Just got back from vacation in sunny FL, and it was, well, quite sunny. Since we didn't have to worry about health insurance ending or a home loan not getting approved, it was very relaxing.
Anyhow, before we left, we watched a movie I wish had never come to be: Twilight: New Moon. My distaste for the movie and books has arisen primarily because its popularity has popularized the name Amy and I had chosen for our 2nd child: Cullen.
But since everyone and their mother (literally in many cases) has seen the movies or read the books, I figured it would be beneficial to see what "itch" was really being scratched. There is a reason a movie or a book is popular. And getting to the bottom of it, can really help you understand your culture, as well as those to whom you will minister.
The first movie in the series was fairly entertaining, but Twilight: New Moon left me bored and wishing I were continuing the Arrested Development series instead.
Aside from being bored, one take-away from the flick, was the affect this supposed "true love" left on a teenager. She was willing to turn into a vampire, and actually give up her eternal soul just to be with her vampire boyfriend. When he unceremoniously jilted her, she simply moped around for months and didn't eat much. She didn't spend time with friends either.
One thing which makes this movie so popular is what makes it so sadly dangerous. Teens, and their parents-who more often than not live vicariously through their teen's dating relationships because their marriages are lousy-forget most teen romances end up in heartbreak, loss of virginity, pregnancy, bitterness, alienation from friends, etc...
More often than not the high schooler (and most folks for that matter) mistake possessiveness and worship (finding true life in another) for love. They simply use the other person to make them feel good, which obviously lasts only for a period of time. Ironically they end up becoming a vampire themselves, sucking the life out of their partner. Sadly, this ends up destroying both parties, because there is only so much "blood" to sustain the relationship. None of us were created to be worshiped.
Twilight doesn't introduce this theme, or teach people to think this way; it only reinforces what we're all prone to do since the Fall.
I think this could be a great discussion movie though, and hopefully we can get one going here eventually at Redeemer. I know I'll end up "net-flixing" Twilight: Eclipse when it comes around, but hope this time, it doesn't suck the life out of me.
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