Blog Archives

AYJW016: I, Robot, Part 1 [Are You Just Watching?]

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Eve Franklin

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:49 — 42.0MB)

It’s been a while since we’ve posted a regular episode, but we hope you’ve enjoyed our long run of Initial Reaction episodes this summer. We bring you a critical-thinking discussion on the action-paced, science fiction thriller, I, Robot. Not based … Continue reading →

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Initial Reactions 11: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse [Are You Just Watching?]

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Eve Franklin

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:49 — 25.5MB)

Our roving cohost, Chris Jones, joins Eve Franklin in the studio, without Daniel Lewis, to discuss the highly anticipated (at least by a high percentage of the female population) sequel to Twilight and New Moon: Eclipse.  We’re both sleep deprived … Continue reading →

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The Twilight Saga: Spiritual Truths, Part 2 [Are You Just Watching?]

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Eve Franklin

Perhaps the easiest spiritual analogy to draw from the The Twilight Saga is the concept of eternal love. Throughout the four-book story from Bella’s almost continuous perspective, Bella shows how completely unworthy she feels of Edward’s love. Continue reading →

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Initial Reactions 4: New Moon [Are You Just Watching?]

Posted on November 21, 2009 by Eve Franklin

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:02 — 8.0MB)

The movie edition of Stephenie Meyer’s second book in the Twilight Saga, New Moon, raises issues on growing old, damnation, souls, and trusting people. Continue reading →

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The Twilight Saga: Spiritual Truths, Part 1

Posted on August 20, 2009 by Eve Franklin

There are some brief spiritual gems in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga that caught my eye. One of them was a quick statement in Breaking Dawn that opened up a spiritual parallel that has a subtle strength throughout the series—that of members making up a body that needs a definite head. There are good examples of spiritual leaders throughout this saga both on the werewolf side of things and on the vampire side.
Another spiritual gem that is quite obvious is the parallel of the vampire with spiritually dead man. Meyer presents vampires as walking, talking corpses, which makes an interesting picture of the spiritual condition of unregenerate man. Continue reading →

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The Twilight Saga: Marriage, the Sanctity of Life, and Religion

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Eve Franklin

There are a couple things that I really appreciate about the underlying worldview that Meyer’s reveals in her storytelling. First off, through her character Edward, she demonstrates marriage as a lasting and true commitment. Continue reading →

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The Twilight Saga: Origins and Ultimate Destinations

Posted on May 4, 2009 by Eve Franklin

In my last post I talked briefly about how Meyer used the vampire myth in her popular series, but with the undead as main characters, it’s a given that death and eternity are going to be discussed, as well. I also found out after reading the saga that Meyer is a Morman, and so I’m sure her faith does influence her worldview, which is bound to have some influence on her stories. So it was no surprise to me that Meyers has her characters speculate a lot on spiritual matters—especially those having to do with death and eternity. Continue reading →

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The Twilight Saga: Vampires, Demons, and Angels

Posted on May 1, 2009 by Eve Franklin

Taking into account that the Twilight Saga books are secular fiction and do not observe a Christian moral code, one of the only objectionable elements that could be argued over is the subject matter of vampires, so this is the first topic I’d like to discuss at length in my first of several critical thinking posts on this intriguing series. Continue reading →

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Are You Just Reading? An Introduction

Posted on April 28, 2009 by Eve Franklin

A lot of people spend hours watching movies and television, but some of us spend as much time (if not more) reading books. If someone asked me for the top five things I spend time doing, reading would be near the top of the list. But just like movies and television can influence the way you see the world, books can have the same subtle effect on your thinking. Continue reading →

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