tagged: Bella, Cullens, Eclipse, Edward Cullen, feminism, Jacob, New Moon, sexism, Stephanie Meyer, Twilight, vampire

Calling Bullshit on Bella

Posted by Claire Connelly in Entertainment, Humour, Sexuality

I’m sorry but I’m calling bullshit on this whole pop-cultured can of beans that is the Twilight series, and the supposedly “feminist” message it epically fails to portray.

To begin with, the lead female protagonist Bella is a complete and utter bore – a blank slate, whose entire existence, thoughts, and actions revolves around her dull-as-nails, 110 year old, Shakespeare quoting, pedophile vampire dream-beau Edward.

Everything else exists on the periphery –  Bella’s school, friends, socialising, romanticising Victorian literature, wearing daggy trench coats and worrying about her age , serve only as convenient distractions while she waits for Edwards return.

Bella is a vapid baseless character with zero interests, no goals (except becoming a vampire), with few friends, who does nothing but mope around waiting to be saved.

I have not witnessed such a bland protagonist since Rapunzel.

What are young girls supposed to think about the significance of their own lives when they watch this ridiculous ”morality story” of a purposeless protagonist whose entire self worth is validated by a constipated vampire and a werewolf with anger management problems?

As if the first film wasn’t bad enough with its swooning & grunting , and –  ”Oh no! I cannot control myself I am but a mere woman” - New Moon reaches all new depths of unapologetic misogyny.

Ms. Magazine’s Carmen D. Siering explains:

“Fans of the books, and now a movie version, often break into “teams,” aligning them- selves with the swain they hope Bella will choose in the end: Team Edward or Team Jacob. But few young readers ask, “Why not Team Bella?” perhaps because the answer is quite clear: There can be no Team Bella. Even though Bella is ostensibly a hero, in truth she is merely an object in the Twilight world. Bella is a prize, not a person, someone to whom things happen, not an active participant in the unfolding story.”

The abundant ‘close-calls’ in this film serve only to highlight the near obvious truth that Bella ought perhaps, to be her own heroine – but instead Bella and the Cullens conclude, without the slightest hint of irony, that the only solution is for Bella to become a vampire (spoiler alert) despite the turf-wars that will inevitably occur from this illicit union.

Even more ironical - the books were written by a half crazed Mormon trying to discourage teenage girls from having premarital sex. But instead of creating an empowered central character Bella is portrayed as weak, vulnerable, and unable to control her lust or emotions for even a moment, whose physical and emotional safety is ensured only by the dominant men she surrounds herself with who control her behavior, her decisions, and impose their own personal brand of chauvinist morality.

Women have been portrayed as victims enough throughout cinematic history; just once, I would like to see Bella kick some serious vampire butt!

If Stephanie Meyer really wanted to help girls take control of their bodies, she would create a headstrong protagonist who sleeps well at night without the constant company of men, who says no to being “turned”/”bitten”/”insert obvious metaphoric reference to getting laid here”  – who controls her own destiny.

Give teenagers  a strong and self empowered woman to look up to instead of this pathetic whiny vampire fan-girl!

Instead, we witness two and a half hours of a sniveling submissive little emo who cannot be alone for a minute and the delay of her impending ”deflowering” relies purely on the self-control exercised by her controlling male counterparts, (apparently the women of Forks are incapable of exercising any self-control).

Seriously, how can any self respecting feminist enjoy this film, and why oh why do I continue to watch them?

Though I wouldn’t write off the possibility that the Twilight saga provokes more conversations between tweens, teens, and their adult counterparts than we may think, it would make for a nice change to have an interesting female lead who doesn’t have daddy issues, whose character development is not based around some traumatic childhood experience, who isn’t trying to nab herself a man,  - who is empowered just to be empowered.

That’d be the day.