Stephenie Meyer
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''One of the weird things about modern feminism is that some feminists seem to be putting their own limits on women's choices. That feels backward to me. It's as if you can't choose a family on your own terms and still be considered a strong woman. How is that empowering? Are there rules about if, when, and how we love or marry and if, when, and how we have kids? Are there jobs we can and can't have in order to be a "real" feminist? To me, those limitations seem anti-feminist in basic principle.''<ref>"[http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/bd_faq.html Frequently Asked Questions: ''Breaking Dawn'']," StephenieMeyer.com</ref>}} | ''One of the weird things about modern feminism is that some feminists seem to be putting their own limits on women's choices. That feels backward to me. It's as if you can't choose a family on your own terms and still be considered a strong woman. How is that empowering? Are there rules about if, when, and how we love or marry and if, when, and how we have kids? Are there jobs we can and can't have in order to be a "real" feminist? To me, those limitations seem anti-feminist in basic principle.''<ref>"[http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/bd_faq.html Frequently Asked Questions: ''Breaking Dawn'']," StephenieMeyer.com</ref>}} | ||
| − | Carrying an unplanned teenage pregnancy or a high-risk pregnancy to term are both valid choices within the pro-choice viewpoint (that is, after all, the very ''definition'' of choice). However, ''Breaking Dawn'' does not feature an average unplanned teenage pregnancy or an average high-risk pregnancy, and it is this portrayal that can be considered problematic. The ''extreme'' life-or-death nature of Bella's pregnancy arguably places her and her decision not to have an abortion on a high [[moral]] pedestal. Thus, she may not be depicted as simply exercising her right to choose, but as making a heroic [[sacrifice]] and doing something righteous, with the implicit message therein being, "no matter how | + | Carrying an unplanned teenage pregnancy or a high-risk pregnancy to term are both valid choices within the pro-choice viewpoint (that is, after all, the very ''definition'' of choice). However, ''Breaking Dawn'' does not feature an average unplanned teenage pregnancy or an average high-risk pregnancy, and it is this portrayal that can be considered problematic. The ''extreme'' life-or-death nature of Bella's pregnancy arguably places her and her decision not to have an abortion on a high [[moral]] pedestal. Thus, she may not be depicted as simply exercising her right to choose, but as making a heroic [[sacrifice]] and doing something righteous, with the implicit message therein being, "no matter how dangerous it gets, abortion is ''never'' the solution." However, whether this really is pro-life rhetoric in pro-choice clothing is pretty much personal opinion. At least it isn't ''the'' most objectionable part of the book. |
It's even arguable that Bella gets to enjoy her apparent pro-life [[martyr]]dom without actually having to experience any lasting consequences. When she's literally on the brink of death, Edward saves her by [[deus ex machina|turning her into a vampire]], imbuing her with [[magic]] vampire [[healing]] powers that conveniently un-break her spine and close her emergency fangsarean<ref>Edward actually delivers the baby by ''biting open Bella's uterus''. Percentage of Twihards telling that to their parents = 0.</ref> incision. Moreover, she'll never have to endure the typical hardships associated with teen motherhood, as the Cullens are improbably wealthy (owning, for instance, a private tropical island, on which Bella got knocked up). | It's even arguable that Bella gets to enjoy her apparent pro-life [[martyr]]dom without actually having to experience any lasting consequences. When she's literally on the brink of death, Edward saves her by [[deus ex machina|turning her into a vampire]], imbuing her with [[magic]] vampire [[healing]] powers that conveniently un-break her spine and close her emergency fangsarean<ref>Edward actually delivers the baby by ''biting open Bella's uterus''. Percentage of Twihards telling that to their parents = 0.</ref> incision. Moreover, she'll never have to endure the typical hardships associated with teen motherhood, as the Cullens are improbably wealthy (owning, for instance, a private tropical island, on which Bella got knocked up). | ||
Revision as of 00:11, 3 September 2013
“”Be warned: There are no great stories, characters, or profound life lessons to be had in Twilight.
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| —George Takei |
Stephenie[1] Meyer is an American author best known for the vampire "romance" novel series The Twilight Saga. The "books," which have sold millions of copies and been adapted into equally popular Razzie Award-winning "films,"[2] tell the tale of sparkly, stone-skinned, befanged stalker Edward Cullen and klutzy doormat/authorial stand-in Isabella "Bella" Swan.
Contents |
Pro something-or-other
The taming of the Sue
Critics have accused the Twilight series of sending a blatant anti-feminist message. Bella has been perceived as being a weak character whose only defined personality traits are her extreme clumsiness (except when she's being "very graceful") and high level of maturity (except when she speaks, or acts),[3] and whose hobbies, interests, and goals mainly revolve around the males in her life: cooking and cleaning for her father and pining after the impossibly perfect Edward Cullen.[4][5]
Edward's relationship with Bella has been seen as having abusive overtones.[4][6] He exhibits creepy, stalker-ish behavior like sneaking into Bella's room to watch her sleep without her permission and possessive, controlling behavior like disabling her car so she can't go see any of her friends (namely his romantic rival/secret lover Jacob Black).
Save the undead unborn
Breaking Wind Dawn, the final book in the Twilight series, could be described as a 750-page pro-life, pro-abstinence-until-marriage allegory, with 18-year-old Bella unintentionally getting pregnant on her honeymoon, then declining to have an abortion even though the mutant vampire-human fetus comes to full term in a matter of weeks and almost kills her with its rib-shattering kicks[7] Initially, Edward objects to Bella's apparent death wish and urges her to terminate the pregnancy, but then Meyer unleashes the talking fetus meme that's been around since day one of the pro-life movement and has Edward hear the fully sentient, telepathic demonspawn in Bella's tummy declare how much it wuvs mommy.
Meyer responded to the charge that Bella is an "anti-feminist heroine" with arguments that at face value seem pro-choice:
“”When I hear or read theories about Bella being an anti-feminist character, those theories are usually predicated on her choices. In the beginning, she chooses romantic love over everything else. Eventually, she chooses to marry at an early age and then chooses to keep an unexpected and dangerous baby. […]
In my own opinion (key word), the foundation of feminism is this: being able to choose. The core of anti-feminism is, conversely, telling a woman she can't do something solely because she's a woman—taking any choice away from her specifically because of her gender. […] One of the weird things about modern feminism is that some feminists seem to be putting their own limits on women's choices. That feels backward to me. It's as if you can't choose a family on your own terms and still be considered a strong woman. How is that empowering? Are there rules about if, when, and how we love or marry and if, when, and how we have kids? Are there jobs we can and can't have in order to be a "real" feminist? To me, those limitations seem anti-feminist in basic principle.[8] |
Carrying an unplanned teenage pregnancy or a high-risk pregnancy to term are both valid choices within the pro-choice viewpoint (that is, after all, the very definition of choice). However, Breaking Dawn does not feature an average unplanned teenage pregnancy or an average high-risk pregnancy, and it is this portrayal that can be considered problematic. The extreme life-or-death nature of Bella's pregnancy arguably places her and her decision not to have an abortion on a high moral pedestal. Thus, she may not be depicted as simply exercising her right to choose, but as making a heroic sacrifice and doing something righteous, with the implicit message therein being, "no matter how dangerous it gets, abortion is never the solution." However, whether this really is pro-life rhetoric in pro-choice clothing is pretty much personal opinion. At least it isn't the most objectionable part of the book.
It's even arguable that Bella gets to enjoy her apparent pro-life martyrdom without actually having to experience any lasting consequences. When she's literally on the brink of death, Edward saves her by turning her into a vampire, imbuing her with magic vampire healing powers that conveniently un-break her spine and close her emergency fangsarean[9] incision. Moreover, she'll never have to endure the typical hardships associated with teen motherhood, as the Cullens are improbably wealthy (owning, for instance, a private tropical island, on which Bella got knocked up).
The birth scene in Part 1 of the two-part Breaking Dawn film adaptation is reported to have caused several viewers to suffer seizures due to "black, red, and white flashing lights."[10] It is also possible that the scene simply represented a critical mass of idiocy far too dangerous to be exposed to the human brain.
Book of a Mormon
Meyer is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). This has lead to the perception of some Mormon elements and themes within the Twilight series:
- Bella's description of her relationship with Edward as "forever" has been linked to the Mormon practice of "sealing."[11] Furthermore, the Cullen coven's existence as an immortal family unit has been compared to the Mormon concept of the eternal family,[12] which holds that sealed couples and their sealed children will dwell together for eternity in heaven.
- Immortal Edward's physical appearance is described as stunningly gorgeous and perfect (and sparkling, as everyone well knows), which has been linked to Mormons' belief that after death their spirits will be reunited with their "perfected physical bod[ies], which will never die again."[13]
- The Quileute, Jacob's Native American werewolf clan, have been described as being portrayed as "animalistic," in contrast to the "delightfully pale" Cullen coven.[14] This has been linked to the Mormon belief that Native Americans — or Lamanites, as they are called in the Book of Mormon — are descended from ancient Israelites who were cursed with dark skin as a result of their alleged wickedness.[14]
- Bella avoids alcohol and tobacco,[11] which isn't all that remarkable, especially for a teenager. However, she also avoids both coffee and tea,[11] which is unusual. The "Word of Wisdom," a section of the Doctrine and Covenants, a part of the scriptural canon used by churches in the Latter Day Saints movement, prohibits the ingestion of alcohol, tobacco, and "hot drinks" (interpreted to mean coffee and tea by the modern LDS Church).
- Bella and Edward saddle their darling little chestburster with the name Renesmee, an unwieldy amalgamation of the names of her grandmothers, Renee and Esme (her middle name, Carlie, comes from the names of her grandfathers, Carlisle and Charlie).[15] Mormons are reported to have a tradition of creating new names by "combining parents' or grandparents' first names."[16]
Meyer has said she is a "huge fan" of Orson Scott Card.[17] It is perhaps telling that, of all the sci-fi and fantasy writers, she singled out one of the only other Mormons in the room.
Team cradle robber
In the first three Twilight books, Bella is torn between bestality and necrophilia her two suitors Edward and Jacob, which caused the Twilight fandom to be split between "Team Jacob" and "Team Edward." After having Bella and Edward tie the knot in the last book, she threw an unbelievably bizarre consolation prize to members of "Team Jacob" by pairing off the oddly depilated werewolf with the chestburster literally seconds after she is born.[18] In the Twilight universe, male werewolves involuntarily form lifelong magical bonds with their soulmates (an event known as "imprinting"),[18] and evidently aren't put off by such traits as wailing, lack of bladder control, and a still-attached umbilical cord.
Meyer apparently had trouble understanding why reaction to Jacob falling in love with a newborn baby included words like "creepy" and "pedophilic." Her response? "Yeah, people get a little weird about it, and think there's something wrong there."[19] According to her, there's nothing amiss about the situation, as pedowolf's feelings for Renesmee will remain those of a "very dedicated father or older brother" until she grows up and "needs something else."[19]
Critics have contended that an adult man taking the role of a trusted guardian in a child's life in the expectation that his relationship with said child will later develop into something sexual is akin to child-grooming.[20] Jacob's imprinting, viewed in this light, means that Renesmee's future choices are being made for her. The trust she places in Jacob, as well as in her family, who fully expect her to live happily ever after with her predestined mate, will make it difficult, if not impossible, for her to refuse him.
Moral relativism or absolutism?
Despite all of the above, Meyer seems to believe that there are situations where relativism applies and others where absolutism applies. For example, premarital sex and abortion are always evil but people should be free to choose whether or not to commit murder. Indeed, Carlisle, a vampire presented as compassionate and saintly, repeatedly stresses that he respects the freedom of other vampires to kill and eat humans. After all, he believes in free choice. Edward, the obnoxious stalker who used to captain the Hufflepuff Quidditch team (a big step downward from his beginnings), states that Benjamin, a being who goes out to kill and eat humans every weekend, has "always had a good moral compass."
Wish fulfillment
The Twilight series is, quite literally, Meyer's masturbation fantasies set down on paper. Yes, really, Meyer confessed the idea of an "average girl" connecting with a sparkly, blood-sucking Adonis came to her in a dream.[21] The wish fulfillment factor of the Twilight series most certainly isn't helped by the fact that it is written first-person from Bella's point of view (with the exception of Book Two of Breaking Dawn, which is written from Jacob's perspective). Very little physical description is given of Bella in the books; Meyer did this intentionally, ostensibly to allow readers to "more easily step into [Bella's] shoes."[22] This applies equally to the person responsible for writing the damn things. Meyer published a detailed physical description of Bella on her website,[22] which was apparently drawn largely from looking in the mirror (see right).
To up the creepiness factor by a trillion, Meyer has stated that she loved her vampire-ravaged Mary Sue heroine "like a daughter," and that this love inspired her to call the character Isabella, a name she had been "saving for [her] daughter, who had never shown up and was unlikely to put in an appearance" (Meyer has three sons, it must suck to be them).[21]
And we didn't even talk about her husband.
Twilight's worst enemy: Robert Pattinson himself
Even actor Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward in the movies, has picked up on most of Bella and Edward's faults and is increasingly unsubtle about how bad it is.[23] Young Cedric Diggory may yet manage to resuscitate his career:
“”When you read the book, it's like, 'Edward Cullen was so beautiful I creamed myself.' I mean, every line is like that. He's the most ridiculous person who's so amazing at everything.
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“”When I read it [...] I was convinced that Stephenie was convinced that she was Bella [...] it was like it was a book that wasn't supposed to be published, like reading her — her sort of sexual fantasy about some — especially when she says that it was based on a dream, and it's like, "Oh, then I had a dream about this really sexy guy" and she just writes this book about it, and there's some things about Edward that are just so specific that [...] I was just convinced that this woman is mad, she's completely mad, and she's in love with her own fictional creation. And I sometimes [...] feel uncomfortable reading this thing, and I think a lot of people feel the same way, that it's kind of voyeuristic [...] It creates this sick pleasure in a lot of ways.[24]
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Prepare to totally shift your perception of him:
Ascended fan-fiction KILL IT WITH FIRE
Like all popular works of fiction, Meyer's Twilight series attracted enough amateur internet-based writers to fill Noah's Ark, with nearly 4000 individual entries in fanfiction.net's Twilight category.[25] Some have even been praised as (allegedly) better than the original in all dimensions, particularly the characterisation.[26][27]
The most infamous, however, is E.L. James' BDSM-themed Fifty Shades of Grey,[28][29] which began as a Twilight fan-fiction entitled Master of the Universe, but following a quick alteration of the names to avoid a lawsuit (the vacuous characterisation remains, however) was published and inexplicably became a best-seller.[30] Meyer herself claims not to have read it, but seems supportive of James and her success.[31]
And the menace is still not over. Fifty Shades will have its own film adaptation — and in startling acts of cinema suicide, will be produced by the people that gave you The Social Network.[32]
External links
- Frozen Apples - a wiki about Twilight.
- Alex Reads Twilight - Watch a YouTube vlogger suffer through every single chapter of the first book.
- Reasoning with Vampires - a critical look at Meyer's writing style.
- Twilight in
255 seconds - Buffy vs. Edward - What would Buffy do?
- How Twilight Should Have Ended
- Honest Trailers: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn
- If Twilight 5 Was 10 Times Shorter and 100 Times More Honest
- Everything Wrong With Twilight in 6 Minutes or Less
- Korsgaard v. Twilight - one critic's brutal dissection of Meyer, Twilight, and its affiliated works. Now has a sequel.
Footnotes
- ↑ Yes, that's how her parents spelled it
- ↑ Final Twilight named worst of the worst
- ↑ Reasoning With Vampires - Bella's maturity
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kaila Hale-Stern, "Twilight's Hidden Morality Plays," i09.com
- ↑ Carmen D. Siering, "Talking Back to Twilight," Ms. magazine (quoted on Jezebel.com)
- ↑ Graeme McMillan. "It's Official: Twilight's Bella & Edward Are In An Abusive Relationship," i09.com
- ↑ Anna North, "Breaking Dawn: What To Expect When You're Expecting… A Vampire," Jezebel.com
- ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions: Breaking Dawn," StephenieMeyer.com
- ↑ Edward actually delivers the baby by biting open Bella's uterus. Percentage of Twihards telling that to their parents = 0.
- ↑ Will Oremus, "Shaking in Your Seat," Slate Magazine
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Angela Aleiss, "Mormon influence, imagery run deep through Twilight," Houston Chronicle
- ↑ Anthony Petro & Samira K. Mehta, "Big Vampire Love: What's So Mormon about Twilight," Religious Dispatches
- ↑ Hannah Priest, "What’s Wrong With Sparkly Vampires?," The Gothic Connection
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Natalie Wilson, Seduced by Twilight: The Allure and Contradictory Messages of the Popular Saga
- ↑ Laura Wattenberg, "Name of the Year, 2009: pt. 3, The Winner," The Baby Name Wizard
- ↑ Jeanine Cox, The Perfect Name: A Step-by-Step Guide to Naming Your Baby
- ↑ Stephenie Meyer interview, Hachette Book Group
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Twilight," Cracked.com
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Stephenie Meyer talks 'Breaking Dawn'," Entertainment Weekly
- ↑ Arzim, "Arzim's Rebuttals," TwilightSucks.com
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Twilight," StephenieMeyer.com
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Frequently Asked Questions: Twilight," StephenieMeyer.com
- ↑ Which brings us to the question - Why the fuck didn't he ever consider leaving the cast?
- ↑ Nivair H. Gabriel, "Twilight Makes for the Best Fanwank Ever," i09.com
- ↑ Fanfiction.net - Twilight
- ↑ PPC Wiki - Twilight Goodfic
- ↑ In particular, check out Alicorn's Luminosity, a re-imagining of Twilight minus the sexism, racism, terrible writing, and a healthy addition of character depth and filling of plot holes. A pity it's not the original and dear Steph's the fanfiction.
- ↑ A short summary (SFW)
- ↑ A more NSFW summary, but you'll need at least 10 minutes to recuperate.
- ↑ Jason Boog, "The Lost History of Fifty Shades of Grey," GalleyCat
- ↑ Meyer on 50 Shades of Grey (MTV.com)
- ↑ See for yourself.