I just watched the “New Moon” & watched Twilight about a week ago. So now I’ve seen the 2 new vampire movies young girls are going gaga over. The interesting thing about them is they are chock full of imagery and symbolism. Same with Avatar, it’s interesting to see & think about why people go nuts over these images.
Twilight movies – girls falls in love with a vampire. Vampire also loves girl. They are both 17-18 and in high school. He tells her he can “never lose control” with her or he will drink her blood and “go too far” — if he starts but stops in time, then she’s a vampire like him. But her blood “sends him into a frenzy”. If he drinks too much blood, then she dies. The whole entire movie he is attracted to her like a magnet but has to stop his own sexual impulses or he’ll drink her dry & she will die……… This kid is 109 yrs old and has been going to high school all that time. I think I’d find a way to kill myself.
There is a rival who also falls in love w/ the same girl. The rival discovers he is a werewolf during the movie. Turns into a wolf when he gets angry!! If she stays with him, then she can never make him angry, or he may lash out at her with his wolf paw and injure her……… hmm……. hit her and be sorry later. Gee what a symbolic theme. (I’ve taught about domestic violence already this semester.)
There is another woman in the film who is a lover of a different vampire & she walks around with a big claw scratch scar on 1/2 her face, from when he “lost his temper” one time. I think the imagery here is disturing toward women.
then there is this whole Native American theme, as the wolves also just happen to be Indian & go to the reservation school. Great. The one black guy in the film –really good looking with long dreads and an accent — was a “bad vampire” who wants to kill the human girl everyone else loves. He dies at the hand of the wolves.
There is tons of gender/race imagery in here but this is a very, very short example. End of the movie: She is wanting to be turned into a vampire to live with him forever, and asks him to be “the one to do it” to her. He asks her to marry him. If they do this, then she loses her eternal SOUL, because vampires are eternally cursed for some reason or another (not explained), and the “truce” between wolves and vampires will be officially called off. (Woman causing a war because of 2 men fighting over her — another familiar theme). “To Be Continued . . .” The Edward character is very sexy. But the story is FULL of debilitating messages for non-white racial groups and women. Edward is so white he looks like he has powder on during the entire film. He wins the girl’s heart. The Indian werewolf kid, Jacob, runs off into the woods but the girl loves him “as a friend”.
Doctor Grandma 