So way back in the summer of 2008, I binge read the Twilight series.
See, my son was born the end of July, and the last book came out the beginning of August, and I had to spend a lot of time on the couch nursing. Reading while nursing was a good distraction, and just like sitting down next to a bag of candy, I finished them all without realizing it.
I hadn't read the books on purpose. While I had been a fan of vampire media for a long time, I wasn't tempted because, well, they looked bad. At the time, even though I was in my mid-20s, I had no real interest in YA fiction.
So why did I read through them so quickly? Because, as alluded to, they were candy. No substance or value but easy and fun to consume. They were bad. They were so bad. And I devoured it.
And there was a movie coming out! Would the movie fix it? NO IT WAS WORSE! I rewatched my bootleg mp4 of that movie so many times, looking for all the best lines, moments, and wondering what the background cast was doing. Sometimes we love media not because it's good or valuable, but because it's bad.
Now if you weren't there or don't remember, at this time, Twilight Moms were a whole thing. Moms who also devoured the books, but instead of cackling at the ridiculousness of it, got really invested in the story, the characters, the outcomes. Team Edward vs. Team Jacob. For them it wasn't bad media, it was....important. I was not one of these moms. So my love of the series was pretty quiet because I didn't want to be associated with that level of devotion.
So one day I'm walking through the mall with my two children - the above mentioned baby and his two year old sister - and she stops dead in the middle of the crowded store and says in her most excited toddler voice
"LOOK MAMA IT'S YOUR MOVIE"
while standing in front of a giant poster of Edward Cullen's stupid face. People turned and looked. She was so proud. It's one of the few times I've ever actually been embarrassed by my children in public.
She's almost 20 now, and we laugh about that story all the time, because now she understands comfort media and bad media and nuance and all of those things. I've also made her watch the series with me a few times (though she's never admitted to reading the books). She also gleefully reminds me that technically I was a Twilight Mom, being that I was a mom and did consume the media.
Yesterday she was out shopping with a friend, and came home to excitedly tell me she had bought me a present.
After she threw them at me, she yelled "Look! It's your movie!"
They are the most comfortable pants and I love them.
