My Twilight coverage will not be ready most likely till the middle of next week, but to introduce my student's work here is a quick Q & A with some of my students concerning the casting of Bella and Edward:
Student Blogger Questions of the Week:
How do you feel about the casting of Rob and Kristen as Edward and Bella?
"I think the cast are perfect for the movie. They look exactly how I pictured them.(Though) I still think Edward looks weird." ~Sallie B.
(To explain, Sallie's "weird" comment was in reference to the LA Times pictures that I showed my students during class of the infamous "Treetop Scene." Yes, I actually showed them to my students during class....hey, it had to do with lit....and I am a Lit teacher).
"I love all the actors, the look just like they are described in the book. Edward looks just like I thought he would. Bella looks so much more plainer than Edward does, he looks like a God against her. Alice looks so cool with her pixie cut. Rosalie and Emmett look like they belong together. Carlisle looks like he knows more than anyone will ever know in their lifetime." ~Khyera M
(Khyera quickly explained to me that her MySpace is filled with the trading card-like pictures from the Comic-Con video. She also excitedly burst into my classroom one morning to show me that her computer background was the Twilight movie poster. She was the first person in my class to read the book!).
"Bella looks sorta of nerdy and weird[but] I think they [meaning Kristen and the producers] portrayed Bella good. Edward [meaning more specifically Rob rather than the character] is a traitor to Harry [a.k.a Harry Potter series]. The actor drinks diet pepsi! Come on!"~Maurice L
(Let me explain. Maurice has one of the rarest senses of humor that I have yet come across. At first, he absolutely refused to read the Twilight book. He would not dare to betray the Harry Potter series. Yes, in his mind it was a betrayal. But peer pressure can be quite overwhelming, especially when you have a teacher goading you as well. Maurice is now a die-heard fan, and his complete story will be posted later in my look at the series, but he still has a hard time fighting between his love for Twilight and his love for Harry Potter. He doesn't like his two worlds meeting. Though I will be the first to point out that when I showed him the teaser trailer he actually danced with joy. He and his friends also came up with a saying "he went into Edward mode," but I'll explain this one at a later date).
What is it about this couple that has everyone so captivated?
"I never thought a guy like Edward, so perfect, would fall in love with Bella, [who is] so clumsy. But Edward's 'perfectness' makes up for Bella's 'imperfectness,' "~Sallie B.
"I find the relationship funny and sweet. Bella is just an ordinary girl with nothing really great about her, and Edward comes along and she falls in love at once. Edward makes Bella feel like he is the God in her life. That he is everything she needs. Edward is very cool when he's around her and even when they kiss. He only freaks out about things when it is necessary." ~Khyera M.
"It's majestic and loving while dangerous. Bella loves Edward too much to be human, it is like she is a robot. Edward is almost too perfect."~Maurice.
(I find it interesting how part of the reason that students seem to be drawn to the character of Bella is because of her "plain-ness." She's not some dazzling heroine, she doesn't have movie star good looks. In an age where that is all one sees on television and in cinema, I think students find it refreshing to see an ordinary girl steal the spotlight. I also think it is insightful of students to realize that their relationship is all consuming, and it is important to discuss the downside of this).
Please read below for more information on this project. Please leave a comment! It really makes my students' day to know you are interested in our project.
9 comments:
I love Rob and Kristen as Edward and Bella! I'm really interested in their thoughts on the casting. I'll be looking forward to your post on their discussion. I really need more lolz in my life :P I'm sad that I'll miss your post next week;I'll be in Boston and sans internet for 4 days.
Book Suggestion of the Day: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It's really unique format for the story(in my opinion). I'm only partly done w/ it, but it's pretty interesting so far. It's set in WWII Germany from Death's p.o.v.At least, that's from my understanding. Zusak puts in clues as to who is telling the story.Anyways, it may not be a book for everyone. But I like it because it has a dark, witty humor. It's not vulgar or obscene, nor is it slap-stick comedy. I'd say it has dry wit. I think in terms of tone, it's close to that of Bartimaeus' in The Bartimaeus trilogy(by Jonathan Stroud), which is a book I'd recommend for fantasy lovers. Bartimaeus(one of the three narrators) is amusing in his observations, as is Death in The Book Thief; however, The Book Thief a very realistic story set in actual history. I'm very sorry for my impromptu book review. I just thought I'd throw out a book I'm reading. I can't give a good review yet because I'm not done yet. Anyways, I can't wait for your students' responses!
Thanks for your suggestion!! I am putting it on my list of books to read during summer break.
I'm glad that your students are so positive towards the cast. I'm looking forward to the explanation of Maurice's story. I'm both a Harry Potter fan and Twilighter, so I can sort of relate. But I don't see it as a betrayal to love Twilight. They are both fantasy stories, yet they are different in their premise.For me, I see Harry Potter as my first love and Twiilght as my second. Both are equally loved, but for different reasons. Anyways, I'm looking forward to more, your students are great :)
I used "Twilight" to supplement my ninth graders' reading of "Romeo and Juliet." They LOVED tying the characters together and got super excited when they realized Jacob was Paris (I got super excited when they made the independent decision that occasionally-violent peacekeeper Jasper was the occasionally-violent peacekeeper Benvolio). We make theme maps of the two pieces (their favorite being connecting the theme of "blood"!). I wanted to commend you for doing this for your classes and would LOVE to hear more about it. The girls who are beyond obsessed had a ball when I suggested a "Twilight Teatime" which we have yet to do...but your blog is inspiring me to do it!
Amanda made a fantastic suggestion!
I think the casting is very much on point.. RPats (my nickname for Robert Pattison) has a slightly dangerous look with his angular features.
I'm a huge HP fan like Maurice. seriously HUGE. costumes and sound tracks... the works, but i don't think that liking twilight is betrayl... if anything it's given me something else to obses over now that HP is over! =)
tell Maurice that i think it's awesome that a guys reading and loving the series. I'm still trying to get my guy friends to read it!
Okay, Harry Potter is not as good as Twilight (and this is coming from the girl with LoveMyRemus as her email address ('cause I love my Remus Lupin)). And I want to be a teacher, but I couldn't be a middle school teacher, so I wouldn't doubt it if 5th or 6th graders are reading Twilight soon. Besides, I read Harry Potter for the first time in like...3rd or 4th.
The Maxiumum Ride series is amazing as well. I mean, you have to have a good dragon story, a good vampire story, a good wizardry story, and a good avian-human mix story, right? If you haven't read them yet, you should.
this is maurice but i know hp and twillight are two diffrent things but i have to be complicated or they would think i like the book. i do but i cant let them know it.
THANK YOU PLEASE SEND MORE COMMENTS
p.s Remus Lupin is cool but not better then the dark lord
omg maurice you are so cool i love harry potter im a senior and love twillight you have the best teacher ever this goes to maurice for being a good hp fan and cool guy
love ya
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