Official: "Twilight" Fans Are F-cking Nuts

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Official: "Twilight" Fans Are F-cking Nuts

Written by Arya Ponto

Tuesday, 11 November 2008

twilight-signing Recently I've been getting questions about Twilight from people who are obviously not in their demographic (as in, they're neither teenage girls, Mormons, bored housewives, nor goths). They've heard about it vaguely, but are unclear as to what it is or why it's supposed to be a big deal. When I try to explain just how popular the franchise is, I'm met with disbelief. How can something no one they know had ever heard before has such an enormous and rabid fanbase? Beats me, but I tell them not to underestimate Twilight, because these fangirls are the next Zapatistas. If only the employees at San Francisco's Stonestown Galleria mall had listened to me, they wouldn't have the mini riot they had earlier today.

Twilight star Robert Pattinson was scheduled to do an autograph signing in the mall's Hot Topic store. The deal was that the first 500 people to buy a Twilight shirt throughout the day would get a wristband that would allow them to come back at 6 PM for the signing. They were expecting about 200-500 people to show up. I can't really blame them because they've probably never even heard of Pattinson and didn't expect too much trouble, but they REALLY should've done their research about this whole Twilight shenanigans. Fangirls flew in from Arizona and Hawaii just for this "event," and this morning the mall ended up being accosted by 3,000 people—most of them teenage girls—who all wanted a piece. The result? Total mayhem.

These fans rushed to get into the mall, causing a stampede that left several people trampled, a girl fainting, and one woman with a broken nose. An SF Gate commenter claiming to be her wrote:

I am the girl who "broke her nose." I am actually an adult(although a short one), not a teenager. I am less than 5 ft tall and got TRAMPLED in the bull rush from the crowd due to this unorganized mess. Were they seriously only estimating about 200 to 500 people to show? My friend and I had arrived at the mall on Saturday morning before the mall opened and stayed at the mall all day. We sat outside the mall, but were asked to leave by security at about 930 Sunday night. We returned at 400 the next morning and were numbers 340 and 341 in line according to the unofficial list. If Hot Topic as well as the mall had planned ahead and created a line area, as well as other precautions, im sure this cancellation could have been avoided. I feel as if it is unfair to all of us who had showed up, especially those who showed up way ahead of time, for this event to be cancelled when it was poor planning on the mall and stores part.

Really? Two days in a mall parking lot to get some guy's signature? Really? I've waited in some crazy lines in my day and they can be fun given the situation (like camping overnight for a Wii with a bunch of hilarious Nintendo fans), but geez, lining with hundreds of teenyboppers and goths for an autograph of some guy whose movie you haven't even seen yet?

Naturally, the cops had to control the situation by cancelling the event altogether and shooing people away. But one thing I've learned about die hard fangirls is that they never give up. Many of them stuck around anyway and were rewarded greatly: the organizers eventually decided to continue with the event after all. Pattinson appeared at 6 pm as scheduled and signed autographs for the remaining fans. A nice ending to the day, but sucks for those people that got hurt and had to leave.

I would say that the lesson here is to take hearththrobs a little less seriously, but mentally unbalanced screaming girls are part of a tradition that goes way back to Beatle-mania. So maybe the real lesson is that we should destroy every print of Twilight before opening day or Western civilization as we know it would perish. Just throwing that out there.

Here's an unedited account of the whole thing by "lilmisslogan":

OK. so this is true. the list was infact unofficial, according to the hottopic staff. However, according to the police, who arrived hours after the line was formed, the list was infact, official. I was there @ 4:30, my friend and i were #s 219, and 220.

around 6 there were over 2,000 people, and the line had moved from public property (the sidewalk) to private, (the parking lot). This was all because the 1,613 people who had not signed the list (the list stopped @ 387) were trying to get in front because they were told by the sercurity guard (his name's Matt Hullman) "supposedly" that it was first come first serve, like the fans had read on the twilight link (on the hottopic site). At that time there was only 2 cop cars, some of the hottopic staff, and concerned parents as regulators.

Then... Sometime later (@ 6)all heck broke loose. Those 1,613 people who were afraid of not getting a spot, sprinted from the end of the parking lot to the front of the mall. A Mosh pit was then formed. Along the way people fell and injured themselves. The mosh pit continued rougly for an hour and a half. Security started to arrive along with an ambulance and a firetruck.First they told us that the front of the mob needed to get in the back of the line (after we strived to be in the front), needless to say "we" did nto listen. Then... The security repeatedly told the the mob that we needed to back up & evacuate the scene & that Rob. was not coming. People continued to join the mosh pit instead of listening to authority. Supposedly (i was told in person) that some girls had recieved tickets but later were ask to make refunds. As tickets were being handed out, they were also being stolen...

Overall it was great to know i drove 3 hours to get there @ 4:30 in the morning, sign a list that was suppose to construct some kind of semi-guaranteed autograph, to sprint in boots across the parking lot, get my personal space invaded by hundreds of squished people, & have a loss of breath from this great well planned signing. Whats also nice to know is that people flew in from hawaii, washington, and las vegas to see & meet him & were driven away by authority who repeadedtly gave off the false impression that Rob. was not coming. ... As a last thought its great that twilight fans ages 7& up (including me) were decieved & lied to by the authority that were supposed to be helping not contributing to this madness.

November 11, 2008, Jason Craig said:

Yes, Arya does bring out the haters.. smilies/grin.gif

Votes: +1

November 11, 2008, Saul Berenbaum said:

@ Stephanie Haynes Barker.

Thanks for your well-put comment; it's refreshing when we see more than a line or two of gibberish in regards to anything we've written, but I think you should read a bit more into this story:

A mob of people camping out overnight for autographs or a new game console is one thing - it shows devotion and it puts you in a special group of people with whom you most likely have a lot in common.

Storming a small store in a shopping mall and trampling a whole bunch of the people in your group, or even, innocent bystanders, is something entirely different. There's no difference between that kind of behavior and mob violence, as far as I'm concerned. Even if there's no looting or punching involved, people are still hurt due to caveman-era recklessness.

Also, calling Arya biased and "spacey," whatever that was supposed to mean, based on his judgment call is pretty harsh. It was based solely on these unfortunate events and previous attacks on him on JustPressPlay for saying anything remotely critical of the Twilight franchise. Before you go mudslinging, think about this occurrence from an outsider's perspective - Don't be so quick to bash critics who are just commenting on the unfortunate nature of society.

Votes: +0

November 11, 2008, khadija bawa said:

oh my word.. twilight is the best book ive enevr read it comes on the same shelf as harry potter .... :cheer:
when i first heard about the book i hought oh judt another vampire book but the way that it is written is amazing omw omw omw i cant believe it took so many people so long to read it because i couldnt put it down...
:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

Votes: -1

November 11, 2008, Sean Anthony said:

I don't know Abby Miller but I know this...she is a die hard fanboy, anyone who uses the expression :cheer: is a total fanboy. Im a Star Wars lover and I totally dislike episode 1-3 but I understand why peeps like it (i.e. little kids and idiots) lets face it, Twilight will suck to you and me, a.k.a most males and people who are clueless about it. Peeps like Abby will love it due to their insane love and hope for a vamp to want them too. Vampire's are sexual in every way and this is their knight is toothy armor. Twilight is nothing but a tween girl's bible to fantasy. I love and know Norse mythology to the bone but I don't go psycho for something that is a damn book(fantasy) and a movie(based on fantasy). It will do great at the BO but in the end it will implode on itself just like the Potter series as for J.K. Rawling. You can only oil the rig so much before people get tired of it. Im still waiting for "Harry Potter and the secret of the human anatomy" Might I remind you I have read the Twilight series and the 2nd and 3rd book are nothing more than the same book written in a diff perspective. Im interested not in this first movie but in the 2nd installment...

Votes: -1

November 11, 2008, Stephanie Hayes Barker said:

Ok, who are you and what is this website? Never have I gone to a public article and seen so many grammatical errors. You are spacey, biased, and severely opinion obsessed.

Nice going with the presumed demographic of the Twilight fans. For your information, I am not a teenager, I am not a Mormon (just because the author is does not mean all fans need to be... so that was a little haphazard), I am not a bored housewife, and I am not Gothic. I am twenty-two years old, a newlywed, a Student working on my Masters, and a Preschool Teacher. What is it that you do? Sit alone in your basement and talk about how much Steven Spielberg sucks?

Oh, and you really showed how intelligent and professional you were with this, "I've waited in some crazy lines in my day and they can be fun given the situation (like camping overnight for a Wii with a bunch of hilarious Nintendo fans), but geez, lining with hundreds of teenyboppers and goths for an autograph of some guy whose movie you haven't even seen yet?"

How about, waiting in line for a game console that you haven't even played yet? What makes you think that devoting time with friends and other Twilight fans for a glimpse of Robert Pattinson, an actor who has spoke of nothing but respect and admiration for his fans, is anything less than waiting in line for a chance to sing for the American Idol judges, a ticket to the a Jon Bon Jovi concert, or the opportunity to be one of the first ones to own a Nintendo Wii?

If you want readers, or anybody with a certain amount of intelligence and tolerance to read your work, then I would stay away from the harsh a*sumptions and naivety.

Votes: +2

November 11, 2008, Sean Anthony said:

By the way Steph Barker I just want to say that what we do here is difficult. We have to deal with asses like you who hate on us for disliking something you like. Isn't that this thing called choice? I for one think Twilight is the lamest thing and their are peeps who this that Star Wars is about the stupidest thing, which I can understand. Instead of being critical of us why don't you think the way we do? Maybe the movie will suck, maybe it won't we dunno yet! You know in Barnes and Nobles where Twilight is located? The Teen section. We are writers/critics and we are suppose to generalize. You are a teacher and are suppose to teach the kids what they need to know not what they should know. We do our job you do yours. Dont criticize what you don't know. We deal with peeps like you who think their right because they dont fit into a general description. Gues what? Im 6 foot athletic, played football, basketball and baseball in HS and weight lifted but im a gamer and love Star Wars. Do I fir the generalizing? No. But that is in place because it is normally what they look like and how they are!

Votes: -2

November 11, 2008, abbie miller said:

i like reading your books i wash i can see the move when it comes out but i cant

Votes: -1

November 11, 2008, abbie miller said:

if you can try to help me get in the move free that will be good i can take my frieand with me if you can

Votes: -1

November 11, 2008, Jason Craig said:

Oh good another controversy..

@Stephanie Hayes Barker...Welcome to JustPressPlay.. B)

Votes: +1

November 11, 2008, Tyler Barlass said:

I fear that angry Kottonmouth King fans have nothing on irate Twilight fans...

Votes: +0

November 11, 2008, Lauren said:

I was at this thing. I got there at 3 am and signed the list. I was number 137. The lady named Amy who was trying to organize the list told us that it was not official and we were fine with it. She was just trying to organize what Hot Topic didn't do. The people on the list were civilized, organized, and polite. We were told the list was considering being used and then it was thrown out the window. The complete dishonesty from the cops in this situation(I should have expected as much) was disgusting. They told us about 20 times that they were positive the event was canceled and that it wouldn't happen. Even Hot Topic representatives said the event was positively canceled. Hot Topic disgusts me now. How they could have planned this event so poorly is beyond me. I put no blame on the crowd, it's all on Hot Topic. In the end they were in charge of keeping this event under control and if there had been better communication, no one would have rushed that door. Matt Hullman's voice was too quiet even when we were all silent. Some girl dashed for the door and then people followed and so I thought someone had said go or something. I was sprinting across the parking lot and could just imagine falling on that pavement but luckily I didn't. Only damage to me was getting smashed into a planter for half an hour. In the end, I had been there for 6 hours, lied to, and pushed by cops. My mom and I left and drove the three hour drive home. Come to find out that the event was still on. They should have kept the event canceled or rescheduled it. If you had been in the crowd, you would have found out that the majority of people there were very kind and polite. We all made small talk and were pretty cheery for the situation. Hot Topic and the cops were completely useless.

Votes: +1

November 11, 2008, Sean Anthony said:

Hot Topic as a company is useless. Police have always and will always be useless. Don't trust anyone when it comes to that kinda stuff. Trust your instincts. They said that so that most of the crowd would disperse which im guessing it did.

Votes: -2

November 12, 2008, Wendilynn said:

The SF situation was just tragic. I'm continually amazed at how people keep underestimating the appeal of not only the movie but its reluctant "Edward". Hot Topic has been selling Twilight themed gear for months and they were inundated with listeners for the soundtrack preview hearing. Rob gets mobbed everywhere he goes and it just amazes me that Hot Topic, Summit, or whoever is handling the publicity between movie and venders is just not paying attention.

Votes: +0