I went to see Twilight last night. I wanted to see what had motivated filmsatyr  to compose a treatise on the film. filmsatyr focused on the Twilight’s rendering of vampires and how vampires and other monsters have devolved into nothing more than angst ridden super-sexed objects of desire.

I fully agree with filmsatyr. I have nothing to add on the subject of vampires and monsters. However, I would like to add a little about relationships, teenagers, boys, girls, and humanities limitless narcissism.

I have to say that I enjoy myth making and remaking, so I was not as surprised to find a new breed of vampire, cold one, if you will. Personally, my favorite reinvention of vampires and werewolves is the Underworld franchise, speaking of which a new one is due out in January 2009, UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS. I’m excited!

What I was surprised to see, but I guess I shouldn’t be, was story about a narcissistic teenaged girl. This girl, Bella, has been shuffled around between parents and is now living with her seemingly distant father. Bella, like all of us, I guess, is looking for someone to listen to her, focus their energy on her, only her, and all the time.

I guess this is no different from anyone else. I think that the cliché about getting a boy’s attention is to ask him questions about himself, to listen, to focus on what he has to say. Bella found someone who would rather listen than speak, and not only listen, but remember what she said and ask follow up questions.

Isn’t that what we all want. And this is part of why I think that the movie and the books, although I’ve never read them, are so successful. At a very base level, we need to tell our stories to someone who will really listen because we all are at our very core narcissists seeking a mirror.

Anyway, if you want a better, more in depth review see filmsatyr’s post: Twilight (2008).

The Soulless Machine