TA TALKS BACK: IT’S CALLED TWILIGHT NOT ROBERT PATTINSON
TA fan Ashley needs fans to know it’s about Twilight not Rob:
Anyone who has not been living in a cave for the past six months knows that Robert Pattinson is the dreamy, debonair, yet dangerous, on-screen Edward Cullen. In fact, he very nearly embodies the entire Twilight movie franchise. His face, chiseled to the extreme (perfect for that famous marbled-Adonis look) and completed by a celebrated head of wildly gorgeous copper hair, is plastered onto virtually every Twilight piece of merchandise—undoubtedly a result of the notion that if Pattinson ain’t on it, it won’t sell. And as if he was not already portraying the perfect man, Pattinson is imbued with all the charms necessary in a dreamboat, namely, the hot physique, deep eyes, sculpted features, crooked smile, and humble spirit. Oh, and did I mention he’s British?The above adulation is hardly necessary; everyone loves Robert Pattinson, and every female alive wants to bear his children—I would probably count myself among that group.
That said, is it just me, or has the RPattz worship gone too far? Has Twilight become more Hollywood and less Forks, Washington? Though the movie has certainly propelled the series into the media spotlight—by no means a negative effect—it was not the face of Robert Pattinson (or Jackson Rathbone or Kellan Lutz) that made Twilighters, well, Twilighters. Personally, the movie poster will never produce the same mysterious thrill throughout my body as the indelible image of two ghostly hands emerging from the darkness cradling a vivid red apple. The media seems to have wrongly equated Twilight fans with Robert Pattinson fans, an assumption that is certainly not reciprocally true; and the media is not the only perpetrator. Watch any one of the myriad of videos covering Pattinson’s appearances before fans, and over the irritating screams you are bound to hear “OH MY GOD, EDWARD CULLEN!!!†shouted multiple times. For the love of all that’s holy. Differences in priorities cannot be admonished, but the surmise that Robert Pattinson equals Twilight is something I find rather insulting. As unbelievable as it sounds, there are some Twilight fans who are more interested in Stephenie Meyer’s story and the character of Edward Cullen than the sexy face on screen.
With New Moon just beginning production, much talk has been made about the supposed merits of the story many consider to be the worst of the saga—specifically, Edward being primarily absent and a forward, stinky wolf-boy taking his place. In an article titled “Twilight: 10 Ways to Make ‘New Moon’ Into an Awesome Movie,†one fan lists “Robert Pattinson†as the Number 1 requirement. She reasons, “I’m sure the script has been written in one way or another to give Robert Pattinson plenty of screen time. However, this needs to be done in a way that stays true to the story that Stephenie Meyer told in New Moon.†Amen to that, but is Robert Pattinson what we’re after, or Edward Cullen? Again, this may all sound completely nit-picky, but it is a perplexing phenomenon nonetheless. When it comes to New Moon, I would rather see the story faithfully represented than Pattinson’s gorgeous face in every other frame (you know to please the “fans†and all. Uh huh.). I wear my “Team Edward†shirt and bracelet with pride, but I would rather see “Team Jacob†prevail in this next installment. Then the glorious RPattz can return to his dazzling duties as Edward Cullen as called for in Eclipse, and I will swoon appropriately.
As November approaches ever so slowly, and Twilighters prepare themselves for the pivotal release of New Moon, we must also ask ourselves why we care as much as we do. Do we love the stars, or do we love the story? The choice is not a mutually exclusive; in fact, a Team Switzerland position is probably the healthiest balance. But remember, before the silver screen, there lived a vampire, a girl, and a werewolf in a little, rainy town called Forks…
Sources:
Wetter, Kim. “Twilight: 10 Ways to turn ‘New Moon’ Into an Awesome Movie.†BuddyTV. 12
March 2009. BuddyTV. 23 March 2009 (http://www.buddytv.com/articles/twilight/twilight-10-ways-to-turn-new-m-26927.aspx).
Talk Back to us….what do you think?
