Twilight.
Or Twiglet as some of my friends and I like to call it. A strange phenomenum indeed. An asexual, moralistic, non-sensual vampire. All that makes a vampire a vampire is taken away and what are we left with? Edward Cullen? Really?
Or are we willingly wrapping up wolves in sheepskin that we have given them? Are we glossing over the overt sexuality and violence of a vampire, because we don't like the fact we find it attractive?
Pubescent girls and older women? What do they have in common? I mean I can fully appreciate that Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner are nice to look at. (Well, sorta, add 10 years on both, and I'd like them more)
Can I be provocative and suggest that the similarities between the TwilightTweens/Teens and the TwilightMoms are that both are often at stages in their lives where circumstances have put them into positions they aren't really comfortable with. A young teen is restricted by her age and her financial dependance. Her sexuality is under constraints from her family and her society. Ummmm, hate to say this, but you could also say that about a lot of older women!
But make a sexual predator somehow safe and acceptable, then all that hormonal emotion can be concentrated on the fantasy of Edward Cullen. The young girls really don't know what he like, so feel safe, and the older women do know what he is like, but also know that he has been somewhat castrated, and is again, safe.
Are we so afraid of sex, that our only openly acceptable fantasy is a vampire stalker who will love us forever, but manipulates our sexuality to gain power over us?
I think when viewed in the context of the fact it was written by a Mormon woman for young adults and she was trying to be responsible and put forward a thin message of abstinence, a lot of the premise and platitudes about Twilight begin to make sense; or at least they do to me.
ReplyDeleteMy first "taste" of Twilight was just going to see the movie. I hadn't read the books, hadn't seen any other Robert Pattinson movies outside of Harry Potter, didn't know who Kristen Stewart was. All that hype was just not there. I was just going to see a teen vampire flick with my daughter.
When I came out of the movie, I felt there had been a lot of sexual tension between Bella and Edward and there was a certain sensuality there on the vampires' part. I think that's relayed more in the book than the film though.
I will also for the record state that while I'll say I'm basically "Team Edward", I don't necessarily like him all the time. And I think he can be scary but you're right, it's been sanitised for a younger audience.
As for us older ladies, who knows why we like Twilight so much. I can say that it seems for a fair few, it's because they're getting something out it that they feel is missing in their marriage (an observation I've made many times with certain individuals). Is it the same for me? I don't think so. I just think my sex drive is all over the map at this stage in my life. LOL I do like the romanctic ideas in the story but do not necessarily like the way they play out, so maybe I need a bit of roleplay in my marriage.
My own fascination with Twilight has waned a lot. I still like the books and the story and will definitely go to see all the movies. I'm not obsessed so much anymore.
Well, lets face it, RPattz is gorgeous, just that aside I do find the evolution of the vampire to be fascinating. But it's not just vampires that are suffering from this literal de-fanging. Just look at The Fae. F'cking Victorian Flower Fairies they ain't! :D
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