Though I haven't read it, it seems to me that Twilight is yet another variation on that old fairy tale, "Beauty and the Beast."
I don't know if it reassures or alarms anyone, but there seem to be two things happening in the book biz these days. First of all, there is now an entire subsection of the Romance novel section in the bookstore called "Supernatural Romance." I keep having to walk past it on my way to the Regency Romances (yeah, I kick it Austen-style in my chick-lit). Vampire Romance is very trendy right now. It's like Joss Whedon and Anne Rice humped up a storm in the slush pile [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slush_pile] at Harlequin Books. The other trend is that the Young Adult section now has a big section of books which are basically scaled down versions of the romances aimed at adult women, which include historical romances, "Bridget Jones" type books, and yes, Supernatural Romance.
I think it's interesting that the author supposedly left Bella a "blank slate." This makes everything very clear to me. In literary or sociological terms, you make call Bella and Edward any number of things, but in fanfiction terms, Bella and Edward are a Mary-Sue and a Woobie. A Mary-Sue is a vehicle for author/reader self-insertion. As such, she has many desirable traits, but no personality that might disrupt the seamless projection of the reader onto the character.
A Woobie is a character that is, and should by all rights be recognized as, an asshat. But NO! He's not an asshat! He's Misunderstood! He Suffers! It's his Terrible Pain that makes him act like such a shit-heel, and only the Mary-Sue can help him overcome his Inner Demons and Find Happiness. Vampires, being actually demonic, have the very best Inner Demons (Spike and Angel from BtVS are classic woobies) so a Mary-Sue must be a very special girl indeed to rescue them.
In Twilight, I find it refreshing that the Woobie in question is, in all actuality, sparkly. For most Woobies, the sparkle is merely metaphorical (except for Draco Malfoy, who seems to have a fandom penchant for glittery emo-goth Muggle clothes.
In a way, Razzle has hit the woobie right on its' poor widdle head--this is not new. This is the most elementary material of personal fantasy. What makes it so potent on one hand and so repellant on the other is that somehow this Mary-Sue/Woobie fantasy has gotten into print in a form that would set the fangirls of Fandom_Wank howling with mixed bloodlust and laughter.
Guys, if you don't get it, the sparkly vampire is the equivalent of the warrior babe in bikini armor. That reaction you are having, the one where you stare slack-jawed, thinking "How the shit is THAT attractive?! On what planet is THAT even remotely possible?" well, welcome to the flip-side. Fantasies are embarrassing, appalling, laughable, in bad taste, a reflection of some of the most fucked up aspects of our society, deeply necessary, and utterly human. If you think your fantasies aren't ridiculous, look at someone else's and think again.
I don't know if it reassures or alarms anyone, but there seem to be two things happening in the book biz these days. First of all, there is now an entire subsection of the Romance novel section in the bookstore called "Supernatural Romance." I keep having to walk past it on my way to the Regency Romances (yeah, I kick it Austen-style in my chick-lit). Vampire Romance is very trendy right now. It's like Joss Whedon and Anne Rice humped up a storm in the slush pile [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slush_pile] at Harlequin Books. The other trend is that the Young Adult section now has a big section of books which are basically scaled down versions of the romances aimed at adult women, which include historical romances, "Bridget Jones" type books, and yes, Supernatural Romance.
I think it's interesting that the author supposedly left Bella a "blank slate." This makes everything very clear to me. In literary or sociological terms, you make call Bella and Edward any number of things, but in fanfiction terms, Bella and Edward are a Mary-Sue and a Woobie. A Mary-Sue is a vehicle for author/reader self-insertion. As such, she has many desirable traits, but no personality that might disrupt the seamless projection of the reader onto the character.
A Woobie is a character that is, and should by all rights be recognized as, an asshat. But NO! He's not an asshat! He's Misunderstood! He Suffers! It's his Terrible Pain that makes him act like such a shit-heel, and only the Mary-Sue can help him overcome his Inner Demons and Find Happiness. Vampires, being actually demonic, have the very best Inner Demons (Spike and Angel from BtVS are classic woobies) so a Mary-Sue must be a very special girl indeed to rescue them.
In Twilight, I find it refreshing that the Woobie in question is, in all actuality, sparkly. For most Woobies, the sparkle is merely metaphorical (except for Draco Malfoy, who seems to have a fandom penchant for glittery emo-goth Muggle clothes.
In a way, Razzle has hit the woobie right on its' poor widdle head--this is not new. This is the most elementary material of personal fantasy. What makes it so potent on one hand and so repellant on the other is that somehow this Mary-Sue/Woobie fantasy has gotten into print in a form that would set the fangirls of Fandom_Wank howling with mixed bloodlust and laughter.
Guys, if you don't get it, the sparkly vampire is the equivalent of the warrior babe in bikini armor. That reaction you are having, the one where you stare slack-jawed, thinking "How the shit is THAT attractive?! On what planet is THAT even remotely possible?" well, welcome to the flip-side. Fantasies are embarrassing, appalling, laughable, in bad taste, a reflection of some of the most fucked up aspects of our society, deeply necessary, and utterly human. If you think your fantasies aren't ridiculous, look at someone else's and think again.