The Twilight Series: Not Just For Teenage Girls

Twilight.

The very word incites thoughts, memories, or feelings of love or hate, disgust or adoration, bliss or loathing. Whether you want to admit it or not, the 4-book series by Stephanie Meyer is a cultural phenomenon. It has changed pop culture and society much in the way that Harry Potter (but don’t freak out on me, I know not to the same extent) did a few years earlier and the way that Lord of the Rings did during its day. Edward, Bella, Jacob, werewolves, and vampires have left their marks.

I was out of the country when Twilight first hit and really had never heard of it, but the minute I landed in America in May ’09 I started hearing opinions about it. The most common phrases I heard basically alluded to the idea that if you liked Twilight and were not a junior high female then you were girly or misled or should have your “man-card” taken away from you. Bella’s character has been constantly called “weak and whiny”, and Edward’s, “creepy and stalker-like”. It appears to be the “popular” thing to do to criticize Twilight, because that’s what everyone else is doing. Much in the way that it is “popular” to think Wicked is the greatest thing since sliced bread (see two entries below). It’s so much easier to follow the crowd rather than really look at something and see what value it has.

The kicker though, is that most critics, willing to admit it or not, base their judgments solely on the first couple Twilight movies (which really do not do the books justice, and are admittedly tacky), maybe the first book (which I’ll be honest- took more self-motivation to finish than the other three by far), and what they’ve heard on the street. Ignorant criticism is childish and annoying. IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE WHOLE SERIES, or at least a couple of the books, then how in the world can you criticize them. That’s like saying I hate the country of Luxembourg because of things I’ve heard about it, even though I’ve never been there.

So I decided to read them. No matter what the genre, if something is going to cause this big of a stir in the most powerful country in the world and it’s not super morally-backwards, then it deserves a shot. So for the past week and a half or so, I sucked (no pun intended) it up and read the series.

My observation: Twilight deserves most of the praise that it gets, and very little of the criticism. Here’s why.

-Above all, Stephanie Meyer creates a world and invites us in. I call it Harry Potter-izing us. The reason people loved Harry Potter so much is because JK Rowling painted a beautiful picture of the wizarding world and we all felt like we were a part of it. We got to go inside. And she based it on the premise that it truly is possible that wizards are here living among us and we were simply oblivious Muggles. Meyer did the same thing. I felt like I knew the city of Forks, the La Push Indian reservation, and the woods surrounding the little Washington town. It felt like Bella and Charlie, the Werewolf tribe, and the Vampire clans really existed. Meyer made it possible for mortals and these mythological creatures to co-exist. She created a world and made it easy to step inside it and lose ourselves in it.

-When I turn on “Terminator”, what should I expect? Fluffy bunnies and a cute little love story? No. I expect a bunch of shooting, action, and destruction. Stephanie Meyer did not falsely advertise. She made it blatantly clear that this was mostly based on a love story, much in the way that Romeo and Juliet is blatantly a love story. So it was not disappointing or gross or weird when Bella fell for Edward. Or when Edward did everything he could to protect her (hence, the stalker comments). Or when Bella lost a big piece of herself when Edward left (hence, the whiney Bella comments). It’s a love story, and a good one. What do you expect? Edward to not be protective when he’s so accustomed to killing things? Bella to just pretend like nothing happened when her first love dumps her out of nowhere? No.

-That being said, there was a lot more action and non-love story parts to this story then I think anyone expected. I did not expect the international Vampire council to rip someone’s limbs off and set them on fire, nor to consume 40 something tourists in the city. I did not expect detailed descriptions of Edward ripping two Bella-hunting vampires to pieces or of him being tortured to convulsions by the psycho vampire Jane. I did not expect the sweet action of Indian boys transforming into Werewolves, thinking as one body, and pursuing and killing newborn vampires by the dozens.

-This story has some amazing character development. Particularly in Bella. As many are so quick to mention, Bella can come off as annoying at first. But I think that’s the point. In the first book she is still a high school girl, although much more mature than most. She doesn’t fit in to school because she has already grown up and gotten past the unimportant high school drama, as demonstrated by a comparison of her to her friends Mike and Jessica. But yes, in the first few books she is a little selfish. She thinks of herself and of ways that she can be with Edward to please her. But she changes. She develops friendships with Jacob. She learns to help other people and sacrifice. At one point she nearly kills herself in an attempt to save the others. She learns what it means to be married and committed. And eventually she learns to be a mother. She is willing to die so that her child can be born. Her obsession with Edward becomes real love and she learns to share that with her daughter. In the ending battle it is Bella that saves everyone. She learns to develop an inner power to shield others, not worrying about the effects it will have on herself. I really came to respect Bella and the changes she made. Sure she was sometimes irrational, but for the most part I think she’s a good example to young people about helping others and learning what real love is.

-Meyer’s characters are believable. She creates such real characters, I’d venture to say even more believable than JK Rowling does. Bella’s father Charlie has such a distinct personality of the slightly-awkward father who loves his daughter but doesn’t know exactly how to raise her. Bella’s slightly emo attitude is, let’s face it, very common in today’s society. Jacob’s bright attitude and gradual infatuation and love for Bella make it feel like we really know who Jacob is. Alice Cullen is quirky and hilarious. Mike is every bit of the over-exuberant high school senior as I met every day at my own high school. Jessica is described perfectly in her focus on the tiny high school drama. And the Cullen family is remarkable. The wise and truly good Carlisle, the motherly Esme, the jealous beauty queen Rosalie, the self-evaluating Jasper, the perfectly described big brother Emmett. Even the nomad ex-Revolutionary War solider Garrett is like someone you’d find off of “The Patriot”. Part of the reason we can enter into the Twilight world is that the people in it are so real.

-Twilight is full of really clever humor. There were many a page when something really funny would come out of no where and I’d find myself reading it again, asking, “really? Did that just happen?”. Three of my favorites were in the movie theatre when Bella finds herself between Mike and Jacob, both of them with their hands on the arm rest facing up, ready for Bella to make any kind of movement so they could grab her hand. I love in the last book how people keep calling Bella’s kid Nessie, even though it’s not her real name. And when the narrative is coming from Jacob’s point of view it is hilarious. Some of his chapter headings include, “Good Thing I’ve Got a Strong Stomach”, “The Two Things at the Very Top of my Things-I-Never-Want-To-Do- List”, and “Sure as hell Didn’t See that one Coming”.

-The whole Team Edward vs. Team Jacob thing is not baseless. You really find yourself rooting for one or the other for most of the series. I didn’t realize that Jacob played such a huge role in the series. I love how he is there the whole time, playing different roles and always part of the story. Definitely my favorite character. Although, for the record, the 4th book landed me into Team Edward.

-Some of the vampires have special abilities and two of them provide a different view into things. Edward can read everyone’s thoughts. So all of a sudden we can know what each character is thinking. It’s a psychologically interesting observation. And Alice sees the future based on when people make decisions that affect the future. It was cool to see how one decision made now will affect what happens days or weeks or months down the road.

-There are many intricate symbolisms involved in the story. The most prominent one is that of overcoming our desires in order to do the right thing. They demonstrate this by Edward and eventually Bella overcoming their desire to murder people and drink blood and instead doing the morally correct thing. It takes sacrifice but it’s worth it.

-As a Mormon, I recognized many of our beliefs written in the pages of Stephanie Meyer’s own Mormon ideologies. Two of the most obvious being that we believe sex should be saved until after marriage, which I thought was very well portrayed. And the other being that we believe that if done right, a married couple can live together forever, even after death.

-My favorite part of the story was the werewolves. I loved the Indian legends, the genetics, and the technicalities of how they became werewolves. In the wolf form, they all shared each other’s thoughts. This book is full of people entering each other’s minds, which adds a whole new dimension.


Well that was by far the longest blog I’ve ever written, but I felt like it needed to be said. The Twilight series is excellent and now I can clearly see why it has had the impact that it did and continues to have. Sure, it’s not perfect. Sure, there’s romance. But there’s a lot more to it then people sometimes give it credit for. It’s worth the read and there’s a lot in there to enjoy, discover, and mull over. The ending is great and I left feeling like it was time well-spent reading those thick books.

Kudos to you Stephanie Meyer. Well done. If you write another series I’ll go and read it.

In the words of the vampire Garrett, “I came to witness. I stay to fight”. Twilight is seriously worth a shot.

I. Hate. Mustard.

Mustard, celery, dried onions, baked potatoes. Nasty. My taste buds just didn’t agree with those textures, tastes, and ingredients. It wasn’t something I could help, right? It’s just who I was. Those were the foods that I did. not. like.

Then one day a few years ago I stopped and thought about it. Do I really not like mustard? Or did some bad experience as a kid just ingrain in my mind that I didn’t like it? Had it just become a natural reaction to see mustard and cringe? So I decided upon an experiment. I would eat the mustard, but with the mindset that I indeed did like it. I squirted it on my hotdog, took a bite, and was amazed by how great it tasted. My mindset changed, and now I’ll put mustard on sandwiches and hotdogs all the time. It was all in my head!

In the coming months I had similar experiences with dried onions and baked potatoes. And just last week I found a piece of celery on my plate, changed my mindset, and ate up. And it was good. Of course, eating pigs blood, fish eyes, and frog skin in Taiwan helped me soften up a bit, but it was really just my change in attitude that led these “detestable” foods back into my life. Now, I proudly brag to my mother that there is no food that I don’t like. All foods are good and offer some kind of value. Why miss out on a unique taste just because of a silly unconscious decision?

So lately I’m on this big kick: You can like any food if you decide to. It’s ALL in your head. And so now everyday when I hear someone whine about not wanting tomatoes on their burger, or wanting bottled water because the tap water is just not the same, or about hating diet but loving regular soda, or about someone refusing to eat sausage on their pizza or picking the mushrooms off---I just think in my head, “dude, get over it. It’s all in your mind.” Just decide to like things and you will!

Bon’appetit.

"Wicked" Overrated? What?

In the years since it entered Broadway and began touring the country, I don’t believe I’ve ever heard a poor review about “Wicked”. This play depicts the events before and during the Wizard of Oz from the perspective of the witches. I’ve had friends and family travel hours, make weekend trips, and pay big money to go see it. Phenomenal they call it. Even before I knew what Wicked was, I was hearing girls croon to the songs “Defying Gravity” and “For Good” with starstruck eyes.

Well yesterday I had the chance to see it. Before entering the theatre I promised myself that I would give Wicked a fair chance and analyze it solely based on what I saw and heard, and not based on its reputation. My overall synopsis: Yes, ok, it’s good. But it’s not amazing. The plot was rather thin and baseless. Here’s the good things of the show:

The Good:

-The song “Defying Gravity”. Excellent lyrics, notes, and delivery. It was powerful, fit with the play, and I felt should have been the finale song. Great song! It’s the only song from Wicked that’s been stuck in my head since seeing the show.

-Galinda. Her character was cute and querky and hilarious. They hit this one right on the nose depicting a “popular” attitude of our culture. I loved seeing her development through the play as well. Seeing her change from being totally self-centered to truly caring for her friend was cool.

-The set/costumes/Broadway feel. Yeah, as far as all the technicality issues, they did a great job and made it very entertaining.

-Probably my favorite part of the show was how they tied in “The Wizard of Oz”. Like explaining why Dorothy had the slippers (“who steals a pair of slippers from a dead girl? What, were you raised in a barn?”, epic), how the tinman, scarecrow, and lion came to be, why the house killed Nessa, where and why the wizard was, the water “killing” the witch, etc.. I like clever things, and all of that was very well done. Kudos.

The Wicked:

-The main thing that bugged me was that Elphaba’s “drive” or “cause” to “save the animals” was not developed, explained, or shown. Ok, so she had a goat teacher. Yeah I get it that she was trying to help those who were “different”, but I didn’t really feel convinced as to why. Her whole life she wants to go see the wizard and then when he says one thing about putting the animals in cages, Elphaba goes off her rocker and becomes a fugitive. Then the second act we never actually see her saving animals or actually doing anything “good”. She shouldn’t have taken the hit so easily and so pointlessly from the Wizard or from Mrs. Morrible. That whole thing could have been done better.

-Elphaba always had such a, “I’m being persecuted but I’m a tough girl” attitude. It was annoying. The one time where she was refreshing and “real” was when she was in the woods with Fierra and said the line, “for the first time in my life, I feel….Wicked!”. That was cool and fun. But other than that her character never really developed or grew. She was what she was from the beginning: a good but misunderstood green person.

-On that note, the whole “be nice to those who are different” theme has been overdone by society and by media. The conservationist/racism/handicap thing was a little overbearing. Maybe if they had narrowed in. But instead we had a girl in a wheelchair, a girl with green skin, and repression of animals, OH and the repression of the Munckins by Governor Nessa. Lots and lots of repression in this flick.

-Speaking of Nessa: what the heck. I really did not see the point of her character. She had zero redeeming qualities, lived a tragic and bitter life, and then died. Even when we first meet her at the school, she is being snappy to Elphaba. She has low self-esteem that leads to her blindly accepting Broc, when her father dies she is a nasty governor, when she’s healed she is ungrateful to her ever-helpful sister, and when she gets crushed by the house I don’t think anyone in the audience feels bad. She was a miserable character who didn’t add much to the plot. Sure, she was different because of her handicap. But Elphaba and the goat man covered that “different” base and it was pretty unnecessary to add that piece.

-The Goat Man- besides one off-stage line shouted by the Lion, the goat man is the one time we hear animals talk. Maybe if we had seen more of them talk it would have been cool and easy to accept that ok, Oz has talking animals. But no, we’ve got a goat man who teaches at the school. What??? And he turns Elphaba into an animal-loving PITA member in the one scene they have together…in which he eats her lunch bag.

-The love understory was terrrrribly underdeveloped. They should have added to it or just taken it out. Here’s how it goes. Fierra is obviously a popular/slightly brainless guy. He apparently is a lazy jerk based on the scenes we see with him and his first song. Then out of no where, Elphaba’s spell doesn’t work on him (why???) when the whole class gets put under her magic, they save a lion cub together, and then all of a sudden they’re in love? Whaaaat? It happened too quick, there was no convincing in it, and he was also (like Nessa) a slightly pointless character. Same with Broc. So great, he goes to the dance and then SPENDS THE REST OF HIS LIFE with Nessa so that he can get in with Galinda. Whaaat? Then when Nessa’s legs are fixed, without even thinking Broc is like, “oh by the way, I never liked you. I liked that pretty girl for all these years. So…if we’re cool then I guess I’ll see ya later”. It was very unconvincing and very underdeveloped.

-The crowd has zero personality. They sway with the opinion of the Wizard or Galinda in a heartbeat. I did not bond to the chorus at all.

-The ending song was anti-climactic. It was slow and it left me wanting something more. And the lyrics bug me. “Who can say if I’ve changed for the better?”. So basically, who knows, maybe I’m a better person for it. Maybe not. No one can really tell. “But because I knew you I have been changed for good”. Isn’t “better” basically the same thing as “good”? I don’t know, kind of redundant/conflicting statements.

So in summary, I guess the main thing is a lack of motive in the characters. Motive is big for me and oftentimes it wasn’t presented very strongly WHY Elphaba was saving the animals, WHY Fierra loved Elphaba, WHY Nessa was always such a jerk, WHY they decided to bring a talking goat man into the story, etc..

After all that though, I am glad I finally got to see this show. It was a lot of fun and I’d love to see it again sometime. But I can honestly say that I don’t think it’s worth all of the hype that it has received. I’ve walked out of dozens of other plays and musicals (West Side, Les Mis, Phantom, Grease, Guys and Dolls, Pippin, South Pacific, Into the Woods, etc..) with a bigger since of completion and satisfaction in my chest. If characters from those musicals had a house fall on them, I might actually be upset.

And who knows, this review might not have changed you for the better. But because you read it, you have been changed for good. Yeah….do you see what I’m talking about?

And what’s with the talking goat?!?????

The Great Land

The Great Land. The Last Frontier. Alaska.

It really happened. I came here, worked, explored, and fell in love with the place. And now I’m going home. It’s been a great chapter! I really feel that with the time that I had, I got the most out of this place as I could while I was here.

It’s a special place. The people are adventurous, the landscape is unbeatable, and the culture distinct. Alaskans have pride in their state, but it’s not like Texans. Texans have to be loud and boisterous about “everything being bigger in Texas” or whatever, but Alaskans know that they are awesome without even saying. It’s a silent pride, because anyone who visits will automatically feel and see the uniqueness and glory of this place. Cars are dirtier, beards are longer, grooves in the road remain from winter-studded tires, it’s never really dark (I’m going to miss having so many sunlight hours!), everyone is a good driver, the United States is referred to as the “lower 48”, and just about everyone owns a truck and a dog.

Going back home I feel a little braver. In Alaska there’s no distance too far, no adventure too tough, and no task too daunting. Alaska puts everything else into perspective and makes you realize that there is beauty everywhere and that the world isn’t so big after all. The people here welcome strangers, tourists, and summer workers with open arms—watching them leave at the end of the summer while the residents stay to tough out the cold, dark winter and keep Alaska running. During my job I would always ask the residents two questions: Are you originally from Alaska? No. How long have you been here? 20-30 something years. It seems that once people come here, they can't really go back.

I learned a lot from my job too. Working on call as a technician with pretty late hours taught me: I really can’t sacrifice evenings of social time!, doing handyman work brings a nice immediate satisfaction when done well, know what you’re getting into before you do it, and work as a team in whatever you do. I was alone a lot during the days, whether on a job or waiting for one, and that was tough. I definitely became better friends with myself, but I learned that it’s really a high priority for me to be around people and work and live together. I made many great, possibly life-long, friends while out here. Curtis, Devin, Stephanie, Emily, Rebecca, Gordon, Cohan, Lisha, Benji, Tanner, and Grace to name a few. The singles ward took me in and made me one of their own and gave me a family.

I’ll always remember my 2.5 months here in Alaska. It was such a blessing to be here. Forever I will recall Alaska as a beautiful, special, adventurous, tucked-away haven of the world. May God bless forever, The Great Land.

Assertive

My Grandma Hancock once told me a story about chocolate cake. According to my memory of the story, when she was a little girl one of her friend’s mothers offered her a piece of cake. Now did little Lynette want a piece of that big scrumptious cake? Of course she did! But in an effort to perhaps not sound rude, or not appear overzealous to inherit the prize, little Lynette replied, “I don’t care.” To which the friend’s mother responded, “you don’t care, I don’t care”, and put the cake away.

I remember Grandma telling us this story in an effort to teach us assertiveness. Another figure in my life who is assertive is my mother. If the price comes up wrong on the register, if there’s a deal to be had, or something that she fairly wants becomes available, then she is not afraid to speak up and get it. Assertiveness is a beautiful gift.

A phrase that has governed my life is, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”. It’s so true! In most every venture, you’re going to be worse off if you never try. Every time you ask out a girl, every time you apply for a scholarship, every time you try out for a part, every time you ask for that last slice of pizza, every time you would prefer to do one thing over another, IT’S WORTH A SHOT! Because in not taking the shot you are guaranteed failure. What are you afraid of? Failure itself? Embarrassment? Who cares! Get over your pride and start living the way you want to and start going for the things that are going to help you and others out the most.

Now I’m not saying be aggressive and mean and step in people’s toes in an angry rage all the time. Assertive people are kind, polite, giving, and often the most successful people in the world. Think about it. Do you think that any president, effective world leader, or general got to where they are by passively “accepting their lot”? No way! Do you think they stepped on toes and stormed to their position? No way! They are assertive people.

So next time you see a pretty girl, go ask her on a date. Do what you want to do. Next time your friend offers you to stick around for lunch, then stick around! Of course you’d like a free lunch. They just offered it to you. They’ll probably enjoy serving it to you anyways.

Go get ‘em.

Confessions of a Gamer

Today I heard a sad confession from a co-worker. He’s been my hotel roommate for about a week now. He’s a really nice kid. Grew up in Provo, Utah, to a good family and he has a lot of great things going for him. But he has an addiction…

It was one of the saddest things I have ever heard. He’s not addicted to drugs. He’s not addicted to pornography. He’s not even addicted to alcohol or smoking. He’s addicted to gaming.

Every spare moment that he’s not at work he is on his computer playing in an alternate universe. His friends are online, his joys are online, his life is online. He explained to me that he lives two separate lives (in the real world and in the gaming world) and he likes his gaming world life better. And so it is the gaming world where he prefers to live for most of the day and night. It’s his shelter, it’s easier than real life, and he finds fleeting pleasures there, just like other addictions can bring.

Today he told me about how he hasn’t finished college because gaming pulls him away. He told me about his lowered confidence and fear of dating and marriage because of his lack of social interaction. He’s in his upper 20’s and he feels like he lost his chance for a regular job, a mission, a marriage because of gaming. He’s given up. It is a true tragedy.

I’ve been trying to help him in the past few days and I’m going to get him out on a date, out to church, and out into the real world. With the gospel of Jesus Christ it’s not too late for him to come back.

But this experience with my hotel roommate, who is seriously an awesome person and quickly becoming a good friend, has opened up a new avenue of thought for me concerning addictions.

When we think addictions we think of big, bad things like the above mentioned drugs and porn and yadayada. But what addictions, be it small or large, are preventing you or me from living our life fully? Is there a card game? A soda we’ve got to have every day? A TV show? Addictions are scary, tragic, and life-ruining.

So ask yourself today if you are in control of your life, and if the answer is no then get on your knees, and then get to work to make the most of every single day!

Travis Vankempen? Travis Nelson? Travis Tullis?

I am a Hancock. I always have been. It’s part of my identity. But when I got to thinking about it, I’m a lot of other things too.

My family and extended family KNOWS their family history. We can trace a line all the way back to Adam (Not even kidding). The other day I realized that the only thing that labels me a “Hancock” is the fact that the parents and grandparents in that line were all males, and therefore passed down that specific name. Having the name of Hancock leads to all kinds of questions like, “So are you related to John Hancock?”, or “I knew some Hancocks once. Do you know….”, or “Wow there’s a movie named “Hancock””, or whatever. All because that specific line was all males. I love being a Hancock and being labeled as such. But once I took to analyzing my 16 great-great-grandparents I realized that I’m just as much one of them, as I am a Hancock.

Say, in a hypothetical world (and some people choose to do this) that the maiden name was passed down one generation. Well then I’d be Travis Richardson. What if the maiden name of my dad’s mom was passed down? Travis Wolthius. Or the maiden name two generations. I’d be Travis Flake. You get the idea, but say you threw the 16 names of my great great grandparents in a bowl and picked one out. I could be named Travis Vankempen, Travis Nelson, Travis Stratton, Travis Tullis (nice ring to it!), Travis Kartchner, Travis Smith, Travis Veldhuis (how sweet would that be!), Travis Jansen, Travis Mortenson, Travis Adams (which was the names of one of my mission friends), Travis Leavitt, or Travis Hardy (like the Hardy Boys!).

That blows my mind! All of those names look so strange connected with my first name, simply because I’ve always been and always will be Travis Hancock. I’ve met many an Adams or Smith or Nelson but I or them never even think to look for common relatives, because I am a “Hancock”. I bet you less than 2% of people in the world know the names of their 16 great-greats, let alone relate to and realize that they are just as much their paternal great-great grandma as they are their maternal great-great grandpa.

It makes me wonder. If you lined up my 16 great-great grandparents--- whose genes have all mixed together in one way or another to make the person I am physically, mentally, spiritually, etc..--- I wonder which one I am most like. Kartchner? Jansen? Leavitt?

What’s in a name? A lot. But it’s important, and rather fun, to think about who you’re really made up of and what your name could be if society’s naming system was tweaked just a little bit.