You can’t deny it. Twilight has become part of a freakish cultural movement that expands entirely beyond the book and movie series. Somehow, the vampire saga has hit our cultural funnybone, and the reaction is HIGHLY amusing.
As you probably know, New Moon has been a huge box office hit, apparently making a total of $142,839,137 in the US in its first weekend. Woof.
As you might not know, Twilight is also making waves abroad. This video posted on JapanProbe reveals that Americans aren’t the only Twilight Fanatics out there:
In fact, vampire interest in Japan, supposedly prompted by Twilight, has been strong enough to merit the production of two Japanese dramas: The Loving Demon and RH Plus.
Online, Twilight searches have shown steady growth over time, as is made apparent on Google Trends. In addition, Twilight references have become embedded into everyday conversations. One particularly funny reference was posted on It Made My Day a couple of days back:
A little girl I was babysitting wanted to do arts and crafts. She spilled glitter all over her skin and proceeded to cry. When I asked her what was wrong she sniffled and said, “I don’t want to be a vampire!” IMMD.
Indeed, sparkling skin has taken on a whole new meaning. At my job in a cupcake shop, I create fondant decorations, and often return home covered in edible glitter. One of my co-workers recently told me that her friends think she is intentionally glittering her skin in an attempt to be like a Twilight Vampire.
Hilarious? Absolutely. But even more so is the fact that that Twilight body glitter is actually a PRODUCT, and people are actively seeking advice on how to look like a Twilight Vampire (not only glitter-wise, but tooth, movement, and makeup-wise). Here’s some expert advice from WikiHow:
The Cullens are vegetarian. So get golden and black contacts on the internet or from your eye doctor. Golden’s the fed look and black is hungry. If you’d rather be like the Nomad’s (James, Victoria, and Laurent) then get red/burgundy and black.
…
If you’re going for a newborn Vampire look, try clenching your fists and widening your eyes when somebody gets too close. That makes it seem like you’re holding yourself back.
Peripheral interests resulting from the Twilight Saga have also emerged. Interest Debussy (Edward Cullen’s favorite pianist) has increased as a result of the vampire’s endorsement. Hey, at least the kids are getting into classical music, right?
Furthermore, the debut of New Moon, has given greater prominence to the Twilight Factions (Team Edward and Team Jacob) in mainstream media. Indeed, the introduction of a restyled, short-haired, and shirtless Jacob Black in New Moon has resulted in a rapidly expanding fan base for Edward Cullen’s sexy wharewolf rival (because, let’s face it… Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black is ridiculously hot, and I am saying this from a completely unbiased and professional standpoint… harharhar).
As you can see in the Google Insights graph above, Edward Cullen enjoyed much more attention until the masses were introduced to Jacob Black’s shirtless body. Now, the supernatural characters are pretty much neck and neck. As a result, one can see fangirls walking around in articles of home-made / online-designed Team Edward and Team Jacob regalia. There are also more “official” Twilight products sold by large, established brands, such as Nordstrom’s:
Though there are thousands who enthusiastly emulate vampire looks and deportment, and purchase Twilight-branded products, there are thousands more who get a kick out of satirizing the saga. For every post on MLIT (My Life is Twilight) idolizing the Twilight Life, Twilight-mocking posts can be found on other “acronym” sites, such as IMMD:
I just watched an old man yell “I SPARKLE TOO! TEAM ME!” at two girls wearing Team Edward shirts. IMMD
For every YouTube mashup and tribute, you can find an equally amusing satire:
And some have even gone so far as to stage Twilight Interventions:
What I love about all this ridiculousness is how openly people both love and detest Twilight Mania. I think the key issue is that, while the actual story is awful, the guys are hot, and the whole “I want to [insert whatever you want here] you but I can’t” theme is highly amusing, whether it’s about sex, conversion into an undead bloodsucker, or… even eating marshmallows:
Yep- we love the “forbidden fruit” theme, and we love hot guys. I’ll rest my case with this:
As you can see, we really don’t give a hoot about the story’s protagonist. Twilight is successful because it’s an entertaining escape. Accept it. It’s fantastic whether you love to love it for adore hating it.
I’m quite curious to see if this Twilight Mania will hold. Is the current obsession a reaction to our current socioeconomic climate? And when that changes, will we turn to other themes? Or will this franchise continue to be a success? Only time will tell. For now, let us revel in hilarity.
