The Twilight Madness

The Twilight Saga: New Moon is releasing. I am not a tween (haven’t been for ages now) yet am super-excited. Seems that’s the trend because, according to Slate, tweens’ moms are the biggest fan base lapping up the Twilight series. (I am not the mom of a tween either, but you know, technically old enough.) And according to USA Today, one in every 7 books sold in the United States in Q1 2009 was one of the four Twilight books.

Anyway, I stumbled upon Stephenie Meyer’s saga when the first movie- Twilight - released last November. Incidentally, I had broken my leg and was laid up in bed, hence I had plenty of time to wallow unhealthily in loads of Internet browsing, realms of chick-lit and hours of mediocre movies and TV shows. The online media was abuzz with the Edward-Bella romance and the air was rent with the shrieks and sighs of teenage girls.

I caught the Twilight flick online - a grainy version prone to buffering. Contrary to all the hype, I was left puzzled. What the heck were they all swooning about? Sure, there’s this utterly delectable, dreamy-eyed albeit weirdly-coiffed Robert Pattinson playing the golden-hearted bloodsucker, Edward. And though I think Kristen Stewart, playing Bella, talks like she’s got stones in her mouth, she’s OK too. But apart from that, I felt the movie had no fizz. Was this what sent teens into delirium these days?!

Hoping the old adage about books being better than the movie held true, I picked up the paperback. And, embarrassingly, I was hooked. Soon, I was sitting up till 3am to plough through the 500-page New Moon, the 1000-page Eclipse, and the 1500-page Breaking Dawn.

Then, I discovered that a few of my girl friends were equally big fans. Go online and Twilight fans are actually nineteen-to-a-dozen. Turns out, there’s this whole demographic of adult women who are devouring this vampire romance with a devotion that would probably suit their daughters more. It’s almost a fetish. But, you know, TwilightMoms.com, an online fan site which requires you to be more than 25 years old and a mom, apparently has 27000 registered users. So, I guess it’s a fetish with a huge following!

I followed up the Twilight books with a lot more vampire literature (what can I say, I go through phases of literary inclination). And, then checked out most of the vampire movies in pop culture. (Perhaps, that makes me a certified vampire aficionado, now!)

What I liked about Meyer’s Twilight stories is the fresh take on vampiric lore. She’s thrown together a teenager, a vampire and a werewolf – all fantastical creatures. Her vampires are well-behaved and vegetarian. And she’s introduced the craziest of concepts for these creatures; whoever had heard of sunlight-triggered body glitter and imprinting. (No spoilers here. For more info, read the books.)

I’ll probably catch New Moon online too. I’ll probably find it as flat as the first movie. New Moon, the story, is almost entirely about Jacob Black and Bella and its Taylor Lautner’s (the actor who portrays Jacob) chance to shine. I know the majority of Twilight readers are Edward ‘vamp girls’ but I am on Team Jacob.

Ok, now I’m beginning to sound seriously ‘fetish’y. And, it does nothing for my reputation as a mature, intelligent woman. So, this post ends here.