest event in youth culture this week.
For months, millions of teenagers have been counting down the days to this coming Friday night, November 20th, when New Moon, the second film in the Twilight Saga, is released in theaters around the world.
Youth media and marketing have capitalized on the “pop culture phenomenon” and have taken every opportunity to promote the new film in as many different venues as possible. Tons of websites have been created around the plot and cast (like The Twilight Saga, Twilighters Anonymous and New Moon Movie). MTV has highlighted exclusive previews of the upcoming film at both of their awards shows earlier this year and bloggers have been following the cast and speculating about the movie for weeks. When New Moon's soundtrack was recently released, it easily climbed to #1 on the album charts. Further, The Twilight Saga has even caused other TV networks to offer their own version of vampire stories given the success of this franchise. And of course, vampire merchandise has generated incredibly high sales in several retail stores...
CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE
The article goes on to talk in greater detail about Bella's emotional self-destructive behaviors.
YIKES! Scary stuff.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
