For years people of all ages have swooned over the icy, sparkling beings of the Twilight film franchise. Hardcore fans everywhere have read and watched the magnificently horrible stories of Forks, Washington and all but hated the thrilling adventures of Bella Swan.
But why? Is it the revolutionary filmmaking involved in portraying the story of a teen girl caught between a vampire and a werewolf? Nope. Maybe it’s because the acting was so good? Absolutely not.
The craze over the franchise is, what I like to call,
The Twilight Phenomenon.
I believe all of the buzz surrounding the book and movie adaptations is purely the outcome of the perfect mixture of love and hate. Every ‘Twi-hard’ as the fandom likes to say, simply hates and loves everything that comes along with the films and it’s characters. Each fan seems to have a certain admiration and disgust for Twilight and all that it entails.
You can ask any Twilight fan these simple questions and you will most likely get the same answers from each person.
“Do you think the Twilight movies are well-made?”
Yes and No.
“Is the acting in Twilight good?”
Yes and No.
“Was that CGI baby in ‘Breaking Dawn: Part 2’ ugly?”
YES.
“Is Alice Cullen the best character?”
Absolutely. (I may be a little biased, and that is okay.)
Anyways, I think you understand what I am getting at here.
The only reason why there are still so many Twilight fans to this day is because of the sheer balance of genuine enjoyability and laughability of the movies. Twilight fans have and always will be the people who make fun of their favorite movies. It is the greatest love/hate relationship of planet earth.
So, before knocking the mythical stylings of the Twilight franchise, I suggest you take some time to sit down and watch them. And if you do watch them, be prepared to cringe, cry, and laugh (not specifically in that order). Make a bowl of popcorn and make the best jokes you can about the acting, writing or casting choices (I’m looking at you Taylor Lautner.).
Be completely prepared to accidentally enjoy every second of it.
ADELE!!! i can’t tell you how much i love this post. as a lifelong, diehard fan of twilight, the saga means so much to me, and as always, your insight is so refreshing and unique! i totally share all your sentiments about the films (especially the love-hate relationship- the struggle is very much real!)
Ive always been forced to have a connection with the twilight franchise because it is one of my dad’s favorite movies, and I find his obsession hilarious because he wanted to name me after Bella, but I have never actually taken the time to actually sit and watch the movies! Ive been getting so tempted to watch them but I always find a way out of it, but after reading your blog I think this might be my final push to sit down and see why everybody loves these movies so much!
Adele, oh girl you’ve done it now. Now that I know you’re a Twilight fan, I will be fulfilling my duty as someone who has read the book series in its entirety no less than seven times, which is questioning you relentlessly. So, look forward to that. 🙂 Also, I’m glad someone else had the thought about the love hate relationship with the franchise, because it has been brewing in my mind for quite some time.