By Alexa Davis
The Twilight Saga has established the image of a new teenage heartthrob. Long gone are the days of boy-band frosted tips; the new obsession is glittering skin and blood red lips. Breaking Dawn Part 1, the most recent movie installment of the $1.75 billion Twilight franchise, satisfies this teenage obsession while referencing heavier topics like teenage pregnancy, abortion, and the consequences of desire.
I must confess, I am a Twi-Hard; however, even my fierce unabashed love for Edward Cullen cannot mask my disappointment in Breaking Dawn. Yes, in this movie there was an improvement in acting, but it was missing excitement and suspense. The movie is cut off just as Bella wakes up from her transformation, filling the screen with her red and thirsty eyes. For years Twi-Hards have imagined what Bella would look like as a vampire, but they should have saved this bombshell for Breaking Dawn Part 2. Also, for moviegoers who have not read the series, there seems to be nothing to look forward to in the next movie. There aren’t enough loose strings. The general focus of the movie was the baby, Bella, and Jacob’s status in the wolf pack; at the end of the movie the baby is fine, Bella is fine, and Jacob is just fine— there is no cliffhanger. Boring.
Apart from the basic plot line, the message that this movie sends regarding teenage pregnancy is muddled with contradiction. Bella and Rosalie oppose the rest of the Cullen family and fight to save the baby. But then, we see the creature eating our beautiful love-stricken teenager alive followed by a 15-minute sequence of the creature breaking Bella’s ribs and clawing its way out of the womb. Confusing right? Suddenly, the “miracle of life” is directly compared to death, the ruin of families, and the loss of love. Oh teenage desire, all it leads to are demon babies and blood addictions.
Twilight Saga fans are too blinded by Edward Cullen’s perfectly tousled hair and Jacob Black’s six-pack to recognize Breaking Dawn Part 1’s cinematic failures. I admit, the actors and actresses are fun to look at, but I repeatedly leave the theatre with a twang of disappointment. The movies never seem to do the books any justice.