More Than Meets The Eye

Just recently, I convinced my boyfriend to watch the Twilight movies with me.  If you're unfamiliar with the Twilight saga, it goes something like this: Girl illogically falls in love with a vampire, putting herself in danger.  Vampire leaves to keep her safe.  Girl falls in love with a werewolf.  Vampire comes back.  Girl has to choose between vampire and werewolf, continually placing herself in danger.  Girl chooses vampire. Everyone eventually lives happily ever after. 

Since the Twilight movies are pretty big chick flicks, I thought my boyfriend would hate them.  But I tell the truth when I say, he actually LIKED them.  Now, even though I unashamedly love the Twilight saga, I couldn't understand why he thought they were so great.  However, after thinking about it a little more, I've come to the conclusion that there's much more to Twilight than a seemingly silly love story and Taylor Lautner's abs. 

1) Bella, the main character, is nothing special.  She's klutzy, shy, and doesn't care about the things most girls care about, such as clothes and hair.  And yet, one of the most eligible guys in school (if you exclude the fact that he's a vampire) falls in love with her.  Believe it or not, this is a great message to girls in today's society.  It shows girls they don't need to be the most attractive or put on the most makeup to find a great guy.  Girls love this.

2) Bella's life is messy.  She has highs and lows.  She gets in arguments with her friends.  She doesn't have the best relationship with her parents.  She's in love with two guys at the same time.  Life isn't perfect, and Twilight doesn't shy away from this.  In fact, although the Twilight saga ends with everything being okay, it still hints at the fact that their life will not always be perfect.  Although Twilight is a fantasy, it depicts real life.   

3) Edward and his family are "different" vampires.  They don't drink human blood.  They are shown to have a strong desire to do what is right even though it's difficult.  Twilight can teach us to have strong self-discipline in what we believe even when it's hard. 

4) Edward has very traditional beliefs regarding marriage.  He believes in saving sex for marriage.  Today, almost NO movies depict this.  And yet, Twilight is one of the few movies that do, encouraging girls and guys that it's okay to wait for marriage.  That's a pretty great message. 

5) Twilight is not just a chick flick.  While it does have a lot of romance, it's full of action, comedy, suspense, and mystery.  It has a little something for everyone.

In my opinion, these are just a few reasons why Twilight is so great.  In the words of my boyfriend, the Twilight saga is "some of the best movies ever."  Whether or not you decide to watch the movies or read the books, I hope you can at least admit that there is more than meets the eye to the Twilight saga.