Of course then comes the question am I really a Closet TwiHard if I'm blogging about it?
Anyway, let me paint you a picture of how this all started:
I never was into the whole vampire thing. I'd watch a couple of episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the summer or on days where we had 2 hour delays, but that was it. I never got into the vampire movies or books or anything. So, when Twilight came out, I first heard about it my sophomore year of high school, Spring 2008. Two of my good friends had stumbled upon the series and said that it was really well written and definitely a good read. Even though they both encouraged me to try the series out, my stereotypes for vampires kept me from trying.
For the next four years, I felt that I had done myself the biggest favor. The next thing I knew, it was becoming this huge craze that everyone was involved with. It was like the next Harry Potter--Barnes and Noble was having midnight parties for book releases, movies were being made, Hot Topic completely took apparel to the next level, and EVERYONE had to be part of it. I remember several friends, guys and girls alike, saying they thought it was a great series! By this point I was avoiding it on principle alone--I didn't want to be part of the craze.
After the first movies were made and "teams" were established, I still found that I had absolutely no idea what any of it was all about. Summer 2010 I started working at a movie theater, and I had to work the midnight showing of the third movie, Eclipse. I was still completely out of the loop from the hype. People were bashing the actors and the characters and parodies were made in both print and movies. It wasn't until then when my interests started to peak.
My sister went to see "Vampires Suck", a parody made by the same people who made the "Scary Movie" parodies. She said it was the funniest thing she had ever seen, and insisted that I see it, even though I hadn't read any of the books or seen any of the movies. So I did, and I admit that I found it extremely hilarious because it exaggerated stereotypes and poked fun at plot holes that many critiques mentioned.
Well Fall 2010 comes around, I'm studying for finals, and I'm about to go crazy with the silence in my room as well as the French Old Civilization notes scattered all over my bed in front of me. I decided I needed to have some background noise to keep me sane--
[sidebar: I'm very particular when it comes to being able to have other noises around me when I'm concentrating on reading or studying. It has to be something I don't recognize that way I don't loose my place by following or singing along. Random instrumentals usually work best, but I could have internet radio on shuffle with random songs and I'd be fine too.]
--and for whatever reason I decided that I wanted to put the first Twilight movie on. Now still, I had not read any of the books or seen any other movie besides "Vampires Suck", so I figured it was safe enough to help me in my need for white noise.
It proved an amazing feat. Not only was I studying efficiently finally not stressing over my materials, but I was following along with the storyline, too. Not only that, but I was ENJOYING it! I felt so drawn to what was being portrayed in that movie: A passion that all romantics long to feel just once in their lives, where you are drawn to one thing and one thing only. Now don't get me wrong, there were some corny/cheesy lines and effects that had me rolling my eyes, but the general reflection on that movie (still to this day) is pure genius.
A couple of days later I tried watching the second movie and found myself disappointed that I was not as mesmerized with it as I had been with the first. "Vampires Suck" was a parody of both the first and second books, so I had a vague idea of what was going on, but I decided I really needed to read the books in order to understand everything. Luckily, my sister had the first two books, so after finals I went home and started reading.
Once more, I fell in love with the first book almost exactly as I had with the first movie. And also once more, I found myself not enjoying the second book as much...
And that's when I realized not only what the teams were, but that I was on Team Edward.
Throughout that three week break, I purchased the last two books and finished them as well. I watched the third movie (the only other one that was out at the time) and patiently waited the movie series to finish. THEN I tried watching "Vampires Suck" again and reading a parody, and I actually felt offended by them! I can say that I never have and never will have any desire to go to a midnight showing of a Twilight movie, but I cannot proudly say that I will want to see it within a week of it being released; which is what I did for the first movie part of the fourth book.
And I loved every minute of it.
And I cannot wait for the last one to come out.
I don't think I'd be this attached if I had started with the books; I feel the movies truly made the experience for me. The movies got me to see a picture that wasn't making me think of Dracula or a cartoonized Halloween costume.The movies helped paint the picture of the "reality" of vampires and werewolves being able to live among humans. I know the actors get a lot of snuff for these movies, but I don't necessarily think it's deserved. I feel all attempts at creating a supernatural show ingenuity and creativity. Yes, they could have done a better job with Edward's "fast running" not looking like he's on wires. But it's a first movie--a first picture. I mean, how many times do you have to show moving staircases in the first Harry Potter movie? We get it, it's magic. I feel the same about Twilight--these are things that we have never seen and will never be able to experience. As far as creating this world...I would give them an A+.
I'm a TwiHard...and I can't wait for the next and last movie to come out.
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