Twilight Series

by Saibre S.

The Twilight series has been on book selves for the past several of years, and since then many people have developed different views on the series. However, since the Twilight movie premiered in 2008 many negative views have been stated about the movie as well as the book series. What are the causes of the negative views people have on the Twilight series? After researching I have found several reasons, some more applicable than others, why people are developing resentment towards the popular vampire series.

For one, people think that Stephanie Meyer is setting a bad example for young girls with the one of the leading characters in Twilight, Bella Swan. Writers and readers think that Bella is the typical stereotypical teen girl that is too obsessed with her boyfriend, and this is causing teen girls who read this book series to believe that this type of behavior is acceptable, and that there is nothing wrong with this type of thinking. Author of popular teen book series, Claire, reports saying “Don’t girls have enough self esteem problems already? Should they really be reading books about a girl who has no life outside of her boyfriend – a girl who readily admits that she would die if he were to ever leave her?” After reading this quote, and reflecting on the entire series, I, as a reader of this series, can see how Claire came to her statement, as well as see how it is vividly portrayed throughout the series.

In addition to the dependency example being set, people are very upset that Breaking Dawn, the fourth installment in the Twilight series, is solely centered on Bella’s pregnancy. Not only do people say that the pregnancy was not the right angle the book, but also that it sends another wrong message to girls. Reader of the series, Annette, says, “I think most readers would have settled for a surprise pregnancy at the end. But the fact that it swallowed the whole plot just plain sucks.” Critics of the book report saying Meyer’s books make ”teen pregnancy look rad although Stephanie has described herself as “really, really religious””. Also, people are very troubled by the “anti-abortion” message the book is message to girls. “’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.’” While, in the book, Bella doesn’t abort her child, I think that this is a really strong assumption, and that it wasn’t what the entire book is about.

Readers have also voiced their strong opinions of the book series. They report saying that it was a poor, and illogical, choice to make the vampires in the story ‘vegetarian’ and to give them morals. Some readers said that it isn’t the story line that is disappointing or flawed; it’s just the fact that Stephanie Meyer isn’t a good writer, and her story is too cliché and predictable. Others said that her story follows all of the stereotypical guy and girl relationships in these types of stories, and that Meyer portrayed herself through the main female character Bella. All of these opinions, and new ones, were furthered when readers saw the movie last November, and reported saying the movie “completely discredited the book. So many details were left out, and the movie made the characters look even worse.”

It is clear that people have many different negative views on this series. As a Twilight fan, I can clearly see where all of these reasons are derived from, and why they would anger people. Personally, I enjoyed the series because it is an imagination story, and, whether or not people think Bella is a poor female character, there was a part in the entire series where, at some point, every female reader could relate to something that was happening in Bella’s life. Also, I think people take the story too serious. Obviously Stephanie Meyer isn’t an incredible novelist, but her stories are just for fun, and not meant to be related to serious real-life matters. In the end, there will always be positive and negative feedback about this series. However, people need to make sure that the feedback isn’t all biased, and keep an open mind about all of the opinions voiced about the series and its author.