Thursday, September 11, 2008
Don't judge me!
Ok, here's the deal. I have decided to let my 12-year-old daughter read "Twilight." *gasp!* If you aren't familiar with this series, it's all the rage with teenage girls right now. It's about a girl that falls in love with a vampire. I know what you're thinking...vampire love story?! Hayley's teachers all have these books in their classrooms and all her friends have read them. I don't normally give in to peer pressure but I told Hayley that I would read it first and then make my decision. I thought that was a good compromise. I expected to read it and hate it and then tell her she couldn't read it. (Then she would probably read it at school and not tell me...I wasn't born yesterday and I used to be 12 too!) But much to my surprise, I couldn't put it down! It is very well-written and not at all scary or gory. Edward is a vampire with a conscience. He's a gentleman. It's not racy like most books geared for teens these days. Really the only problem I had with it is the obsessive nature of the relationship on the part of Bella. But I actually think it's pretty typical of teen "love" and may prove to be a good point of discussion. There are no spiritual or occult themes, no witchcraft. It's just a really nice guy that happens to be a vampire. There's not much difference between this book and any other fairy tale. It's actually less disturbing that most fairy tales. If you think about it, most fairy tales involve missing or dead parents, evil stepmothers, etc. but we don't bat an eye at reading those to our children when they are very young. I think that as Christians we really hurt our cause when we are quick to ban or boycott things. We do it so much that it loses its impact. In the end, we just look foolish and the world doesn't take us or our message seriously. The Disney ban comes to mind...and the Harry Potter hysteria. I just think we should be careful what we label 'evil.' That label should be saved for things that are really important. So, there you go. But don't take my word for it. Read it for yourself before letting your kids read it. However, I should warn you that I also liked Harry Potter. Oh, the shame!
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3 comments:
You better watch out, Lisa...someone may call for an exorcism before the week is over!!!
You'll have to let me know how the whole series turns out...you know there is a movie on its way out.
Lisa...I AM SO on your page regarding this stuff.
I have two thoughts to add to what you said so well.
1. Most fairy tale type stories do in fact have an evil villian and a good vs. evil theme going on. Isn't that biblical? My story, your story, our kids' stories have a villian too--someone who came to steal, kill, and destroy, and who wants nothing more than to rob us of our identity in Christ. I think we have wonderful opportunities to draw spiritual parallels in the stories we read with our kids.
2. I think Christians just blindly follow too many times something is described as evil or wrong. Case in point: The Golden Compass. How many emails did you get about "how evil" that movie/book was? How many of the people who forwarded it to you had read it themselves?
Yeah, I'm with you...and I'll probably let my daughter read Twilight when she's 12 too.
I agree w/you 100%. My neighbors and I were talking about these books last night and they are both letting their daughters read them.
I like that you chose to read the book yourself before deciding. My mom did that with books, tv shows, and movies if she had any questions. She was always fair so when she told me no I respected her decision. Actually, I can only remember 1 book series and 1 tv show (Melrose Place)that I couldn't watch.
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