Of Twilight and Psychotic Pre-Teens (and Middle Aged Moms)

Okay, so I'm finally breaking my TV show review/critique streak and moving on to movies. And what better way to start than with the craze that's swept the nation for the past 5 years?? The 'Twilight' books were first published in 2005... and since then, it's been like a fever sweeping much of the female and some of the male population worldwide. Here's a link to the official site for the movies and the books.

Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart)

Vampires and werewolves have skyrocketed in popularity. Several (not spinoffs, but with similar content) TV and book series's have sprung up since the books and movies started gaining popularity, and those have been immensely popular as well (examples: The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, and many others). There's something Stephanie Meyer, the author, quickly rocketed to fame, and with the advent of the Twilight movies (created by Summit Entertainment), the craze has spread even more. 

Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson)

The story centers around Isabella Swan, known to her friends as Bella, who meets a fascinatingly handsome and mysterious boy named Edward Cullen. Edward turns out to be a 108 year old vampire, who will forever appear as a 17 year old, because he was turned into a vampire in 1918. This sounds silly, and when you think about it, it is. But even I go through phases of being obsessed with the books. Thankfully I regain my senses after a short while. 

Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner)

Notorious for it's hopelessly romantic content, lots of mentions of true love and soul mates and such things, the book appeals to many girls between the ages of 10 and 53 (I know this for a fact; My 53 year old aunt dressed up for the premieres of the most recent two movies and avidly discusses both the films and the books once a week with her colleagues from work). 

There have been countless parodies and critiques of both the books and the fans of the books. Known as 'Twihards' (a combination of the words Die-hard and Twilight), these fans are some of the most notoriously over-obsessed in a long time. Edward Cullen has become a symbol of perfection for young girls and older women alike, and if Edward isn't your style, you can always go over to 'Team Jacob', the other drool-worthy male in the series. He's a werewolf, just by the way. 

The movies have sent all the young actors and actresses involved to a very sudden and unexpected state of stardom. I'm glad for their success. Though Robert Pattinson does admit to feeling quite stifled from all the attention. I can understand where he's coming from, but he shouldn't complain about success. He's gotten starring roles in other movies because of his success as Edward Cullen and he's set for life on money, as are the other top-billed cast members.