With great homage to the brilliant bell hooks, I offer these thoughts on how we might actively refuse to be seduced by violence. They come from a speech I gave a few years ago at the campus where I teach and were inspired by my concern over the violent messages in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga that […]
Twilight
Stephanie Meyer wrote the first book of the Twilight trilogy in 2005 and the franchise quickly became a popular 2000s teen obsession. You’ll find articles here either heralding or critiquing the vampire romance, as well as articles about other young adult fiction, films and pop culture on the whole.
Why “Vampires Suck” Doesn’t Totally Suck
It may not be brimming with hard-edged analysis, but the new parody of the Twilight series, Vampires Suck, is certainly more satirical than sucky. This parody, written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, has its share of what I would call “Twi-crit-light,” a nod towards serious social criticism that separates this film from […]
Bella’s Eclipsed Role in Twilight Lacks Fangs
As The Twilight Saga: Eclipse hit theaters this week, fans and critics alike anticipated a film packed with both more action and more romance, and they weren’t disappointed. But feminist critics ought to be, as Bella (Kristen Stewart) continues to be less a person than a puppet, a character who is pulled from scene to […]
Who Ravished Robert Pattinson?
In her March 5 column – rather sensationally titled “The Ravishing of Rob Pattinson” – Wall Street Journal columnist Nancy de Wolf Smith admonishes the young star’s women fans for their age-inappropriate obsession with him, criticizes the media for promoting his hyper-sexualization, and bemoans his rapidly dying innocence. Hmm. And here I thought he was just another chain-smoking, beer-guzzling, 20-something-year-old celebrity jerk who talks about hangovers and vaginas during magazine interviews.