I had been somewhat exposed to the Twilight phenomenon thanks to female friends of mine but even more so through my mother. Since I’m the only one in the family who can watch movies with her in English and she’s absolutely obsessed with the books, I had to watch all three films with her. I’ve never read the books (well, apart from the first two chapters now) and am based on what I read not to tempted to that. I think it’s easy to dismiss these books as “girl fiction” (not that that would necessarily be that bad) but that’s not even my mine criticism about what I read. I simply found the writing rather uninspired and hardly captivating. At the same time I see the appeal: apart from romantic clichés (and again, nothing wrong with that per se) Meyer leaves many things blank. Edward Cullen is “inhumanly beautiful” and looks like a model. Her description is somewhat vague (and so is the personality of protagonist Bella) which allows the reader to fill in missing content with his or probably more likely her own ideas, fantasies and desires. This perfect gentleman and his girl next door are great archetypes to project one’s own wishes on.

Prior to the readings I had heard a lot people talk about Twilight’s conservative nature and not to subtle religious undertones. I found Toscano’s take on this refreshing. Instead of emphasising the restrictive nature of religious dogma she acknowledges liberties Meyer takes in her writing. Her idea of good and evil is more complex than what you would expect from a “religious writer” – even though since Twilight is teen/fantasy fiction it seems a little narrow-minded to try and pin  Meyer’s narrative down on religious ideology only anyways. Also the question of individual choice and self-reliance is quite central to the Meyer’s storytelling – I had preconceived notions about the franchise and even though I had seen it before had never picked up on this. This “free will” which Toscano stresses though has to be put in perspective: Bella’s choice is Edward and anything that allows her to be close to him and this choice is presented as inevitable, inescapable really.

This leads to McGeough’s essay. I find it limiting to look at characters in novels as agents of feminism. Yes, Bella does it all for love, she’s a clumsy teenager who is only able to be comfortable in her own skin by becoming a mother and a wife. This is certainly not a conventional take on female enpowerment. Yet, this strongly resonates with (female) readers and might just be tied to the desire to find a true connection and real love. I think a great appeal of Twilight is the fact that these characters are and have what many readers want to be or to have. It’s a fantasy (the genre makes that clear) and therefore doesn’t have to be tied down to conventions of social ideology and ideas of how enpowered women have to live.

Overall, I feel conflicted about Twilight. Escapism seems to be what draws in audiences for both books and film and as far of the film goes it is well executed “abstinence porn” that highlights desire and moreso the repression of desire. I understand that but personally prefer more reflected and less conservative frameworks. Still, I thought the readings added to my susceptibility for the complexity of the material.