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As I said last night, I finally finished listening to Breaking Dawn on audiobook. tl;dr - flocked for all of the projecting that goes on at the end. /o\
So, the books are compulsively readable, and while some of that is trainwreck syndrome, I'm not going to pretend I didn't for the most part enjoy them. It's true that the writing's not great and the worldbuilding is mediocre, but whatever, we all have guilty pleasures. Sure, Bella's an uncomfortable self-insert, but I definitely didn't find her to be as obnoxious of a character as she's often portrayed in reviews I've read. She's fairly determined and opinionated. Sure it's icky the way her entire life is wrapped up in Edward, but his is wrapped up in her the same way in *mutual* unhealthy codependency which brings us to, sure, the Bella/Edward dynamic is super creepy at times, but it's not the first time I've felt that way about the dynamic between the hero and heroine of a romance novel. Most of my personal issues with the ship are mitigated once she's a vampire and the power imbalance evens out (or even arguably tips toward her). Sure, the fourth book is absolutely ridiculous in every way, and ends in what is probably the most frustrating deux ex machina anticlimax I've ever read, but there are parts of it which were hilarious and amazing. Unintentionally hilarious and amazing, but still.
That said, This article, about mothers using Twilight to talk to their daughters about not having premarital sex is still 1) the most unintentionally hilarious thing I've ever read (except perhaps Breaking Dawn itself) and 2) really gets at the heart of what bothers me about Twilight.
What got me, and what that article a linked touches on, whether it knows it or not, was how *unflinchingly conservative* the books are, in a repressed kind of way that mostly just left me feeling sad. (This isn't surprising, given what I know about them being based on Mormonism, but I didn't expect to have such a visceral reaction to it). On the textual level it resolves itself in a ridiculous happy ending, but...it's a romance novel. Whatever. On the meta level it was pretty depressing.
What bothered me most about Twilight, A Rant:
1) The unrelenting heteronormativity made me want to punch puppies. Again, not just on the textual level, because on the textual level it was completely expected. All the relationships were, of course, straight and anything other than that wasn't even regarded as an option, but that's...fairly standard for huge chunks of popular media, and while I frequently find that frustrating, it's hardly ~shocking~ or something I even notice other than to sigh and roll my eyes. But the idea of how important reproduction is to sexual relationships permeated the entire series. This despite the fact that many of the characters are vampires who *can't* reproduce (and are arguably unfulfilled because of it. Especially the women! Because it turns out that the male vampires CAN reproduce as long as they're with human women! But women who can't reproduce are monsters! Like vampires! Or werewolves in the case of Leah who has a perfect bloodline, but is somehow "broken" and can't breed little werewolves and so becomes a werewolf herself instead of fulfilling the most important female role of motherhood! OH LOOK BLIND RAGE).
This is obviously the most blatant in the anti-abortion message of the Reneesmee storyline, but it actually struck me the most before that in the aforementioned discussion of the wolves and imprinting. According to one theory, they imprint with their genetic match, someone who will help them pass on the line. According to another, they imprint with someone who will help them make *stronger* wolves, but either way, the love they feel for their imprinted partner ends up being all about procreation, for all that the wolves who imprint on toddlers (and wow, I was surprised to find out Jacob wasn't the only one, maybe I didn't read other recaps closely enough) "don't feel that way" (yet) about the girls they imprint on. I mean, obviously Jacob/Reneesmee is the creepiest thing ever for other reasons given that there's really nothing about it that's not creepy - but Jacob was attracted to Reneesmee when, what? She was an unfertilized egg? And that's why he felt the way he did about Bella? Ugh GROSS. I find the lack of free will in the imprinting thing creepy *anyway* but some of that is... my stuff. It's really just a spin on soulmates trope, which is hardly unique to Twilight. But the whole element of it being about *breeding stock* adds some extra levels of holy shit, DNW. Also, it would apparently be *impossible* to be a queer identified werewolf because you would meet the woman who would be the perfect mother to your children and forget *everything else in the world.* Good, good.
2) The second thing's more subtle, but it *really* made me sad, given the popularity of the books. And it's the one that ties into the article, I think. It's the way that vampires and all of the creepy dynamics of the book had to be used to *get around* normal sexual desire. Because it is BETTER to have a a creepily codependent relationship with a boyfriend who is constantly condescending and patronizing and controlling, than it is to have a healthy relationship that might include premarital sex. The part that really made me pause and go "...woah" was the honeymoon scene, where they have sex for the first time and Edward (because he's a vampire!) is rough with her (because he can't help it!) and Bella wakes up covered in bruises and Edward is repentant and self-castigating and horrified, etc, etc. And I'd have been pretty horrified too because of all of the abuse connotations that are already present in their relationship. Except Bella *likes* it. And that made me go "hmmmm." And then made me sad. Because it's okay to like sex! (Even if you don't get married first! Which of course Edward and Bella did. Because a ritualized suicide to become a vampire? A+. BUT GOD FORBID THERE IS SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE.) And it's okay to like rough sex! I don't want to psychoanalyze smeyer here or anything, but my takeaway from that was that liking these things had to be analogized with liking/loving the danger of the supernatural creature who is *going to kill you.* Who you *want* to kill you. Both take on fantasy status and are equated with each other. And while I'm not knocking the vampire fantasy (uh, really not, Lestat fangirl here, from *way* back), I definitely read some serious sex-shame into that. For all that Bella was having fun - Edward (the one who would have eventually killed her if their baby hadn't done it) is the voice of reason here and won't have sex with her again for fear of hurting her. Because the kind of sex she likes is bad. Except it's sort of okay in context maybe? After all, he *is* a vampire. He *couldn't help himself* and she *really loves him.* Maybe it's okay to like it under *those conditions.* That's just...so sad. Bella, bb. Your kink is okay.
Again, I guess some of this is somewhat mitigated once they're both vampires and the power imbalance isn't quite the same. Like I said, I actually have a lot fewer problems with Edward/Bella at that point. I'm too busy having problems with Jacob/Nessie.
Honestly, though, I think a lot of my issues with the popularity of Twilight stem from the above. It hits home for me because - and I've said this before - when I was ten or eleven I read The Vampire Chronicles for the first time. Now, those were way more respectable vampires. However, for a huge chunk of my adolescence they were the *only* texts I had that presented sexuality in a way that made any kind of intuitive sense to me. They couldn't even have sex! But there was this casual bisexuality of *all* of the characters and it made *sense* and nothing else did. That's fucked up. And it confused me for a long, long time. And it shaped me. And that's fine, whatever. I don't want to be all "think of the children" because that shit's annoying and I don't want to project my stuff all over the place (even though I am), but I shouldn't have *had* to tie my sexual identity to fictional monsters and the really fucked up relationships between them in order to find *anything* that made sense. (Wanting to is a whole different thing. Again, vampire fantasy - A+). I mean, thank God I had those books; I *still* love them. But they shouldn't have been *all* I had.
And sometimes I really do wonder what exactly it is that Twilight is tapping into, that's all. Its popularity is no doubt due to any number of factors (among them that this generation really doesn't have any better vampires), and hell, I have a fairly pure, ironic love for it. But for all that it's really very conservative, there's some other stuff there under the surface and I wonder if it becomes a socially acceptable way to access some of that stuff? I actually don't think any of that is a bad thing. I think it's a good thing. But Oh God, Twilight shouldn't be all anyone has either. And...that says more about everything else than it does about Twilight, I guess. I don't know if that's what's happening there, but Twilight clearly hit a cultural nerve and I'm still not sure what that nerve was.
Um. So, I clearly have opinions about that. More than I thought I did, actually. TGIThursday? Class in an hour and then I'm going drinking again. On purpose this time.
ETA: Now unlocked
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So, the books are compulsively readable, and while some of that is trainwreck syndrome, I'm not going to pretend I didn't for the most part enjoy them. It's true that the writing's not great and the worldbuilding is mediocre, but whatever, we all have guilty pleasures. Sure, Bella's an uncomfortable self-insert, but I definitely didn't find her to be as obnoxious of a character as she's often portrayed in reviews I've read. She's fairly determined and opinionated. Sure it's icky the way her entire life is wrapped up in Edward, but his is wrapped up in her the same way in *mutual* unhealthy codependency which brings us to, sure, the Bella/Edward dynamic is super creepy at times, but it's not the first time I've felt that way about the dynamic between the hero and heroine of a romance novel. Most of my personal issues with the ship are mitigated once she's a vampire and the power imbalance evens out (or even arguably tips toward her). Sure, the fourth book is absolutely ridiculous in every way, and ends in what is probably the most frustrating deux ex machina anticlimax I've ever read, but there are parts of it which were hilarious and amazing. Unintentionally hilarious and amazing, but still.
That said, This article, about mothers using Twilight to talk to their daughters about not having premarital sex is still 1) the most unintentionally hilarious thing I've ever read (except perhaps Breaking Dawn itself) and 2) really gets at the heart of what bothers me about Twilight.
What got me, and what that article a linked touches on, whether it knows it or not, was how *unflinchingly conservative* the books are, in a repressed kind of way that mostly just left me feeling sad. (This isn't surprising, given what I know about them being based on Mormonism, but I didn't expect to have such a visceral reaction to it). On the textual level it resolves itself in a ridiculous happy ending, but...it's a romance novel. Whatever. On the meta level it was pretty depressing.
What bothered me most about Twilight, A Rant:
1) The unrelenting heteronormativity made me want to punch puppies. Again, not just on the textual level, because on the textual level it was completely expected. All the relationships were, of course, straight and anything other than that wasn't even regarded as an option, but that's...fairly standard for huge chunks of popular media, and while I frequently find that frustrating, it's hardly ~shocking~ or something I even notice other than to sigh and roll my eyes. But the idea of how important reproduction is to sexual relationships permeated the entire series. This despite the fact that many of the characters are vampires who *can't* reproduce (and are arguably unfulfilled because of it. Especially the women! Because it turns out that the male vampires CAN reproduce as long as they're with human women! But women who can't reproduce are monsters! Like vampires! Or werewolves in the case of Leah who has a perfect bloodline, but is somehow "broken" and can't breed little werewolves and so becomes a werewolf herself instead of fulfilling the most important female role of motherhood! OH LOOK BLIND RAGE).
This is obviously the most blatant in the anti-abortion message of the Reneesmee storyline, but it actually struck me the most before that in the aforementioned discussion of the wolves and imprinting. According to one theory, they imprint with their genetic match, someone who will help them pass on the line. According to another, they imprint with someone who will help them make *stronger* wolves, but either way, the love they feel for their imprinted partner ends up being all about procreation, for all that the wolves who imprint on toddlers (and wow, I was surprised to find out Jacob wasn't the only one, maybe I didn't read other recaps closely enough) "don't feel that way" (yet) about the girls they imprint on. I mean, obviously Jacob/Reneesmee is the creepiest thing ever for other reasons given that there's really nothing about it that's not creepy - but Jacob was attracted to Reneesmee when, what? She was an unfertilized egg? And that's why he felt the way he did about Bella? Ugh GROSS. I find the lack of free will in the imprinting thing creepy *anyway* but some of that is... my stuff. It's really just a spin on soulmates trope, which is hardly unique to Twilight. But the whole element of it being about *breeding stock* adds some extra levels of holy shit, DNW. Also, it would apparently be *impossible* to be a queer identified werewolf because you would meet the woman who would be the perfect mother to your children and forget *everything else in the world.* Good, good.
2) The second thing's more subtle, but it *really* made me sad, given the popularity of the books. And it's the one that ties into the article, I think. It's the way that vampires and all of the creepy dynamics of the book had to be used to *get around* normal sexual desire. Because it is BETTER to have a a creepily codependent relationship with a boyfriend who is constantly condescending and patronizing and controlling, than it is to have a healthy relationship that might include premarital sex. The part that really made me pause and go "...woah" was the honeymoon scene, where they have sex for the first time and Edward (because he's a vampire!) is rough with her (because he can't help it!) and Bella wakes up covered in bruises and Edward is repentant and self-castigating and horrified, etc, etc. And I'd have been pretty horrified too because of all of the abuse connotations that are already present in their relationship. Except Bella *likes* it. And that made me go "hmmmm." And then made me sad. Because it's okay to like sex! (Even if you don't get married first! Which of course Edward and Bella did. Because a ritualized suicide to become a vampire? A+. BUT GOD FORBID THERE IS SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE.) And it's okay to like rough sex! I don't want to psychoanalyze smeyer here or anything, but my takeaway from that was that liking these things had to be analogized with liking/loving the danger of the supernatural creature who is *going to kill you.* Who you *want* to kill you. Both take on fantasy status and are equated with each other. And while I'm not knocking the vampire fantasy (uh, really not, Lestat fangirl here, from *way* back), I definitely read some serious sex-shame into that. For all that Bella was having fun - Edward (the one who would have eventually killed her if their baby hadn't done it) is the voice of reason here and won't have sex with her again for fear of hurting her. Because the kind of sex she likes is bad. Except it's sort of okay in context maybe? After all, he *is* a vampire. He *couldn't help himself* and she *really loves him.* Maybe it's okay to like it under *those conditions.* That's just...so sad. Bella, bb. Your kink is okay.
Again, I guess some of this is somewhat mitigated once they're both vampires and the power imbalance isn't quite the same. Like I said, I actually have a lot fewer problems with Edward/Bella at that point. I'm too busy having problems with Jacob/Nessie.
Honestly, though, I think a lot of my issues with the popularity of Twilight stem from the above. It hits home for me because - and I've said this before - when I was ten or eleven I read The Vampire Chronicles for the first time. Now, those were way more respectable vampires. However, for a huge chunk of my adolescence they were the *only* texts I had that presented sexuality in a way that made any kind of intuitive sense to me. They couldn't even have sex! But there was this casual bisexuality of *all* of the characters and it made *sense* and nothing else did. That's fucked up. And it confused me for a long, long time. And it shaped me. And that's fine, whatever. I don't want to be all "think of the children" because that shit's annoying and I don't want to project my stuff all over the place (even though I am), but I shouldn't have *had* to tie my sexual identity to fictional monsters and the really fucked up relationships between them in order to find *anything* that made sense. (Wanting to is a whole different thing. Again, vampire fantasy - A+). I mean, thank God I had those books; I *still* love them. But they shouldn't have been *all* I had.
And sometimes I really do wonder what exactly it is that Twilight is tapping into, that's all. Its popularity is no doubt due to any number of factors (among them that this generation really doesn't have any better vampires), and hell, I have a fairly pure, ironic love for it. But for all that it's really very conservative, there's some other stuff there under the surface and I wonder if it becomes a socially acceptable way to access some of that stuff? I actually don't think any of that is a bad thing. I think it's a good thing. But Oh God, Twilight shouldn't be all anyone has either. And...that says more about everything else than it does about Twilight, I guess. I don't know if that's what's happening there, but Twilight clearly hit a cultural nerve and I'm still not sure what that nerve was.
Um. So, I clearly have opinions about that. More than I thought I did, actually. TGIThursday? Class in an hour and then I'm going drinking again. On purpose this time.
ETA: Now unlocked
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