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New York, 2:27 AM
Wed Nov 25
57 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/15/09
And yes, if I were 13, I would love the hell out of Edward Cullen. Just like I loved Jordan Knight. I do find it extremely funny that Jordan bore the brunt of the "NKOTB is gay and that's bad" meme of the time, but it's actually his brother, Jonathan who is gay. Go figure. #love
11/15/09
11/15/09
That scene in Empire where they're about to freeze Han in carbonite and Leia's all "I love you" and he just goes back, "I know" was on a permanent rewind/watch loop when no one else was home. It made me practically swoon with giddy schoolgirl lust.
Would I have liked Edward? Probably not because he is no Han Solo. I HATED love at first sight stories and especially ones where there was no conflict in the relationship. Han Solo was a bad ass who accidentally fell in love with the cool can take care of herself princess even though neither of them wanted to. I always liked (and still do) love stories where the guy and girl bicker before they get together.
With Indiana Jones there was a similar dynamic between him and Marian (who's first scene with him she takes a swing at him) for that reason. I loved his smirking attitude and yeah, maybe part of why I liked Indy was that he protected her and when he thought she was dead was in a bar getting drunk and talked to Belloq with a bit of a death wish but it really wasn't over-the-top.
And it's one crush I never grew out of. I still watch Star Wars and Indiana Jones with a gleeful crush on Harrison Ford. Plus, he had that manly thing and I've never been into pretty guys even when I was younger. #love
11/14/09
Hey, a vampire!: [www.amazon.com]
And a dangerous, enigmatic drifter that I remember finding very provocative: [www.amazon.com]
Hmmm. I really, really like to think that I wouldn't have loved Edward Cullen, because 1) I'm the anti-chick. The minute I realized how popular it was, I would have set in my feet and refused to jump on the bandwagon out of sheer stubbornness, and 2) if what I hear about the writing quality is true, I probably would have tossed it away pretty quickly.
But while I don't think I'm as addicted to the dark Edward Cullen-ish as some are, I definitely had (have?) those tendencies . . . #love
11/14/09
I have always liked very effeminate men (which is funny, because my current male partner is about as masculine-looking as they come). That crush was shortly followed by Wufei from Gundam Wing.
I was an unabashed anime nerd, and my proclaimed love for these characters was ridiculous. I never had any fantasies that I would be with them, or anything, because of course, I knew they weren't real. I just hoped to find someone like that in real life. #love
11/14/09
I like to think that my interests when I was younger grew into more adult real-world versions. I always liked cocky smart-alecs who never let anything get in their way, and now I adore the Joan Holloways of the world who always seem to know how to Get Things Done. I think that's a process most people go through - you don't have to totally reject the things you learn in junior high, you just add more information to them as you get smarter. #love
11/14/09
Fushigi Yuugi is totally dramatic and frustrating, but it's still pretty fun. I thought Nuriko was just HOT. SHIT. Hahaha. It's great to have a lady-type character be the strongest one of all.
Yeah, I agree. Lots of things I liked when I was in junior high, I can see why I thought what I did. Now that I know more about stuff, I think a little differently. That doesn't mean I can't enjoy a horribly cheesy 90s anime (which I can and do, on occasion!)! #love
11/15/09
11/15/09
I couldn't sing the theme, but I can remember it pretty well.
Did you watch it dubbed or subbed? #love
11/15/09
11/15/09
What I hate is when they use really big-name actors who have recognizable voices. Then, I realize that I am listening to Important Actor, not Character. I noticed that a little with Mononoke. #love
11/15/09
I still love my cheesy anime romances -- have you seen Marmalade Boy? --even though I know they're over-the-top and full of clichés. There's a reason the star-crossed lovers storyline has lasted so long -- when it's done well, melodramatic romance is pretty awesome.
Now excuse me, I need to download some anime. #love
11/16/09
I'm rewatching Evangelion with a friend of mine who has never really watched anime. Kaworu (or Kaoru, however you prefer to romanize it) was also a major, major crush of mine, and I'm kinda excited to see that again. It's been almost 10 years since I watched it the first time, so it will be interesting to take that particular trip down memory lane and see if Current Me still thinks he's the shit. It's weird, seeing the characters I was so into at the time, and how I think of them now. #love
11/14/09
In short, yes, I would have been bonkers over Edward, but I would have liked it a whole lot more if he'd turned out to be gay. #love
11/14/09
I really hate to admit this, but unfortunately, I never completely outgrew this phase. Even in my twenties, I have tended to be attracted to the sensitive bad boy types, and despite being burned repeatedly for that selection, I haven't really learned to go for the 'good guy'. It is a mistake that I make over and over again. It is probably due to a self-esteem issue, or perhaps, a desire to rebel, which I have never acted upon. I don't know, honestly.
Regarding Edward, however, I don't see his appeal. To me, he's too feminine-looking, too manicured, too pretty. But if I recall, that look tends to be pretty popular with young teenage girls (See: late '90s Leonardo DiCaprio, any member of a boy band, Zac Efron, etc.).
As a kid, my first crush was on 1993-era Eddie Vedder and then, Kurt Cobain. Considering Eddie seems to be an all-around good guy, I would like to think that means I am not without any hope or any sound judgement when it comes to men. #love
11/14/09
ive read the entire series and i have to say, i think that edward-blame misses the truly fucked up part of the novels. when you read the series, bella's character is way more problematic (and that is saying something).
spoiler alerts below:
They're relationship is totally fucked up, for sure, but I think its unfair to put the whole blame on his character (although the paternalistic protection shit is wack). But I think the truly problematic character is Bella. He worried that their relationship may hurt her so he leaves. She begins to jump from cliff. For 1000 pages she begs him to turn her into a vampire so they can be together 4eva but he refuses. He tells her to go college before she makes any redonkulous decisions but all she wants to do is be with her vampire boytoy. He even does her fucking college applications for her because shes too moony to do them herself. When she gets pregnant with the vampire baby that eventually killz her (which enables edward to turn her into a vampire without violating his ethics) he wants her to get an abortion because a human carrying a vampire baby can't be good (ie. SHE DIES) but she refuses. they're definitely codependent, but Bella willingly sacrifices her entire life for this guy, while edward is a little like "uh wait, r u sure?" edward is definitely an enabler in the end wants her to be with him 4eva, but bella is the mental case who really pushes the narrative forward in a creepy and desperate way.
instead of worrying about teenage girls liking mysterious bad boys who they're parents dont approve of, im worried that teenage girls will internalize the idea that in order to prove their love to their boyfriends they need to jump off cliffs and get married at 18.
11/14/09
I also had a weird little fixation on Ben Affleck from "Voyage of the Mimi" when I was a toddler. So apparently I like men who smell like mackerel and saltwater?
Edward Cullen from the first Twilight book is acceptably broody and wary. It's the rest of the series he becomes an unforgivably emotionally abusive asshole. #love
11/14/09
11/14/09
I was also convinced that Kurt Cobain was my other only true love, which was exceptionally difficult, as he was recently deceased. #love
11/14/09
11/14/09
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11/14/09
But I agree with you on Reznor and your Mom on Harrison. ; )
Scary boys and spiritual boys who love Python and can wail on a gueetar get special dispensation.
Now I'm crushing on M Palin - CURSE YOU RECENT DOCUMENTARY! #love
11/14/09
Then again, my 13 year old crush was Donnie Osmond (and Lenny Krazelburg. Swoon.). And I'm 24. So do with that what you will...
11/14/09
...But it doesn't. That's my problem. The world is not full of shining popular examples of healthy equal relationships, leaving the Edward/Bella thing as an oddity. 95% of the relationships portrayed in the media are just as dysfunctional, though not necessarily in exactly the same controlling manipulative ways. Unless these girls have real-life role models of successful relationships, which far too many do not, they really have no foil to this idea of true love. #love
11/14/09
When I read that this was being compared to Wuthering Heights, as though that's some wonderful example of a romantic story and this is just the modern version, that's when I thought, something is off here. It's one thing to compare stories, but another to get it really wrong.
It's like the Jane Austen comparisons. You can only compare these if you've completely missed the point of Austen's stories. Yes, they also involve chaste romance. Which is where the similarities end.
We all read stuff for fun, but that make us ignore glaring problems in a work, especially when they're reflecting real cultural issues.
11/14/09
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11/14/09
@kung fu lola: Oh ghods, I hope not. #love
11/15/09
Heathcliff is not meant to be a sympathetic character and in fact there is a whole character in the book that thinks he is and swoons over his "dark, dangerous, sexy" thing and gets horrifically burned in that fire.
Sorry, rant over, just needed to get that out. #love
11/15/09
It's like the Austen thing. Other than it being a romance without sex, there's no similarity. Not in tone, not in characterization...Edward is NOTHING like Darcy and Bella is definitely nothing like Lizzie Bennett. #love
11/15/09
If millions of people are reading it, that tells me it should get looked at. Especially when it becomes such a huge cultural phenomenon. I'm not worried every teen girl is going to think a stalker is a good boyfriend...but I do want to know why this particular trope is so incredibly pervasive. #love
11/15/09
The main reason, though, that I dismiss it is that I find stuff that thinks stalking is romantic a bit triggering and there's just not enough alcohol.
I really don't think it's pointless, I think it's horrible drivel that deserves the same mockery as The Da Vinci Code, anything by James Fenimore Cooper, or Michael Wigglesworth's "Day of Doom." It's not that people can't write really insightful criticism on these things, it's that if I'm forced to read them closely enough to give more insightful commentary than brief mockery, I will have to be worse than steaming drunk.
(Also, the rabid fanaticism will tend to make people dig in their heels more and be more dismissive, since there's been a tendency for the rabid fans to take so much umbrage at thoughtful criticism (even mostly positive criticism that has some small issues with the books or passing remarks) as if the commenter were stomping on kittens. When someone comes into an online community dedicated to discussing a completely different series of books and posts a long rant about how her friend said she liked this other series more than Twilight and she's wrong, wrong, wrong! and everyone should recognize how great the Twilight books are, you know you're not going to get very much productive conversation.)
11/14/09