People are not reasonable about Twilight. And I’m not talking about the fans.
The widespread popularity—and box office bonanza—of the sequel “New Moon” (in theaters now) has prompted a reaction that might as well be a fandom itself: the fandom of criticism and mockery.
For every speculation about the merits of Twilight or the health of the Bella as a role model that becomes a free-for-all of “I hate Twilight more than you do” discussion, the question should be asked: why? Forget “why do women love Twilight?” when the more interesting question is, “Why do women hate women who love Twilight?”
Every time there’s a big pop culture phenomenon, there’s an anti-big culture phenomenon to match. The criticism and mockery fandom includes popular activities such as theorizing what more important element must be missing from the lives of the fans to make them love something so much, ongoing commentary on how dumb and embarrassing the mania is for [insert country, region, age group, etc here].
There should be such a thing as fandom rights. Anybody who has ever been a fan—of something—ought to be with me on this, because even though I don’t love Twilight, I am a known fan of other eyebrow-raising things. This is the true global melting pot: we may not all love the same things, but we all understand the value of loving a fandom.
Maybe women don’t get this as easily as men because guys more often do that thing where, even though they’re rooting for different teams, they understand the joy of being a sports fan. (Hey, I hate to stereotype, but if the trend fits, use it.)
People (women, in particular) who scoff at Twilight are the same ones who feel the need to scoff loudly when the mushy stuff pops up in an action movie. You’re not fooling anyone, folks; that mushy stuff is there because it’s popular. It’s called emotional resonance, and everybody feels it (for someone or something) sometime.
The Twilight saga, which is only the latest in a long line of pop culture obsessions, taps into the two main categories of all romantic relationships. It’s not about the “type” of guys Edward and Jacob are, it’s about the relationships they represent. Bella’s relationship with Edward is purposefully preposterous (and wonderful, in that way). It defies logic, is obsessive, exclusive, and autonomous. Bella’s relationship with Jacob is utterly reasonable (and entirely familiar): it is sporadic, preoccupied, argumentative, and dependent on people and circumstance. Edward is the dream, the guy in the romantic comedy. Jacob is second best in that he’s the relationship that might actually work in real life.
The genius of the Twilight series is that both relationships are woven into the books. So I guess it appeals to both those who get that settling for something real isn’t actually second best, and those who enjoy their fantasies (sometimes those people are the same, and sometimes they aren’t comfortable admitting it). Spoiler alert: in the second book, “New Moon,” Edward briefly steps aside and Bella and Jacob have a chance to start building a great relationship. Yet don’t blame Bella for turning her back on Jacob when, according to the reality of the books, her ideal becomes a possibility again. Who wouldn’t?
The Twilight saga runs on pure emotion, so of course emotions run high when it comes to loving—or hating—it. Don’t underestimate the power of emotion, and don’t scoff at it either. Emotion, like fans, can be scary. Both are everywhere, so stop being so derisive, haters.
Give fandom its due; if you don’t, someday it will catch up to you. (It has the money to do it, too.) Inevitably, then somebody will be on the other side mocking you.
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