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Growing up in the Twilight Era

How a vampire romance shaped a generation

By Ted RyanPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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Looking back, I'm surprised that the global phenomenon of Twilight initially passed me by. I actually had not heard of Twilight until 2008, when the film was just being released on DVD. Through classmates conversations, my knowledge of the story went as far as - a bland girl fancies a moody vampire, but gets caught in a love triangle with a muscle-head werewolf. That was it. I probably may not have even watched it, if not for my mother buying me a copy at our local Blockbusters' as a gift - anyone else remember Blockbusters? Good times. So with no knowledge or expectations, I decided to give this film a try.

Twilight introduces seventeen-year-old Isabella “Bella” Swan (Kristen Stewart), who moves from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington. She is endangered after falling in love with Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a 103-year-old vampire frozen in his 17-year-old body. The series continues on with New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn - with Midnight Sun as a companion novel to Twilight from Edward's perspective, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner a novella set within Eclipse and Life & Death is a gender-bend retelling of Twilight.

After watching Catherine Hardwicke's blue graded indie film, I was hooked. I soon found myself reading all of the books and eagerly anticipating the cinematic releases. It didn't stop there - I saw New Moon FOUR times in cinema, went to a midnight screening of the first three films and attended the London Premieres of Eclipse - That was an bizarre day, it was surprisingly nice weather for England and I was fortunate enough for several cast members to sign my battered copy of Eclipse, it was strange seeing shirtless men jumping about performing aerobates (plus they really committed to the werewolf acting) - and later Breaking Dawn: Part 2. Yep, one might say I was a real Twi-hard.

It wasn't until I read Breaking Dawn for the first time, that I learned each of Stephanie Meyer's books in the series was inspired by and loosely based on a different literary classic: Twilight on Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice, New Moon on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, Eclipse on Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights, and Breaking Dawn on a second Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. With that in mind, I really noticed the similarities between Meyer's books and the novel counterparts that inspired them.

At the London Premiere of "Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" in 2012

Thinking back, at fourteen I had issue with the books - Meyer was by no means a bad writer, but I felt the pacing and characterisation of the screenplays were stronger than the novels. Bella read as a pretty blank canvas and despite the book being told in first-person, I feel Bella lacked in agency at times. Truth be told, I believe screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg was more successful at giving the characters a more distinctive voice and Bella was actually written as a more active protagonist on screen.

Even though, this series has been heavily criticized by the media for the representation of Edward and Bella’s "toxic" relationship, Twilight relies very heavily on female empowerment. In fact, the first director, author, screenwriter, and star of Twilight were all women. Of course, this isn’t a feminist film in any way, and there are definitely flaws in portraying abstinence, religion, and race, that I really had issues with - even as a teenager, it actually spurred me to voice these feelings among family and friends where in-depth discussions soon became regular while I was reading those books. But this film franchise kicked off a chain-reaction no one really expected.

At the Twilight Saga: Eclipse London Premiere in 2010 with Kellan Lutz (Emmett Cullen)

Before Meyer's book hit the shelves, YA was not really a classified genre. Yes, we had authors like Jenny Downham, Philip Pullman, J.K. Rowling, Patrick Ness and Malorie Blackman - but those books verged on adult with the topics and themes written within. Those authors weren't afraid to write darkness and difficult subjects within coming of age fiction - most of those you could re-read as an adult and still get so much from them.

After the world-wide success of this vampire series, YA really found a footing in the sci-fi and fantasy genre. Franchises such as The Hunger Games, Maze Runner or Divergent may not have been such hits among readers - but unlike Twilight, it seems this genre has been harder to adapt for the screen nowadays. Since Twilight's successful five-film run, Hunger Games was another popular female-lead fantasy with Maze Runner having a respectable and underrated film life - However, Divergent and subsequent book adaptations in recent years have proven harder to adapt, within the box office and among readers. Which speaks volumes to just how successful this franchise was.

Writing this had made me feel pretty nostalgic, especially reflecting back on this strange time of my life. What did this series give me in my teenage years? Escapism. Even as an adult, this series is definitely a comfort-watch every year - from each director's unique vision in each film, writing and casting (some were better than others) - I will admit it is a proud guilty pleasure. Twilight may be popular to hate these days for certain people, but I can't deny the impact this series had on literature and film - and even me.

Teenage years
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About the Creator

Ted Ryan

When I’m not reviewing or analysing pop culture, I’m writing stories of my own.

Reviewer/Screenwriter socials: Twitter.

Author socials: You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Goodreads as T.J. Ryan.

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