presentation

1. presentation LIS 585 JULIE RUEL BRIANNA ERBAN AND

2. We couldn’t afford anything, but here’s proof that there’s a lot of Twilight stuff out there! 30 bucks?!

3. The Twilight Saga • Twilight -2005 • New Moon - 2006 • Eclipse - 2007 • Breaking Dawn - 2008  • Midnight Sun - unpublished, available online, vampire’s point of view, illegally leaked

4. Twilight Facts Inspiration: a Mary Shelley-esque dream, can be found in Chapter 13 of Twilight: “In my dream, two people were having an intense conversation in a meadow in the woods. One of these people was just your average girl. The other person was fantastically beautiful, sparkly, and a vampire.” Setting: Forks, Washington, the rainiest place in America = vampires don’t sparkle in the sun! Genre: Young adult, horror, fantasy, romance, science-fiction. Meyer: “suspense-romance-horror-comedy” Audience:young female readers but a remarkable multigenerational appeal, Meyer says: "I don't believe in categorizing books into age groups." Translations: 38 different languages. Harry Potter = 65 languages.

5. More Twilight Facts Bestseller: 70 million copies worldwide (HP = 700 million), 102 weeks on NYT children's series list, 52 weeks topping USA Today bestseller list. Trumps Rowling for record consecutive runs. One in seven books sold in 2009 was one of the Twilight saga! Awards: U.K. Children's Book of the Year, U.K. (2008), Children's Choice Author of the Year (2009), and many more! Themes: Brontë-esque romance between average teen and sexy vampire, good and evil, freedom of choice. Style: "Meyer floods the page like a severed artery. She never uses a sentence when she can use a paragraph. Her books are big but not dense -- they have a pillowy quality distinctly reminiscent of Internet fan fiction.” Lev Grossman, Time, 2008.

6. Isabella (Bella) Swan – Passive Heroine • -Empty vessel, Meyer "left out a detailed description of Bella in the book so that the reader could more easily step into her shoes."  • -17 years old • -Clumsy and "breakable” = in constant need of protection • -Innocent, mature, vulnerable, stubborn, private, self-deprecating, loner, sarcastic • -Smells delicious to vampires, "like fine wine,” or freesia  • -Obsessed with Edward Cullen: "I wasn’t interesting. And he was. Interesting… and brilliant… and mysterious… and perfect… and beautiful…”

7. Edward Cullen • -Born in 1901 (about 104 years old) • -17 year old high school student • -A mix of Rochester and Mr. Darcy = tragic, romantic figure • -"devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful” and chivalrous • -Ethical and moral - "a vegetarian vampire” • -Unconventional vampire: no fangs, glitters in sunlight, doesn't sleep, doesn't shapeshift, casts a reflection • -He is (very, very) protective of Bella • -Masculine = Collects cars and has two degrees from Harvard

9. Jacob Black: Friendly Wolf • -16 years old • -Member of Quileute tribe from La Push, Washington • -"nice guy" • -Friendly, helpful, happy • -In love with Bella, rivalry with Edward and vampires in general • -Shape-shifter, morphs into a "werewolf” after the onset of puberty • -Loyal, protects Bella from danger, and a good friend

10. Reader’s Digest Condensed Twilight Saga • Twilight (2005) • inspired by Pride and Prejudice • debuted at #5 on NYT children's bestsellers list • PW Best Book of the Year 2005 • NYT Editor's Choice 2005    • Bella moves to Forks and falls in love with a vampire, good vampire Edward saves Bella from evil vampires, Jacob also falls in love with Bella, Edward and Bella go to the prom. • New Moon (2006) • inspired by Romeo and Juliet • debuted at #5 on NYT children's list, rose to #1 in week two. Spent 50 weeks on the list. • Edward leaves Bella to protect her life, Romeo and Juliet confusion ensues, Jacob and Bella become close friends, Bella trades her mortal soul for Edward’s life in Italy, the happy couple return to Forks, Jacob is unimpressed.

11. Reader’s Digest Condensed Twilight Saga • Eclipse (2007) • inspired by Wuthering Heights • Sold 4.5 million copies in 2008 • Meyer marketed book on website and had an Eclipse prom for fans • An army of newborn vampires is out to kill Bella and the Cullen family, The werewolf tribe and good vamps defeat the evil vampires. Bella decides to vote Team Edward, and Bella and Edward get engaged. • Breaking Dawn (2008) • inspired by A Midsummer's Nights Dream and The Merchant of Venice • 1.3 million copies sold on first day • received the British Book Award • Bella and Edward get married, and Bella’s life is threatened by a vampire pregnancy. Edward turns her into a vampire to save her life, but the baby vampire raises the ire of the evil vampires in Italy. A vampire war ensues, but all turns out well and then Jacob falls in love with Bella’s baby. Creepy.

12. Twilight Movies: 2 Down, 2 To Go! Twilight (2008) • directed by Catherine Hardwicke • Kristen Stewart = Bella • Rob Pattinson = Edward • November 21, 2008 • cameo by Meyer • grossed $400 million  Twilight Trailer New Moon (2009) •  directed by Chris Weitz • November 20, 2009 • Media frenzy! New Moon Trailer Eclipse June 20, 2009 Breaking Dawn 2011

13. Stephenie Meyer: Cinderella Superstar • Born Dec. 24, 1973, now 35 • Lives in Phoenix, AZ, with husband and 3 sons • English Major at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah (BA), 1997 • former receptionist and 'stay-at-home mother' • Twilight = first novel, no previous writing • Favorite author is Jane Austen • Hasn't read Dracula • Avoids horror movies, thinks they are "yucky" and "creepy” • Mormon = abstinence, traditional values, Twilight as a wholesome alternative to other teen lit • Fan of 'alternative music’ • Superstar author, cult of celebrity = screaming fans • USA Today's 2008 "Author of the Year" • #49 on Time's 100 most influential of 2008 list

14. Fandom • HUGE fan base! But almost entirely comprised of young women. • Fandom is divided between “Team Edward” and “Team Jacob” camps. However, a lot of this has died down since Jacob imprinted on Renesmee. • Fandom continues to increase with each new film release . • Only 32% of fans who bought advance tickets for New Moon have been fans for longer than 12 months. • Hundreds of blogs, livejournal communities, and message board forums dedicated to Twilight.

15. Fanfiction • Fanfiction is a major component to Twilight fandom. • Second only to Harry Potter, Twilight has the largest increase in fanfiction in 2009. • On fanfiction.net there are over 11,423 Twilight stories!!! • Novel Novice Twilight runs bi-monthly regular Twilight writing contests.

16. Celebrity Culture and Fandom • Celebrity culture is a large component to the increase in Twilight fandom. • Pervasive media coverage of the making of the films and on-set romances. • Robert Pattinson is Edward and Kristen Stewart is Bella.

17. Fandom: The backlash • A huge backlash against “Twi-hards.” • Anti-Twilight protestors at Comic Con argued that Twi-hards are “not real fans.” • Twilight fans are attacked as brainless, hormonal teenage girls or effeminate boys.

18. The Backlash Continues • The “Other”–ing of the Twilight Fan. • Anti-Twilight blogs: Self-identification through opposition. Twilightsucks.com • “A Reconnaissance Mission: Operation Fan girl”

19. Gender in Twilight • Many have criticized the gender politics of Twilight. • In response to this Meyer has argued that the books are feminist because “the foundation of feminism is this: being able to choose.” • But what is Bella choosing? Time and again throughout the narrative Bella chooses to be subservient to Edward. • The closest thing Bella has to a decision making process is “What is best for Edward or brings me closer to Edward?” • This erases all her other priorities, values, aspirations, and thought processes.

20. Gender Politics: Bella as Passive • “I’d given more information than necessary in my unwilling honesty, and I worried it would provoke the strange anger that flared whenever I slipped and revealed too clearly how obsessed I was.” Twilight, Chapter 11, p.230 • “Our relationship couldn’t continue to balance, as it did, on the point of a knife. We would fall off one edge or the other, depending entirely upon HIS decision, or HIS instincts. My decision was made, made before I’d ever consciously chosen, and I was committed to seeing it through. Because there was nothing more terrifying to me, more excruciating, than the thought of turning away from him. It was an impossibility.” Twilight, Chapter 12, p.248 • “There was no way around it; I couldn’t resist him in anything.” Twilight, Chapter 13, p.284 • “His eyes were melting all my fury. It was impossible to fight with him when he cheated like that.” Twilight, Epilogue, p.485 • “His mouth was on mine then, and I couldn’t fight him. Not because he was so many thousand times stronger than me, but because my will crumbled into dust the second our lips met.” New Moon, Chapter 23, p.512

21. Bella has become so dependent on Edward for happiness and meaning that in her life after his departure (in New Moon) she becomes an empty, emotionless “zombie.” Not for a few days or weeks, for months. It seems that by leaving, Edward has put her on auto-pilot, as she has no interest in choices or opportunities she may have that won’t help her bring Edward back. She literally has no life, personality, aspirations, happiness, anything without Edward. She only manages to even partially regain any of these things by coming dependent on another man, Jacob, and using him as an emotional crutch. There is topic on which she does appear to make a conscious, if stupid, decision. She decides to start cheating death on a regular basis so that she can hear Edward’s voice. However, it becomes obvious that she’s not really in control of this supposed “choice” either: “I was addicted to the sound of my delusions. It made things worse if I went too long without them.” New Moon, Chapter 15, p.352

22. Breaking Dawn: Fan Backlash • With the release of Breaking Dawn, many fans had had enough. • Fans on Amazon and other sites encouraged fans to return the book. • Many fans were unhappy with the plot of the book. The majority of the criticism focused on the pro-life message throughout the text. Many fans attacked Meyer for the Mormon ideology in the text. • Jezebel wrote: "This creepy anti-abortion allegory quickly gets literal, as the half-vampire fetus starts killing Bella from the inside out. Even as it breaks her ribs and sucked the life from her, she proclaims, 'I won't kill him.' Bella also explains that, "I wanted him like I wanted air to breathe," Bella says in the book upon discovering she's carrying a male vampire who might kill her if she carries him to term. "Not a choice – a necessity." • But does she have to face the consequences of this choice? No, because vampire magic suddenly allows mother and father to hear the fetus's thoughts, and to discover that it already loves them.“

23. Edward • Throughout the series, Edward is portrayed as a “protector.” • Unfortunately this takes the form of secretly watching Bella sleep, reading her friends thoughts, dismantling her car so that she can’t see Jacob, and making rules of behavior for her (who she can and cannot see, where she can and cannot go). • Buffy vs. Edward: a hugely successful mash-up video demonstrating an accurate response to Edward’s stalking ways.

24. Jacob and Renesmee • Another particularly disturbing event in the text, is Jacob imprinting on Renesmee. • An infant who is imprinted on is going to grow up her entire life with the imprinter constantly around as an authority figure. In order to make imprinting a child acceptable, it is explained that he will be “whatever is needed, whether that’s a brother or uncle or father.” Underlying this idea, is the fact that once she matures, he’s going to find her irresistibly sexually attractive and presumably expect a sexual relationship. • This is disturbingly similar to “child grooming:” The deliberate actions taken by an adult to form a trusting relationship with a child, with the intent of later having sexual contact . The act of grooming a child sexually may include activities that are legal in and of themselves, but later lead to sexual contact. Typically, this is done to gain the child's trust as well as the trust of those responsible for the child's well-being. • Meyer casually dismisses the possibility of the feelings not being reciprocated stating in the text, that it is “hard to resist that level of devotion.” Apparently for Meyer, this enough of a reason. The extreme “level of devotion” throughout their entire childhoods creates the impression that rejecting the imprinter would be wrong, that they "owe it" to the imprinter. It also mirrors Edward and Bella’s obsessive style of love.

25. Sexuality and Abstinence Porn? • The Twilight series has created a surprising new sub-genre of teen romance: It’s abstinence porn, sensational, erotic, and titillating. Fan reaction suggests that in the beginning, Edward and Bella’s chaste but sexually charged relationship was steamy precisely because it was unconsummated. Despite all the hot “virtue,” however, we have to ask is abstinence porn is as uplifting as some of its proponents seem to believe? • In reality, the abstinence message objectifies Bella in the same ways that “real” porn might. The Twilight books conflate Bella losing her virginity with the loss of other things, including her sense of self and her very life. Such a high-stakes treatment of abstinence reinforces the idea that Bella is powerless, an object, a fact that is highlighted when we get to the sex scenes in Breaking Dawn. 
 • Edward, lost in his own lust, is so violent that Bella wakes up the next morning covered in bruises, the headboard in ruins. And guess what? Bella loves it. She even tries to hide her bruises so Edward won’t feel bad. If the abstinence message in the previous books was ever supposed to be empowering, this scene, presented early in Breaking Dawn, undoes everything.
 • When it comes to a woman’s virtue, sex, identity, or her existence itself, it’s all in the man’s hands. To be the object of desire, in abstinence porn is not really so far from being the object of desire in actual porn.

26. Stephanie Meyer: Also Victim of Gender Politics?

27. Race and Werewolves • Association of Quileute tribe with nature and animals. • Werewolf bodies are subject to a rapid growth and intense heat suggesting undomesticated animal nature. • Vampire beauty closely associated with the paleness of the skin. • Vampires are represented as possessing extreme self-control and an urbanity highlighted by their age, wealth, education, medical and musical talents, and links to the highest form of ancient Western civilization (Rome). • Werewolves are depicted as unsophisticated teenagers prone to fighting. • Inability to control themselves.

28. Twilight Saga: A Pop Culture Phenomenon • vampires are versatile symbols that can express both conservative and liberal views • proliferation of Vampire serials: Vampire Academy, The Morganville Vampires, Vampire Kisses, The Vampire Diaries (TV), Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter, Sookie Stackhouse Series (True Blood), Blue Bloods, Vampire American Princesses • "the sympathetic vampire today produces enormous fan cultures" (M. Williamson 2005)

29. Cultural Importance: Why Twilight? • "rather than our heroes, our vampires tell us who we are" - Nina Auerbach, Our Vampires, Ourselves (1995) - are Twilight's vampires an expression of who we might be ideally? • women crave romance, pop culture skews female

30. Marketing Twilight Why is Twilight so crazy popular?

31. Marketing Twilight • Why the rapid growth in popularity and dedicated communities of interest on such a large scale? • Lunenfeld’s “Unfinished Business” – bloated paratext, distinguishing between original texts and the proliferation of materials and discourses surrounding them • Twilight phenomenon comparable to Obama’s social networking presidential campaign = inspired online marketing key to success • Meyer connected with fans through a variety of online venues, creating intimacy between fans and the author • Vice president of Indigo – Twilight is “the first social networking bestseller”

32. Marketing Twilight • Marketers have realized that the best way to market to teens is by appearing to NOT market to them • Social networking (facebook, blogs, MySpace, discussion boards) mobilize peer to peer, word-of-mouth, and viral marketing in an ostensibly organic way • Twilight brand inserted into social networking sites, fans share data, marketers produce viable and marketable products across multiple platforms • Official Twilight website – blurs social networking, marketing, and data mining. http://www.thetwilightsaga.com/ • Twilight fans encouraged to produce and consume Twilight texts and paratexts – “prosumers” or “produsers”

33. Innovative Marketing: 2 Examples Habbo/Twilight Tie-In: virtual community of fans Volvo: “What Drives Edward” promotion

35. I will always watch over you Bella Creepy Twilight merchandise, and lots of it.

36. Why do Twilight fans buy so much stuff?

37. Proliferation and Consumption of Twilight Merch: Theories

38. Twilight Merchandise: Greatest Hits Twilight Tonner dolls: $140 each Twilight Barbies: $25 each C’mon, cheer up Edward!

39. A List of ‘Conventional’ Products • Keyrings, purses, tshirts, perfume, posters, stickers, book marks, journals, action figures, wrist bands, scarves and mitts, keepsake boxes, wedding rings, dresses, Nordstrom line of clothing, iPod skins, lip plumper, makeup kits, puzzles, board games, backpacks, totebags, buttons, bedding, trading cards, wallets, lunch boxes, umbrellas, calendars, coffee mugs, lip gloss, band aids, flash drives…. • A Twilight restaurant is opening in Forks, local hotels have theme rooms, and fans can buy Twilight tea and coffee on main street • A number of academic treatments of Twilight are also forthcoming in the near future, as is a graphic novel of the first book, and a comic book bio of Meyer You name it, it’s been given the Twilight treatment!

40. Defining ‘Twilight’ Educators, academics, and schools are harnessing the popularity of Meyer’s series for classroom use.

42. Should we be disturbed by girls wearing these? Edward as stalker, or “just a cute shirt?” Jacob as stalker, or “just a cute shirt?”

43. ♪He knows when you’ve been sleeping♪ (and showering) Edward Wall Decal: “Be Safe” Edward Shower Curtain: Weird!

44. More weird Stuff (and yes, Twilight is ALL about Edward!) Festive Edward stocking Edward Underpants

45. Taking it too far? EW!

49. Virtual Literary Tourism You can also watch the recently released documentary about the real people and places of Forks, Washington.

50. Final Words on the Twilight Phase Space “For all the claims I hear that Twilight is creating new generations of book lovers, I rarely come across much discussion of the actual books…it seems instead Twilight is creating hordes of consumers…the phenomenon is not so much creating new generations of readers as it is feeding our addictions to commodities and celebrity.” What do YOU think? Natalie Wilson, Seduced By Twilight blog, “Can You Buy That Twilight Feeling?” October 8, 2009 http://seducedbytwilight.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/can-you-buy-that-twilight-feeling/