Twilight…there is obviously something explosive about it. There are scores of of statistics that I could post, but I think the more powerful testament to it's infection of our culture is probably someone you know...or maybe even you. We all know someone who has at least read, if not obsessed over, the book and the characters. However, the fans are not what I'm pondering here so much as the first book and it's substance. (was that the word "substance" in reference to Twilight? *gasp*)
Ever since the book came about (I was actually aware of and familiar with the story about a year before it exploded) I have often wondered what qualities the book possessed to captivate not only younger teens, but grown women as well. Over the years I have had discussions with fans, read reviews, and yes, even read portions of the book. The following are themes that I have picked up during this time. My goal in this post is to highlight a few things from the book and then talk about it. Nothing extravagant.
Of the many enigmas I stumbled across in the Twilight franchise, perhaps the most surprising to me was that it not only has appealed to younger ladies, but older ones as well. One of the series' most avid fan sites is twilightmoms.com. It was created by and for grown women, many with families of their own. Here's a quote from one of the "twilight moms"
"Twilight makes me feel like there may be a perfect world where a perfect man does exist. Where love can overcome everything. Where we can live forever with the person we love."
This brings me to the most intriguing (for me at least) part of the Twilight saga. Edward.
Just mentioning his name makes boyfriends across the nation groan. This glittery 106 year old teenager has been every dudes bane since the proliferation of Twilight. Yet I don't think it was his sparkles or very old age that captured the heart of so many readers. Edward is described in the book as being charming, polite, determined, and…very good looking. He loves Bella and considers her safety and well being his top priority in life. Bella, who has a few family issues, is welcomed not only by Edward but his family as well…oh…and he's a vampire…the vegetarian type.
Stephanie Meyers (author) often details Edward's qualities, and doesn't seem to mind bringing them up multiple times. Instead of growing or expanding the world around Bella, Meyers seems to retract into a single point: the experience of being loved by Edward Cullen. Yet for all the hypnotic repetition the story gives Edward and his faaaabulous ssskin, He is not the primary character…that position belongs to Bella.
The whole story is told from the view of Bella Swan. She's our "point of view" character, the one with whom readers have gone on the emotional journey which they described with words like "obsession" and "addiction".
So the question becomes: is this purely a feminine fantasy or is something else being imaged here? As much as I dislike Twilight it asks vital questions like does a perfect love exist? Do we need someone who intervenes and saves us from death? Do we as a people find ourselves enamored with stories where we are chosen, loved unconditionally, adopted into a family, loved into eternal life? Do we often need to find our identity in something greater than ourselves? These concepts aren't just fantasy, for the Christian, but reality in our relationship with God. These ideas: being more than human, never leaving (nor forsaking) and a wild, untamed love are constructs of a Christ-like allegory. There is of course one problem. Edward is a fictional character that can ultimately do nothing for the reader.
After reading the book, one Twilight fan comments, "I have no desires to be part of the real world now. Nothing I was doing before holds any interest to me. I do what I have to do, what I need to do to
get by and that's it. Someone please tell me it will ease up - even if just a little. My entire world is consumed and in a tail spin."
It seems to me that ladies across the nation have found a fictional outline of what their soul is longing for, but despair because they know not of any corresponding individual in reality. As old as the human race is and for all the advances we've made with feminism, there is this core in the readers that want to be the object of affection and to be loved by someone who is perfect. They want a love that can last forever and overcome everything. I think there's something in women irregardless of creed or belief that actually responds to the undercurrent of this narrative because it rings with a Truth. The Truth that Jesus Christ is the immortal, supernatural, unending, ever present, lover and guardian of our souls.
-James
p.s.
I couldn't resist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFSn5rs70Rc&feature=player_embedded
