Earlier this week I was engaged in a facebook conversation about the “Twilight” series (and the genre in general). One thing that frustrated me was that I was apparently not able to convey my concerns over that medium, and I ended up being misinterpreted rather badly. I had thought to do a blog post laying out my position in customary Chi Files style, with all its thoroughness, but I decided against it for now.
Why? Because I found someone with the same position who has already done it:
“Twilight” An Exercise in Discernment
- via “Against Nothingness”
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Some thoughts to note as you follow the link:
This someone has read the book – which I have not – and came to essentially the same conclusions as I have. My conclusions are based on personal observation of those who read it and analysis of the mindset of so-called “Twi-Hards”, and I think they are solid; BUT, I think the conclusions of someone who has been able to labor through the book itself still hold more weight.
That said, even if you are offended that I caution people away from the Twilight books, I urge you to read the review with at least some semblance of charity. In other words, try to actually engage the points that are offered on their own grounds. Neither Andrew nor I are suggesting that fantasy as a genre should be avoided; indeed, spend some time on his blog and you will see that he greatly enjoys fantasy, and for my part I wrote an 84,000 word fantasy novel in college (unpublished and in need of editing, but a fantasy novel nonetheless), so we are clearly not haters in this regard.
Rather, we recognize that every work of literature presents a worldview which is, oftentimes, presupposed and thus taken as a granted. If a person is not reading with a good measure of discernment, they can finish the book without ever acknowledging the nature of that assumed worldview; but more, the person can actually adopt this worldview, especially if it appeals to them emotionally (and I speak of both men and women here). If that worldview happens to be destructive, well… then we have a problem.
As a final note, I will not be getting into conversations on this one on facebook – those comboxes are just too tiny and the formatting bites. I welcome comments on this blog, so if you want to take issue with anything you read here or on Andrew’s blog, or alternatively offer words of concurrence, I’m here to oblige and I’ll interact with you here where it’s roomier. 
