The Church has spoken on the newest movie in the Twilight saga. Monsignor Franco Perazzolo of the Pontifical Council of Culture said, on Friday, "The theme of vampires in Twilight combines a mixture of excesses that as ever is aimed at young people and gives a heavy esoteric element. It is once again that age-old trick or ideal formula of using extremes to make an impact at the box office. This film is nothing more than a moral vacuum with a deviant message and as such should be of concern."
Admittedly, I saw the film opening day (before hearing what Msgr. said), and after thinking I wasted time and money on the first one, was pleasantly surprised to be entertained watching the second, with no real scandalizing content. The one thing my husband and I discussed afterwards, was the fact that this young girl, continues to disrespect her father, be driven entirely by her emotions and has a seriously disordered attachment, to the extent that when her relationship is in jeopardy, she endangers her life with reckless actions. Her beloved goes so far as to attempt suicide when he thinks she is no longer alive. Throughout much of the movie, I kept thinking, "Man, this girl needs the Lord." Her entire world is Edward.
In a society where young girls very easily give their hearts and more to young men when there is no potential for marriage in the near future, a film like this can be dangerous. I do not think any adult woman would be scandalized by these films, though for a single adult woman it could propagate ideas of a whimsical romantic ideal based on emotion rather than reason. I've not read the books in their entirety, only parts, and I've heard the series has some redemptive pro-life and pro-chastity elements, so I'm thankful for those. I will say, though, for a pro-chastity series, there is some very sensual language in the parts of the book I've read, which might explain why the theater was full of girls moaning and groaning inappropriately every time Jacob came on the screen. I am, however, quite glad to see teens being crazed over a film that doesn't have any sex, nudity, foul language, or drug use, rather than the average teen film.
That said, I can see why the Church is cautioning parents about this film. Bella, is begging Edward to change her into a vampire, and says, "I don't care about my soul, I care about you." The Lord says, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36)
My favorite movie review site has a great review of the film here: http://www.movieguide.org/box-office/7/10049/the-twilight-saga-new-moon
4 comments:
I love reading your blog posts! :) Keep them up! :) I completely understand where you are coming from when it comes to those movies, and this is being said by a 16 yr old! Its crazy.....
Thanks for all of your posts about Catholicism and the Truth! You are such an inspiration!
Please visit my blog if you would like... www.highschoolcatholic.blogspot.com God Bless,
Ashley
Good post, AJ, great insights! You might be interested to read the article "Mormon Vampires in the Garden of Eden" by John Granger in the December issue of Touchstone. Turns out the Twilight series is really an extended apologetic for Mormonism, including its deification of marriage.
LG
Amen. Haven't seen the second movie, but I've read all the books and you are completely correct on the sensual language and themes throughout. The misconception of this as "chastity lit" is so in keeping with our culture's general confusion of "just don't go all the way" with chastity. Sure, they wait for that until marriage, but the whole series is a lesson in putting yourself in occasions of sin and developing disordered attachments on an emotional level that are as damaging as physical ones. Only here at least the series is honest that a slip past the lines they've drawn is of life-and-death importance. Not something I'd let my daughter read until she's old enough to see it for what it is. And to learn to read in the first place, I suppose. :)
Thank you Carrie for capturing my thoughts exactly: "Not something I'd let my daughter read until she's old enough to see it for what it is."
The books are a complete work of fiction, but I do think they are more appropriate for an 18+ audience that can separate themselves from the fantasy aspect of the novel and know that it is not reality. It also helps to have a Catholic formation to know what is right/wrong. Nine year old girls should not be seeing the movies or reading the books!!!!!
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