Stephanie Meyer versus Taylor Swift - I've Switched Teams

I have always been a country music fan, and I always will be.  I love the stories told by the songs, the authenticity of its artists, and the musicianship of all involved.  Although I may not always enjoy every song I hear on the radio, or like a live performance I see by an artist, it is usually something that is rare.

I have not, however, always been a fan of the Twilight craze that has happened across the world.  Vampires that sparkle just did not seem to fit in my perspective of the dark mythical tale that has circulated over the course of the years, and after viewing the first film, I had even less desire to view the others that were to follow than I had possessed before I ever saw the blue-hazed picture.

But it seems that this week, at least, I have switched teams.

I found myself extremely disappointed in a country music video released yesterday afternoon, and I thoroughly enjoyed the Twilight film which I saw this afternoon.

Taylor Swift has always had my respect for her songwriting ability.  There isn't a song of hers that I have not liked.  She has a way of expressing emotions or situations in a simplistic, relative, genuine way that is truly a gift.  Her recent single, "Ours", is one of my personal favorites from her latest album, "Speak Now", and I was quite expectant of the video that was to follow... only to be quite disappointed.

The video is bland, mildly put.  It is bland, boring and fails to express everything that the song attempts to be.  The appearance of the young soldier returning home at the end of the video adds a forced, "cheesy" to the piece, instead of it being a genuine, heartfelt happening that it could have been.  A hit of a song, a bomb of a video.  Something sad to see of a usually creative young artist.

I am certainly not a film guru, but Breaking Dawn: Part 1 is the best film of the saga yet. Though it still will certainly leave you feeling like you watched something incomplete (which, of course, you did).  Each of the films has been a step up from the last, and this fourth one is indeed following in that pattern.  The acting, the screenplay, the cinematography, the character development - it all has improved.  It also has quite intense, positive themes running throughout, all revolving around the redemption of souls, the absolute nature of right and wrong and doing the right thing despite popular belief, and the sanctity of life no matter the sacrifice.  Whether intentionally written this way or not, they are still thickly woven into the plot, and are strongly promoted.

Very well done.

I hope the last installment will live up to the fourth, and that Taylor Swift doesn't make the same mistake with her next video that she made with her latest.