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Editor’s note: This story contains spoilers!
Nobody can deny the popularity of “Twilight.” Regardless of if you prefer “Harry Potter,” if you hate fantasy or if you think Edward’s lines are cheesy, you have to admit that the “Twilight” series has been engrossed into pop culture.
Though the book series by Stephanie Meyer was published in 2005, the phenomenon truly began when the first movie was released three years later.
Grossing $384 million worldwide, the response from fans for the first movie was “entirely overwhelming,” according to Kristen Stewart, who plays the role of Bella. She said a book signing she attended in Rome “was actually scary.”
And the newly-released second movie, “New Moon,” is expected to earn twice as much as the first.
As popular as the movies are, the books are on another level entirely. Read almost religiously, people of each gender and several generations can be seen buried in one of Meyer’s creations.
However, the “Twilight” series did not escape criticism, especially from feminists.
The plot, particularly the story’s outcome, could have a harmful interpretation. Bella falls in love with Edward soon after meeting him, and he saves her life many times from that point on. He frequently jokes that her life is at risk without him to protect her. This damsel-in-distress theme is only the tip of the iceberg; when Edward abandons Bella in the second book, she can barely function, reinforcing her dependence upon him.
This is not just your everyday teenage heartbreak; Bella begins engaging in dangerous activities, such as cliff-jumping, just to hear his voice in her head – this isn’t romantic, it isn’t normal and it isn’t OK. It’s crazy.
Nevertheless, Bella is willing to desert her family and become a vampire, completely morphing who she is, to be with Edward forever. This goal is indeed accomplished in the last book, when Edward transforms Bella, they marry straight out of high school (because who needs college?) and have a baby. According to “Twilight,” this is the path to take for happily ever after: sacrifice everything – friends, family and education – for a boy.
Although few may consciously register these undertones in “Twilight,” the message that reaches young girls should be addressed, not ignored. Many, including the author herself, argue that “Twilight’s” only message regards true love.
Though she may have had good intentions, how Meyer portrays true love in her books is simply disturbing. On the other hand, J.K. Rowling, author of the “Harry Potter” series, wrote her books about loyalty, friendship and courage. I’ll take that over Edward Cullen any day.
