Twilight

[malka]

This is addressed to everyone who says that the Twilight series is trash, and harmful trash at that.

When was the last time you praised art that was aimed at a majority-female audience? When was the last time you praised art that was by a female creator?

If you are incapable of reasonably judging art that fits these two basic criteria, then please shut up about it.

(Note: you don't have to even personally like it, although if you only like art aimed at men and written by men, that's an issue in and of itself. It is common to praise something without personally liking it much: "My friends who like mysteries all seem to like this book." or "This is a good new intro to the subject [which I have studied for twenty years]." or "I loved the way that movie used color to indicate when people were dreaming." or "That book was what made its genre first popular and introduced a number of its core concepts.")

Bonus points: when was the last time you praised anything that is primarily enjoyed by teenage girls?

Comments

yes! (dammit)

[malka]

And even if we're focusing on teenage girls, the messages to teenage girls in, say, any random blockbuster action movie are *ghastly*. Why don't the people who are so upset over Edward ever join me in being upset by The Girl existing only as a prize for The Hero, or by The Girl starting out cool and then giving it all up to subordinate herself to The Hero, or by The Girl being the only female human in a world populated entirely by men, or ...?

I am really really tired of the idea that the lowest point to which a human can sink is a teenage girl.

Re: yes! (dammit)

[vera_l]

Indeed. It's almost as if they're only worried about unhealthy messages to teenage girls when the messages in question are ones the girls might enjoy.

Also, someone whose reading tastes I know and trust read them, partly out of curiosity and partly out of "if I'm going to criticize it, I should know what I'm talking about", and she says that while they're certainly problematic in some ways the writing is oddly compelling. In the same general way as Heinlein's "I may have problems with this book, but I always want to read the next page" effect. (Not that I'm defending Heinlein as an example of either deathless prose or healthy messages to/about teenage girls (hollow laugh), but well, that's rather the point, isn't it?)

Re: yes! (dammit)

[malka]

Oh god, Heinlein.

I grew up on Heinlein and Asimov and Niven and their ilk[1]. The Twilight series at least a) has a female main character who exists for purposes other than simpering at the real characters and b) has a female character, period.

[1] I still like their ilk, sometimes. I just-- the people who are flipping out about the bad-for-girls messages in Twilight are the people who hastily change the topic if I dare mention that any aspect of a blockbuster movie was in any way gender slanted. Concern troll, much?