Comments on: ‘Twilight’ — vampires and Mormons

By: Kazadium

Kazadium — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 18:57:44 +0000

mormons are strangely described in “wrong things about Mormons”on the internet. they dont like crosses in their churches and not to drink tea instead of garlic.

By: Bernie Quigley

Bernie Quigley — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 23:49:57 +0000

Thank you all for your nice comments. Nicholeen, I did read the Strauss & Howe book and corresponded with one of the authors when it first came out. Unfortunately, the brilliant trickster part of the team, Bill Strauss, passed away. It is exactly because of the Strauss & Howe theory that I started watching how my little ones responded to the culture of their times. I see the Meyer’s series as elementary to the rising generation. I’ve also been getting a lot of mail from Orthodox Jews in Israel and other Mormons about things I wrote related to this. This article “Twilight, Mitt Romney and the Mormons” http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/104213-twilight-mitt-romney-and-the-mormons brought a lot of interest.

By: rüya tabiri

rüya tabiri — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 22:45:43 +0000

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By: Nicholeen Peck

Nicholeen Peck — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:11:45 +0000

Bernie,

About your comment regarding the generation of youth we have now. There is an absolute must read on this topic! It is called The Fourth Turning by:Straus and Howe. It changed the way I saw the world and my cildren for sure. I also found myself thinking of the generations of people in the Book of Mormon.

By: Geoff B

Geoff B — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:06:08 +0000

Wow, Bernie, that’s a deep comment. I wonder if Sephanie Meyer has any clue about her delving into the quaternity pattern. I think it is interesting to think of the yin and yang as completing her — she is the one human yin who can fit into the yang of the monster world. She would rather die than not fit into that world. I finished New Moon a few weeks ago, and I actually enjoyed it more than “Twilight.” Meyer’s writing improves.

By: Bernie Quigley

Bernie Quigley — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:41:51 +0000

We have a family rule that we, the parents, read any book that our kids want us to. On the second book, “New Moon,” I am fascinated by the mythic and archetypal elements rather than the literary skill. Bella casts off ordinary and traditional human friends and family, just as Krishna rises out of and leaves behind his old skin for a new “. . . dance of life and death”; a new “creation.” Quaternity is a common pattern in naïve literature; “Seinfeld” is a quaternity, “Fraser” is a quaternity, “The Wizard of Oz” is a pure American quaternity. The “Son” in contemporary pop quaternity is often presented as golem (“Fantastic Four”’s ‘Ben” = Son) and often features a modern day Rabbi Loeb trying to “re-animate” him (as in “Frankenstein”). Bella’s quaternity forms a new relationship/marriage with the cosmos; a new quaternity with “super naturals” in which she is the only human: Carlisle, (Father), Edward (Son), Jacob (Trickster) and Bella (Psyche). Yale’s Harold Bloom says that Joseph Smith has done much the same – initiated a new relationship with the cosmos – and has been the only American to do so successfully.

By: Susan

Susan — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:48:54 +0000

@Bernie Quigley Bernie, I read your comments about vampires and Twilight. I teach religion and film at a university and used Twilight in my class as a representation of Mormon doctrine. Many, many Mormon themes appear in the books and film, but for now I can't go into them all. But I will say that hardly anything that Stephenie Meyer illustrates with her vampires is radical or new. Vampires in lit and movies have been undergoing a tremendous transformation in the past thirty years (Barnabas in Dark Shadows, Louis in Interview, etc). She just uses these same characteristics to create a Mormon theme. Regarding the Volturi, I don't read them as the Vatican and RC faith; rather, the First Preisedncy and two Counselors in the LDS Church.

By: Geoff B.

Geoff B. — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:20:12 +0000

Bernie, very interesting comments. I agree that Twilight creates a whole new genre, which explains its success. I have no doubt that Stephanie Meyer is one of the more imaginative new writers out there — when it comes to plot.

When it comes to writing style, I have been literally unable to force myself to read the rest of the Twilight series. Her writing style is so off-putting and hackneyed to me that I just haven’t been able to do it.

By: Bernie Quigley

Bernie Quigley — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:24:28 +0000

Geoff: Several points should be considered about the “Twilight” books and movies. First, it is “generational” literature; that is, it marks the fourth post-war generation as a rising generation now in high school. Historians consider this to be the most influencial generation as it will awaken the new historic period. It is also important that this book first occurred as a vast dream and the author learned to write to put down the full dream on paper. In that regard, it is purely original. I am not a Mormon but became interested in Mormons because I found it significant that the dreamer is Mormon. In terms of myth and archetype it should be noted that all vampire in the stories in the tradition are evil. These are not. Twilight vampires are good or try to be. This is a radical transformation of the genre and turns the culture in a positive direction. Indeed, in Jung’s archetypal terms the Twilight vampires are “gods” or “The Shining Ones.” It is the people (the adults)that are weak, flaky, irresponsible and poor of spirit. The human adults live as random individuals. The vampires live in families. Vampire books and movies might be considered “empty tomb” myths. That is, when Christian Europe began to lose its traditional faith symbolized by Christ rising from the tomb, they began to dream instead of “empty tombs” or evil (vampires) rising from the tombs and that is when this venue became popular and representative. This is the “shadow” of belief; a phantom of belief lost. But believe would awaken again in the new continent and Joseph Smith would help lead the way. (Likewise, the Frankenstein stories – which are Golem or homunculous archetypes – in the absence of God the seeker tries to carve a “god” or build one . . .). In that regard, this is the most auspicious vision and “dream” of a culture, particularly for the generation rising. But I appreciated your comments. In the other books (I have a 13-year-old daughter who loves them) it becomes clear that the author asks the question, how do we control our beastial nature and still seek the common life of love and perhaps the sacred life? The vampires hope to solve this most human dilemma. To them there is only one group that has come to terms with it in history, the Volturi, which are clearly old school Italian Roman Catholics.

By: Lisa, Pensacola, FL

Lisa, Pensacola, FL — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:23:19 +0000

I have read a fallen-away Mormon’s LDS angle on the series, and while it is filled with profanity it does give a good breakdown of the LDS themes in the book that can easily be rendered from the series. Again, there is a disclaimer at the top of the website that warns of its profanities and is not meant for the faithful Mormon follower, but if you are not put off by such things it provides amusing and enlightening info. It is also very scathing about the author’s poor writing.

I mean no disrespect by providing this website. If it proves out of line then please remove my post. Take care…

http://stoney321.livejournal.com/317176.html