Love Life & Twilight

(Filipino Christian Blogger) I came across an online community of Filipino enthusiast of Stephenie Meyer's book Twilight. The site shows that many Filipino girls (and boys) are captivated by the book. In fact there were rumors that a local adaptation will be produced by ABS-CBN. Avid Pinoy fans of the book negatively responded to project and ABS-CBN later denied such version.

Filipinos are culturally romantics and are quick adaptors of American popular entertainment that's why the growing Filipino followers of the human-vampire love story is not surprising. The book has a pro-abstinence storyline which is a positive message to Filipino teens. However, through a Christian perspective, the book and now a movie has a deeper message the Filipino audience should also ponder if they think Twilight is the ideal image of romance or what Pinoys refer to as "love life."

Here's an interesting commentary on Twilight which is worth thinking and are good talking points when discussing the film to friends and families:

If we had found a book or a movie that really offered a healthy, chaste, chivalrous vision of romance that was attracting teenagers by the millions, well, that would indeed be cause for rejoicing. And I’d be as eager as anyone to climb on the bandwagon and help promote them. But unfortunately, I can’t do that this time. Because underneath the surface, there are some truly disturbing themes and ideas in Twilight. Chief among these is that old, dangerous idea that a “bad boy” can easily be won and tamed by a “good girl”—an idea that has brought heartache to untold millions of good girls. As a Christian, I obviously believe that redemption and change is possible for sinners. But I also know that human beings alone cannot change each other. So when you’re talking to your daughter about Twilight, here are a few points you might touch on. It is not romantic, or safe, when a boy spies on you, follows you, and sneaks into your room without your knowledge (and especially without your parents’ knowledge). It is not romantic, or safe, when someone tells you he’s dangerous and he’s killed people, to give answers like, “It doesn’t matter,” and, “I’m not afraid..." It is not romantic, or safe, to try to see how close you and your boyfriend can get to the edge of danger without going over. And it is not romantic, or safe, to offer yourself up for a boy to do whatever he wants to you—symbolized in the movie by the young heroine asking the vampire to bite her so she can become like him. (Colson, BreakPoint.org, 11/26/08)
(image @ twilightthemovie.com)