The Twilight Saga

The Twilight Saga is a series of books and films about a young lady who falls in love with a vampire from the 19th century. The series has seen mixed reactions from critics and the public, and over 100 million copies have been sold worldwide of both the books and the films. The author of the series, Stephenie Meyer, attended Brigham Young University and is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The series has been criticised by some liberals, possibly because it contains pro-marriage and pro-life elements. It has also been criticised by some conservatives due to its positive depictions of vampires.^[1] The films have also received valid criticism on the basis of their quality.

Politics[edit]

The series features vampires and werewolves, which are part of non-Christian mythology, and it does not depict any of the characters as Christians. In popular culture vampires are generally depicted as individuals who have either willingly or by duress turned against God (such as Bram Stoker's original Dracula) and thus any promotion of vampirism stands in direct conflict to Christianity. Vampires are shown as being hurt by crosses or crucifixes, although in the novel Dracula the weapons that Van Helsing used to control Dracula were Catholic in origin, and he mentions the Vatican directly. However, most treatment of vampires in fiction does not distinguish between Catholic symbols and Protestant ones, and both seem effective.

The series does however seems to make certain elements of conservatism "cool" to young school girls whereas other series targeting the demographic encourage immorality (the pro-Satanic elements notwithstanding). Despite not referencing Christianity, the series seems to support traditional marriage and Chrisitian morals; for example, Edward, being from the 19th century when immorality seen as normal in modern times was considered taboo, refused to engage in sexual intercourse with Bella prior to marriage, and Bella was pro-life even when having the baby put herself at great risk (this in particular upsets liberals).

In the movies, Bella is played by Kristen Stewart, a Hollywood liberal who made public insults towards members of the U.S. Military.^[2]

Relationship Dynamics[edit]

The relationship between Edward and Bella, while exhibiting many conservative characteristics on the surface, has many subtle and not-so-subtle hints of psychological abuse. One major example is Edward physically removing the engine from Bella's truck, and a popularly-cited example on anti-Twilight forums is Edward watching Bella while she sleeps.

It goes without saying that any person exhibiting such behavior is to be kept away from, rather than being pursued romantically, regardless of how honorable their surface intent.

References[edit]

1. ↑ http://spesunica.wordpress.com/is-twilight-anti-christian-yes/
2. ↑ http://nation.foxnews.com/2014/10/13/kristen-stewart-trashes-military-defends-911-terrorists-camp-x-ray-interview