*Spoilers Below*
The Twilight series has turned into a new giant of the film industry. With New Moon raking in more money on its opening day than The Dark Knight, despite receiving absolutely catastrophic reviews.
Writing a entire diary about the series would be pointless if all it was was the latest poorly written teenage fiction frezny. But it is not, the truth is it is far worse than that.
Stephanie Meyer, the so called auter of the Twilight Series (despite a obvious inability to write) is not your normal author. For Stephenie Meyer is a lifelong Mormon, and within her books are quite obvious overtones influenced strongly by her religion.
The Twilight series not only espouses unsafe ideas, it derides women, it is misogyny in its purest form...
Mary Shelley rose to fame as an Author in the early 1800's her unique style of writing becoming a classic of the Gothic genre. Frankenstein was a long staggered story having to do little with the supernatural and more with the effect of the supernatural on individuals. Yet throughout the title there was a strong misognystic streak, in her harsh cruelness Mary Shelley spared women no kindness in her representation of them. Little would most people know after reading Frankenstein, that the author was none less than the daughter of one of the most influential feminist in history. Mary Shelley, once known as Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft author of A Vindication of The Rights of Woman possibly the first Feminist Text.
What does Mary Shelley have to do with Stephanie Meyer? Well in my mind, Stephanie Meyer is the most misognystic female author since Mary Shelley. And the Twilight series that has invaded the culture of teenagers is filling the minds of these upcoming women with its anti-feminist filth.
Twilight exists in a world of pure fantasy, both in the existence of such things as Vampires, but in the roles of men and women in that world. Staying true to the puritanistic ideals of her Mormon roots, Stephanie Meyer paints a world of unrealism, a world that every day more and more young teen girls are attempting to emulate.
The first most notable thing is the Mary Sue qualities of the main character. Most may argue this is just a attribute of bad writing, but it's not only that. Bella is the most perfect girl on earth imaginable, with narry a flaw; even her name espouses her utter perfection, meaning beautiful in Italian. From page one the series paints unrealitic role models as the main protaganist, creating a sexist representation of a perfect woman.
Upon meeting our other protaganist; Edward a man with all the qualities of the statue of King David, the supposedly perfect Bella loses all sense of independence. Nothing matters to the enamored Bella, her only word is this sparkling male equivalent of a Mary Sue. Her friends are pretty much nonexistant once Edward appears, and his jealousy only pushes her away further from them. In fact by half the book Bella has made her mind up to become a vampire and join Edward for eternity. Her only motivation? His beauty. What kind of message is that sending to young woman, I would like you to think for a second.
One of the major themes in Twilight is the utter nonexistance of sex in the series. In fact the series treats sex as a dirty topic, and women who desire it as whores. Sex outside of marriage is a taboo unparalleled in Twilight, and in many ways unspoken. Yet through other characters in the series its clearly represented abotu how Miss Meyer, devout Mormon feels about girls who have sexual identities, and are sexually active.
Once Werewolf Jacob appears Bella is instantly swooned by him, and in fact the Werewolf Jacob atempts to rape Bella several times through the book, forcing kisses on her and telling her he will kill her if she ever leaves him. Despite this does Bella act like a sane person and leave the formentioned maniac? No. She doesn't, not in the least, and Jacob returns in the final installment IMPRINTING himself on Bella's recently born baby, ensuring that he will love it until it dies. Talk about Pedophilia.
Nonetheless the norm of the Twilight series is for Bella to become a damsel in distress. Often ending up down the wrong alleyway, surrounded by men looking to rape her, and not struggling, because she remembers she is a woman. So whats the point? She is ultimately always rescued by superhuman sparkly vampire god-Edward. Nonetheless this damsel in distress play goes on and on, as everytime Bella faces any kind of difficulty she immedietly gives up, feels as if she will feint.
Edward is not only beatiful and perfect, he is also a obssesive stalker. And in the series he is considered the "Good Guy." He watched her in her home through her window while she sleeps, he goes through all her conversations by reading her friends minds, he takes the engine out of her car so she can't meet her best friend. Not only are the things he does dangerous and creepy, they are downright illegal.
So this is the message that Twilight gives the youth of today. Love men only because they are beautiful, sex is wrong, and abusive boyfriends do it because they truly love you.
Meanwhile this tripe is shoved into the minds of millions of teenage girls across the United States.
I'm not the first one to note it, but Twilight is not only misogynistic, but it has the posibility of being a major set back for any kind of women's movement in America.
It is the worse thing that has happened to Feminism in the past 100 years. And it's eroding on the work and sacrifice of thousands of brave women.
And that is not ok.