Of vampires and feminists

The recent release of the second film in the “Twilight” saga, “New Moon,” keeps the hype surrounding this modern vampire series going strong.

As a journalist, I read, and watch, all kinds of things to keep up with current trends. After reading the first two books in the "Twilight" series, I am unimpressed with the writing of Stephenie Meyer, although I know many women, young and not so young, who think she’s great.

What struck me was the clunky dialog. To me, it just does not sound like young people talking.

Before you get all defensive, horror writer and story-telling god Stephen King agrees with me. In an interview published earlier this year, King praised the writing talents of “Harry Potter” series author J.K. Rowling, but was less than kind to Meyer.

Read the interview here: http://www.msnbc.com/id/29001524

Ms. Magazine published an interesting article this spring on the feminist perspective of “Twilight.”

Read and online excerpt here: http://www.msmagazine.com/spring2009/twilight.asp

I asked two of my fellow feminist theory students, Victoria and Sonya, what they think about Twilight from a feminist perspective:

Sonya said the books are better than the movies, but finds it troubling that the main character, Bella Swan, “gave away her whole life to become a vampire.”

Victoria agrees, calling Bella, “stupid for giving up her freedom for a guy.”

According to Ms., there are better books for young women to be reading; books with significant feminist content. The printed article included a website: http://ameliabloomer.wordpress.com/

Believe me -- I realize we all need entertainment and an occasional escape from reality. But, if you like the vampire genre, you will love the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris even more than “Twilight.” http://www.charlaineharris.com/

Harris has written several continuing series with different characters, but the Stackhouse series, the basis for HBO’s “True Blood” series, is the most popular.

However, Sookie is not a model feminist either. I’m not selling this series on the basis of feminist perspective. But, the books are great escape reading. Try one and discover what clever writing and colorful character development reads like.