Meet Our Staff

Support The Argus

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Submit A Tip

Submit A Letter

Letters On Pragmatic Hope

In Defense Of Twilight

Written by

csmall

Ever notice how it’s the anti-“Twilight” people who keep bringing up “Twilight”? The only time I hear about people who are hardcore “Twilight” fans are from haters recounting tales of “Twi-hard” horror (“Twi-Hard” is a real term, people). So why do the “anti-fans” keep bringing it up? It’s because people are so terrified of rejection that they cling to things culture has deemed “shitty.” This explains the new “anti-fandom” culture that exists with things such as “Jersey Shore.” If you earnestly hate something, you would be better off ignoring it. It’s the people who make fun of Sarah Palin (or whatever talking head/trend is popular to hate) who are keeping her in the headlines. You pick it up and say “oh god, who keeps making that woman so damn famous?” YOU DID, FUCKNUTS! The magazine doesn’t care who appears on it, as long as it sells. Enjoy your Facebook groups hating her, but at least admit it as a guilty pleasure.

“B-b-b-b-but, The “Twilight” book series is nothing more than vapid, wish-fulfillment escapist fantasy!” Escapist fantasy? Isn’t that just a condescending term for “fiction,” namely “fiction books that I don’t like”? If we didn’t want escapism, we’d pick up books about piss-bored blokes staving off ennui and vague feelings of un-fulfillment. Much like beavers building houses out of spices: Damned waste of everyone’s thyme.

“It promotes unhealthy relationships!” I just watched a (spectacular) performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” last weekend. In that play, a relationship is based on unwilling application of a mind-altering chemical so that one person submits to the unrequited/stalker-ish whims of the other. In the same play, a fairy relationship is held together by a chess-mastering bastard who changes his wife (Stepford Dryads?) to bend her to his will. If you have trouble parsing fantasy from reality… don’t read it! Let people who can enjoy something enjoy it! This is much like the argument with the legalization of marijuana in a roundabout way.
“The vampires are so stupid!” Wanna know what? At least it’s fuckin’ tryin’. “High” Fantasy is mostly an inept group of social shut-ins with undying hard-ons for writer J.R.R. Tolkien (seriously, how many of you have read the books cover to cover? They read more like history textbooks than novels with characters). Sci-fi’s been dichotomized to “silvery, pristine, shiny” Star Trek knock-offs and “dark gritty reactionaries to Star Trek”. “Twilight”’s vampires are different; not hyper-violent or hyper-sexualized like most of Bram Stoker’s thrall. Legends and myths are supposed to progress and evolve over time; that was the beauty of the oral tradition and is the beauty of creative thought. Even if you think “Twilight” is absolute dreck, accept it as an evolutionary mutation and move on.

It promotes Mormon ideals! Every book has an agenda really, its own set of ideals it wants to cram down your throat. It’s just how willing you are as a reader to submit to them. What are these mysterious morals that it is corrupting the youth with? Not having sex before marriage? Are you honestly having so much difficulty getting laid that you blame your sexual inadequacies on a series of teen romance novels? Yes, I’m petty enough to consider someone’s treatment of a book series as having a direct correlation to the selfsame person’s sexual prowess.

And it’s still getting kids to read. Call me a classicist, but books are important. People who wouldn’t have otherwise read books start with “Twilight.” So “Twilight” is a gateway book, much like the Harry Potter books were for around our generation. I liked the Harry Potter books, yes, and both they and “Twilight: have gotten people to read more, but it seems most haters of “Twilight” adore the Harry Potter books. Black teapots and kettles of the selfsame color. Witness the healthy relationships, blatant wish fulfillment and escapism and Christian values in Harry Potter (he actually came back from the dead in the 7th book (spoiler alert). If you didn’t think he was Jesus before that point…) and get off your high horse (for the discerning reader, that’s the second horse metaphor in the article. Next, I’m going to lead one to water and observe the results of my coercion to attempting to get it to drink).

I’ve heard this: “Yeah it gets kids to read, but…they’re not real readers. They just read “Twilight” series and that’s it.” First off, that’s a few more books than they would’ve read otherwise. As long as you agree that getting kids to read books is a good thing, this is a good thing. And again, the concept of the gateway thing; accessibility aids acquisition of new fans to ensure the survival of a medium or genre. The general idea that “Twilight” readers aren’t “real” fans always comes off as the “I liked books before they were cool” sentiment and if you actually like books, an influx of fans of books won’t bother you. If it does, you’re not a fan of books, but rather a fan of “cool” things and you can feel free to move to the next thing that’s deemed cool. Let the fresh fans enjoy their book and let the jaded fans enjoy theirs. God knows I’m a bit of a hypocrite here what with my lapses into media elitism, but I’m tryin’ real hard to be the Shepherd there, readers.

Let me attempt to address the idea that the book is taking up too much space in the collective unconscious and that history will deem “Twilight” a flash in the pan. If history will do so, why even bother crusading against it? Just wait it out and you’ll be proven right. If there’s one thing we can learn from history, it’s that we can try, but honestly have no clue what’s going to be acceptable and significant. The definition of significant is constantly changing with each generation. Wanna know what wasn’t accepted as high art and culture when it was released? “The Canterbury Tales.” It was a series of bawdy romances and heavy-handed, trope-saturated tales.

And for the debate of whether the writing’s good or not, I’ll just hand it over to The Dude – “Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.” Certainly a good number of people think it’s what they want and the fact that this planet is packed to the gills with people means that you have the liberating choice to not have to associate with people who like “Twilight” books. When encountering these “untouchables,” there’s also a nigh-infinite number of things you could talk about: to borrow some ideas from R.E.M., how about the weather? Or the government? If however, this Twilight Test is your sole judgment in the weighing of a person’s heart, you might be the asshole, Anubis.

Why even bring “Twilight” up now? The third movie “Eclipse” is coming out at the end of June and I don’t want to have to suffer a million cheap jokes about sparkly vampires choking the collective unconscious. Please fuck off and have a good summer.

Editor’s Note: James Bizzarro does not consider himself a Twilight fan in any way shape or form, but really is the consummate devil’s advocate. (Writer’s note: I’m flattered)

Comments

17 responses to “In Defense Of Twilight”

  1. TwiHards.com Avatar
    TwiHards.com

    Twihards do exist people, come check us out if you are a true twihard, twihards.com

    Reply
  2. Gina Avatar
    Gina

    I am a ‘Twilight’ fan. And I appreciate this article. It makes sense, why rant about how much you hate it honestly. Let people enjoy what they want. If you like ‘Harry Potter’, Paris Hilton, Miley Cyrus, ‘The Vampire Diaries’, or whatever so be it. I don’t like people who criticize others for liking something just because they don’t.

    Reply
  3. James Avatar
    James

    Thanks! Great article! Finally! (Should have warned me about that Harry Potter spoiler up front, though.)

    Reply
  4. Avatar
    Anonymous

    I thought this article was pretty badly written, but I agree with the sentiment. But I’d also like to note that many people hate Twilight because they think the plot is stupid and the characters poorly developed and Stephanie Meyer is not at all talented.

    Reply
  5. Caroline Avatar
    Caroline

    I really appreciate this article. I love that it doesn’t play to one side or the other, but simply state facts and leave it up to the reader to either agree or think more thoroughly as to why they disagree rather than spout off at the mouth without coming up with legitimate reasons for hating something.

    Reply
  6. Lord Awesome. Avatar
    Lord Awesome.

    Fag shit.

    Reply
  7. Jared Gimbel Avatar
    Jared Gimbel

    I was just thinking that since authors such as Virgil and Ovid got to a start by writing things considerably more bawdy than “Twilight”, and then switched to a more serious genre, that perhaps maybe this author might have a similar metamorphosis.

    Even Dante underwent that changing process, and for Meyer, I would not rule it out entirely. If she writes future works, these could serve as an interesting comparison.

    Reply
  8. Shauna Pratt Avatar
    Shauna Pratt

    Your portrayal of the sf/f genres is grossly misleading. Science fiction is not limited to space operas. What about Ray Bradbury? George Orwell? Aldous Huxley? These are classics in the sf world. Nothing like Star Trek. Anne McCaffrey? Pern is a world of dragons that were settled by space colonists, and it’s highly technical. Not shiny. Not focused on space travel. SciFi is such a huge field. Sure, Star Trek created a lot of tropes. Doesn’t mean everything else is a knockoff of it.

    It just occurred to me that I want to write a Wespeak for Friday if no one’s written about this for tomorrow, so I’ll stop there.

    If you meant to vent frustration about antis not liking Twilight so publicly, congratulations! It’s vented. You also managed to insult entire genres of fiction that have nothing to do with Twilight, which is young adult paranormal romance, and therefore has nothing or little in common with Star Trek or even A Midsummer Night’s Dream* **.

    *I agree, kick-ass performance of the play.
    **AMND is a classic, few people want to be the characters, and part of the POINT of the play is that the boys are interchangeable.

    Reply
  9. Gabe Lezra Avatar
    Gabe Lezra

    Really Jared? Virgil and Ovid’s early works were definitely bawdy, but they were also beautiful works of art; just because Falstaff drinks all the time and buys tons of whores doesn’t make Henry IV 1 any less beautiful. 😉

    The problem is this, though: the way you (James) reject the “unhealthy relationship” critique is silly. The problem in Twilight is that the central point of the movies is the rejection of female agency; she intentionally subjugates herself to the will of a hurtful, stalker-ish man. In “New Moon,” the girlfriend of one of the werewolves gets beaten, but accepts it because “it’s his burden.” To promote anti-feminist archetypes in a society that still suffers from anti-female sentiment is to buy into the cultural norms that we still use to oppress women. Young girls who base their personalities on Bella are going to be bound by the very cultural structures of domination we are trying to free them of. “Twilight” sucks not because it’s bad (opinion) but because it reinforces the socially constructed glass ceiling, the notion that a woman needs a man to find meaning in her life–why else does Bella act so recklessly in “New Moon?” In fact, after Edward leaves, there are literally blank pages in the book, symbolizing Bella’s destruction in her loss of Edward. It is only when she finds yet another man that she can begin to exist as an agent again–and even then, she barely does.

    Anyways, I know you didn’t ask for my critique. My B. If you’re actually interested you can look up my anti-Twilight pieces on the Argus website “Feminism, Twilight and the End of the World” and “Unconscious Sexism, or Why I Won’t Stop Talking About Twilight, and Why You Shouldn’t Either.”

    Blech sorry about the tl;dr.

    Reply
  10. Jared Gimbel Avatar
    Jared Gimbel

    I have read the arguments presented in your two critiques, and I would say that the notion of a hero that ultimately does nothing and has few characteristics is disruptive to the wonderful world of storytelling and mythology. We should seek to reclaim and emulate the glory of the oral traditions of old, not deviate from them.

    Ovid’s early works may have been beautiful but they were destructive. They encouraged adultery to the degree that the powers that were in Rome got a little too angry with him and sent him away.

    That said, my point was that Meyer might indeed be capable of experiencing an absolute shift in her writing/personality. Remember King Jehu from the Book of Kings? When he made his first public appearance he was an enemy of idol worship…but…if you want to know what happened to him, I suggest you find the “Holy Bible” or figure it would yourself.

    I also think that many cultures can portray their women the opposite of how they are perceived. Is Bella the essence of every girl in America? To what ever degree Medea can be consider the prototype for women in Ancient Greece.

    Medea didn’t make any women kill their children, to my knowledge, and I would hesitate to say that people would look to Bella as a role model as well. Especially since so many role models of many people come from religious texts such as the Bible…

    Reply
  11. Gabe Lezra Avatar
    Gabe Lezra

    Haha, Jared I totally agree with you about Ovid, and that was more or less the point I was trying to get across about Twilight. There’s nothing subversive here because it reinforces the social norms that say that–to cut to the chase–women are worse than men. The problem that I’ve found is that Bella IS a role model, that because she is nothing, everyone is her–and thus, everyone is nothing (if you get this argument–I’m pretty tired, and just wrote a thousand word post about Star Wars).
    I would love it if Meyer turned into the next Ovid, and while I think it’s unlikely–not just because of her current writing, but because people want her to KEEP writing it–it might happen.
    I just see a problem in the novels/movies, not in the writer herself–I actually buy that Ezra Pound/TS Eliot modernist criticism that says that the author has no say whatsoever in how people interpret their work.

    Reply
  12. Shameless Plugger Avatar
    Shameless Plugger

    Unrated, extended version of the article can be found here: http://www.mwt-studios.com/features/2010/twilightda/

    Reply
  13. Alicia Avatar
    Alicia

    That is the worst thing I have ever read that supports Twilight. You’re really stupid. All you said was,”It’s ok cause you can choose what to beleive in the books you read.” What about all of those kids who are reading this? They are being told over and over in the books that it is true love but there is emotional abuse. By the way the reason I keep on bringing Twilight up is the fact that so many stupid fangirls keep on screaming about the ‘tru wuv. i wuv edward cullen!!!!’ I despise you all.

    Reply
  14. Jared Gimbel Avatar
    Jared Gimbel

    Alicia, this is why blind belief in secular literature is harmful.

    There are plenty of negative role models in all of literature. Not all of them are punished for their bad deeds, some even rewarded for it.

    Now and only now do I realize why Euripides’ “Alcestis” was well-received by audiences despite its implausible ending premise.

    For those unaware: Admetus has his wife Alcestis die to avenge Apollo’s honor when he would otherwise do so, (yes, she was willing), but his whole family regretted it. He lobbies for getting his wife back from the underworld and

    *SPOILERS*

    succeeds, with Hercules’ help.

    *SPOILERS END HERE*

    This play deliberately showed how things did NOT work, so that people would know that they should not conduct themselves like Admetus did. Perhaps maybe the lenses with which books are viewed are more dangerous than the books themselves.

    Bella is NOT a role model, and that notion should actively be culled in every way possible. Then, these books might be as harmless as “Alcestis” is.

    After all, art never truly seeks to portray real life, says Chekhov, but rather the way life appears in dreams.

    Reply
  15. Maryse Q. Avatar
    Maryse Q.

    I agree with this article.People will like what they like, and no matter how much some people try to stop it, they cannot.Fans are everywhere.Even if it’s not shown to us up-front and in our faces.And to be honest, I have noticed that mostly Anti-Twilighters are usually bringing up the subject.When they don’t even have to.

    Haters, of any kind, annoy the hell out of me.They’re all just like “This sucks, that sucks!”, you know?You mostly see Twilight fans on thier websites.And when they do dare to open up of their love for it, they’re ridiculed to the core.For what?Being fans?Yes, Twilight fans at times do go overboard, which only makes the hater happy.It gives them something more the bitch about.

    If you ask me, the haters are just as bad as the fangirls.Except with this, they attack the people who do like it.I’ve read Twilight, and I have watched the movies.And I love them.Are the haters going to bash me if I tell?Probably.It’s in their nature.And a lot of people who dislike it are teenagers, who probably doesn’t read enough to understand books’ big words.

    I’m in College, and I am twenty-one years old, I have a husband and a baby.So don’t call me stupid.I plan on being an author.But at the time being, when I’m not at home with the baby or in classes, I work as a nurse at the hospital.I picked up Twilight and began to read it during breaks.May I say this?It is good.

    I would love to see a group of teenage haters tell me I don’t understand good literature.What did I just tell you all above?These books are good, and the movies do a good job of hitting the main points in them.Whenever she’s asleep(my baby), I usually watch Twilight or read them.It passes time.Seeing I get all my needed work done on time.It’s not gay.A movie cannot have a sexual orientation.It’s not stupid–anything can be stupid.

    Ugh, I could go on and on.But here’s my view:let the fans, be fans.And thank you.

    Reply
  16. Katie Avatar
    Katie

    You know, I don’t love or hate Twilight. I used to like Twilight, but I moved on. Now, I’m reading Wicked by Gregory Maguire. And just so some of you know, I didn’t like Twilight because of Edward’s looks. I liked it because I thought it was interesting, and enjoyed the supernatural element. So what? It didn’t have much impact on my life.

    The haters of Twilight annoy me, to be honest. No offense to them, but I think it’s worse to waste your time on a book that you don’t even like than to obsess over it. I mean, at least the fans actually *like* Twilight. -_- And about role models—I liked Bella’s character, but I never really looked up to her. Why would I? She’s a fictional character, after all. Besides, I like being me, even *if* I might beat myself up sometimes. I don’t understand why some of the anti-Twilight fans keep on complaining how Bella is such a bad role model when none of the fans even look up to her! And don’t you think they can tell Fantasy from fiction?? I think it would make sense if they looked up to a *real* person, and they probably do. What I’m basically trying to say is: Please get off your high horses anti Twilight fans. It’s getting old.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More posts

The Wesleyan Argus

Since 1868: The United States’ Oldest Twice-Weekly College Paper

Log in

© The Wesleyan Argus

Thanks for visiting! The Argus is currently on Winter Break, but we’ll be back with Wesleyan’s latest news in Jan. 2026.

Got it!
X