The Fandom of Twilight - Essay Example

The Fandom of “Twilight Analysis and Criticism The human civilization today continues its evolution on the principles different from those of a mere century ago. Today, people are all about entertainment and their attraction to certain elements of them, especially with media taking such an important place in people’s lives. With this, adolescents appear to be the group of population that is most exposed to the influences from media, and lion’s share of attention of research is given to this specific group. This phenomenon is furthermore emphasized by the precedents of the latter decades, when such franchises as “Star Track,” “Star Wars,” “Harry Potter,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Narnia,” etc. have formed the tendency of popularization of geek and fan culture. However, even with these fandoms at hand, an absolutely exquisite phenomenon of the Twilight saga still stands on its own as it does not fit in the framework of any other franchises yet creates the pattern for the new type of fandom to emerge. Within this essay, some of the researches investigating this phenomenon will be analyzed and information drawn from their studies presented to explain the fandom of “Twilight” in detail and in relation to the ‘Twilight Phenomenon.’ Explanation of research There were several recurring ideas that all studies seemed to be pondering about. This major idea is focused on the attempts to understand the fandom of “Twilight” as an integral cultural phenomenon from the variety of positions that the authors of the researches have taken. In order to achieve the primary goal of explanation of popularity of “Twilight,” the scholars indicate the necessity of researching the fans themselves as an integral part of the phenomenon. (Click, Aubrey & Behm-Morawitz, 2010) General thoughts on the subject unfortunately are disappointed in their evaluation of the critical thinking and overall cultural literacy that the franchise delivers to its audiences. With this, the points of view that most of the authors of the scholar researches share revolve around the belief that the Twilight “fannish tendencies appear to be antithetical to a thoughtful […] approach to film.” (Gutierrez, 2009, p. 94) While this opinion is being expressed both directly and through hidden statements, all of the authors seem to be aware about the major reasons why the Twilight saga cannot be considered a piece of culture literacy. Despite this, the popularity of the franchise indicates that there are some elements that are worth to be studies thoroughly in order to understand how to make franchise not only entertaining and appealing to its audiences but also encouraging to study and actually delivering benefits and connections to the real-world problems. Sources organized by shared ideas The popularity of the “Twilight” The sources chosen for this essay are clearly organized by shared ideas and topics discussed. These are generally circulating around the so-called “Twilight Phenomenon”, which indicates the unexpected growth of popularity of the “Twilight” series despite the many flaws that the books demonstrate. Moreover, the unprecedented development of fandom has justified the multiple researches of the Twilight saga. This is the main problem that the researchers indicate when analyzing the fandom. Specifically, Alberto (2012) investigates the underlying reasons that allowed the development of fandom basing on the emotional connection that the audiences develop to the books and the preexisting culture of vampires and generally Gothic subjects. A different perspective is taken in the other research, where the scholars aim to understand the bigger picture, with the “Twilight” series giving the spur for increasing popularity of the vampire image in the youth culture altogether. (Click, Stevens Aubrey & Behm-Morawitz, 2010) At the same time, Williams (2013) takes a look at the element of music in attempt to explain the same phenomenon from a different angle. As such, all of the studies have in mind explanation of the “Twilight Phenomenon” from one point of view or another, as well as indicating the relevance of such a research in finding the reasons for further application with the goal of teaching audiences something that goes beyond pure entertainment. Connection of the fandom to culture and literature The researches as stated all share similar ideas and justify the necessity of studying the fandom of the “Twilight” in similar terms. Their differences are primarily in how they address the question at hand and the approach they undertake in order to explain the “Twilight Phenomenon.” For the purposes of general research, it is beneficial that one of the studies investigates the cradle of the new vampire franchise through the Gothic literature retold in new way. Moreover, not only Gothic elements but also general plot of the story matter in evaluation of why the “Twilight” have grown so popular: it is the “unrequited, forbidden, and immortal love story” that existed in classic literature and is still one of the most powerful premises for engaging the younger readership. (Alberto, 2012, p. 17) This study investigates how this story is combined with the ‘vampire fetishes’ to fit with the tastes of the modern audiences, specifically concentrating on new youth culture, feminism, adolescent agency and social construction. Advantages and disadvantages of the fandom Following this research, Gutierrez (2009) evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of the “Twilight” from both cultural and fandom perspectives. Basing on close textual analysis, it seeks to find answers on the questions of how it responds to the needs of the current culture and real world problems, how it helps the audience to develop and how it is connected to other texts. Both beneficial and harmful sides of the saga are present, and the general message that the scholars deliver is about the comprehensive nature of the “Twilight” and the impact that it has made on the modern adolescent culture. Specifically, among benefits, not only entertainment is named but also development of relationship between adolescents and their parents, interest of young adults in literature and learning more about human relationship, and so on. (Click, Aubrey & Morawitz, 2010) On the other hand, there are numerous disadvantages like poor understanding of how the story relates to the acute modern problems, the functioning of relationship and poor profile of the characters. While this particular research strives to explain more of outcomes than background of the “Twilight” popularity, it also seeks to find answers about what brings the fans to like the franchise in marking the general cultural tendencies today. Types of fans: fans and anti-fans The other study conducted a survey to investigate separate elements of the “Twilight Phenomenon.” Specifically, Click, Aubrey and Morawitz (2010) studied the preferences of fans inside the fandom, the differences among the fans, relationship among them, online fan fiction, as well as the reasoning of anti-fans and the virtual sub-culture created within the framework of the “Twilight.” Furthermore, the studies also investigated the transition of fans between different fandoms. An example of this for the case of the Twilight saga is inter-connection of it with the rock band Muse that was featured in the soundtrack for the movies. Williams (2013) addresses this as an ‘inter-fan movement’, which is another phenomenon important for understanding of the unprecedented boom of the Twilight fandom. Not only this, but also the opposition of fandoms is being emphasized, where the Muse and the “Twilight” fans are depicted as being ‘anti-fandoms’ in a sense of forbidding of the fans to transgress the ‘territory’ of each other. This way, the study outlines the reasons of fandoms growing and increasing attention of audiences through their opposition that draws more fans to them. Conclusion When starting to research this topic, it was clear that there was a lot of material that critically evaluated the text of the “Twilight,” however, the research of the fandom element seemed to be insufficient. It necessitated certain amount of efforts to be put into finding relevant and fresh, as well as logical investigations of the Twilight fandom. The sources found yet presented the information from different angles, even though they all have recurring ideas and similar approached to justifying the importance of research. The significance of questions raised are directly related to increasing literacy of modern audiences, specifically those that are comprised of adolescents and young adults. This warrants further research of the topic to understand the basic reasons for popularity of the “Twilight” and applying these reasons to other, more educational and real-world related fandoms. With this in mind, there are additional questions that could be researched that deal with the issues of fan fiction as what fans seek in franchises, as well as relationship between fans as means of communication of modern audience. References Alberto, P. (2012). Love and Lust for FANg Culture: The Fandom behind the Twilight Phenomenon. Colloquy, 8, 16-35. Click, M. A., Aubrey, J. S., & Behm-Morawitz, E. (2010). “Biting into the Twilight Fandom.” In: Bitten by Twilight: Youth Culture, Media, & the Vampire Franchise, 137-224. Peter Lang Publishing Inc. Gutierrez, P. (2009). Twilight, Criticism and the Redemption of Fandom. Screen Education, 54, 94-98. Williams, R. (2013). “Anyone who Calls Muse a Twilight Band will be Shot on Sight”: Music, Distinction, and the “Interloping Fan” in the Twilight Franchise. Popular Music and Society, 36(3), 327-342. Read More