I finally read THE HOST and it's kinda GROSS - Explained

[@Malum09]

True love would have been that she ended up in the body of Danny DeVito instead of Emily Browning and he still loved her regardless.

[@Magniflorious]

Or they should have just implanted her in his body. If you’re in love with an incorporeal alien, sharing your own body seems much more intimate and meaningful than implanting her in another human suit and trying to have a normal human relationship.

[@Imcold1218]

That's saying Danny Devito got captured in the first place.

[@Pipkiablo]

Honestly, I'd pay good money to see this entire movie remade with Danny DeVito in it.

[@thedeliveryboy1123]

Dude you have to be joking if it was Danny Devito it'd be worse than Emily Browning because then EVERYONE will fall for him

[@MsMaggyW]

Actually in the book Wanda does make that point. She tells Ian he wouldn't have feelings for her if she'd been put in a man, or an elderly woman. And Ian tells her it would still be her, and it wouldn't change anything. It's beautiful. Now since he did get to choose the body, of course he's going to pick someone he finds physically attractive to begin with.

[@sammyisqueer8628]

"why did ian develop feelings for her so fast, he was choking her a scene ago" maybe it was the choking,,, just maybe

[@Niphredyl]

Bruh, I was choking from laughter...

[@CGZ26]

Ahhh 50 shades crossover 😂😂

[@gerardcollins80]

The winner comment! 🤭🤣. Needs *way* more likes.

[@ShariGrace1]

Choke me like you hate me but you love me

[@alejandrobotero8725]

Heh. Legit Criminal Minds episode.

[@TheSlipperyNUwUdle]

I’m 26 now and gagging at the concept of dating a 17 year old. Like, no thank you.

[@lecciciapires2166]

To be honest, I'm 22 and also gagging at the concept of dating a 17yo

[@josantiago3652]

25 here and I have a hard time finding anyone younger than I to be more than a kid

[@angelyj.7807]

lmao I’m 19 and I don’t even wanna date a 17 years old

[@theworldischanging71]

Im 17 and I'm grateful u people exist lol

[@TheFourthWinchester]

In most Middle Eastern countries, teen girls are the most sought after brides for old men - like 50 to 80 yrs old as their next wives.

[@catc2938]

It’s weird how Stephanie Meyer is good at writing *almost* good stories, but she mucks it all up with the “accidental” misogynistic and racist undertones and purposeful age gaps.

[@VicenteTorresAliasVits]

Here's the thing: It's possible for an adult and a teenager to date and have a healthy relationship. There have been and still are precedents all around the world. The mistake is to think that everything applies to everyone. Each situation has a different context. The relationships in Stephenie Meyer's stories have elements that would be problematic even if there were no age gaps.

[@catc2938]

Vits Vicente Torres nah what we’re not gonna do is try to validate pedophilia.

[@lunabearsong2043]

She's actually got a lot of good horror concepts floating around in the background . I do believe with a lot of effort and dedication, she could be a really good horror author.

[@TehMomo_]

@@lunabearsong2043 key word is effort and dedication... accidentally writing good horror doesn't mean anything

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

@@lunabearsong2043 But it seems like that's more because she's just a bad writer who doesn't think things through

[@annabush430]

I legit don’t get Stephanie’s thing against 18 year olds. Like, c’mon, make Melanie and Wanda both 18 and the whole grooming thing isn’t as much of an issue.

[@Romanticoutlaw]

I blame the creepy religion she was raised in where creepy age gaps are idealized, if not the norm. Obviously it's no excuse, but if that's where that's coming from I get it

[@PhoenixValkyrie]

Paedophilia. No one focuses that hard on being right on the edge of legal age unless they want to make it younger. There's NO reason to write them as 17 AT ALL. I don't even mention how old the characters are in my book unless it's relevant,I just say their rough age for description purposes.

[@mgntstr]

@@PhoenixValkyrie I think you have a point. I faintly remember our Literature teacher had us reading "teens" books in school when our class was a bunch of 12 and 13 year olds. the books had drug use violence torture and sex scenes with characters at the same age as us who read it, I remember the lady really harped on that like "what is it like to read about characters your own age" not a mention of that the authors where adults writing smut porn. ps: me be in a place where legal age do be 15.

[@disastermidi1990]

@@PhoenixValkyrie I mean there’s the fact that it’s a book for teens, so a teen character adds up. The age gap is not cool but what you’re saying is silly

[@charlottefraise8041]

Yeah, but if they are holder than 18 they "legally" can have sex. So, I'm pretty sure the "under 18" things is a "purity seal". Which is soooo stupid, but a pretty common thing.

[@mickymcbryan4814]

I'm surprised you didn't talk about how Ian, Wanda and Mel kinda have a weird scene where Wanda explains that being a thousand in human years still makes her child in soul years on top of the fact the souls are usually asexual as explanation for why she doesn't understand what Ian is getting at with her.

[@theylorlr6677]

Oh gods fucking damn it.

[@Andreamom001]

Seriously? The soul is a child and he’s “in love” with a child??? Ugh! That is NOT romantic!

[@iknowthatyouregayfireflies9992]

The only decent part was the asexual representation.

[@theylorlr6677]

@@iknowthatyouregayfireflies9992 I don't think that's good enough. The only ace is a bodysnatching alien? Nah fam

[@rashotcake6945]

so it’s pedophilic in three separate ways, with one being the age gap between the bodies, the second being the age gap between the minds, and the third being the maturity gap when adjusted for species

[@salenebrom6476]

The thing is the souls mentality makes a sad kind of sense They were attacked on their home world and slaughtered by the thousands They found a way to take over the vultures and then started leaning heavily into being body snatchers Then they realized that their were other worlds and other species They decided to infiltrate them to ensure their would never be more vultures Not realizing that that’s what they have become

[@mapl3w33d]

You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain

[@salenebrom6476]

Tori Simpson EXACTLY

[@lilscenechick1995]

I didn't know that. I like that concept. I wish they expanded more on that in the movie.

[@fightingmedialounge519]

That doesn't make a lot sense

[@salenebrom6476]

@@fightingmedialounge519 it’s the most human for lack of a better word aspect about them

[@nightmime9021]

This movie really was a waste. Such a good concept but thrown away with classic Stephanie Myers love triangle.

[@HovektheArtist]

Right I love the concept of a peaceful parasitic species that have coexisted with their hosts for eons, but coming to earth was the worst decision as we are such emotional violent beings that even if the first ones were consentual, eventually humanity as a host changes the parasites to be more like the worst parts of humanity and both parasites and hosts have to overcome that change

[@donaldtusk2678]

It’s sort of like invasion of the body snatchers who aren’t necessarily violent but only kill when the victim is asleep also no love triangle

[@Tiger89Lilly]

@@HovektheArtist 0

[@capital_L283]

I remember being 15 and reading this and not seeing why everyone was freaking out about the age gaps....😑that's why stories like that are so dangerous, it convinces kids that it's normal and everyone is freaking out for no reason, I shudder thinking back at how vulnerable I was, luckily nothing happened but Jesus

[@Multilipstik]

10:16 It’s actually explained in the book that normal Souls don’t lie. The only Souls known to lie were Seekers and their purpose was to hunt down humans. So if the humans were to believe that she was lying then they would think that she’s a Seeker who came up with an elaborate plan to hunt them down and they would kill her to protect themselves. Basically the only thing that was keeping her alive in the beginning was that Jeb and Jamie didn’t believe that she was a Seeker.

[@medeaworbs6970]

True but that, also, doesn't make much sense. How can some people from a species who occupy a certain job lie and others can't? And how do the humans know this?

[@alidelatierra]

The host was one of the first sci fis I ever read. I was young but hella fascinated by the whole situation. I do NOT REMEMBER HIM BEING 26 That’s fucking weird

[@squid2133]

Yeah I was about to say I remember this book being one of my favorites and I COMPLETELY missed the 17 and 26 lmfao

[@SingingSealRiana]

I completely missed that too cause I cpuld not be bothered with the romance 😂 I was on it cause I vobed with wanda who is heavely autistic coded and found the whole non agressiv aggressor in an alien invasion thing endlessly facinating

[@LewsTherinTelescope]

I really enjoyed the book overall, but GOD there are so many weird things with the romances you have to ignore and I would not blame someone at all for refusing to read it over that. The core concept of the love square isn't even bad, the question of how you handle two people in one body with different love interests sounds interesting, but did she really HAVE to put in all the creepy underage shit or all the bizarre violence & jealousy stuff? Gahhh.

[@DeathnoteBB]

Souls: Congratulations! You are being rescued! Melanie: *jumps out a window* Souls: Please do not resist

[@allisonavery7273]

Yas

[@presidenttogekiss635]

Thus makes me sad, because the Host has probably one of the best sci-fi worldbuildings I've ever seen, and its completely WASTED.

[@SingingSealRiana]

Absolutely!!!

[@stefaniem423]

See, while I liked the Twilight series when everyone was obsessing about it in middle school, I LOVED The Host. At the beginning of your video I was defensive of what I still consider to be one of my favorite stand-alone novels (I read it about 20 times between 7th and 12 grade), but you did make many valid (and funny) points about the age stuff and other problematic things. When the movie came out I was so disappointed because so much character development wasn't done and a couple major plot points were left out! Despite its issues, The Host (book) will always hold a special place in my heart.

[@imjusthereforthefood1705]

I feel EXACTLY the same. It'll always be one of my favorite books even with all its problematic issues.

[@imjusthereforthefood1705]

The movie was straight up garbage. Ive never been so excited for a movie but it was a huge disappointment.

[@leadingblind1629]

I'm actually still kinda offended tbh. Low key. I never thought anything about the age gaps. Still don't remember Ian's age being mentioned except, yeah, hes obviously over 20. Hell I like Kyle by the end. One of my top 5 stand alone books. Guess I just see a LOT of both Wanda and Melanie in myself. And I'm much older than the intended audience was when it came out. But everything I like is always getting shit on lol.

[@minwellitsanicknamebegrate2531]

@@leadingblind1629 yeah at the time I was reading this my older sister was dating guys 4or 5 years older then her so I didn’t think it was weird and by the end I was totally buying that Ian loved Wanda not her body so I didn’t care how old she was and didn’t really know Ian’s age wasn’t important to me . I was more excited about finding a second soul from the burning planet or whatever. I would reread my favorite parts all the time

[@sarahoestreich2345]

I was gonna comment that it was a trilogy but I never realized that the second and third book never got made/published. I think I’d just assumed since I haven’t thought about The Host since the movie came out

[@chrischaboyer2629]

Like a lot of people. I only went back and watched this movie because Saoirse is in it, and I absolutely love her. This is easily the worst movie she’s ever been in.

[@chrischaboyer2629]

MoCo OH crap I totally didn’t realize I misspelled it. I know how to spell it. Thanks 👌🏻

[@gingerholley4634]

Lol literally the only thing I remember about this movie is that Radioactive premiered in the trailer and everyone was like YO THIS SONG SLAPS. :D

[@doll_dress_swap12]

The trailer plus that song makes it look pretty good. One of those cases where the trailer looked better than the movie actually was. 😅

[@CherryLipstick6x3]

Oh riiiight, that was a pretty cool trailer-song combo!

[@malkam.7543]

So...she manufactured a situation where Melanie can never consent to anything but Wanda wants everything--AND there's a huge age gap? ew.

[@AJZ0626]

My instant reaction, to this movie, was "How the hell did these things take over?!?". They needed a taken over body, in order to take over a body.

[@rocketracoon709]

In the book it's expanded on that they used a species they had already taken over that was hyper-intelligent (described as spider-like creatures) to make the small silver space crafts they used to travel to earth, and then took over people in those forms

[@TDArulesclub4]

I went to watch this movie in the theaters when I was younger and really liked it. As an adult I watched it again on TV and... yeah I saw the problems. I didn’t read the book so I didn’t know about the age ages, except Wanda saying she’s 1000+ years old. I can explain a few things. The Soul species are a peaceful non violent race, but they do take over other planets and species to make them ‘better’, to fix their wrongs and make them a more peaceful species. The leader, Seeker, gets too intense with her work to where she kills another Soul, which IS a big part of the movie when even the other Souls call her out on it. “You’ve gotten too violent, these humans, they’re infected your perspective” and give her time off. In the movie at least, they show that because of the human’s strong will to live and the instincts of humanity perceived as a violent species, it gets into the Seeker’s head to where she snaps and kills another Soul. The sudden romance/kisses, yeah, it went way too fast, it’s a strange love triangle/square. I never saw Wanda as a bland character, but rather young and naive, despite her old age. Her past lives were simply to ‘fix’ (take over), so when she gets into a human body, she, and her species, realize that this race is a lot stronger to deal with, specially when the one inside her just won’t die. She starts to gain compassion for the humans and those around her while still trying to keep loyal to her own race (as when she still says sorry after attacking them and not wanting to kill them). What I liked the most was how it dealt with the point of view of an alien being challenged about its species’s ways after getting close to another, the inner conflict of what they want in the end. The body they switch Wanda in at the end was a body that ‘was already dying’, and by putting Wanda inside it, she saved it. Acting is meh but I do like the concept overall.

[@clairetrickey53]

At the time of reading the book I was 13. And I remember so vividly, just absolutely loving it. I couldn’t put it down. It was the first time in my teenage years that I was actually excited about a book. I had read all of the Twilight books a few years previously but I was very young. There were definitely some poor choices (ie; underage romances, etc) ofc but I really enjoyed the concept. I was so excited about the movie coming out. I think I went to the midnight premiere and it was one of the biggest letdowns of my life. There were so many things left out from the book (some for good reason), the acting was terrible (no hate to Saoirse though at all), and the filming itself was just so bland and boring. Nothing like how I imagined when reading the book. And this video just brought back all those memories. I’m glad I finally got some closure though from hearing other people talk about it cuz no one else from my age group had read it at the time, or even seen the movie.

[@emoryclaire1477]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Stephanie Meyer should just write lore for table top roleplaying games, because some of her ideas are really cool and her writing is wasted in the romance genre.

[@20iasberry]

My ex bought me this book when I had a cold. There is a reason he's my ex.

[@jamie.lynn004]

I-😂

[@haileyharmon5298]

Damn, is it roast The Host hours already? I must've been early.

[@teriyakishrimp9480]

The Rost

[@IndirectCogs]

They're non-violent, but violence is literally defined as taking another's agency away. So by subjugating human minds, they are literally some of the most insidiously violent agents imaginable. (Like the Yeerks! I loved the Animorphs reference, I thought that when I watched this movie... 7 years ago... god damn...)

[@Khenfu_Cake]

Oddly enough I can sympathize way more with the Yeerks than the Souls since at least the Yeerks didn't pretend what they were doing to their hosts wasn't horrible. They just employed a "us before others" attitude, because being a blind slug really sucks.

[@Dragonshade64]

Yeah... It seems like when people use 'non violent' as a means of asserting superiority (moral or otherwise) they only think of Physical violence and end up practicing forms of violence like gaslighting, psychological abuse and hostile body takeover. It does start to get horrifying both because of the lack of thought about the implications of this (it's still violent abuse) and that the undercurrent of horrifying abuse seems to be becoming increasingly endemic media with romantic content.

[@LunaWitcher]

I'm sorry, I'm still at the beginning of the video, with the theorizing of how things got taken over And like, just imagine hundreds of people daily going to the hospital, and leaving the place with a completely different personality. Imagine people not wanting to do life-saving procedures out of fear they would be swapped. Imagine how their loved ones felt when that fear turned out to be right. That could have been a story all on itself.

[@kseni_vely]

7:17 comment: Hey, my friend fell asleep at the wheel completely sober, just cause she was between night shifts, her Peugeot 307 did like two or three flips till it found the ditch (observer true story from the family that helped her out of the car that was on its roof) and she was OK I mean, not even a whiplash to the neck. It was kinda mmmiraculous

[@TehMomo_]

since she was asleep her body was relaxed so that's probably contributed to her not being injured. in addition to the car flipping (you want the car to flip it distributes the force)

[@movieblocks9164]

“Science fiction for people who don’t like science fiction”. Yeah they said game of thrones was fantasy for people who dont like fantasy and it was just fantasy. Didn’t have any real standouts besides.... Well Emilia Clarke and gore.

[@MaylocBrittinorum]

Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister was also pretty damn good.

[@1997residente]

Really? Emilia Clarke didn't even give the best performance in the show. It was Peter Dinklage.

[@movieblocks9164]

@@1997residente I mean boobies

[@guillermodebaskerville7117]

Don't forget the boobs. Porn for people who don't know how to search for porn in the internet.

[@khatunamezvrishvili6211]

I thought you were talking about Emma Clarke...who wrote troll

[@KamenRiderFeline]

"Something like... today's sponsor Raycon!" I nearly spat out my drink lol

[@lazarus8447]

"Stephanie NO!" Goddamn, I'm crying over here lol.

[@peblezQ]

This movie holds a dear place in my heart because when my family rented it when it came out on DVD, we had such a blast making fun of it.

[@VirginiaDowdy777821]

I remember my friend (who's a huge Twilight fan) showing me this movie, she thought I'd like it because the actress who played the main character was one of my favorites at the time. I was very unsettled by the age gap and she said, 'In normal circumstances, their relationship would be illegal, however since it's the end of the world it's okay.' That still didn't convince me to like this ship otherwise lol.

[@RuminatingRaptor]

Of course she was fine, that was a Volvo she flipped.

[@milktea6676]

The host but Corona Edition now that’s a scary movie 😰

[@DeathnoteBB]

If it was about corona, everyone would just go “It’s not THAT bad! Not EVERYONE is body snatched! God!”

[@BarbarianGod]

I only managed to get like half way through the book, but it always seemed like there were a bunch of neat scifi ideas and then the weird weird poorly done YA sections, like it was half ghostwritten by someone and then smashed together by an editor that probably wasn't paid enough for the miracle they had to pull off in combining the two

[@corruptangel6793]

Oh my God, Animorphs! Now that was a nostalgia gutpunch I wasn't expecting.

[@TheBookishWyrm]

I read this when I was in my teens. I'm a giant scifi fan and I was at the time too. I think there's a lot of cool world-building for the souls on other worlds in this book and an interesting colony of human characters. I just wish it were executed better.

[@pduidesign]

I read the book and actually thought it was really good. The movie, however, was not so good. Given the source material I don’t understand why the movie director/producers chose not to follow the story. Also, the biggest problem with the movie is that three main characters are completely miscast. They have zero chemistry with each other. Further, Diane Kruger is not the correct actor for the Seeker role. The only person they got right was William Hurt. Oh well. Opportunity missed.

[@Jazzisa311]

One small note though: Wes was 19 in the book. I just read it, and it says his age clearly. So yeah, Lily was older than him, but at least he wasn't underaged. Also, in the book it's mentioned that they were specifically looking for teenaged girls since the younger the body is, the greater the chance of the original mind not coming back. And they tried waking up the original girl for a very long time. But yeah, that's still messed up.

[@littlepinkcactus]

I think it's funny how I also thought the same, but them remembered, that this was Stephenie Meyers world alone. She created this whole thing and could have thought of ANYTHING else. She could have just left out the part with younger people being less likely to come back and let them take a grown up woman's body. But no, she specifically created a scenario, that would allow them to search for an underage body, that looked even younger than it already was, for the 26 year old dude. And the fact that she had to explain in all of her books why this or that creepy thing was actually necessary and totally normal, says so much about about how she actually knows how fucked up her secret fantasies are but still chooses to force them on impressionable teenagers. Yuck 🤢

[@victormgv]

The Store store is literally the only thing I remember from this movie and I instantly fell in love with it. I just saw a video about a Canadian thing called No Name groceries and I fell in love with that and then remembered this movie. So whatever.

[@guadalupevalentinagentil4008]

I thought that Raycon was part of the movie hahahahaha silly me.. now I realize that poor Saoirse, i don't know how many windows she had to jump, or car crash and everybody slap, choke and killer her... that is dedication man. Then, they are always fanfiction about everything!!! And I love the STORE part... it is the best unnecessary scene of the unnecessary scenes that can be in the history of cinema .. because a place with shelves and full of products is not a store. Besides, it is not very hidden, let's say, with that sign the humans could see it even inside that bunker, hole?

[@TheCrimebaby]

I really like the world builiding in this, a looot!!!! This shit is my guilty pleasure, I read it first in highschool and I still have the book today

[@movienerd3658]

The audio book (at least the German version) is my absolute favorite

[@hollybxoxoxo]

Ohhhhhh my god I remember reading this book when I was like 13 and completely loving it, like I thought it was so good and loved Wanda/Ian’s relationship, the whole journey and world building, everything about it... and somehow I literally just fucking didn’t notice how gross the age difference thing was??? Like I literally never computed that and looking back it was so weird and even weirder due to how entirely unnecessary it was? 13 year old me was in it for the melodramatic love stories and nothing else truly

[@pauieeepau]

Wish they didn't have weird age gaps. I used to loooove this book. It's the one book where the main character actually goes for the "second male lead".

[@omaralmubayd]

The movie is terrible... But the book is magnificent... You can't change my mind.

[@SasukesHott]

Agreed 100%

[@Montesama314]

"Okay, boys, line up. We're all gonna need to start making out to awaken my host's sleeping consciousness. We'll start with you, Ian." Um, what?

[@annielynn8730]

It’s basically twilight, alien edition. Emotionally I mature teenager stuck between two men of a different species - one way too old for her and broody, the other an unrealistic golden retriever with no depth

[@anacat3400]

this jared isnt 19, and i wish i couldnt read smh

[@tigerlilly730]

I read this book when I was in like middle school and I can say that I really loved the concept of the aliens and their society and how they were changed by human nature, but I absolutely hated the relationships in the book

[@abbywolffe4114]

"OH SORRY I HAVEN'T SEEN A HUMAN IN A COUPLE YEARS SMOOCHY SMOOCH" Me coming out of quarantine trying to find a girlfriend

[@redenavari]

You immediately catch Covid because despite quarantine ending, the virus is still out there and there's neither vaccine nor cure. Oompa-Loompas crawl out of the shadows to sing as you choke to death on a hospital bed.

[@abbywolffe4114]

@@redenavari and I still don't have a girlfriend

[@alexac4293]

edenavari you had me at Oompa Loompas XD

[@thelastwish558]

@@redenavari the part about Oompa-Loompas actually scared the shit out of me😐

[@redenavari]

@@thelastwish558 When the Oompa-Loompas come out, you know you're headed straight to hell.

[@ccrazool]

OK but hear me out. The antagonist lady had a Glock 17, which holds 17 rounds in the magazine. If you watch closely, you see she fires 17 shots and then discards the gun. Hollywood FINALLY got this right. That's worth celebrating!

[@fluffyfish2607]

How did u notice, this kind of gun detectiveness I've only seen twice.

[@Victor1139]

It took me a while to realize that this comment wasn't about some kind of secret message in the movie about how Wanda's body is actually a 17 year old girl, but it was just a comment about accurate gun portrayals in the movie lol

[@gvtterslag]

@@Victor1139 SAME. Maybe the used that particular gun for a reason,but I doubt they were that clever.

[@ShadeSlayer1911]

@@fluffyfish2607 Different Glock models can be pretty distinct to people who are familiar with them. I can really only distinguish them based on size, but others can literally tell them apart not just by model, but also by generation.

[@josefehling1134]

@@ShadeSlayer1911 Im not capable to do that with a glock but i can do it with the P8 and G36

[@maddi6081]

Stephanie Meyer is so good at coming up with cool concepts but always focuses on the least interesting aspects.

[@maddi6081]

I.e. Twilight NOT focusing on the Cullen family's far more interesting backstories and Host focusing on a weird love angle over the taking over of the planet or being a little more contemplative of the morality of it all.

[@twilightsky1580]

@@maddi6081 if it makes you feel any better she made a book detailing every Twilight characters individual back stories. It goes into more detail but each is only a few paragraphs long.

[@sayismartinez7615]

@@twilightsky1580 yeah, that book was amazing. So many good backstories. My favorites were Lauren's, Victoria's and some of the Vulturi, of course

[@madi7178]

For real, if any of y’all have read The Host the ending sounds so cool. Little resistance pockets meeting up and trading, running heists and stuff. Actually rebuilding an underground society and maybe getting to see where other pockets live. But she only brings it up at the very end of the story with no sequel in sight.

[@Pipkiablo]

@@madi7178 I read the first Twilight book and honestly if that's a measure of what her work is like, it seems like she's really good at having hundreds of pages of "and then stuff happens" and then all the actually interesting stuff is crammed into the end. She writes like a fanfic writer who suddenly remembered there was supposed to be a plot to go with their romance.

[@Mewobiba]

Bad sci-fi: Here's a adult female character with the mentality of an 8-year-old! Me: I don't want this. Bad sci-fi: Sorry, my mistake. Here's a 700-year-old female character with the appearance of a child. Me: I DONT WANT THIS EITHER

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

But it's totally cool! Because she's 700 and only looks like a child! It's totes cool /s

[@doll_dress_swap12]

Is Stephanie M. secretly a loli anime fan? 🤔

[@julianmartinez4719]

Look, i would accept a 700 year old being as long as the appereance is that of a milf, or gmilf, i wouldn't complain. But a loli. There is a not speaked rule that says DON'T LEWD THE LOLIS.

[@silvermagpie1071]

Nice Entrapta pic

[@rx500android]

Your Entrapta pfp🥺🥺

[@LindsayEllisVids]

This movie, imo, was a huge improvement on the book, by which I mean it was merely "pretty bad." That said, STORE actually made me lol.

[@LindsayEllisVids]

also I made this comment before I got to the end lol thanks for the shoutout! &👽&

[@reigningastrid339]

two icons together

[@Thexaios]

Both of you are treasures. Keep being awesome and doing what you're doing.

[@Moonstar79]

Girl there ain't nothing like a poorly made book getting made into a slightly less poorly made movie while good books rot unnoticed in the corner for twenty more years

[@AmandaTheJedi]

Looking forward to the day our overlords take over and bless us with STORE stores

[@dagmarland]

Stephanie Meyer seems to have a thing for icky age gaps.

[@Jackaxed]

considering that she wrote a teen romance where she was transparently using the main character as a self-insert who slobbered over a vampire that's physically locked at like, age 17, and then decided to wrap up the other love interest's arc by having him shack up with the child of his ex, are you really surprised?

[@ArturGlass.C]

I know. I'm kinda worried. Do you really not see why it's problematic Stephanie ?

[@Huneighty]

Spoiler: Bruh it's true! Bc at the end of the host she gets a new body and the body is literally 17 and she lies and says it's 18 so Ian won't be creeped out 😂 like wtf.

[@VicenteTorresAliasVits]

Here's the thing: It's possible for an adult and a teenager to date and have a healthy relationship. There have been and still are precedents all around the world. The mistake is to think that everything applies to everyone. Each situation has a different context. The relationships in Stephenie Meyer's stories have elements that would be problematic even if there were no age gaps.

[@EatinPaste]

Yep. And the more Amanda covers her garbage the more I think she should maybe be investigated. Or at least kept an eye on.

[@alloffor]

Fun fact: Polish title for the book is "Intruz", which literally means intruder and I find it so much more fitting.

[@emilyboudrias6929]

Is it me or does the title mean something different in every language cuz in French it’s vagabond??

[@steppenfuchs5608]

@@emilyboudrias6929 it’s souls in german 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@jf6291]

@@emilyboudrias6929 In swedish it's named "Through your eyes"

[@anacat3400]

nomada in portuguese, much like 'nomad', and they nicknamed her noa.

[@agalwithnoname]

In finland it’s called ”the guest” Edit: or stranger, sorry i forgot that the word has many meanings

[@jedh3721]

she gets upset at them killing her species, but acts like walking around in a corpse puppet is no big deal and isn't anywhere near as traumatic to humans.

[@unluckyone1655]

Benevolent Goa'uulds

[@DeathnoteBB]

A story about a pacifist alien species so self-righteous, hypocritical, and un-self-aware that it thinks only it’s species’ genocidal invasions are justified could have been an interesting concept. And yet-

[@jairusstrunk94]

The souls dont kill the bodies. So they see it differently. The book is quite good.

[@kathrynholt6894]

She doesn’t like being a monster I believe she says that at some point

[@Martina-sb6ub]

@@DeathnoteBB the mentality of the souls is completely different - they don't think they're killing anyone... which isn't an apology and in the book it's clearly showed that it's wrong and Wanderer doesn't "approove", that's why she wanted them to let her die and not to be moved to another body, she didn't want to do that. The book clearly shows how from the "outside" the world seems great, but actually terrible things are happening. Noone says that the world is how it should be... it's all about the journey of Wanderer - at first she thinks she's the one doing the right thing, she never thought of it as something bad, but thanks to the girls she realizes that it's wrong... And the whole book is very interesting, because it shows everything... did you even read it?

[@pili8793]

Stephanie Meyer's success actually makes me hopeful that maybe I don't have to be a good writer to be a famous writer.

[@shaniahlouis6112]

Hahaha that’s a fact

[@TheBridget272]

Man, I don't even want to be a famous writer. Just sell enough to pay a few bills so maybe I can go to Sprouts and TJ Maxx a couple times.

[@JenamDrag0n]

But do you want to have the reputation of a bad writer, even if you are famous? I'd rather be known as a good writer by a small group of dedicated fans.

[@gabrielaharries8149]

you really don't have to be a good writer, you just have to know what to write about / what is trending, what do readers want and you're golden

[@TheBridget272]

@@gabrielaharries8149 But the thing that sells the best is smut and so many writers don't want to write smut. 😜

[@S0M3GUY778]

I feel like this is a book/teen romance version of the arguement "This loli is actually a thousand years old but she only LOOKS like she's 8"

[@parisheidi3119]

Hahahaha

[@alexlee4154]

If she isnt emotionally mature for her species i'm shoving your face in faeces

[@azadalamiq]

eh i know the feeling, at 16 years old ppl thought i was 12. at 28 years old people thought i was 16.... lost count how often at my grocery store job i was ask what high school i went to... then watch their shocked face when i said i was 28.

[@maraimaski4762]

@@azadalamiq the thing is,especially in cases of anime, the girls look and ACT like children, making the whole adult argument mute

[@juliavalencaschoen2234]

Edward is a male loli

[@cloegemmel7177]

Okay so I really liked this book when I was 14 (when I last read it), probably because I my perception of 17-year-olds was that they were basically adults. Now I'm 21 and dear god, I wouldn't even consider dating a 17-year-old

[@lilscenechick1995]

I'm 25 and I won't even consider dating an 18 year old. Much less someone underage.

[@getatlomis]

Saaaaaaame

[@locutusdborg126]

That's because you guys are women. Men like younger women. Not underage women, but younger women. Fact.

[@cloegemmel7177]

@@locutusdborg126 Yeah, and that's still fycking creepy. You know a guy is a complete loser when he isn't mature enough to date women the same age as him

[@SoulDevoured]

@MIA MIA age difference means less as you go further into adult years. 30-50 is like "hey we're all just working adults here."

[@lexthedork4040]

"Souls are Canadians confirmed" I cackled! As a Canadian with anger issues I probably would punch someone then apologize

[@jamie.lynn004]

That part cracked me up too😂

[@bluehydrangea5506]

As a canadian my lowest point was when a woman rammed my ankles twice with a shopping cart and i was the one who i apologised...

[@furytheshadow9044]

I'm not Canadian, but can still relate

[@etps4444]

​@@furytheshadow9044 Same, lol.

[@mcaskey358]

Yeah, I'm starting to see a rather uncomfortable pattern with her stories. In fact, I'm seeing a bit of an uncomfortable pattern with a lot of "Romance" stories. Women, (and Men) its time for some real talk. Take Alex's advice from, "He's Just Not That Into You" "If a guy acts like he doesn't give a shit, he genuinely doesn't give a shit." Further, you can't fix him. Repeat after me, "I CANNOT FIX HIM!" If a guy (or gal) is mean, abusive, dismissive, neglectful, cold, controlling, or violent, your love will NOT fix him. You are not helping him by staying in a bad relationship. You deserve better. You, deserve, better.

[@RoseBaggins]

Hard agree

[@Eris_Norregard]

Amen.

[@Lillith-uj7tt]

Reading a story with a certain relationship dynamic does not equal wanting it irl.

[@SoldMySoul45]

Lillian Oak I don’t know, man. I remember when a lot of girls I knew were talking about how they wanted to be in a relationship like 50 shades and Twilight.

[@brycearmstrong9370]

@@Lillith-uj7tt And yet, it's not an uncommon relationship dynamic of someone going back to a cheating or abusive spouse. Even if they don't actively want it... they still emotionally fall for it.

[@sarahni]

As the great Klaus said "If you have use the word technically your already in trouble" MY CHILD

[@marinaatkin1581]

Yesssss loved that scene

[@naziatislam1149]

lmao Klaus

[@happyweek11]

Who?

[@bullcrap8696]

@@happyweek11 From Umbrella Academy I believe

[@gorilla-grip-pussy-support7976]

Klaus was sexually abusing people in a cult. “Technically.”

[@Ronnyyy118]

Me: "Mom! I want Venom." Mom: "We have Venom at home." *The Venom at home:*

[@Thexaios]

Stephanie Meyer: what happens when you mix a Mormon woman and someone who is obsessed with the worst anime tropes.

[@sarahkp729]

And has a bachelor's in psych... 🤢

[@lax2054]

she is mormon?

[@sarahkp729]

@@lax2054 yes. I grew up in a very, very Mormon social circle and she was very popular for the fact that she's Mormon in said social circle

[@unluckyone1655]

Yup, as a former mormon, you can tell that she drew heavily from the mormon belief of the pre existence as inspiration for this book.

[@megongaga1984]

@@unluckyone1655 10000000% correct.

[@thislycantomboy7087]

Reminds me of a book reviewer who said that Meyer would be a pretty good author... if she wrote action/thriller/horror and steered entirely clear of romance. (Think it was Dominic Noble.) also this book is in my house, I don’t know why or where it came from

[@debayeuxchats5607]

It was Dom, yeah, I just watched that video. She has a shockingly good grasp of...basically the opposite of romance. Hmm.

[@AmandaDavis6130]

Agreed! I was actually quite intrigued by the first half of the book, but then BAM love triangle (quadrangle?)

[@CeramicQuill]

Agreed.

[@cryofpaine]

The Chemist is a good example of what she can do when the romance isn't the main focus (and when both characters are actual adults). It's a really good spy novel, and the romance is (while still a bit saccharine) more healthy. No weird love polygons, no gross power dynamics, both mature adults. Though the female lead is inexperienced in romance, she's also a smart, kickass woman; and the romantic interest is a normal, well adjusted guy who eventually gets this closed-off woman to open up. But that's a subplot in what is otherwise a story I would put up there with any Bourne or Bond book.

[@ravendangernavy3575]

I also have The host I don't know HOW I got it

[@sanjanar110]

I loved The Host when I was younger...and then I learned about consent. I can’t believe how unimaginably damaging more of these books could’ve been

[@riversrhodell2359]

I was traumatized trying to read The Host, only getting as far as I did because it was recommended by an older friend who - turned out to be trying to groom me. Would not recommend.

[@hockeygrrlmuse]

I remember going back to something I'd written when I was around 15 and realizing, with total horror, that it was a very abusive relationship with many, many red flags. Age gap, violence, control, just a lot of bad shit. I couldn't believe I ever thought it was exciting or attractive, but I know I was mixing together a bunch of ideas from the stories I was reading at the time. It's so insidious. I definitely had crushes on adults at that time & wouldn't have questioned it if they had shown an interest in me.

[@persephonenovak932]

Same! This used to be one of my favorite books. Unironically. If I were to read it now, I think I would die

[@r520jr8]

I watched this movie for Saoirse Ronan and Saoirse only. Any movie she’s in has my money.

[@stevenlannister184]

Saoirse Ronan and Stephanie Meyer is like Helen Mirren in a Michael Bay movie.

[@maripaura4945]

YES

[@chadfalardeau3259]

No, Michael Bay's stuff isn't boring

[@nicoledenel]

Same 😅

[@ashleya3731]

I love her work but I blocked this out as one of her films 😄 just remembered she was in it

[@evintyde]

This film is so frustrating because there's SO MUCH potential with the themes and questions raised but it was just thrown out the window for a gross love square

[@homosexualitymydearwatson4109]

For anyone seeing that I’m spamming this, I swear this is the last time Parasyte, watch parasyte it’s this exact theme but done right and the romance in it is done in a way that makes sense to the plot. The romance basically is a representation of the main characters tie to humanity but it’s not even there all the time.

[@fightingmedialounge519]

The romance is still kind of lack luster. Also the body snatching in paarasyte and in the host are completely different.

[@homosexualitymydearwatson4109]

Kye Dysarthria The romance is a metaphorical tie to his humanity. It’s the only anchor he has and love it or hate it, it has meaning and purpose. And yes clearly all body snatching scenarios are different in some way but I just mean how the Parasites in Parasyte react and treat certain things just makes sense to how their species are. They don’t give a shit about others of their own kind just like they don’t give a shit about the host they infect. The host it’s weird because we’re supposed to believe that none of them care about any of the human? Even though they’re so nonviolent and honest, etc? It doesn’t make sense why there is so little empathy shared, and then the hierarchy of roles that they have is also weird given that they’re an entire species and not a single society. The parasites in host just didn’t really make a lot of sense

[@fightingmedialounge519]

@@homosexualitymydearwatson4109 except the end of the movie shows that not every soul is apehtetic towards humans, and not only is the romance in paarasyte not the MC'S only human connection, but whether or not I was has no batting on whether or not it's handled well. Like I said in another comment paarasyte is more like anime the thing.

[@mjm3091]

Also with Parasyte the issue in my opinion would be the setting - original story was written few decades ago and is told from that perspective (even if anime got revamped with more modern looks). With Host we get more modern era maybe even slightly futuristic storytelling. Don't get me wrong, Parasyte is hundreds times better than Host, but Meyer brought some fresh air with her story, considering how much romance novels are in love with either specific historic era or are still locked in the mindset of early 2000s. I dont think there was as popular teen romance series that touched upon 2020+ era and used scifi-themes.

[@itsthefluorescents4777]

I hate how people try to normalize teenagers dating adults even if it’s “consensual”!! No matter what culture or context, a teenager will NEVER be fully developed to match the maturity of an adult or process things correctly!!! When I was younger I thought a 17 year old dating a 22 or older adult was fine but now that I’m 21, I would never even think about dating a person younger than 20!!!!

[@Naathalia12]

I'm 21 too, I'm close to be 22, and my bf just got 20 the past december. Sooorry

[@Zweyrohn]

I think 21 and 17 is a grey area though, depends on the circumstances. In my country there are schools that both these ages can be in at the same time, averaging out their maturity a little bit. Also no younger than 20 seems extreme. 19 and 21 is a gap of mere 2 years. But over here we do have some laws involving 21 and 17 and the like, and that is probably for the best

[@TheSilverwing999]

I think you are speaking from a very narrow perspective. It is different in other countries and cultures if you didn't know. Wanted to say that it isn't all countries where the age of consent is above 18. I'm from a scandinavia country and here it is 15. So someone who is 26 getting together with a 17 year old is absolutely normal. So this review was just weird to me.

[@000-q2p7l]

Its hella gross, that people don't see the issue of older people pursuing those who are much younger, more impressionable, and less experienced. Its a power tripping factor and the much older person does not see them as an equal. Teenagers are children, not adults.

[@Zweyrohn]

@@000-q2p7l You are still kinda missing the point of this post. I totally agree with you on this one, but the smaller the age gap gets the more this becomes a grey area. 26 and 16: totally agree with you, that is not healthy or okay, that is an adult and a child. 21 and 17? I think that is kind of a grey area. Not legally, but morally.

[@android19willpwn]

no you don't understand she looks 12 but she's actually an immortal dragon vampire who's over 800 so it's totally *fine*

[@xorvictia]

My rule for fiction is if someone’s age has to be justified by “Okay, but in the lore...” there should be no thirst content tbh 👀

[@twanbijpost9050]

And that's, officer, why it isn't pedophilia

[@helloill672]

@@twanbijpost9050 Well, it kinda is if they are dating an 800 year old. Like either way it's concerning.

[@MK_ULTRA420]

@@xorvictia So immortal demigoddesses are okay but they're not allowed to use their magic to look like little girls...hmm k then.

[@MK_ULTRA420]

@@renmcmanus If you find a way to fix stupid there's a Nobel Prize waiting for you.

[@myahhuhn9127]

“Working hard to block off thoughts about her brother and lover. Don’t worry! They’re not the same people, this movie is messed up. But not that messed up” *My god.*

[@lisasowa1195]

Sounds like Cassandra Clare to me 👀

[@chipsjalapeno_]

@@lisasowa1195 I used to love the mortal instruments and now I'm just like....... Why

[@lisasowa1195]

Laura Díaz it’s so weird. Like she chose that clary kissed two people who she later learned were her brothers. Ew. And the whole thing with Sebastian obsessing over her even though they were blood related. And the thing with the bond between Sebastian and Jace and the aftermaths of the clubscene during the bond. Ew.

[@bloggerblogg5878]

you don't know nothing about the question until you don't read Flowers in the attic, book series by V.C. Andrews. Man, the books are messed up... I don't know about the movie, I saw only 1987 version, that time you can't show much in the movie.

[@chubbybunny6975]

@@bloggerblogg5878 I watched the 2014 movie just to see what kind of angle they'd take with it, and I can promise you that there isn't any graphic sexual scenes, thank God. I feel like the movie did it better because instead of almost fetishizing the incest, the movie tried to show that no, it ISN'T okay that they're doing this, but they're doing it because of the fucked-up way they were raised with no other opposite-sex influence during puberty. Which sadly, is a real thing that can develop from isolation. So I feel it took on more of the mood the books SHOULD HAVE taken, instead of what they actually did. A book about sibling incest that takes an in-depth look of how incest ideology can be forced and brainwashed onto youth? Cool idea, sounds like a good psychology book! A book about siblings being in love with one another just because and trying to play it off as an actual, okay, non-abusive romance with absolutely zero repercussions? HELL NO.

[@ripleyshaine5263]

I reread this a few weeks ago and I couldn't stop wondering why she was so obsessed with making all of the women underaged ??? She literally could just not have mentioned age or stated they were 18.

[@amityislandchum]

Answer: because she's Mormon.

[@Mahi-nw5vh]

This seems to be the case with a lot of YA novels. Everyone's 16 or 17 💀

[@eclipsesnarl4079]

It’s bc it’s not gonna sell to teenagers if the main character is an adult, which is really depressing

[@autumnpielovers112]

@@eclipsesnarl4079 bravo! Thank you for the only logical explanation. They should blame it on stupid teenagers rather than on Stephanie. It's all about target audience.

[@dawnriddler]

It's not a YA novel if they are adults.

[@AmandaTheJedi]

I just want a quick chat with Stephenie

[@SS-nx2xx]

Amanda: Destroys Stephenie in a 25 min rant Also Amanda: I just want a quick chat with Stephenie

[@user-insert-numbers-letters]

Where did you buy that beautiful shirt

[@brookehochstetler3246]

I am in love with every demon/devil on your shirt

[@fluffyfish2607]

Please do a video on The End Of The Fucking World

[@tonypeppermint5329]

@@SS-nx2xx I guess it's for more damage.

[@elijahdoesstuff4600]

This book/movie is the epitome of “interesting premise, terrible execution”.

[@jamie.lynn004]

Perfectly explained.

[@eleftheriak.8889]

Yes.

[@infjelphabasupporter8416]

Same as twilight.

[@batking4342]

Her entire writing career is that

[@SingingSealRiana]

Yeah

[@bryanadkins6776]

I'm kind of okay with the souls being non-violent and yet doing the body snatchers thing. It's rather interesting... Alien level of cognitive dissonance, displaying that the souls are alien in more than just their physical nature but also in the general thought process. That was probably unintentional on Meyer's part, though.

[@Ramipon]

well its not exactly the first time having aliens completely believing they are saving the universe via genocide.

[@netrowthe]

Yup I think Amanda missed the point unfortunately :/ but like you said maybe Stephanie did it unintentionally so maybe there was no point haha

[@Ramipon]

also its Cognitive dissonance if you apply it to human "Morals" Buts they are alien and should not be judged according to human standards. Still... its a horrible book of wasted potential.

[@AmandaDavis6130]

Honestly I was intrigued by the sci-fi elements for the first half of the book. But then BOOM love triangle. Ended up leaving me very disappointed.

[@damkylan3]

​@@Ramipon Actually, they should be judged by human standards because they're screwing with humans. Their moral codes and beliefs, or lack thereof, lose all relevance when they invade other worlds. My view on "greater alien intelligence" or whatever is basically that one episode of Star Trek where an alien species didn't understand the human concept of immoral actions and why nonconsensual experimentation was wrong, so Captain Picard traps them in a confined space with energy shields and demonstrates what it's like when another species enforces their will upon another. Or, you know... Will Smith punching an alien in Independence Day. Welcome to Earth.

[@NiteLights]

I really liked the concept in the Host...and hated everything else.

[@its_just_seb]

I was just thinking when Amanda explained what the story is about that it sounds actually really interesting, but man...

[@zaolus2507]

If only it wasn't written by Meyer...

[@homosexualitymydearwatson4109]

JustSeb I’ve kind of been spamming this, but watch Parasyte on Netflix, it’s so ducking worth it if you like this concept, but they execute it so well.

[@kieranstark7213]

Unfortunately, though, the Twihards in the comment section of Lindsay Ellis’s “Dear Stephenie Meyer (I’m Sorry)” don’t put up with criticisms towards The Host.

[@MrAdryan1603]

@@kieranstark7213 Exactly what I was thinking about. I so wanted Lindsay Ellis to discuss The Host!

[@JonSmith-hk1bq]

I'll confess, I've got a soft spot for this book. I thought it was a pretty clever spin on the body snatcher sub-genre.

[@AbsoluteGorbSupreme]

Just get rid of the age thing

[@karin1636]

Same. Ive read it 7 times during my life. The last time was years ago. The movie was okay but nothing interesting compared to the book. I agree tho,predatory age gaps are bad.

[@Jazzisa311]

Me too. I thought it was just a really great idea to write a story from the snatcher's pov.

[@SingingSealRiana]

Yeah if one would throw out all the tereible toxic romance bs, it cpuld have been so good, the concept os really facinating

[@PriscillaWrites]

I remember liking The Host when I first read it, and honestly, I still like the Ian/Wanda romance. But yeah, the age gaps are weird and completely unnecessary. In my memory I will just appreciate the Ian/Wanda romance, pretend her new host body was actually age appropriate, and ignore everything else, never revisiting the book again because that will surely ruin it for me.

[@kayleeb6301]

same lol i don't remember anything about age gaps when i read it as a middle schooler and i enjoyed wanda and ian a lot (i didn't care for jared and melanie), but i would never read the book again for the same reason bc i just want to cherish my idea of the book rather than what it actually is

[@excessivelyfangirlingbookw3339]

It's the same for me... in my mind, all characters that aren't specifically "old" are 18-20. I couldn't even remember their actual ages...

[@samx36]

Yeeaaahhh.... I really did not like the weird love triangle and age issue and I was only in it for Wanda and her backstory and Jamie cuz he was nice. Thats it.

[@minwellitsanicknamebegrate2531]

When I read it ,it never occurred to me the age gap between Melanie and jarred was so big and I didn’t care at all about Wandas bodies age because she was mentally way older/ an alien, now though I wonder what the mentality of a new born is like when they take over their first host , don’t they have memory and knowledge from the “ mother” so do they like never go through a infant stage?

[@Naathalia12]

This. I totally relate. I have read the book like three times, and I liked the Ian/Wanda relationship. I'll try to read again now that I'm older. Who knows

[@BellaLu26]

I think Stephanie Meyer has amazing talent that we'll never get to experience because she's a broken record stuck on shallow teen romance full of cliches

[@huimang94]

I know this comment is old but I wanted to pop in and say I agree to an extent-honestly I think she would be WAY better suited to the horror genre than romance. Wish we could see that lolol

[@amityislandchum]

Lmao no, she doesn't. She's an awful writer, and people REALLY need to stop praising her for coming up with "interesting premises" as though making the equivalent of a writing prompt is the same as being a writer.

[@BellaLu26]

@@amityislandchum you'll get no argument from me that what she's churned out is a complete dumpster fire lol

[@MollyHJohns]

This fantasy sci-fi novel of hers can be a very fresh series on its own without the fudged up romance as the biggest plot driver. Let it be a romance-less reincarnation or rebirth theme imparted from a peaceful but deviant alien worm to a human she merge with/carry along her next journeys, for example.

[@noname-kx4cu]

And also racist. They actually got an indigenous actor to play Jacob and when he wouldn't cut his hair (cutting hair is very significant in the indigenous culture) she basically was like okay then you can't play Jacob then. The whole werewolf thing was based off of an actual tribe and she named which tribe it was. She never issued an apology or even gave a cent of what she made from that book to them. Also made them pedophiles as It is implied that an adult imprinting with children is acceptable.

[@SS-nx2xx]

Everybody gangsta till they see their movie on Amanda's thumbnail

[@JudyTheAlien]

I like “The Host” and was sad that Amanda didn’t like it

[@parisheidi3119]

@@JudyTheAlien I think the concept was amazing but the movie and the stories was weird af for me

[@SS-nx2xx]

@@JudyTheAlien I can relate. I was bummed too when Charlie (Cr1tikal) was dismissive towards Midsommar. But just because someone's tastes are similar to yours, doesn't mean your opinions won't vary, I guess.

[@DeathnoteBB]

Roman Soldier 57 But... but Midsommar is actually a good movie

[@DeathnoteBB]

Roman Soldier 57 Also I stopped watching Cr1tikal after he endorsed a friend of his saying an ableist slur, so... take his opinions with a grain of salt

[@sarcasticnotsad5155]

“It’s been 12 years so that’s probably not gonna happen.” *laughs in The Incredibles*

[@somewittyfella5118]

I mean I didn't really question the age difference between Edward and Bella too much because he's a vampire who died young so I gave it the benefit of the doubt. This... no.

[@AmandaTheJedi]

Yeah I say the same thing towards the end of this video aha

[@VicenteTorresAliasVits]

Here's the thing: It's possible for an adult and a teenager to date and have a healthy relationship. There have been and still are precedents all around the world. The mistake is to think that everything applies to everyone. Each situation has a different context. The relationships in Stephenie Meyer's stories have elements that would be problematic even if there were no age gaps.

[@SammyWinchester]

Homestly, vampire/human romance exists on an entirely different field when it comes to age differences between vampire and human because of the immorality aspect. But here the human hosts age normally so the squick factor is a thing.

[@khatunamezvrishvili6211]

@@VicenteTorresAliasVits reporting this for spam. Stop

[@TheMistressMisery]

@@khatunamezvrishvili6211 I did the same. Literally almost all the replies on comments are this dude trying to defend his preferences. Like, I'm almost convinced this guy IS a predator himself with how much he's trying to defend the idea.

[@doll_dress_swap12]

For sure the book has parts that are problematic, but I thought it wasn’t that bad and had a lot of cool concepts. Stephenie has this thing where she will come out with some really cool and creative concepts for the side details and characters, but only mention them briefly and get bogged down with her romance plot and blander main characters. Like in twilight in the last book when we suddenly get introduced to all these cool characters and background stories that are 100x more interesting than Edward and Bella, but then leave it at that. In the Host it was all the world building for how the aliens work and think as a species, and how each planet they have conquered has been a completely different sort of experience with each unique species they have taken over. Also, it was kind of nice to have a story that uses the cliche of “but what if the humans are actually the uncivilized monsters” but frames it in a sort of gentle, quiet apocalypse instead of showing it through a focus on violence. Also, the whole age gap mess makes a LOT more sense the more you understand the type of religious community she comes from. It’s like a female fantasy of taking all the problematic and damaging things that actually happen to many women as a result of these ideologies, but pretzeling it into convoluted scenarios where everything turns out wonderful and loving instead of predatory and abusive. The girls in her stories get to live up to all the pressures and expectations of a “good girl”, while still getting to have all the naughty indulgences of the forbidden. It’s about getting to have your cake and eat it too. Having freedom and control while simultaneously embodying the submissive ideal. Submitting but having the situation still be exactly what you really wanted all along anyways. No surprise that this ends up creating some creepy, icky dynamics in her stories.

[@kcallamajaji]

this is a golden explanation of Stephanie and her writing. She gets soooooo close to something amazing, then pivots and goes back to typical romance blah. I still enjoy her stories, for what they are, but wish there was more of the really interesting stuff.

[@AD-lb8xs]

Thank you sm for saying this. Honestly I read this as a kid and loved it bc I didn’t realize the weirdness of the dynamics, but I really think she gets so close sometimes. I can appreciate the story but the execution is terrible

[@doll_dress_swap12]

Ashley F I find myself fascinated by the whole story of her success and the backlash to it. On the one hand, her stories make great examples to easily dissect harmful tropes in romance literature. They also have an undeserved level hate directed at them that stems from the misogynistic tendency our culture has to mock things simply because they are aimed at girls rather then because it’s coming from a place of thoughtful criticism. Her stories are so, so close to being good, and I unashamedly enjoy them while also also recognizing that they are mental junk food.

[@AD-lb8xs]

Fae-Adventures amen. You inspire me, I will except the (pretty accurate) criticisms while also rereading this book for the twelfth time...young women really do get it too hard

[@doll_dress_swap12]

Ashley F you’re so sweet! I like this video because it feels like her critique comes from a genuine breakdown of the tropes and story, rather than just making fun of it because everyone else does. The movie was bad, but it was still fun to watch because Saoirse Ronan is a girl crush goddess!

[@BarbarianGod]

13:20 damn I just remembered the coral or sea weed planet thing, they took over like half the planet but the species was a sort of hivemind and the rest of the planet committed mass suicide or something, that was actually a really good and sad little bit of writing

[@Kat-qe1vk]

Fact is she's Mormon and while I can't speak to Stephanie's experiences grooming is super common in Mormon communities, wouldn't surprise me if her fixation on underage relationships in her books is an unconscious way of coping with/justifying her own experiences

[@VicenteTorresAliasVits]

Here's the thing: It's possible for an adult and a teenager to date and have a healthy relationship. There have been and still are precedents all around the world. The mistake is to think that everything applies to everyone. Each situation has a different context. The relationships in Stephenie Meyer's stories have elements that would be problematic even if there were no age gaps.

[@LiaMeni]

@@VicenteTorresAliasVits i think 26 and 17 having sex is kinda predatory

[@DotRD12]

Vits Vicente Torres Teenagers are legally not able to consent, so unless the age gap is like 2 or 3 years, it’s still fucking gross.

[@N0noy1989]

@@VicenteTorresAliasVits correct. But that's not the point here. The point was about predatory relationships because of age gaps. Her stories have problems not related to age AND related to predatory acts because of a large gap between the couple. The commenter was talking about the latter. Don't steer it away. You've been repeating that comment. I'm not sure why. Are you a Mormon? It's true though that more "fundamentalist" Mormon communities have this grooming issue. My family is Mormon (me not a practicing one though) and they are more on the "modern" side but we know about how the more tight knit small Mormon communities goes.

[@SjofnBM1989]

@@VicenteTorresAliasVits No. No there's not.

[@lyricdemers8203]

This was my favourite book for years, but I read it when I was 14 and the age stuff went completely over my head. Or I found it normal/romantic because I was also being groomed by an older man at that time. So stephanie definitely contributed to normalizing abuse for your girls. Sucks because I truly love parts of the book.

[@SingingSealRiana]

Thing is, most romance in conventional media is absolut toxic garbage so one gets really used to ignoring itas a wholw

[@QOP13]

Originally in late 20s and 30s somehow it sounds like her publisher told her to make the characters younger because of the success of twilight popular among teens. Maybe idk

[@carlotta4th]

I doubt any publisher said "make the teenager imprint on a baby, people secretly think babies are hot" for Twilight. Meyers is just... weird.

[@ArtemisMoon12]

“Souls are Canadian” oh ha ha funny (Souls Store is basically just Canada’s No Name Brand right down to the yellow with black “item” writing) oh.... huh....

[@DeathnoteBB]

I think it IS the store

[@kittycheshire5099]

I remember that this book was advertised as "the first/only love triangle with only two bodies." I would just like to point out that Frankie and the Jekyll/Hyde kid from Monster High were the first.

[@EpiphanyDraws]

spiderman and mary jane??? superman and lois lane????? like both of them are love triangles with only two bodies

[@eilir_adron]

omg absolutely

[@madamefluffy4788]

Also, (if I recall correctly) Renesmee was going to reach 'maturity' by the time she turned eight years old. Even with the hypergrowth and being half human, she would still be considered a child by human standards. ...Meyers really seems to love this underaged love connections, doesn't she?

[@phantasma616]

that always killed me, i dont care how smart she is or how her body looks, she still only would have 7 years of life experience like...thats a child. a smart one, but a child.

[@pagesinked]

Its like that with her and Cassandra Clare's weird obsession with incest storylines ugh.

[@TemariNaraannaschatz]

Well she literally wrote a 16 year old being imprinted on a 2 year old girl and described that he was going to groom her until she was old enough. And that doesn't even cover the she'a maturing super fast part, that is a regular human baby. Getting groomed by a 16 year old.

[@chichonete]

I hadn't realized it before but it does seem like Stephenie's always triying to convince people that statutory rape is okay.

[@VicenteTorresAliasVits]

Here's the thing: It's possible for an adult and a teenager to date and have a healthy relationship. There have been and still are precedents all around the world. The mistake is to think that everything applies to everyone. Each situation has a different context. The relationships in Stephenie Meyer's stories have elements that would be problematic even if there were no age gaps.

[@TehMomo_]

@@VicenteTorresAliasVits you really just copy-pasting this...

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

A man falls in love with baby. Just why?

[@SjofnBM1989]

@@TehMomo_ he really wants people to think he's not a pervert.

[@ScorpionFlower95]

@@VicenteTorresAliasVits stfu

[@bowiehunter]

"WHAT STORE ARE YOU IN?" "I'M AT THE SOUP STORE" oh wait "I'M AT THE STORE STORE"

[@UnagiTempura]

THERES JUST MORE SOUP

[@MOONSUN4Life]

"SOULS ARE CANADIAN CONFIRMED". Amanda is brilliant confirmed.

[@roccoon9892]

Amanda is comedic confirmed. No, seriously, i laughed my ass off when i saw that.

[@livvieRAWR99]

"Sci-fi for people who dont like sci-fi" Yet all my brain remembers is the cool scifi bits I liked, and just completely compartmentalized all the weird romance bits.

[@edgarallenhoe3518]

Honestly, the foursome romance thing, while weird and uncomfortable, sounds like a really cool concept for a better writer to explore. I probably wouldn't enjoy that book either due to personal taste, but it could have been good.

[@marielaberge8236]

It legit would have made for a good commentary on consent and loss of bodily autonomy, using body horror and illuminating gendered power dynamics through the perspective of both Melissa and Wanda who occupy the same female body sexualized by human men and victimized by a soul who is warped by the human mind in the body she occupies. But the author was too preoccupied with romanticizing the experience

[@s--h1584]

I do like the idea of the two people in the same body falling for different people, if only they could remove the contrived weirdness of Wanda making out with both of them to prove stuff about Melanie. Gross.

[@justlurkingat8]

*when you realise the meyer-verse movies have 2 very talented young actresses that were also nominated for Oscars pretty young*

[@1997residente]

Wait...Saoirse and who else?

[@LiaMeni]

@@1997residente Kristen Stewart is talented if you don't just base her off of Bella

[@1997residente]

@@LiaMeni but kristen wasn't nominated for an oscar as a child. She was great in Panic Room and Zathura, i'll give you that.

[@princesspeasant4536]

1997residente I believe Anna Kendrick?

[@mcnultyssobercompanion6372]

Ronan had been Oscar-nominated at a very young age (deservedly) for Joe Wright's "Atonement", several years before "The Host", but I'm not sure who the other actress is you're referring to. Anna Kendrick eventually earned an Oscar nomination for Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air", in 2009, but she's the only actor I can think of, off the top of my head, who came away from the "Twilight"-films with an Oscar nomination for...anything. Kristen Stewart's put together a fine filmography to be proud of, but she hasn't been nominated for an Oscar yet. Probably her most prestigious role was in Olivier Assayas' 2015 film "Clouds of Sils Maria". She earned a ton of awards for that film, primarily critics' awards. But no Oscar.

[@1997residente]

After this awful film,i would have never imagined Saoirse Ronan as 4 TIMES academy award nominated actress.

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

She did her best

[@guillermodebaskerville7117]

Sometimes good actors have rough stars

[@lisasowa1195]

I literally didn’t realize that it was her until recently and I have watched this movie like a lot (I do like it, just as I like the book but the acting really isn’t it lol)

[@TalkAsSoftAsChalk]

She already had a nomination by the time this film happened. I am so so glad that this film sucked and Saoirse didn't get roped into doing these "dystopian" films that barely even try to actually make good quality cinema. She is one of the best and versatile actresses out there.

[@RollingDodge]

@@TalkAsSoftAsChalk, they should of had her play Capt/ Ms. Marvel instead.

[@allishaw1566]

The fact that the writer is mormon gives a ton of insight into some of the choices and themes of the books she writes.

[@judefreund703]

I liked The Host but I also read it when I was like 14 so i don't how it holds up. The movie is trash though.

[@sierraalice8072]

Same

[@adorabell4253]

I read it as an adult and enjoyed it. Honestly, I remember barely anything of the romance and mostly the internal Melanie/Wanda relationship which was quite good.

[@sierraalice8072]

AdoraBell me too