Chapter Zero: The Rules

I think I need to lay down some ground rules for this blog. First off, If you like something, you like something. It's not a big deal.

I'm not making this blog to be overly hostile to the fans of this series. At least not to the fans who are in High School or younger.

Because for the most part, children suck up pop-culture because these days pop-culture is youth culture. And no matter what, when you were between the ages of 7 and 16, you will inevitably get sucked into a fad. Off the top of my head some top fads in my Elementary and Middle schools were Pogs, Marvel Universe Cards, Snap Bracelets, Troll Dolls, and Goosebumps Books. Granted, most of those targeted for audiences younger than Twilight's audience, but I've heard of girls as young as 7 as being fans of the Twilight books/movies/Breakfast Cereals.

It happens, kids are easily swayed by advertising, peer pressure and (most importantly) they will bug their parents for what they want; constantly. I did it with all of the products linked to above. Scholastic Books and their fliers had me picking up at least 10-15 Goosebumps Books, I spent allowance and earned money on Pogs and Marvel Universe Cards. However, I do not think any of those hold a candle to Twilight's popularity.

I'm trying to think of fads I fell into in my teenage years, and I cannot think of anything that has been as hugely marketed and as financially successful as Twilight. Not one thing. If someone wants to remind me of something from my past that is/was as successful, and spawned movies, books, and the rabid fan-base as Twilight, that I was a part of/or I loved, remind me and I will gladly own up to this statement.

So, I'm not going to target the intended audience of this book, the pre-teens or teens. But those who read this after High School are fair game for the following reasons.

In High School required reading usually will contain various works of Shakespeare, To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye and a plethora of other high quality books. Most High School students are too busy consuming pop-culture to take notice of the quality of those stories, and I include myself in that category. But I have since reread just about everything from those High School English Class days, and I find merit in each of those books that were assigned. There are a lot of books out there for young adults and for children that are intelligent, respectful to the reader and, most importantly, still entertain. A primary example of this would be The Giver which I never read until recently.

In a College course I took in 2005, I read excerpts from Harry Potter (Children's Literature). I have since developed an affectionate stance to the series; even going as far as doing a midnight book release with a friend after work. Literature that is intended for young adults or children can be rewarding for adults to read even without the nostalgia reasons. Will this be the case with Twilight?

I understand that personal taste will come into play here. And I will address that as best as I can in the next sentence. One cannot be completely objective when reviewing anything.

Allow me to state it again.
One cannot be completely objective when reviewing anything.

Since I am writing this for entertainment's sake, and not to be your Spark Notes to all things Twilight, I will rely on my observations, while using my knowledge of literature, pop culture and love of books to make comments in the things things that I find are good, bad, funny, and everything in between. I think this blog will be a mix of honest criticism with (humor as a flavoring) from someone who loves reading and the craft of writing, to praising the aspects that I find good, and all wrapped up with a nice chocolaty coating of irreverence. That is my intention. I don't plan to 'attack' anyone who likes these books, and my criticism is going to *try* to remain within the confines of the books/movies and the topics they raise themselves. But I'm not going to handle this with kid-gloves and coddle, and make token statments to those who love the series. I won't say something I do not mean.

I may be pleasently surprised by what Twilight has to offer, or I may want to cover myself in a million papercuts and slowly exsanguinate.

This blog is going to mostly be a critique of the Twilight Book and possibly the whole series. I will from time to time express my feelings on the phenomenon that is the fandom of this series. I will probably have guest bloggers to do either a chapter they want to, or to comment on either the books/movies/phenomenon of the series or the issues(if any) it raises. I am doing all of this from the position of someone from the outside, looking in on it. I have no real preconceived notions about the series; I know small plot points here and there, I know there are vampires, I know that the movies look rather lame (but usualy that is the case with adapted works) and I know that Robert Pattinson has stupid hair.

And People find him sexy?
Icky.