Originally Posted by Okamigirl

Hmm... yes, it did. Not exactly, but I'm just mad at Stephanie Meyer for deciding new things about vampires, things that we made up about vampires for a long time. I mean, we said that vampires drink human blood, and not animal blood! I just find it annoying... though it is her book and her choice of what she does...

Actually several authors allow their vampires to drink the blood of animals either out of personal choice or in times of hardship/exile. And if no one ever made up anything or decided anything new to be honest the vampire would still be the near mindless blood sucking corpse that the ancient legends elude to.

While I don't advocate the History Channel as the be all and end all for any subject I do think that several people in this thread could benefit from watching their 'History of Vampires' program... I'm not positive that is exactly what it was called but it is something like that. It touches on several points in the vampire mythos and how the legend of the vampire evolved over the centuries to be what it currently is.

I don't think Twilight ruined the image of vampires. I think it ruined the image of people who like vampires! Suddenly nowadays if you say you like vampires, or if you make up a character who's a vampire, it's like people look down at you and scoff and think you're automatically into the Twilight breed of vampire.
Note: I despise Twilight, but I love the more traditional, fantastical, mysterious vampire.

Actually... It did.

I mean, before twilight whenever ppl said vampires I would immediately think Victorian times or blood or something. But now all that pops into my mind is... Edward Cullen :shock:

And the fact that they changed the whole aspect of vampires as in they just go all glittery when in the sunlight instead of being damaged or die. And that they actually seem a lot more... well... everything in there is pretty much all appearance. :stare::|

Originally Posted by zero00

I mean, before twilight whenever ppl said vampires I would immediately think Victorian times or blood or something. But now all that pops into my mind is... Edward Cullen :shock:

That's not true for everone though! I would think of the countless other modern vampires series that don't hold my interest at all...Blood Ties, Moonlight, Underworld, the Vampire Diaries, the Southern Vampire Mysteries etc., whether or not you think Twilight has ruined the image of vampires (which I don't, but that's not my point anyway), you have to admit it's more of a movement than just one single book. :yes: In at least three or four of these series vampires fall in love with humans, and a lot of them dispel traditional vampire folklore as 'just a myth', for example, to quote Wikipedia on the television series 'Moonlight':

The conventions of Moonlight are based on a unique mythology. A sire is the vampire who turns a human into a vampire, and must teach him how to live as one. A vampire's bite is not enough to turn a human into a vampire; the human, when near death, must drink the sire's blood. Daylight does not kill vampires, but does make them progressively weaker. Silver and fire are toxic, whereas garlic, holy water and crucifixes are useless. A vampire's image cannot be captured with analogue cameras containing silver emulsion in the film; digital cameras are able to capture an image because they do not use silver emulsion. Vampires have a pulse, are not cold blooded, and cannot turn into a bat. They must consume human blood to survive, and the best ways to kill them is by decapitation or burning; a stake through the heart is painful but only causes paralysis. Vampires have heightened senses, which allow them to hear and smell very well. They also develop psychic powers and can glimpse the future.

Also, the main character, while he doesn't go so far as to drink animal blood, refuses to drink the blood of women children and 'innocents', whatever that means. :XD So you can see the simularities! (Um, just as a disclaimer, I'm not a fan of this series at all, but my sister watched it casually for a little bit)

It didn't ruin my image of my favorite 'kinds' of vampires, it just kind of made me throw up in my mouth a bit.

There's also something that just bugs me: Are all vampires in the Twilight series stupid? Why can't they just say "I lost a bet" or something and say they had to cover their whole body in glitter? People were doing that 'body glitter' before Twilight even came out! Silly vampies.

I don't think it ruined the image of vampires. Twilight...is not really a vampire book. The idea of vampires has been around for centuries. I know a lot of authors aren't going to start writing books where vampires sparkle and what not. They seem more like weird mages that like sucking blood to me. It wasn't really too vampirey. I think it was creative..but no those..I really don't think so could really be considered vampires. I mean if I saw someone sparkling I would think they put too much glitter on, and try not to look at them.

It may make people think that vampires are suddenly these ultra magical beings..but those people haven't really studied the history, so they're just ignorant if all they can think of when they think of vampires is twilight.

If you study vampire culture you'll see that there are different kinds of vampires. It's a bit sad the author didn't go more into the vampire culture thing, and more into the...well I don't even know what to describe what she did.

Originally Posted by ButterflyDemise

It didn't ruin my image of my favorite 'kinds' of vampires, it just kind of made me throw up in my mouth a bit.

There's also something that just bugs me: Are all vampires in the Twilight series stupid? Why can't they just say "I lost a bet" or something and say they had to cover their whole body in glitter? People were doing that 'body glitter' before Twilight even came out! Silly vampies.

They'd rather be run out of town than look like Nancy boys apparantly! :lol:

No honestly though, I think that's a common plot device in a lot of series, quite often there's a really simple and obvious solution to a characters problem, but they can't think of it of course because that would spoil the plot. :XD It is a bit irksome!
It's like in Peach Girl...the main character is always walking in on her boyfriend in what looks like being lovey-dovey or some such with other ladies (it's always revealed he was actually doing something completely innocent, I guess he just has really bad luck!), instead of asking him about it before over reacting, she always runs off crying or something and won't talk to him! It's like, HOW is that going to help the situation? :XD

Ooh, and I remember there was a T.V. show or something where a lady can talk to ghosts, and she often found herself talking to them in the middle of the street so everyone thought she was a bit mental. I always said, she should just get one of those hands free bluetoothy mobile device thingies, and then no-one would question it! Arg, it's plot induced stupidity, that's what it is!

I don't think it ruined the image of vampires. Twilight...is not really a vampire book. The idea of vampires has been around for centuries. I know a lot of authors aren't going to start writing books where vampires sparkle and what not. They seem more like weird mages that like sucking blood to me. It wasn't really too vampirey. I think it was creative..but no those..I really don't think so could really be considered vampires. I mean if I saw someone sparkling I would think they put too much glitter on, and try not to look at them.

People always focus on the sparkling bit! :XD They still suck blood, don't they?

Originally Posted by Okamigirl

Hmm... yes, it did. Not exactly, but I'm just mad at Stephanie Meyer for deciding new things about vampires, things that we made up about vampires for a long time. I mean, we said that vampires drink human blood, and not animal blood! I just find it annoying... though it is her book and her choice of what she does...

Okamigirl, did you know that Anne Rice's vampires can also drink the blood of animals if they choose? :yes:

You know, speaking of Rice's vampires, they also can't be hurt by garlic, crosses or wooden stakes, they don't turn into bats, they've got all these extras tacked onto them, too; some can fly and use telekinisis apparantly, they can read minds, they can move faster than is visible to the human eye, they can all sing, paint and act, and can also mimic anything they see and have a natural 'understanding of problems, puzzles and machines'. Apparantly they're also usually attractive. :XD And hey, how about this?

...their eyes become luminous, their skin pale and reflective and their fingernails are like glass.

Now, that's not such a far stretch to sparkling, I think!

Haha! I love the Peach Girl Manga! I have the whole series, plus Sae's story. XD

The art way outdoes the plot. She draws boys so yummy!

Originally Posted by SugarRos

Haha! I love the Peach Girl Manga! I have the whole series, plus Sae's story. XD

The art way outdoes the plot. She draws boys so yummy!

Aww, but I like the plot! :D It's melodramatic at times, but you can't help but love it~
I do agree the art is lovely though, I like how she draws bodies, they're more realistic than in a lot of comics I think. :)

But, umm, I think we're going a bit off-topic here, haha! :offtopic:

I'm surprised to see how this thread blew up. I honestly didn't think this many people would post. (Then again, it does have Twilight in the title.)

@Huffie - I love how you rebuttal. Are you on, or have you even been on, a debate team?

Okamigirl, did you know that Anne Rice's vampires can also drink the blood of animals if they choose?

You know, speaking of Rice's vampires, they also can't be hurt by garlic, crosses or wooden stakes, they don't turn into bats, they've got all these extras tacked onto them, too; some can fly and use telekinisis apparantly, they can read minds, they can move faster than is visible to the human eye, they can all sing, paint and act, and can also mimic anything they see and have a natural 'understanding of problems, puzzles and machines'. Apparantly they're also usually attractive. And hey, how about this?

And this is exactly what I mean by people who hate the series bashing it for completely illogical reasons. Vampires have not been static and unchanged, many different authors have created many variaties of vampires. So why is Meyer's bashed as a horrible, stupid ditz for creating her own version of them?

Originally Posted by Wrenji-chan

@Huffie - I love how you rebuttal. Are you on, or have you even been on, a debate team?

Gosh, well thanks! :XD No one's ever said that to me before, I'm sure!
Haha, no, I haven't actually. It probably doesn't much seem this way, but debate's not really my thing! :lol:

Originally Posted by SugarRos

And this is exactly what I mean by people who hate the series bashing it for completely illogical reasons. Vampires have not been static and unchanged, many different authors have created many variaties of vampires. So why is Meyer's bashed as a horrible, stupid ditz for creating her own version of them?

Yes! I think it's terribly unfair really! :( She's just a woman who wrote a book, she's not done anything harmful, and yet I've seen people (internet people, so I suppose I ought not be entirely surprised!) saying how they want to shoot her in the head and all sorts of horrible, brutal things! It's ironic really, because these are the kinds of people who always go on about those awful 'obsessive Twilight fans' going mental and stabbing people who don't like Twilight.

Originally Posted by Huffie

Yes! I think it's terribly unfair really! :( She's just a woman who wrote a book, she's not done anything harmful, and yet I've seen people (internet people, so I suppose I ought not be entirely surprised!) saying how they want to shoot her in the head and all sorts of horrible, brutal things! It's ironic really, because these are the kinds of people who always go on about those awful 'obsessive Twilight fans' going mental and stabbing people who don't like Twilight.

I've been on that site, where people post stories about Twilight fans going crazy and attacking bashers. The site is rediculous, and there's no proof to these claimed attacks whatsoever! Not to mention that the media would eat it right up and any attack such as that would be blasted all over the news.

I feel that some of the harsher bashers just really WANT twilight fans to go crazy and prove them right. It's true, a lot of the fanatics are annoying as crap, and I tell them to shut it like everyone else. But it really has come to the point where bashers are just as annoying as the fans.

Originally Posted by SugarRos

I've been on that site, where people post stories about Twilight fans going crazy and attacking bashers. The site is rediculous, and there's no proof to these claimed attacks whatsoever! Not to mention that the media would eat it right up and any attack such as that would be blasted all over the news.

I feel that some of the harsher bashers just really WANT twilight fans to go crazy and prove them right. It's true, a lot of the fanatics are annoying as crap, and I tell them to shut it like everyone else. But it really has come to the point where bashers are just as annoying as the fans.

Gosh, people really believe what they want to believe, don't they? :(

I think the same really, actually, I'm finding the bashers even MORE annoying than the very obsessive fans recently, partly because they seem a lot more common (I've never even run into an 'obsessive' fan!), but they're also a lot more negative. I mean, a particularly fanatic fan may be exceedingly obnoxious ("OMG I LOVE EDWARD SOOO MUCH! RPATTZ!!!"), but usually they're not actually hurting anyone or saying anything unpleasant towards other people. A 'hater', on the other hand, is usually quite the opposite, and on top of that very condescending! Talking about 'stupid twitards' and what have you, and how thick people must be to like Twilight, or how all Twilight fans are obsessive to ridiculous levels.

It really does annoy me sometime because some of my friends (and the most
mature people I know!) are pretty into Twilight! I have one friend who cites it as her absolute favourite series. Now, certain people might look down on her for that, but she's really the loveliest person! :( Very intelligent, too!

Edit: Oh! Thanks for the friend request, by the way! :lol:

Originally Posted by Huffie

Gosh, people really believe what they want to believe, don't they? :(

I think the same really, actually, I'm finding the bashers even MORE annoying than the very obsessive fans recently, partly because they seem a lot more common (I've never even run into an 'obsessive' fan!), but they're also a lot more negative. I mean, a particularly fanatic fan may be exceedingly obnoxious ("OMG I LOVE EDWARD SOOO MUCH! RPATTZ!!!"), but usually they're not actually hurting anyone or saying anything unpleasant towards other people. A 'hater', on the other hand, is usually quite the opposite, and on top of that very condescending! Talking about 'stupid twitards' and what have you, and how thick people must be to like Twilight, or how all Twilight fans are obsessive to ridiculous levels.

It really does annoy me sometime because some of my friends (and the most
mature people I know!) are pretty into Twilight! I have one friend who cites it as her absolute favourite series. Now, certain people might look down on her for that, but she's really the loveliest person! :( Very intelligent, too!

Edit: Oh! Thanks for the friend request, by the way! :lol:

Thand you for accepting! As you can by my lack of clothing and coin count I'm new and need friends! And you enjoy good manga and are reasonable about Twilight! Ba-zing!

Anyway, I completely agree. I know a lot of Twilight fans that are very mature and reasonable, and I know a few bashers who haven't even read the story. A friend of mine in particular was spewing a bunch of crap about how Twilight is awful and then went off about something that wasn't even in the book. When I pointed out to her that what she was complaning about never happened in the books she shrugged and stuck to her guns that it was horrible.

Not that I have a problem with people not enjoying the story, but at least READ it before you form an opinion on it so you know what the heck you're talking about.

sparkly? vampires? really? they're not supposed to be out in the sun!!! GRR! they're supposed to explode into a pile of ash if they're out in the sun, not sparkle. damn it!

the choice between an eternity in darkness
and a short lifetime of sunlight was ultimately fascinated the hell out of me with vampires in the first place.

take that away and ew.

also the fact that edward is a stalking creeper freaks me out as well.

i like anne rice's picture of vampires the best.

Although I don't like the Twilight books that much they were okay before everyone else realized that they were there, and I think that is the real reason that the last one was rushed. After rereading them, they could have been better.And vampires don't sparkle as probably been said before and will be said again.
There are other works where vamps get to go out into the sun and not burst into dust. Anne Rice is another example of this. Lestat made himself endure the sun for hours. Blade is a daywalker. Having vampires in the sun is nothing new.
Although Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles may be a moot point because although her earlier books sell, she has been 'reborn through Christ' and refuses to write vampire books again. T.T (I've heard that through maybe three friends now.)
Now although I don't like them I will not bash them, like I said they could have been better, but sadly they aren't.

Oh, but did it ruin my image of vampires? No. There's simply too much vampire fiction out there for it to be ruined by four books.

Personally, I do not like the Twilight books, and unfortunately, this makes me a little biased. I grew up with books describing Vampires as cruel, tragic creatures, ones that prefered to stray away from crowds and gallavanting around in daylight. I grew up with Vampires being neutral evil, doing bad things simply because they were bad people. Sure, I like a little variety in my vampires, but what Meyers did was mutate them into something that I didn't enjoy. I'm okay with other people liking it, as I take the stance 'To Each Their Own', but I just don't like how she portrayed the blood suckers. :C

The sparklie bit was odd but it was a well written story that kept you captivated. I hated the movies but the books where indeed good.

Did they ruin the image of vampire...? Naw...just a different take on them. Really you can choose to believe a vampire is what you want it to be *shrugs.

I think that, quite possibly, Twilight did ruin the image of vampires/created a new "incorrect" one.

I say that it ruined it because there is an entire generation of kids growing up with this new vision and those kids will share it with their kids...it's a domino effect. Who knows? Stephenie Meyer could've made it so that, a hundred years from now, kids no longer believe that vampires were ever evil.

Originally Posted by ElysiumFate

I think that, quite possibly, Twilight did ruin the image of vampires/created a new "incorrect" one.

I say that it ruined it because there is an entire generation of kids growing up with this new vision and those kids will share it with their kids...it's a domino effect. Who knows? Stephenie Meyer could've made it so that, a hundred years from now, kids no longer believe that vampires were ever evil.

But how can there be an 'incorrect' interpretation of something that doesn't exist? Something that's so mutable! :lol: What I'm saying is; it's a piece of folklore as old as the hills, and things like that are bound to change over time. :yes: Why, I'm sure you'll find compared to the very first original vampires even Dracula seems somewhat unfaithful!

Aw, come now, Twilight may be popular, but it's never been heralded as a classic. People still have Dracula ingrained on their minds, I'm sure that won't change because of something so insignificant as a series of light novels aimed at teenage girls. ;) I don't have a problem with Twilight, but it's not exactly revolutionary.

I don't think it RUINED the image of vampires, but whenever I tell people I am writing a novel about vampires, I can see in their eyes they are thinking about angst-ridden, sparkly pretty-boys who have nothing else better to do than obsess over jail-bait teenage girls. It's heartbreaking, because that's nothing like my novel.

A bit off topic, but this link made me laugh hysterically, and any anti-Twilight people will love it. Also, anyone who is pro-Twilight should read it as well. It makes some very good points: Twilight Series Promotes Anti-Feminism.

Another thing that bothered me about the last book (so don't read this if you don't want a spoiler) is that Meyer is promoting unsafe sex! Very bothersome to me. Who cares if you think you can't father children! It's still better to be safe than sorry. I had a friend who was told by many doctors she couldn't have kids, so she never used protection. Then, lo and behold, she wound up pregnant. If so many pre-teen and teenage girls are reading the books, Meyer should have made a better example of Bella and they should have been using protection. Of course, there wouldn't have been much of a story if they had. Plus they were already married, so it was technically "okay". Eh.

Teenage Girls are NOT going to have unprotected sex simply because they read Twilight.

That's along the same lines of 'teenages who play video games will go out and shoot their classmates.'

~Well I like the Idea of smexy vampires, the old fashion ones don't appeal to me much, and I like all the different takes on vampires, but I don't think they should sparkle XP The Twilight book was good and I wish I finished it before the movie but I didn't and thus I won't bother reading it now. Maybe one day, but not anytime soon I'm afraid :sweat:

Originally Posted by SugarRos

Teenage Girls are NOT going to have unprotected sex simply because they read Twilight.

That's along the same lines of 'teenagers who play video games will go out and shoot their classmates.'

That's not what I'm saying at all. I came across a little vague, I suppose. All I'm saying is that there are a lot of young girls reading these books and looking at Bella as some sort of role model.

In my opinion, reading the last book, all I was screaming was "Why weren't you using protection?" It's wise to use protection even if you KNOW you can't get pregnant. Bella should've known better. Younger girls might not even pick up on it, since Meyer was very vague about the sex scenes. It's still just something to think about.

Also, the "teenagers who play video games/listen to Marilyn Manson will go out and shoot their classmates" is utter horsepoop. I do both of those things (I don't listen to Manson specifically, but metal music in general) and have never even picked up a gun, much less felt the need to shoot someone. Off topic this is, though.