The Religion of Twilight: By Hadassah Meadows

Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series has become an integral part of modern popular culture, and has the potential to become a ‘religion’ for devoted fans.

After capturing the imagination of people all over the world, the Twilight series has been recognised as a pillar of popular culture (Pennsylvania State University: 2009), uniting boys and girls, men and women in a love of the teenage love story between ‘plain Jane’ and an impossibly beautiful vampire. Within this essay I will examine some reasons why the Twilight series has captured the imagination of so many people, and it’s potential to replace mainstream religion with a ‘vampiric’ counterpart. The fascination with vampires will be explored, as well as other factors within Twilight’s appeal. The portrayal of vampires within film and popular culture will also be discussed in regard to the Twilight series.

Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight saga has taken the world by storm, creating a furore of media attention. The latest instalment in the Twilight ‘franchise’ is Summit Entertainment’s New Moon (IMDB: 2009), set to be released on the 20 November 2009. Meyer claims her inspiration for the series came to her in a dream, in which a beautifully pale and sparkly vampire spoke to a plain and ordinary girl in a meadow of his dilemma between love for her and the desire to drink her blood (Leitich Smith 1: 2006). Twilight was published in 2005, and quickly became a bestseller, making it to #5 on the New York Times Bestseller List only one month after the book’s release (New York Times: 2007). Twilight remained at number one for forty-two weeks, and the sequel, New Moon, remained at number one for forty-three weeks (New York Times: 2007). Twilight has reached an estimated thirty million readers and the film secured the number one spot on 2008 (Bell 1: 2009). Twilight’s popular attraction has many critics puzzled as the literature itself has been dubbed as quite poor (Cozzetto 1: 2009). It is Twilight’s content which holds the real pulling power, offering audiences an escape from their everyday lives, the hope of faithful, everlasting love, restrained desire, and the thrilling power of the supernatural. These elements of the series will be explored in further depth below.

Toted as a ‘tween’ and teen sensation, the statistics offer a differing perspective. Fandango.com published results of a survey of over 5000 Twilight viewers, with some startling results. Forty-two percent of respondents were over twenty-five years of age, twenty-five percent of respondents said they were going to view Twilight with their mother or daughter, and eighty-three percent planned to see the film a second time (Fandango.com: 2008). The reasons behind Twilight’s mass appeal must be explored to understand why it has captured the imagination of such a large audience.

Twilight’s basic plot is a typical Cinderella story – a plain and undeserving girl captures the heart of the popular and handsome prince whose love transforms her into something worthy of his devotion. The difference in this case is that instead of a rich and handsome prince Charming, the male protagonist is a rich and handsome vampire charming. Meyer’s use of the “vampire” has drawn in a ‘sub-cultural’ audience who devour anything in literature, film and popular culture related to vampires. Twilight’s vampire appeal may account for a large portion of its audiences according to Gelder, who answers the question ‘why vampires?’ by explaining that
“the answer lies primarily in their unfailing ability to fascinate. That is, they evoke a response that is not entirely “rational’ – a response that may sit somewhere in between disbelief and, in fact, a suspension of belief,” (2: 1994). Gelder continues by explaining that “vampires are both textual and extra-textual creatures; one can even ‘know’ about them (and irrationally wish to know more about them) without actually reading vampire fiction or watching vampire films. In this sense, they are ‘in’ culture; and they may well have (or be mobilised to have) ‘real’ affects,” (Gelder 2:1994).
Human fascination with vampires has been suggested to pander to the basest instincts within humanity, and vampires are what humanity could become if shed of all moral inhibitions (Locke 62: The Online Journal of Undergraduate Literary Criticism and Theory). Throughout history, the mythology of vampires has been twisted, inevitably, around religion. The old legends and folklore oft describe vampires as being demons and imply that their existence is a product of the Devil.

The image of Edward Cullen is another factor of Twilight’s appeal. Not only is Edward a perfect gentleman, who shows passion and restraint, but he is also described as “devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful,” (Twilight 19: 2005). Edward is musically talented, intelligent (demonstrated in Bella’s first encounter with him in the science lab), rich, kind, generous, self-sacrificial, romantic and relatively stable. He also possesses supernatural abilities such as impossible speed and strength, perfect balance, the ability to read minds and a heightened sense of empathy (Twilight: 2005). This image of Edward has become part of the Twilight ‘franchise.’ Posters, books, magazines, television advertisements, cinemas, and clothing all containing the image of Edward Cullen are readily available. Edward’s appeal is largely based in his supernatural abilities and his relationship with the supernatural, which is portrayed as something sinister, monstrous and undesirable within Twilight.

Bella’s obsession with Edward is closely followed by her obsession with his lifestyle, and from a very early point in the saga Bella decides she wants to partake in Edward’s lifestyle, essentially becoming ‘undead.’ Within the series, Edward expresses on many occasions his disgust with himself, and experiences a strong sense of self-loathing for the creature that he is (Twilight: 2005). This is evidenced in Edward’s statement to Bella, as he incredulously asks Bella, ''you don't care if I'm a monster? If I'm not human?'' (Twilight 187: 2005). Edward’s disgust for himself epitomises the ideology of the supernatural as ‘bad’ within the Twilight series. Despite Meyer creating the main plotlines around supernatural happenings, there is a definite sense of humanity being precious and almost sacred, and any deviations from normal humanity – such as vampires, and later in the series, werewolves – are reviled as unnatural and the characters otherworldliness is a ‘burden that must be borne.’ Unlike many other supernatural stories, the characters in Twilight live in a type of denial of their ‘unhumanity.’ The Cullen family shun their vampiric tendencies and live only on the blood of animals, maintaining the preciousness of human life. They inhibit their natural abilities to move faster and think quickly, to blend in with the humans around them. This shunning of the supernatural contrasted with Bella’s morbid fascination of it is held in tension within the saga, and is a central complication between Edward and Bella, as Edward refuses to give Bella her wish of becoming a vampire. The power the vampires possess could be unlimited and used for their own advantage and even to dominate humanity, yet they show moral restraint and seem to have a higher moral code than Bella or even other humans. This dichotomy between the vampire’s high moral ethic and the negative portrayal of their supernatural existence is another aspect of Meyer’s character development within the series.

Twilight provides a popular cultural alternative to mainstream religion, and has quickly become a replacement to some of its audience. A religion based around Twilight has cropped up recently and is being called ‘Cullenism.’ Cullenists believe that “just like any other religion, there is some spirituality to be had out of the Twilight series,” (Bell 1: 2009). The basic set of beliefs in Cullenism is the belief that “Edward and the rest of the Twilight characters are real,” that “the Twilight series should be worshipped," and that "if you are good in life, you will be blessed with eternity with the Cullens." Cullenists are also expected to read some of the books on a daily basis, "like the Bible" and make a pilgrimage to Forks,” (Bell 1: 2009). The deities are the Cullens, and should be worshipped. The religion of Twilight provides a community (often online) of like-minded individuals who share similar beliefs, opinions and values, for both the devout fan and the firm adherent to Cullenism. As a religion, Twilight successfully offers an alternative to sexually hungry, and often aimless teenagers who often desire a more ‘attractive’ appeal to their religion (Schofield Clark 78: 2000).

The portrayal of vampires within film and pop culture is not a new portrayal in any way. Peter Dendle, an associate professor of English at Penn State Mont Alto who studies early medieval demonology and folklore, says “vampires have been around for quite some time, but go through phases of popularity, much like fashion trends. Vampire-like creatures are known from as early as the earliest recorded writings. In Greek literature, there is not a Dracula or Twilight character, but the idea of a soul-sapping, life-drawing creature in human or animal form is very old,” (Pennsylvania State University 1: 2009).

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla, published in 1872, was one of the first vampire novellas, predating Bram Stoker’s Dracula by twenty-five years. Film creations of vampire tales came swiftly after, with The Vampire released in 1913 (IMDB: 2009) and then Nosferatu in 1922 directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau in Germany (IMDB: 2009). Since then, there have been many and varied portrayals of vampires within film and popular culture, often associated with being sexually predatory or sexually alluring. “In the 19th century, Bram Stoker's gothic novel, "Dracula," discreetly sexualized the vampire with a male predator drawing life out of a maidenly woman. Dendle says ‘Stoker used metaphors for sexuality, in a century when it was difficult to write about it explicitly,’” (Pennsylvania State University 1: 2009).
Film is only a small aspect of the media within popular culture, and Twilight has effectively transcended the divide between Hollywood and popular media. In his book, Mass-Mediated Culture, Michael Real provides an example of how popular culture shapes individuals and society as a whole. He argues that “Mass-mediated culture primarily serves the interests of the relatively small political-economic power elite that sits atop the social pyramid. It does so by programming mass consciousness....For example, while allegedly ‘giving people what they want,’ commercial television maximises private corporate profit, restricts choices, fragments consciousness, and masks alienation,” (Cited in Forbes 6: 2005). Twilight has successfully seeped into Western popular culture, much like any other cult following or money-making venture peddled by the media’s elite. The difference with the Twilight series is that was initially overlooked by conventional media, and passed via word of mouth and the internet (Miller 1: 2008). The lag in time for MTV to pick up on the vampire craze is something Miller points out as supporting the initial media lag in support of Twilight.

The success of Twilight’s transition from book, to film, to franchise is what has made it a pillar of popular culture and youth popular culture. Twilight’s permeation through every type of media is what makes it successful, according to Laura Miller (1: 2008). The cultish tendencies of Twilight fanatics who religiously dedicate themselves to the ideologies and concepts within Twilight take it out of the realm of popular culture and media, and into the realm of religion. Twilight provides an alternative to mainstream religion, which is often considered boring and mundane. The Twilight series offers a religion with a little more ‘bite.’

Reference List
Cozzetto, Christina. Twilight Book Review. Date Accessed: 28 October 2009. Available at: http://thebrownspectator.com/twilight/
Bell, Amanda. 2009. Twilight series spawns religion. Date Accessed: 29 October 2009. Available at: http://www.examiner.com/x-4908-Twilight-Examiner~y2009m4d2-Twilight-series-spawns-religion-Edward-Cullen-is-real-members-should-read-the-books-like-a-Bible
Forbes, Bruce David and Mahan, Jeffrey H. 2005. Religion and Popular Culture in America. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Frayling, Christopher. 1992. Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula.
Freeland, Cynthia A. 2000. The Naked and the Undead: Evil and the Appeal of Horror. Westview Press.
Gelder, Ken. 1994. Reading the Vampire. Routledge Press: New York.
Gordon. 1999. The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead. Visible Ink Press.
Greydanus, Steven, D. 2009. Twilight Appeal: The cult of Edward Cullen and vampire love in Stephanie Meyer’s novels and the new film. Date Accessed: 28 October 2009. Available at: http://www.decentfilms.com/sections/articles/twilight.html
Holte, James Craig. 1997. Dracula in the Dark: The Dracula Film Adaptations. Greenwood Press.
Kirk, Connie Ann. 2009. Got Blood? Vampires in Literature, Film, and Popular Culture. Date Accessed: 28 October 2009. Available at: http://www.examiner.com/x-11613-Books-on-Film-Examiner~y2009m9d15-Got-Blood-Vampires-in-Literature-Film-and-Popular-Culture-class-gets-media-attention
Latham, Rob. 2002. Consuming Youth: Vampires, Cyborgs and the culture of consumption. University of Chicago Press. Chicago.
Leatherdale, C. 1993. Dracula: The Novel and the Legend. Desert Island Books.Melton, J.
Leitich Smith, Cynthia. Author Interview: Stephanie Meyer on Twilight. Date accessed: 29 October 2009. Available at: http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2006/03/author-interview-stephenie-meyer-on.html
Lerner, Nathan. 2008. Twilight: A Cult Phenomenon. Date Accessed: 29 October 2009. Available at: http://features.csmonitor.com/books/2008/11/24/twilight-a-cult-phenomenon/
Locke, Andrea. 2009. Theocrit: The online journal of undergraduate literary criticism and theory 1.1 (Spring 2009): 62 -68.
Marketwatch – Twilight Statistics. Date Accessed: 28 October 2009. Available at: http://twilightersanonymous.com/market-watch-twilight-statistics.html
Miller, Laura. 2008. Touched by a Vampire. Date Accessed: 28 October 2009. Available at: http://www.salon.com/books/review/2008/07/30/Twilight/
New York Times. 2007. Children’s Books Bestsellers Lists. Date Accessed: 27 October 2009. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/17/books/bestseller/0617bestchildren.html?scp=10&sq=the+new+girl+falls+love+vampire&st=nyt
Schofield Clark, Lynn. 2000. “U.S.Adolescents, the Media, and the ‘Funky’ Side of Religion,” Journal of Communication 52, no. 4.
Silver, Alain and Ursini, James. The Vampire Film. Date Accessed: 28 October 2009. Available at: http://www6.district125.k12.il.us/~raronoff/Files/Film%20Genres/Vampires/vampirefilm.pdf
Vampire Mania a perpetual fad in pop culture. 2009. Pennsylvania State Unversity. Date Accessed: 30 October 2009. Available at: http://www.physorg.com/news175891178.html

J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S Lewis, Stephanie Meyer, and Religious Fantasy Movies

By: Daniel Garcia-Prats

J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S Lewis, and Stephanie Meyer have quite a bit in common with each other. All three are world famous authors of books that depict a world of fantasy. All three have had movies based on their books made. Most importantly, each of these great writers are devoutly religious people that incorporated their religious values, beliefs, and stories into their works.

J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most popular and read books in the world and the movies directed by Peter Jackson grossed more than six billion dollars (Thill, 2009). The story follows a young hobbit, Frodo Baggins, in his quest to destroy The One Ring and essentially save Middle Earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.

C.S. Lewis, a friend of Tolkien, is famous for The Chronicles of Narnia. The most famous of his works is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe which was made into a movie and was very successful. The story follows four siblings, Lucy, Edmond, Susan, and Peter, that stumble into a magical land through a wardrobe and follows the battles they have against the evil witch.

Stephanie Meyer is the newest addition to the list of religious fantasy authors with her book Twilight. Twilight was recently made into a movie and has become a craze that rivals that of Harry Potter. Meyer’s story follows a young teenage girl, Bella, who falls in love with a vampire, Edward, and discovers a whole world of vampires unknown to the rest of the world.

Although none of these works seem like religious literature, each one contains the faith of their respective authors. Tolkien and Lewis were devout Catholics that greatly influence their writings. Meyers is a devout Mormon that includes her own religious values into her writings. Despite the fact that all three movies contain religious symbolism and values, only The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe received public backlash upon its movie release. The movie released by Disney became controversial with its well publicized and obviously Christian references (Seigel, 2005). It seemed odd to me that only one would receive such severe criticism for its inclusion of religion. It made me wonder; why was religion in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe not acceptable? When is it okay to include religion?

Tolkien is quoted as saying that The Lord of the Rings is "a fundamentally religious and Catholic work" (Greydanus). However, it seems that few people realize the religious symbolism that is ingrained in the books as well as the films. For example, in The Fellowship of the Ring, the first of series, Aragorn can be seen doing a kind of simplistic version of the sign of the cross when Baromir is killed. In The Return of the King, Frodo carrying the Ring up to Mount Doom is symbolic of Jesus carrying the cross in order to destroy evil (Pearce 2003). As a Catholic, after watching the movies again in this light the Catholic values and symbolism became very evident but I believe that it was only evident because I am Catholic. Certain Catholic teachings would not be evident to the average moviegoer and therefore would not stir up much of a controversy despite the fact that Tolkien claims it as a religious work.

Meyer is a very devout Mormon and, like Tolkien, is greatly influenced by her faith which is evident in her writings (Arnaudin, 2008). However, unlike Tolkien, Meyer does not explicitly write about Mormonism or make direct reference to Mormonism. There is only a single direct reference to Mormonism and that is the oath of the Quileute tribe that is not obvious to the average person, myself included (Arnaudin, 2008). Meyer instills her Mormon values in the characters in Twilight. Her faith becomes an essential aspect to her characters. For example, in the movies there are references to abstinence in Bella and Edward’s relationship, not only sexual but also Edward abstaining from human blood. Family is important to Mormons and is evident in the family of vampires when they meet Bella for the first time. Despite Meyer’s Mormon faith and the Mormon values in the characters in Twilight, there has been very little talk of it as the books and movies continue to gain more fans.

Lewis, like Tolkien, was a Catholic and used a great deal of Catholic symbols in his works. The Chronicles of Narnia are a series of books that retell New Testament stories and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is his most famous story. Unlike Tolkien and Meyer, Lewis made his symbols very obvious to the average person. The most obvious reference in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is when Aslan sacrifices himself and then is resurrected. This is what much of the controversy is focused on. Jessica Seigel wrote in the New York Times that, “As a child, I never knew that Aslan was ‘Jesus.’ And that's a good thing. My mother recently remarked that if she'd known the stories were Christian, she wouldn't have given me the book” (Seigel, 2009)

Meyer and Tolkien have created works that reflect their own religious beliefs and yet when Lewis has attempted to the same it is seen as wrong. I believe that The Lord of the Rings and Twilight would receive similar responses if people were aware of the religious aspects. So when is it okay to talk about religion? It is acceptable to talk about religion and reference religion as long as no one knows that it is religious.

References

Arnaudin, Edwin B. “Mormon Vampires: The Twilight Saga and Religious Literacy.” A Master’s Paper for the M.S. in L.S degree. April, 2008.

Greydanus, Steven D. "Faith and Fantasy: Tolkien the Catholic, The Lord of the Rings, and Peter Jackson’s Film Trilogy."Decentfilms.com. Web. 21Aug.2009.

Pearce, Joseph. "Why Tolkien Says "The Lord of the Rings" Is Catholic." Catholic Education Resource Center. 19 Jan. 2003. Web. 20 Aug.2009. .

Seigel, Jessica. "The Lion, the Witch and the Metaphor." NYTimes.com. 12 Dec. 2005. Web. 19 Aug. 2009. .

Scott Thill, “Tolkien Estate to Time Warner: Pay Up or No Hobbit Film.” 16 July 2009. Web. 20 Aug. 2009. .

Mormon References in Twilight

by Emily Fuller

Arnaudin B, 2008: Mormon Vampires: The Twilight Saga and Religious Literacy, A Master’s Paper for the M.S. in L.S. degree. University of North Carolina.

Edwin Arnaudin’s master’s paper provides an interesting perspective on the religion of Stephanie Meyer, the author of the Twilight books, and the impact it had on her writing. Stephanie Meyer has been a devout Mormon for her entire life, and according to Arnaudin, this has shaped the way she writes. Arnaudin points out that although Mormon scripture and the LDS church are never explicitly mentioned in the Twilight books, there are many aspects of the book that have clearly been influenced by Stephanie Meyer’s faith.

There is a lot of discussion, especially amongst the Cullen’s, about the ‘meaning of life’, and souls and redemption. Carlisle’s admission that this kind of discussion “sounds a little bizarre coming from a vampire” is a line which Arnaudin believes sums up the whole Twilight series perfectly. Arnaudin outlines each main character’s opinion on the fate of the vampires. Although there are many different views, the existence of souls, and the value of good deeds are central themes.

The only direct reference to Mormon literature Arnaudin was able to find is Meyer’s tribute to her favourite story from the Book of Mormon. The young warriors from the scripture are represented in the Twilight series by the young men of the Quileute tribe, who are revealed to be vampires.

According to Arnaudin, the books are only popular because people don’t know enough about Mormonism to be able to find these references. He believes that if people were made aware of these references they may feel betrayed at being ‘subjected’ to such material.

The paper is well written, and can be understood even by those who have no prior knowledge of Mormonism or Twilight. However, Arnaudin fails to go past the surface of Meyer’s writing in his analysis. All of his examples are relatively obvious, and open. He doesn’t analyse themes which are hidden a bit deeper in the writing, such as the traditional gender roles in the book, which could also be quite closely linked to Meyer’s Mormon upbringing.