well turq, it turns out that Stephanie Meyers is a Mormon so maybe you are right about her attitude towards teen sex. I still appreciate its archetypal elements. Another one: the heroine torn between her immortal aspect as symbolized by the vampire and her animal aspect as symbolized by Jacob, the werewolf.
________________________________ From: turquoiseb <no_re...@yahoogroups.com> To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 7:27 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: The Theology of Breaking Bad --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long <sharelong60@...> wrote: > > turq, I don't find the writing in the Twilight novels > that great. But I think it's a powerful retelling of > the archetypal story of love between an immortal and > a mortal, between God and human for us non atheists. > In this sense, it's a story of surrender and unity to > something greater than ourselves. Actually I think > most romantic love stories are, on the deepest level, > evoking the human yearning for unity with something > more complete than ourselves. Also with regards to > Twilight, perhaps a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, > another archetypal love story. Maybe it's not an > accident that the heroine is called Bella and the > hero Edward calls himself a monster. Hopefully the > archetypal aspects are also getting through to the > teen audiences. I can hardly speak as an expert, having made my way through the first novel only because someone was begging me to. It was like pulling my own teeth. I later found criticisms of it that echoed what I was feeling as I read. FAR from "archetypal" or "mythic," I found it to be the literary counterpart of those creepy clubs in high schools where they talk guys and gals into wearing "virginity rings." It was the mindset of the 1950s, with vampires and the dangers of getting close to them taking the place of the dangers of...uh...SEX. It was preaching "sublimation," and resisting of natural desires, and trying to elevate those things as if they were noble and wonderful. I didn't feel that was an appropriate message for teenagers, so I wasn't a fan. But obviously, tastes vary. What surprises me about the whole "Twilight" thang are the number of *older* women who fixate on it. > ________________________________ > From: turquoiseb <no_re...@yahoogroups.com> > To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 6:53 AM > Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: The Theology of Breaking Bad > > > >  > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long wrote: > > > > Seraphita, I think both CS Lewis and the listener are right. > > Continuing the food analogy, it's as if an essential nutrient > > has been missing from the diet for a long time and now the > > person is overindulging to make up for that deficit. But what > > is the nutrient that's being so feverishly sought via the porn > > industry? This helps me understand a little: my favorite > > tantric teacher David Deida once said that to a straight man, > > the female body is the most beautiful thing in the world. > > Anyway, we women aren't hardwired the same visual way > > but I think a parallel hunger in women shows up in the > > popularity of romance novels and mushy love songs and > > chick flicks. > > As an example of the creative uses of "context shifting" I > wrote about in my last post, this reminded me of a recent > article quoting author Stephen King on the sad (in his eyes) > popularity of "tweenager porn." > > http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/21/stephen-king-twilight-tweenage-porn > > > I agree with him completely, at least about "Twilight." >
