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Tralfaz



Last Updated: 3/24/2009

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Gender: Male
Status: Single
Age: 45
Sign: Pisces

City: FORT LEE/NYC
State: New Jersey
Country: US
Signup Date: 1/23/2006
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 

Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities
First, let's just get this out of the way:

In the greatest debate to rip apart our country since "tastes great vs. less filling", I most definitely fall on the side of the vocal minority who believe that Bella belongs with Jacob, not Edward.

If you don't know what the heck that means, stop reading now. Head over to How Rude Are You and pass a little time by filing a citation (I appreciate every one I get right now, as I'm getting the site off and running... thanks, kids). But if you do, well, I have no doubt 95 percent of you disagree.

But one thing I haven't heard much debate about is whether the Twilight novels -- much loved by teens and, in many cases, their moms -- are actually suitable for the young readers who are devouring them like a vampire chows down on an open vein.

Currently, I'm half-way through the fourth book, Breaking Dawn, and while I've enjoyed the books more than I ever could have imagined, I also can't help but focus on the wildly inappropriate messages the series sends to teens.

If you haven't read them and intend to, please stop reading now, because there are big spoilers ahead.

Ready? Because I'm serious. Major spoilers.

Okay, here we go. Last chance.

First, there's Bella's rather all-consuming, unhealthy relationship with Edward. Let's face it. The guy is a brooding, quick-to-anger loner. The kind of guy you'd half expect to be plotting a school shooting. Bella spends a whole lot of her time worrying that what she's said has angered her precious Edward. (Maybe Rihanna should have spent more time doing that where Chris Brown is concerned.) When Edward leaves her and the gloomy town they live in, Bella basically becomes suicidal, which eventually brings him running back.

Okay, so far we've got an abusive relationship and a girl who's willing to kill herself in order to get the attention of the object of her obsession.

Good guy Jacob is the best friend she SHOULD love (and don't give me crap about this, Edward fans, cause she even admits it in book three!) but can't see in a romantic sense because of her obsession with Edward, which causes her to lie to her friends and family and isolate herself from everyone but him and his kin.

Did I mention she runs off and marries the guy and is pregnant by 18?

Now, let's think about all the swooning little fangirls out there who want to find their own Edward. They start eyeing the school bad boy... sure that like Bella, they can change his ways.

Do you see where I'm going here?

So parents, if you have young teenage daughter who want to read this series, it might be wise to pick them up first and make sure you're aware you approve of the message the series is sending. As I said, I'm loving the books... but I'm also a... well, a lot older than Bella.

And a Jacob fan. I'm just sayin'.
6:09 AM
 
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.♥. anissa .♥.

 
Jacob annoys me with all his damn mood swings, although you can't really blame the guy Bella is such a tease.


Make sure your mind is fully clear at the end of Breaking Dawn, so many vampires are introduced you're kind of might think you're reading an X-men comic. Hard to keep track of all the vampires and their powers.



 
Posted by .♥. anissa .♥. on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 2:49 PM
[Reply to this] 
Nina

 
When I read Breaking Dawn, I thought, "If you need a Who's Who of vampires in the back of the book, you've introduced too damn many!"
 
Posted by Nina on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 9:56 PM
[Reply to this] 
JaSoN
Jason Black

 
You are all aware that she donates 10% of the profits from the movies to the Mormon Church and who knows how much from book sales????
Have we forgotten what the mormons are spending their collective money on these days?
 
Posted by JaSoN on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 5:12 PM
[Reply to this] 
Riva

 
Oh thank you thank you! I have enjoyed the books, but really was unhappy with the "give everything up for the person you love" message. Bella is, really, on a path to completely and irrevocably change who she is as a person in order to be with Edward. And, her complete inability to recognize a healthy kind of love (Jacob) because (as a teenager) she believes that all love should be frought with passion and conflict (Edward) ... well, ugh. Obviously I'm a Jacob fan too. And with a six-month old daughter that I would prefer have a healthy sense of self-esteem that isn't dependent upon someone else, my perception of the book's "message" may be biased.

 
Posted by Riva on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 3:43 PM
[Reply to this] 
Natalie

 
Wait, and this is the book that someone said would be the new Harry Potter? Ive read a little of it and I agree with Stephen King.

 
Posted by Natalie on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 3:50 PM
[Reply to this] 
Natalie

 
Lol Our babies have almost the exact same look of glee on their faces.

 
Posted by Natalie on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 3:52 PM
[Reply to this] 
Riva

 
It's a great look isn't it?
 
Posted by Riva on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 6:29 PM
[Reply to this] 
Natalie

 
Its better than anything I have experienced in my entire life.

 
Posted by Natalie on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 8:13 PM
[Reply to this] 
Fair Lady is getting married!
Mary M

 
Okay, since you're only halfway through Breaking Dawn, I won't ruin it for you, but I'll just say Bella being with Jacob is impossible.


And, NO. I would never let my adolescent, much less PRE-adolescent, daughter read these books.

 
Posted by Fair Lady is getting married! on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 4:08 PM
[Reply to this] 
Fair Lady is getting married!
Mary M

 
I also wouldn't let my 5th grade daughter watch Grease. Not because I wasn't allowed to see it in 5th grade. I NOW understand why I wasn't. It also sends the wrong message to young girls - that they have to change their whole peronality - in this case, become skanky - to get the guy.


Horseshit.


I do love me some Grease, though.
:)
 
Posted by Fair Lady is getting married! on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 4:11 PM
[Reply to this] 
JaSoN
Jason Black

 
Ther are worse things I could do...
 
Posted by JaSoN on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 5:10 PM
[Reply to this] 
Fair Lady is getting married!
Mary M

 
HANDS DOWN. Best song from that movie.
:)
 
Posted by Fair Lady is getting married! on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 5:49 PM
[Reply to this] 
JaSoN
Jason Black

 
GGGGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.

 
Posted by JaSoN on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 5:09 PM
[Reply to this] 
bethany

 
I just finished book two last night, after deciding to finally submit. Resistance was futile. So, part of your spoilers were a bit of a shock... I didn't think a vampire could impregnate a girl, but okay... Has she been turned into an immortal yet? I can't speak of anything after the first book... but, here's where I would be supportive of the book as a tool for parents: Because of the very nature of how she has written the all-consuming story, Meyer has essentially told teenage girls and boys, yeah, we get it... You love him so much... now, think about what you're doing before you decide to have sex. I look at that first book as a practical guide to abstinence.. not that it's realistic, but it's a way to talk about the love that a teenager feels and to discuss the obvious choices that are available. That is, if parents would actually get that meaning and see it and actually talk with their children about the topic... I like Jacob, but he's just... a bit annoying. I don't know... I took a long time to get into book one, so maybe I'm not the best one to have a debate with this topic.

 
Posted by bethany on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 7:02 PM
[Reply to this] 
Tralfaz

 
the problem is, most parents have no clue what their children are reading. They think that because this is the latest "teen book", it's perfect safe for them to read. Once you've gotten to the fourth book... yeah, talk to me then about it being a book on abstinence.

 
Posted by Tralfaz on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 - 4:02 AM
[Reply to this] 
Fair Lady is getting married!
Mary M

 
Jacob gets even more annoying.

 
Posted by Fair Lady is getting married! on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 8:05 PM
[Reply to this] 
Kevin

 
Since I am also..... well, a lot older than Bella, I find myself agreeing with you, Tralfaz. I read this book, and the second one, at my sister's request. At least initially. Then I got kinda hooked into them. Not too much time passed before I noticed some literary similarities between these books and the "Left Behind" series about the rapture and armageddon. The similarities were not supernatural, they were in style. Ham-handed, repetitive and juvenile. Perhaps those are all descriptions of the teenage mind, but it is wearying after a while. As for lessons, I also feel that Jacob represents the nice guy who gets pushed away, who tries so hard the girl gets turned off. Being the nice guy best friend of many females, one who actually doesn't want "more", I hear the story time and time again of the girls chasing the least likely, the challenges, the bad boys, the one man out of ten that the parents would abhor. Driven by the challenge, they make horrible mistakes and come creeping back wondering what happened to them. In fact, blaming themselves. It is sickening even to a man who is neutral about it.


Many people tout the abstinence early in the story as symbolic of a new morality. I don't see it that way. The author makes it seem as if the characters hardly want it. They spend pages talking of jawlines and scents, and yet so easily move on after a kiss and embrace. Whatever. It is written for teens, who gobble it up. If the lesson is to subjugate both their sense of self and their yearnings, what is left seems to be sterile and superficial. At least they aren't having sex. Yet, apparently.


Having seen and heard the actors who play Edward and Jacob off the movie set, I am also a Jacob fan.

 
Posted by Kevin on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 9:29 PM
[Reply to this] 
Melanie
Melanie King

 
Me too.

 
Posted by Melanie on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 9:31 PM
[Reply to this] 
Andrea now 10% more mystifying

 
I have not started these yet. I stopped reading romances a few years ago and started collecting all my Bios and Kennedy books. When I got my handheld this year I downloaded a ton of romances and I was shocked to see the number of paranormal titles. Used to be one or two came out a year now and they were mainly time travel like Outlander now they are having sex with every imaginary creature out there. I am working on the Sookie Stackhouse books at the moment cause I fell in love with True Blood but the books are so simplistic and not at all like the show other then the plotline and characters. I thought I would like them the same but I dont and now I am stuck in that never ending circle of finishing a series just cause I am obsessive compulsive. The saving grace is I can speedread with my backlighted Ipaq. ooo and I am not a prude or anything by far but some of these vampire / werewolf romances are downright porn. Not that there is anything wrong with that but I have to be in the mood and it should be done with a bit more finesse for my tastes. I miss your blogs I have been very busy I need to make time to read you.
 
Posted by Andrea now 10% more mystifying on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 11:18 PM
[Reply to this] 
~Tracey~

 
ok my daughter is reading them and I have read all of them... several times.. and to me the message is more about true love.. Maybe I'm grasping. But anyways Jacob would never be what she needed. Edward is all about loving her and trying his best to put her first. Also in the third book Bella realizes that no matter what she needed Jacob would always do what he wanted first rather than put her needs first like Edward does. And God knows I'm a lot older than Bella too.. (not quite as old as Edward even though I feel it)

on another note could you pretty please blog more. I miss you Tyler and Jason... and need more of you guys!
 
Posted by ~Tracey~ on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 - 2:03 AM
[Reply to this] 
~Tracey~

 
oh and when you read the 5th book that is Edwards point of view it will make you see him in a different light!
 
Posted by ~Tracey~ on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 - 2:21 AM
[Reply to this] 
brandi loves blue!!

 
didn't i suggest that you read twilight sometime last year or in 2007? LOVE twilight and edward. i am also a jacob fan. let me just say that i think you will abandon your concern for bella once you get further into breaking dawn. i'm just saying. i see what you're talking about with bella and edward but i was like her in high school, i went for the totally hot guys who you couldn't stop thinking about and they sometimes acted so nonchalant about me. meanwhile there were a ridiculous number of wonderful sweet caring guys just waiting for me to accept their date invitations which i would turn down without a second thought. looking back i wish i had been more kind and accepted more dates from the sweet guys next door who were always there to listen to me cry about this jerk or that ass. in the end i definitely ended up with a jacob, i have no idea how miraculously at 19 i realized that there is more to a boy than modelesque body and face.
(seriously one of my exes looked EXACTLY like stephen baldwin when he was hot (mid-late nineties)
 
Posted by brandi loves blue!! on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 - 3:02 AM
[Reply to this] 
brandi loves blue!!

 
also i never thought about this but my 15 year old cousin pointed out that it is quite creepy that a 100+ year old man is in love with a teenager and they are involved in a relationship.
can someone say j howard marshall and anna nicole smith?
 
Posted by brandi loves blue!! on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 - 3:06 AM
[Reply to this] 
TheWizzzz

 
I hadn't thought about it that way, and, as usual, you are right .

 
Posted by TheWizzzz on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 - 5:33 AM
[Reply to this] 
Mike

 
And this is one of the reasons I'm not all that interested in reading the TWILIGHT series.....
 
Posted by Mike on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 - 3:18 PM
[Reply to this] 
Chrissa

 
I think Jacob is very irritating, but I completely agree with you, and have thought much of this myself. Although I see the whole abstinence thing, it's not because she wants to wait, it's because Edward won't stick his dick in her.


If my daughter was the norm reading age (14?) I wouldn't want her reading it. I mean, sure she could do worse, but surely she could do better.


I'm thinking I love it so much, because Edward is exactly the kind of wit-junkie mind fucker that I was prone to in High School. Sadly, I WAS Bella.

 
Posted by Chrissa on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 - 3:19 PM
[Reply to this] 
AlterEgo: ღR♠gueღ

 
I have read far too many reviews on these books but I like yours the most. Only cuz you admit to not wanting Bella with Edward JUST SAYING. This is too funny tho.

 
Posted by AlterEgo: ღR♠gueღ on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 - 5:26 PM
[Reply to this] 
Lorenzo Dunning

 
I've only seen the movie, but I think Bella & Jacob would be a mush less complicated relationship. But I like the guy who always looks sad, even when he's not sad.

 
Posted by Lorenzo Dunning on Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 3:52 AM
[Reply to this] 
lloydtastic
lloyd truax

 
my wife "suggested" i read the books, so i did. got really hooked after a bit, but then it all went downhill when it was written in jacobs perspective. its one thing to listen to a teenage girl's inner thoughts, and have to sift through all the repetitiveness and insanity... but a brooding teenage werewolf? anyway, i finished off the series, and it all kind of comes full circle, and everything makes sense. well, as much sense as the vampire/werewolf thing can. but no, if my baby turns out to be a girl, i am definitely not letting her read this. of course, i dont plan on letting her watch tv, listen to the radio, or ever leave the house...EVER.

 
Posted by lloydtastic on Friday, February 13, 2009 - 12:38 AM
[Reply to this]