by Helen O'Hara in Empire States
A lot's been said about Twilight over the last couple of years. Often it's been said by people who have neither read the books nor seen the films (so, like, you don't know, man, you weren't there), but since Twilight is a huge cultural phenomenon, that's to be expected. Whether you've deliberately exposed yourself to the series or not, you probably know a few things about it. There's a girl who falls in love with a sparkly vampire. It was written by a Mormon housewife, so they don't have sex outside marriage. And you've probably heard that Bella's an appalling role model for modern teenagers, regularly denounced by feminists and any right-thinking person. Now while I'm not going to make excuses for the series as a whole (well, I might make a few), watching the third film - Eclipse - last weekend, I'm beginning to be irritated by the dismissal of its feminist credentials. The following discussion contains spoilers for Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, so don't read on if you don't want to know what happens.
First of all, let's think about author Stephenie Meyer for a moment. Sure, she's religious, and was a housewife when writing the books, and that's not supposed to be what feminists strive towards. On the other hand, the point of feminism was to give equal opportunities, not to say that no woman should ever be a housewife again. And as careers go, and as I think we can all agree that, at this point, Ms Meyer is almost certainly the principal earner in her particular family. So it doesn't seem as though either her religion or her choice (I hope it was a choice) not to work while raising her children has held her back.
And then there's Bella herself. Bella whose every waking thought is about some boy / creature of the night. Bella whose boyfriend Edward keeps trying to make decisions for her, and who goes all to pieces when he leaves. Bella who gets married at 19 and has a baby almost at once (really almost at once because the gestation is all screwy) and who refuses to consider abortion despite huge risk to her own life. At the same time, though - and particularly as played by Kristen Stewart in the Melissa Rosenberg-scripted films - I kinda respect her. Once having fallen head over heels for some guy (unwise) she starts making her own decisions and following her own path (wise), and while her choices wouldn't be mine* that doesn't make them bad or wrong.
Do I wish that modern entertainment would portray more women as independent creatures not obsessed with finding the perfect guy? Sure. Do I think that abortion should be destigmatised onscreen and at least presented as a viable option (especially in cases of maternal danger!)?** Yes. Do marriages entered into between a 19 year-old and a 107 year-old typically last? Not so much. Should we all have the mental fortitude to resist whatever romantic vicisitudes life or sparkly vampires throw at us and not wimp into months of depression, and should we arguably demythologise romantic love and maintain some sort of self in our love lives? Of course.
But Bella's not responsible for righting the wrongs of a generation just because she ended up more popular than other characters. Holding her up for particular blame or shame just because Twilight became a phenomenon isn't really helpful; at the very least (and again, more in the films than the books) she's a well-rounded female character on screen, and that in itself is something to welcome with open arms. The problem is less with her per se and more in the fact that we don't have enough such female characters. It's the same with many other characters on film: there tends to be outrage every time we see a negative portrayal of a gay character onscreen, or Muslim character, or name-your-minority-here, simply because there aren't enough of them overall to balance things out. We don't get up in arms every time we see a white, straight male bad guy because - hey! - the hero's almost certainly white, straight and male as well. Feminists don't - or shouldn't - demand that every woman on screen live up to some feminist ideal when the population as a whole doesn't; what's irritating to us (unless they revoke my membership for not hating Twilight) is when every single screen lady apparently lives to find a bloke, be killed in a third-act shock or just be sidelined, just as it's irritating when every single person of Arab origin onscreen seems to be a terrorist.
First of all, let's think about author Stephenie Meyer for a moment. Sure, she's religious, and was a housewife when writing the books, and that's not supposed to be what feminists strive towards. On the other hand, the point of feminism was to give equal opportunities, not to say that no woman should ever be a housewife again. And as careers go, and as I think we can all agree that, at this point, Ms Meyer is almost certainly the principal earner in her particular family. So it doesn't seem as though either her religion or her choice (I hope it was a choice) not to work while raising her children has held her back.
And then there's Bella herself. Bella whose every waking thought is about some boy / creature of the night. Bella whose boyfriend Edward keeps trying to make decisions for her, and who goes all to pieces when he leaves. Bella who gets married at 19 and has a baby almost at once (really almost at once because the gestation is all screwy) and who refuses to consider abortion despite huge risk to her own life. At the same time, though - and particularly as played by Kristen Stewart in the Melissa Rosenberg-scripted films - I kinda respect her. Once having fallen head over heels for some guy (unwise) she starts making her own decisions and following her own path (wise), and while her choices wouldn't be mine* that doesn't make them bad or wrong.
Do I wish that modern entertainment would portray more women as independent creatures not obsessed with finding the perfect guy? Sure. Do I think that abortion should be destigmatised onscreen and at least presented as a viable option (especially in cases of maternal danger!)?** Yes. Do marriages entered into between a 19 year-old and a 107 year-old typically last? Not so much. Should we all have the mental fortitude to resist whatever romantic vicisitudes life or sparkly vampires throw at us and not wimp into months of depression, and should we arguably demythologise romantic love and maintain some sort of self in our love lives? Of course.
But Bella's not responsible for righting the wrongs of a generation just because she ended up more popular than other characters. Holding her up for particular blame or shame just because Twilight became a phenomenon isn't really helpful; at the very least (and again, more in the films than the books) she's a well-rounded female character on screen, and that in itself is something to welcome with open arms. The problem is less with her per se and more in the fact that we don't have enough such female characters. It's the same with many other characters on film: there tends to be outrage every time we see a negative portrayal of a gay character onscreen, or Muslim character, or name-your-minority-here, simply because there aren't enough of them overall to balance things out. We don't get up in arms every time we see a white, straight male bad guy because - hey! - the hero's almost certainly white, straight and male as well. Feminists don't - or shouldn't - demand that every woman on screen live up to some feminist ideal when the population as a whole doesn't; what's irritating to us (unless they revoke my membership for not hating Twilight) is when every single screen lady apparently lives to find a bloke, be killed in a third-act shock or just be sidelined, just as it's irritating when every single person of Arab origin onscreen seems to be a terrorist.
READ THE REST at the source: Empire
Inga kommentarer:
Skicka en kommentar