Riffing

I was talking to Proteinstar about starting some sort of riff competition on the blogs. You get a random subject and have 24 hours to post on it. I'm also working on an article/paper on the Twilight series and can't quite seem to get the words out, so I thought "now is the time to riff." Here is it is, my random thoughts on why Twilight is so appealing to teens.

On the surface, the popularity of Twilight might be surprising. Few vampire tales gain much more than a cult following, and one that crosses into mainstream culture is almost unheard of. The real appeal of Twilight is that it isn't actually about vampires. It is about a teenage girl and her feelings of loneliness, inadequecy, and mediocrity balanced with her desire for independence and a place to belong. This is a theme that resonates with every teenage girl in the western world because it is about them. But Meyer (the author) didn't stop at connecting with teenage girls on their level, she made all of their wildest dreams come true. When Bella (the main character) moves to a new, smaller, high school she suddenly finds that she actually is everything that she always thought she wasn't. She is set upon by a number of boys looking to make her their own, including Edward, the hottest guy in school. At first Bella finds this hard to believe, as Meyer's writing, perfectly designed for the teenage girl, demonstrates:

Of course he wasn't interested in me, I thought angrily, my eyes stinging. . . I wasn't interesting. And he was. Interesting. . . and brilliant. . . and mysterious. . . and perfect. . . and beautiful. . . and possibly able to lift full-sized vans with one hand.

After he miraculously saves her from a car accident, Bella begins to suspect that there is more to Edward than meets the eye. She soon finds out that she is correct, and that her lonely, inadequate, mediocre self has attracted something more amazing than she ever could have imagined. A vampire. As we will discuss later Edward's "family," the Cullens, also provide a safe and loving community where Bella finds meaning and belonging. Another desperate desire of teenagers today.

The actual romance with Edward is pure teen gold. The two meet and fall hopelessly in love in a matter of weeks. Their relationship has relatively few internal hardships beyond Edward's desire to drink Bella's blood. This is also appealing to teenagers. Edward is the ultimate bad boy, one can hardly imagine someone more dangerous for Bella to get involved with, but she alone is enough of an incentive for him to behave. Edward even takes extra steps to ensure that he will not overcome with desire when near Bella. What girl doesn't want to be the one to turn the bad boy good?

Meyer's grasp of this "Girl World" that so many teens live in has led some to suggest that she hasn't matured much beyond the level of a teenager herself. In fact, Meyer drew from her own experiences in high school and college when writing the books. This, along with the romantic aspects of the story, may be why so many adult women have become fans of the series.

Ok, I think that's enough for me to keep moving along. Sorry that I didn't have something more interesting to riff on (the intellectual relationship between zombies and jazz would be fun. . . bonus points for quoting Nietzsche), but this is my life. If my prof likes the paper it might get published in a local youth culture journal. I'll keep you posted.

PS. I spelled Nietzsche right on the first try!