Twilight

About

Twilight is a series of romance novels and fantasy films about a love triangle between the teenage girl Bella Swan (played by Kristen Stewart), the vampire Edward Cullen (played by Robert Pattinson) and the werewolf Jacob Black (played by Taylor Lautner).

History

The novel Twilight by author Stephenie Meyer was published by Little, Brown and Company on October 5th, 2005. It told the story of protagonist Bella Swan, a teenage girl who falls in love with the 104-year-old vampire Edward Cullen after moving to the town of Forks, Washington. On September 6th, 2006, the second novel New Moon was released, in which Cullen leaves Swan after his brother attacks her. The werewolf Jacob Black is subsequently introduced, who befriends and consoles Swan. On August 7th, 2007, Eclipse was released, in which Swan chooses between her love for Cullen and her friendship with Black. On August 2nd, 2008, the final novel in the series Breaking Dawn was released, concluding with Swan and Cullen’s marriage and birth of their child.

Film Adaptations

The film Twilight was released on November 21st, 2008, which starred Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan and Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen. The film The Twilight Saga: New Moon was released in Los Angeles, California on November 16th, 2009, introducing the actor Taylor Lautner as the werewolf Jacob Black. On June 6th, 2010, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse premiered, followed by the released of The Twlight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 on November 18th, 2011. The final film in the series, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, is scheduled for release on November 16th, 2012.

On July 12th, 2012, Stephenie Meyer, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner appeared at the 2012 Comic-Con convention to promote the upcoming film The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2. According to the Vancouver Sun^[2], during a press conference and a panel Q&A, Meyers revealed that a Twilight franchise reboot may occur “15 years down the line” and that she was “burned out on vampires.”

Reception

In a 2003 auction, eight publishers competed for the rights to publish the original Twilight novel, eventually settling on $750,000 for all three books from Little, Brown and Company. Within a month of its release, it debuted at #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list and subsequently peaked at #1. In the second week of New Moon’s publication, it reached #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list. Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the series, sold over 1.2 million copies within the first day alone. Meyer became the first author to claim the top four spots in USA Today’s year-end bestseller list for two consecutive years.

In the United States and Canada, the film Twilight sold over $192.7 million , The Twilight Saga: New Moon sold 296 million, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse sold $300 million and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 sold 281 million. Reviews for the films were mixed, with Metacritic^[9] scores ranging from 44 to 58.

Criticisms

On November 23rd, 2009, the webcomic The Oatmeal published a post titled “How Twilight Works”, which included several illustrations mocking the fandom.

Fandom

The Twilight saga is frequently noted in the news media for its large and diverse online fandom, which has been described as “cult like” and compared to the fandom behind J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise. While teenage fangirls and middle-aged women have been generally cited as the primary demographic of Twilight, dubbed “Twi-hards” and “Twi-moms” respectively, some journalists have reported positive reception from young boys and adults of both genders as well.

Online Presence

Some of the more prominent Twilight fan sites include The Twilight Saga^[5], Twilight Guide^[6] and the Twilight Lexicon.^[8] As of July 13th, 2012, the official Facebook^[3] group for “The Twilight Saga” has accumulated over 34 million likes, the Twilight Wiki^[7] has over 1,000 pages and there are over 129,000 Twilight fanfiction stories on the website Fanfiction.net.^[4]

Us Weekly Photo Scandal

On July 24th, 2012, celebrity gossip magazine Us Weekly^[10] published photographs of actress and Twilight cast member Kristen Stewart in the arms of film director Rupert Sanders (shown below, left). The photographs quickly spread online through social networking sites and the celebrity gosspip blogosphere^[15][16], which instantly sparked angry reactions from the fans as well as a debate over their authenticity. Some fans on Tumblr^[11][12][14] were quick to dismiss the photographs as having been heavily photoshopped, citing the apparent lack of distinction between Stewart’s face and ear in the depiction (shown below, right), while others speculated that the paparazzi photos may have been deliberate staged to draw media attention.^[13]

The debate over the photos’ authenticity became so widespread that at one point, another rumor began to spread on Twitter^[18] that the director’s wife Liberty Ross had confirmed that the image was a modified version of her. However, it was quickly debunked as a hoax started by a prankster on Ross’ IMDB discussion boards. That same day, Livejournal gossip blog OhNoTheyDidn’t^[15] posted an article titled “Liberty Ross spills the tea on Rupert and KStew, vanishes from Twitter in the process,” detailing background information about Rupert Sanders’ marriage and a screenshot of his wife Liberty Ross’ Twitter feed shortly before she deleted the account, which simply read “WOW.” (shown below) The article generated more than 1,500 comments within 48 hours.

On the following day, Stewart, who has been romantically linked to her co-star actor Robert Pattinson since the two met on the set in 2008, issued a public apology in which she explicitly confirmed their longtime relationship for the first time, stating:

“I’m deeply sorry for the hurt and embarrassment I’ve caused to those close to me and everyone this has affected. This momentary indiscretion has jeopardized the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob. I love him, I love him, I’m so sorry.”

Stewart’s apology was met by mixed responses from the fans and the media. Some news publications^[17] and blogs defended her apology by calling it “heartfelt” and “honest” in comparison to previous scandals involving celebrities’ infidelity, while others expressed disappointment and anger towards Stewart for cheating on her longtime boyfriend Robert Pattinson. Among them was Twi-hard fan and YouTuber nuttymadam3575, who posted her ranting reaction to the news in a video titled “HOWCOULDYOU DO THISKRISTEN?!”

Related Memes

Twilight Comics

Twilight Comics are multi-pane vertical images which contain screen captures from the Twilight film with text mocking the series.

Still a Better Love Story Than Twilight

Still a Better Love Story Than Twilight is an expression often seen in image macros and comment sections of various websites. It is used to illustrate that a connection between two pairings is more romantic than that of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen.

Fifty Shades of Grey

The erotic fiction trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James started out as a Twilight fanfiction series written under the pseudonym Snowqueen’s Icedragon. The original story titled “Master of the Universe” was published on James’ personal website in December of 2010.

Search Interest

External References