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Stephenie Meyer successfully inspired a Twilight Renaissance when she released of Life and Death (2015) for the ten year anniversary of Twilight (2005). Since then, a bunch of Twihards armed with the internet started psychoanalyzing her characters and critically obsessing over her books. A second wave of the Twilight Renaissance was born with the release of Midnight Sun (2020).
That’s where I come in. Who is more dangerous in the Stephenie Meyer worldview: men or vampires? And how does Bella Swan survive someone who is both?
Welcome to Forks, as detailed by a queer twenty-something who was at a very vulnarable age when Twilight was first released. As Twilight goes through its many renaissances, as provoked by the 2015 release of the gender-swapped Life and Death book, or the 2020 telling from Edward’s perspective, or the 2021 upload on Netflix, I am given no choice but to look at Twilight from a critical perspective. After embedding myself in the Twihard community online, rereading all the books (including the gender swapped one and the one from Edward’s perspective), rewatching all the movies, and comparing the texts to other classics like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Vampire Diaries, I am using this podcast to take an 8 part stance that this book and movie series is about sex and control, despite convincing millions of young people in 2005 that the book is about love. I did not create it within any sort of academic framework--I simply needed to put these opinions and research out into the world. The only thing you need to know before climbing up this hill with me is that about three things I am absolutely certain: first, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him that thirsted for Bella’s blood. And third: Stephenie Meyer Ruined My Life.