What’s Wrong With Cheese?

So, there’s this big debate going on amongst my friends on Facebook. People are defending their love for the Twilight series and others, most of whom admit to not having read the books, are pondering why grown ass women are swooning for the movie. One said that she was going to risk the wrath of a bunch of women to point out that she found the book cheesy.

What’s wrong with cheese?

Since when was it law that once you become an adult you can no longer participate in adolescent things. Ok, so there’s the whole sex with minors thing but, besides that?

When I first wrote about the book I said that it wasn’t high brow reading. That the dialogue wasn’t great. But something about the book tapped into that teenage girl I used to be. I remembered what it was like to be excited to go to school the next day just to be with your new love/crush. The feeling of “will this day ever end” when he’s not around. What Twilight captured was this amazing first love experience for those that never experienced it. When you’re of a certain age (teens) your worldview is shaped by the environment you’re in, the type of books you read, and/or what you see on T.V. More often than not, teenagers base their opinions on what’s hot, funny, how love should be, how marriage works, the best way to talk to boys, etc., on media because real life usually isn’t as exciting. Then, when you know better (get older) you do better.

That doesn’t mean, of course, that you still can’t appreciate certain things. Should I never watch The Wizard of Oz or Willy Wonka again?  Just because you read and happened to enjoy the Twilight series as an adult, doesn’t make you stupid. That’s just as bad as assuming that anyone who professes, “I only read non-fiction” lacks imagination. Or anyone that watches a lot of television doesn’t read as well. That’s what’s stupid.  Taste is subjective. The same person who hails Twilight as cheesy might have tacky ass curtains hanging in their living room or still rocks the fannypack.  Who cares?

I think a lot of people need to get up off their high intellectually superior horses when bashing adults who have read and liked Harry Potter, Twilight, Lord of the Rings, and the like. There are plenty of adults reading intellectually stimulating history, non-fiction, etc., books that are douche drippings.

I’m going to come out right now and admit that Kali picked this book up at her school’s book fair this week:

Thirteen year old Jonathan has always known that he was adopted, and he’s nevers thought it was any big deal.  Then he and a new friend, Chip, who’s also adopted, begin receiving mysterious letters. The first one says, “You are one of the missing.” The second one says, “Beware! They’re coming back to get you.”
Jonah, Chip, and Jonah’s sister, Katherine, are plunged into a mystery that involves the FBI, a vaset smuggling operation, an airplane that appeared out of nowhere – and peopl ewho seem to appear and disappear at will. The kids discover they are caught in a battle between two opposing forces that want very different things for Jonah and Chip’s lives.
Do Jonah and Chip have any choice in the matter? And what should they choose when both alternatives are horrifying?

And if that weren’t enough, listen how she described the book to me…

“So, there’s this plane. And it doesn’t show up on radar (what does she know about radar?) and no one is flying it. When it lands… guess what it’s filled with?”

I shrug.

“Babies!”

Creepy.

… and guess what? Based on her description and my skimming through the book, I may read it. So what?

Now, the other point people are making is that they can’t believe grown women are doing some of the things they’re doing in excitement over the movie. I kinda see their point. One asked, “What’s next? Camping outside for Jonas Brothers’ tickets?” Well, two things there. If they’re for my kid, that’s one thing. But overall, no. I personally think it’s irresponsible to camp out for anything when you’re a parent, but that’s just me. Also, I wasn’t tryna be at nobody’s midnight showing of Twilight last night. I got babies at home and personally didn’t feel like I had any business sitting up in some movie theatre at 1 a.m. But that’s just me.

Am I excited to see the book I liked on the big screen? Yes. Am I curious to see the interpretations of characters? Of course. But I’m not one of those lusting after Edward. Sorry. I drew the line at tapping into my inner awkward teen while reading the books and remembering what it was like to find love at 16.

But I’m not trashing those that feel differently. And I don’t think others should either. I don’t think anyone reading this can claim to have the most intellectually stimulating book, movie, or CD collection. There’s a little fluff in all our lives. A little chese.

And that’s not a bad thing.