Vampire Stories appeal to gothic romantics

I just finished reading a Top Story written by Angel Hepworth, a negative review of the "Twilight" movie based on Stephanie Meyers books. I did not read any of those books, but I was a passionate fan of the movie series and watched the films more than once. After reading the points made by Hepworth in her review, I feel like I may be in the minority (although that does seem awkward considering how successful the books and movies were) when I say that I still love those movies. I read all of the negative feedback, but I just couldn't make myself agree. The only thing I could say in my defense as a fan of the Twilight saga, is that it's like creamed corn. I love creamed corn, especially in entertainment.

I've been a Vampire fan for a long, long time -- Way before we ever learned about Bella and Edward. I was into Bella Lugosi. I was into Count Dracula. I was into Lestat and Louis and Armand. So when Twilight arrived on the silver screen, I was glad that Meyer's books were popular enough to bring back the romantic mood of Vampire stories, even if she did present it in a "creamed corn" style.

Ok, so the brooding Edward seems overly possessive and unbelievable? Is he really that different from Dracula or Lestat? Ok, so the boring and untalented Bella seems "too relatable" to warrant "forever fanship"? Is she really that different from Mina, Dracula's one and only? Maybe Mina would have looked that awkward and unworthy if she had been depicted in some small town high school?

Perhaps the "Twilight" saga was loved too much for the wrong reasons. Did the fans love the romance or were they just enamoured by the stars who played the characters? Personally, I loved both, the romance and the stars who played the characters. I didn't read that much into Bella's awkwardness, nor did I care whether she was a Valedictorian or just a plain Jane who didn't have any talents. I liked Bella simply because most of the time she was a nice person. She loved her mother and her father, and she fell madly in love with a Vampire. She was pretty simple, to me.

I must admit that I was on Team Jacob, even though there was no doubt about it, Edward was definitely a sexy vampire. I routed for Jacob mostly because he knew Bella first and loved Bella first. Then I kept routing for Jacob because Edward had abandoned Bella and left her with nightmares, while Jacob became her hero. So yeah, I was on Team Jacob, not because I didn't believe that Edward loved her, but because I felt that Jacob would hurt her less. I guess I was one of the few who actually believed Edward when he said "I'm the bad guy."

The romantic story and the fanship stems from the "Beauty and the Beast" love affair. I've written about this "syndrome" in a previous article. I think it would be fascinating now for us fans to get the romantic story about Jacob and Renesme. I would watch those movies to see if Jacob was happy with his "soulmate".

The past two decades pop culture embraced the Harry Potter series and the Twilight Saga in film. Their popularity and success is enough proof for me that the genre of gothic fantasy is still liked in our culture. I don't care if Stephanie Meyers is considered less skilled as a writer than Anne Rice or Bram Stoker. The "Twilight" saga is the most recent success of the vampire fanship. I would place my wooden nickel bet that a series on Jacob and Renesme would be equally successful.