After the release of Twilight appeared on our screens in 2008, suddenly the idea of vampire themed fantasy became more prominent within society. The genre of dark fantasy wasn’t a new idea in 2008, as various book series; True Blood, Vampire Diaries, and the Twilight Saga, graced our bookshelves long before gracing our film screens. With the success of fantasy genre films such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, it’s no wonder that Twilight took off so quickly. Like with any saga, the build up for the next installment is overwhelming and with the help of advertising and the media, it isn’t long before everywhere you turn there is something relating to that film. The franchise is huge and this makes the vampire genre more acceptable to a wider audience and this integrates into society becoming somewhat of a trend, for example, the pale skin, porcelain beauty look of Bella Swan becoming more acceptable amongst celebrities and others alike.
This surge in culture led to a whole host of new books, TV programs and films flooding into the market and dominating conversation, posters, and magazines. Varying articles about the stars of the Twilight films following its release, have been posted and the romance between the two leads, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, has been debated on and off screen. The excitement around this can cause an obsession, ‘the domination of thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image or desire.’ Just as our appetite for the films begins to subside due to a film lull between June 2010 and November 2011, the release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 hits us, oh so cleverly timed to keep the growing fan base engaged.
Having been a huge fan of the Twilight books myself, I found it hard to get onboard with the Twilight Saga obsession mainly due to the fact that I thought the films wouldn’t do the books justice. However, very recently, I persuaded myself to watch the films to try and figure out why people are so obsessed. I realized why people enjoy these films, personally I wouldn’t say it was for the ‘dishy’ actors such as Robert Pattinson or Taylor Lautner, but more for the immersion into the story- feeling like a part of the film, being drawn into the drama of the characters. Of course if I had to pick a team, as so many young adults have done, then I suppose I would have to say team Jacob due to his portrayal in the books. Many will surely disagree with me and this is a subject that has been on many people’s lips for the past few years and is still debated now.
As of yet, I don’t believe there is a Twilight society set up at Lancaster University, but as the release of the new film looms perhaps someone will be inspired to create one? All I know is that I am sure that many students, male and female alike will be heading to the Vue cinema in town on November 18th to watch this film.
