Did you understand what was up with Eli the first time?

[SunButterfly]

I was confused first when I first noticed it, I never knew what to make of it. As soon as I read the book, it explained a lot more about the scar.

[abner_mohl]

Confused by the reveal scene when Eli was changing, thought maybe she was a victim of female circumcision. Then read a review online that mentioned that Eli was a castrato vampire.

[wolfshadow]

The film was my first exposure, so like many, I knew something was wrong with Eli, but didn't really get the point of the scene since there was only two lines that had hinted at what Eli really was. Unfortunately, like many, I didn't put those lines together (thinking he was referring to being a vampire instead) with the "peek" scene. Watching it the second time helped clear things up, but it took reading the book to actually get that she was really a he. I hadn't actually read any reviews/discussions until after reading the book the first time.

[genie47]

I read the book first but from my 6yo daughter who watched it with me.

"I don't have that!!?" was what she exclaimed or words to that effect. Its like she is seeing a naked boy all over again.

I think if you are new to this peak like a child, it will be obvious.

[danielma]

LMAO Cyber...this post sounds like it was inspired by my litlle "How did they not get it, have they never seen a Vagina before?" rant on IMDB

C for me, but to be fair I had read the book before seeing the movie.

I agree with others here, I wish TA had gone into more specifics and had Eli just come out and say "I'm a boy, my name is Elias". That's really the only shortcoming of the film to me, its presented yes but I just wish they had been a little clearer on the matter and just came out and confirmed it...but as for the Scar, I've always wondered to myself how people don't get that there is something seriously wrong down there in that shot. Last I checked a Vagina doesn't look anything like that.

I think the other reason why those people don't regonize it is because they don't want to admit that they really looked that hard at that moment. Even though its fake, I still don't think alot of people want to admit that they were really focusing on what is supposed a childs private area. If that makes sense.

[wolfshadow]

Being new to the material when I watched the film, I was just somewhat stunned that the film makers would actually show nudity like that, given the age of the characters. It's pretty obvious what it was and that there was a really big scar where there shouldn't be. I had made the same mistake at that point that many others had made and assumed that "I'm not a girl" meant "I'm a blood sucking monster" and not "I'm a boy."

Now having read the book and seen the movie several times, I realize it was probably easier for Eli to live in the guise of a girl for attracting both prey and helpers. People seem to see girls as less threatening.

[Kenny]

B

I didn't know what to make of it. I didn't know anything of the backstory when i saw the movie for the 1st time and i was like wtf?

After seeing the movie, that really gripped me, i started doing some online research of the book and the movie, then it became clear to me.

[Unnamed]

A, I thought it was a normal vagina.

Oh gosh, was Eli a boy? I didn't get it. Even when she told "I am not a girl!", I suspected she tells that because she meant she's not a human girl, she's something else. I thought, in LTROI, vampires don't differentiate between males and females; for this, she didn't think she has a gender, so she said "I am not a girl!"

Note, I haven't read the book, though I'm considering to read it sometime in the future.