Twilight has been an undeniable phenomenon that has swept the nation. The combination of realistic fiction and a love story mixed together to create a popular hit on the big screen. From little girls to older women, Twilight has been specifically appealing towards the female audience. The question that arises is if this film could be omitting the wrong message/ stereotypes of female roles in society to its womanly audience. What is the underlying message this film is telling women/young girls in terms of what they are and need to do for men?
1. I was not sure if this is too broad of a question. I found one quote so far I was going to use. It was said by Jessica: Oh my god, it's like , the first grade all over again,you're the shiny new toy.I was going to go on to discuss the kind of potential message this is sending. The part that I am having the hardest time with its that I genuinely like twilight so it is hard to dissect it.
I know what you mean! I genuinely like Twilight also, so it's hard to be critical. I think your idea is great! But the idea may be a bit broad. Maybe focus on what is the underlying message Twilight is telling women/young girls in terms of what they need to do for men OR what they are (only choose one to make it more specific) through the main female (or male) character's actions OR speech OR situations (etc). That way you have just one character's dialogue to focus on or just one character's actions to focus on. The more specific you are the more you can analyze and really explain the examples you have instead of sounding too broad and confusing.
ReplyDeleteBut I am sure whatever you do it will be great! Hope I helped and Good luck!
I agree with Aimee, you might want to narrow it down to something more specific and maybe focus on how one way in particular it depicts a negative message. I am not much of a Twilight fan and personally find Edward to be kind of a creeper. I'm almost jealous this wasn't my question!
ReplyDeleteI understand you're concern because I want to write on Twilight too, and I'm finding it a little difficult because it is one of my favorite books/movies. I think it might help if instead of asking if it is sending the wrong message, focus on what type of message it is sending. If you concentrate on one character specifically, or a few, then you can look at what message they are sending to women through that character's actions. I think there are a few underlying messages in the film, so maybe just narrow it down to what the the film says women need to do for men and concentrate on one or two characters specifically.
ReplyDeleteHi Alyse,
ReplyDeleteI'm with Aimee in urging you to focus on one particular aspect of the film and using that aspect to explore your larger questions. To use Jessica's quote as an example, perhaps you might look at how the film's minor characters describe Bella. What do the descriptions of Bella by others tell us about societal expectations of female main characters/heroines? Is the film critiquing or reaffirming those expectations (or both)?
As I commented on Allison's post, I think it's great that you're choosing to analyze a film you genuinely like. In fact, it may be *more* important to analyze those texts we like, as we can see ways they may be influencing our belief systems (both positively and negatively!).
P.s. When reading Twilight, you will likely want to look at aspects of a scene that go beyond "what happened" - i.e., mise-en-scene (setting, lighting, costuming, aspects of the actors' performance) and cinematography (camera angles, shot durations, color use, etc.)
ReplyDeleteFYI: The film is available in the library still if you would like to take a look.