At the end of last week, something special happened: The second movie in the Twilight saga, New Moon, hit theatres all over the country. By special, I’m referring to how much extraordinary attention (read: obsession) was given to this film by women ­­— and men — of all ages.

It’s quite obvious that this craze is far from normal. Anyone who has picked up one of the books in this series knows that they are nothing close to literary masterpieces. But there is something about the characters developed across those thousands of pages that intrigue people to the point of extreme fascination. Names like Edward and Jacob have become more than fictional characters, but actual love interests to people as young as 8.

Needless to say, once faces were put to those names, the mania only grew. And now that the characters have undergone mature transformations as the plot of the series thickens, the second film just begs people to further swoon and dream. Just this past weekend, I went to see the movie in theaters, and the moment Jacob first dramatically ripped off his shirt it was like there was a huge instrument of suction taking everyone’s breath away in sync.

With all of this hype, people all over the world are wondering why this love is so intense. The answer is definitely not simple, and this kind of fictional character adoration isn’t new. But there is something about this type of infatuation that had people catching on from the moment the books hit the shelves, and I’m pretty sure it has to do with the fact that we’re dealing with vampires and werewolves.

Not only are the famous Edward and Jacob knights in shining armor with their relentless love and protection of a simple (as many would call her, undeserving) teenage girl, but these two leading men have superpowers, powers that they can unleash at any given time in the hopes of winning over their one and only.

Usually these types of sci-fi figures are a bit revolting in a kind of awkward, out-of-this-world way. But the fact that Stephenie Meyer, the author of this phenomenon, uses simple language that can appeal to people much too young for a true appreciation of literature and a plot flooded with raw yet inexorable emotion that can grab hold of 50-something mothers makes these supernatural princes that much more appealing.

So as shocking as it is to watch thousands of women scream at the top of their lungs at the mere mention of Twilight or Jacob or (god forbid) Edward, it does unveil a ferocious, undying desire for chivalrous, passionate, adoring, beautiful and protective men. As unattainable as they are, there’s something about half-humanness that makes them somewhat recognizable while being refreshingly different.

These male figures, unfortunately, do make our normal, earthly men a little less tempting, which, in my opinion, is totally unfair. If the obsessive screams haven’t been loud enough to perk your ears, I’ll give you some advice: Chivalry is far from dead in our current environment, and if we just pull our heads out of these Twilight clouds, we can notice it. And men, don’t be discouraged; the reason these Twilight men are so appealing is because the human parts of them make us recognize the things we already have and what we want more of all the time.

Reach Copy Chief Parisa Sadrzadeh at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.