On November 17, 2011 I shudder to think how many teenage girls were sitting in the theater at midnight for the Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part I, premiere! A friend of mine told me about the original Twilight some years ago. I was thoroughly impressed by the movie, considering how well made it was for a teen flick. I have always loved vampire movies and am a sucker for a good vampire flick. What I did find a little disturbing about the flick was the concentration on an all absorbing love by a pair of star-crossed teenagers. Really a modern day version of Romeo and Juliet with a twist, Twilight grossly encourages young teenage girls' fantasies about love and romance. I mean, a pubescent teenage girl finds herself in the midst of two teenage boys whose affections are a roaring flame that consumes all in its path?
I find this a problem because of the nascent emotional nature of teenage girls (and teenage boys for that matter). Kids are ill-equipped to roam the oft devasting lands of love and romance, girls more so than boys because their heavy emotional reliance on the affection from boys. Pubescent girls more often than not have not been given the information they need to at least in part, understand the physical and emotional changes that accompany this rite of passage. The opening of the gateway to the creation of life is a vital and primeval aspect of humanity's existence. It is a subject that should be treated with the utmost care and concern. When children are given the benefit of this knowledge the result should be children who grow into responsible adults able to distinguish between lust and longing and the beauty of love. They come to understand that much of what we call attraction and love has its grounds in physiological changes occuring in the body, the result of chemicals being released and influencing the brain. Knowledge is power, as they say, and having this knowledge can make the difference in the course a child takes in reference to their sexuality.
Understanding their sexuality is of prime importance, more so for girls than boys, because oft girls are the victims of boys cavalier attitudes towards their own sexuality. For centuries men and boys have been telling women and girls the same old stories and using the same old lines, to which they fall prey: "I love you," "I want us to be together", I want to be with you and only you,", "we were meant to be together," blah, blah, blah! And of course there are the girls and women who also learn how to wield their sexuality as a means to an end!
Unfortunately the media in American society exploits sexuality for profit. Everywhere you look, in print and film and television and internet you find sexuality being exploited. Children do not have the wherewithall to sort through these images only the desire to imitate and embrace them without understanding the potency they contain. This is the problem with the Twilight series for young girls, the idea of the perfect man or the knight in shining armor. With their nascent emotions coming into play they too often take these images to heart believing they are possible (perhaps possible but improbable.) Until we take the time as a society to truly educate our children about their budding sexuality the images the media put out only contribute to the fantasies they create about sexuality, love and relationships. It is only natural that children will be curious about sexuality. If they had the information they needed, rather than a treasure chest of sentimental nonesense, they would be more likely to navigate the roads of sexuality, love and relationships. They would be less likely to fall prey to the Twilight insanity!
I find this a problem because of the nascent emotional nature of teenage girls (and teenage boys for that matter). Kids are ill-equipped to roam the oft devasting lands of love and romance, girls more so than boys because their heavy emotional reliance on the affection from boys. Pubescent girls more often than not have not been given the information they need to at least in part, understand the physical and emotional changes that accompany this rite of passage. The opening of the gateway to the creation of life is a vital and primeval aspect of humanity's existence. It is a subject that should be treated with the utmost care and concern. When children are given the benefit of this knowledge the result should be children who grow into responsible adults able to distinguish between lust and longing and the beauty of love. They come to understand that much of what we call attraction and love has its grounds in physiological changes occuring in the body, the result of chemicals being released and influencing the brain. Knowledge is power, as they say, and having this knowledge can make the difference in the course a child takes in reference to their sexuality.
Understanding their sexuality is of prime importance, more so for girls than boys, because oft girls are the victims of boys cavalier attitudes towards their own sexuality. For centuries men and boys have been telling women and girls the same old stories and using the same old lines, to which they fall prey: "I love you," "I want us to be together", I want to be with you and only you,", "we were meant to be together," blah, blah, blah! And of course there are the girls and women who also learn how to wield their sexuality as a means to an end!
Unfortunately the media in American society exploits sexuality for profit. Everywhere you look, in print and film and television and internet you find sexuality being exploited. Children do not have the wherewithall to sort through these images only the desire to imitate and embrace them without understanding the potency they contain. This is the problem with the Twilight series for young girls, the idea of the perfect man or the knight in shining armor. With their nascent emotions coming into play they too often take these images to heart believing they are possible (perhaps possible but improbable.) Until we take the time as a society to truly educate our children about their budding sexuality the images the media put out only contribute to the fantasies they create about sexuality, love and relationships. It is only natural that children will be curious about sexuality. If they had the information they needed, rather than a treasure chest of sentimental nonesense, they would be more likely to navigate the roads of sexuality, love and relationships. They would be less likely to fall prey to the Twilight insanity!
Twilight insanity indeed! I skipped this and the one before. I couldn't take the girls screaming EVERY time someone took off their shirts and/or tell the girl they loved her.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, LOL!?!?!? I go at the first show when there are few folks and it's cheaper for the first show, lol.
ReplyDelete