Twilight Series Sends Wrong Message To Girls

According to UVic political science professor Janni Aragon, the Twilight vampire movies and books don’t provide a healthy portrayal of the interaction between the sexes. That is just one of the points she makes when she uses the series as a teaching tool in her gender and politics class at UVic.
         “Bella Swan is a human teenager, moody, sardonic and clumsy which plays into how Edward Cullen interacts with her—he’s protective, condescending and behaves like a stalker,” says Aragon. “He watches her while she’s sleeping even though he hasn’t been invited to do so. He talks down to her, which plays into the myth that in a relationship boys are all knowing and girls are supposed to follow and listen to them.”
         Aragon remarks that in the beginning of the series, Bella doesn't have a very strong sense of self. She leans on Edward, falls apart when he leaves. “He has bigger burdens to carry, since he's a vampire and she is a mere mortal teen,” says Aragon. “He is in charge—and takes care of Bella, who continues to be the damsel in distress.
         “In New Moon, Bella suffers a horrible depression when Edward abandons her. She has visions and starts being reckless which sends a message to young women that when your boyfriend leaves, the expectation is for you to be out of control. In real life, not every woman does that—some of us just consume a couple of tubs of Häagen-Dazs and we’re over it.”
         Aragon says she also has issues on how the Stephanie Meyer books and films address Indigenous people. For example, the vampires refer to them as mongrels or dogs.
         The Twilight Saga: New Moon, the second movie in the Twilight series, is scheduled to open on November 20, 2009.
 

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