Edward must defend Bella against the predatory interests of nomadic bloodsucker James (Cam Gigandet).


this climax carries the 21st century equivalent to the charge the once-innovative Hammer DRACULA (HORROR OF DRACULA, 1958) did in its original release and 1964 reissue, particularly in its respec- tive “primal scenes” (eg., Carol Marsh’s Lucy ex- citedly loosening the decolletáge of her nightdress in her bed as she breathlessly awaits the arrival of her midnight lover). With its own intoxicating pas- sion and vigor, TWILIGHT addresses, with star- tling fidelity and boldly direct narrative strokes and imagery, the 21st century conflation of identity, sexuality, family (and extended family), religion and mortality that the individualized “battle fronts” of teen coming-of-age has become today. If you doubt me at all, consider, just for a mo- ment, the all-too-public battle front Sarah Palin’s teenage daughter Bristol, her lover Levi Johnston and their respective families have endured since September 1st. In case you were living under a rock or deliberately avoiding the news, Governor and former Vice-Presidential Republican candidate Sarah Palin announced at the Republican National Convention on September 1st, 2008 that her un- married 18-year-old daughter Bristol was pregnant. Within the week, it was disclosed that 18-year-old Levi Johnston was the father, and both Bristol and Levi attended the St. Paul, Minnesota event when


Sarah Palin accepted the Vice Presidential nomi- nation. Since then, Levi’s mother Sherry was ar- rested on felony drug charges and Bristol gave birth on December 27th to a son. That’s a lot of teen drama for one Christian family in a very public arena, folks. This is of cultural importance: the very issues the Republican Party has been so intent upon de- monizing in the public political arena since Ronald Reagan’s presidency—teenage sexuality, teen pregnancy, child bearing out of wedlock, moral- ity, religion, “family values,” etc.—were suddenly front-and-center in the flesh on their own conven- tion floor, and it was suddenly all-too-prominent in their own ranks. More incredibly, we were sud- denly told we were forbidden to discuss it pub- licly out of deference to the Palin family. This astonishing shell game charged the American zeit- geist (and still does), and it’s no surprise, really, to see the unspoken “unspeakable” issues splashed across the American screens so vividly in a film that specifically targets teenage girls. This is how vital pop culture works. This is what makes it vital.


That is what horror fiction and horror films do, too, when they’re firing on all cylinders. When a book series, film and cultural artifact like TWILIGHT


23


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84