Once settled in our seats, Liz said she wished we could live-blog our viewing. She's right! That would have been cool. I don't know how theater managers feel about such things, but maybe its worth finding out.
Perhaps the best line in the film is the one delivered by Graham Greene. When he learns that the Cullens have left, he says "Good riddance." Later in the movie, while on the hunt for the bear the townspeople think is killing people, he is attacked by Victoria, one of the vampires that kills humans. She's not a Cullen. (Remember, the Cullens are good vampires. They don't attack humans. They drink animal blood.) Greene plays the part of Harry Clearwater.
When Jacob whispers to Bella in another language, Liz and I wondered "was that supposed to be Quileute?!" Looking at the Quileute Nation's facebook page, the status is:
"Dear Fans: Thank you for all the calls and emails regarding the scene in the movie where Jacob whispers to Bella in Quileute. Please know, we would love to translate the phrase for you, but out of respect for Jacob's feelings for Bella we are unable to at this time."
There are several Native men in New Moon. I hope the massive exposure creates opportunities for them to do other films. (The woman in the film who is saying she is Native... well, it looks like that may not be the case.)
I don't recommend the books or the film for many reasons. Of course I make that statement based on the Native content of them, but there are other reasons as well. This is a good analysis: Running With the Wolves - A Racialicious Reading of the Twilight Saga.
And last year, I blogged about a couple of sites about the Native content. One of those essays is also excerpted in Running With the Wolves (linked above).
Terrific essays about Meyer's character, Jacob.
The Quileute Nation has been inundated with fans of the film. A few weeks ago, I pointed readers of American Indians in Children's Literature to a statement on the Quileute's website: "Has Stephanie Meyer Seen this?" More recently, it looks like the Quileute's are doing what they can to address the flood of visitors to their reservation. I've been following the Quileute Nation facebook page for awhile now, and traffic is definitely up. Its amusing, reading what people write on the wall...
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If you want to read more on the ways that the Quileute's are portrayed in the series, look over to the right side of this page. Scroll up or down till you see the section labeled TWILIGHT SAGA. There you'll see several links to posts about the series.
I'm a middle school librarian and had the opportunity to go see New Moon on opening Day with a large population of students. There's nothing like the excitement of teens! There was so much audience participation during funny scenes and romantic scenes. Not unlike an athletic event in which the fans are cheering someone on to victory! One of the audience's favorite lines was after the movie in which Jacob comments: You are such a marshmellow. And then when Jacob "climbs" the siding and door to get into Bella's window, it was so fast and captivating. One of the students down front shouted out "Replay!" and we all burst into laughter!
ReplyDeleteLast night I too saw the movie (again) with my 21 year old college daughter. Late night. It was sooooo quiet! The audience kept their mouths shut and only watched. I really missed the comradry of the first group! Amy in Lawton
Current news stories in the local paper:
ReplyDeleteTwilight fiction doesn't always jibe with Quileute legend
http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20091130/news/311309987
What did Jacob say to Bella? Among Quileutes, mum's the word
http://peninsuladailynews.com/article/20091130/news/311309993
PS Not sure what you mean about "well, it looks like that may not be the case". Lots of kids both in La Push and here at Elwha don't 'look' Native.
Miriam B.
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Libray
Re the woman who plays Emily in the film, there are conversations on line that she is not Native. My comment was not about how she looks but about the identity she claims.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links to news stories... I'll take a look.
As a elementary/middle school librarian, and an East Indian who went through many explanations that my FAMILY was from the COUNTRY and not the ones that wore the FEATHERS, I am surprised that you didn't use this as a teaching moment. It seems to me that the more we try to stop stereotypes and restrict reflections in the media, we are cutting off our noses to spite our faces. To me, I feel that we should educate, not restrict. Education is the best way to change stereotypes and help represent minority groups correctly.
ReplyDelete"Liz said she wished we could live-blog our viewing. She's right! That would have been cool. I don't know how theater managers feel about such things, but maybe its worth finding out."
ReplyDeleteI don't know how the managers would feel-- but I can tell you how I, as a movie-goer would feel and that is: "pissed."
Please don't text/open laptops/talk during movie screenings. Its incredibly rude and distracting to the people sitting around you. Even in a POS movie like Twilight.
If you can't manage to control yourself for 2 hours while a movie is playing, then you need to stay home and wait for the DVD to come out.
Anonymous who said not to talk/txt/blog during movie... got it.
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