On Saturday 15th February, in honour of Valentineâs Day, the BFI hosted a Twilight Saga Trilogy All-Nighter. Screened as part of the âVampires and Other Uninvited Guestsâ programme, my friend (and fellow Twihard) Louise and I decided this would be the perfect opportunity for our first IMAX experience, and we couldnât wait to watch our comfort films back to back on the big screen. Previously, when friends have suggested going to all-nighter cinema events, I have declined, knowing there are very few film franchises I would want to watch over getting a good nightâs sleep. But when Louise suggested a Twilight all-nighter (admittedly, minus the Breaking Dawn films), I was immediately on board.
Until very recently, it was deeply uncool to admit you liked Twilight. Admitting to liking Twilight in the 2000s and 2010s was like admitting you like Colleen Hooverâs books now (and ironically, I am saying this as a Colleen Hoover hater). I consider there to be many valid criticisms of the Twilight franchise; for example, its problematic and lazy depiction of the Quileute tribe and Stephanie Meyerâs Mormon emphasis on the importance of chastity. However, most of the time when people (and when I say people, I refer mainly to men) hate Twilight, the hatred seems to be intrinsically linked to the franchiseâs predominantly female fanbase. In a similar vein, I believe a lot of the hatred Colleen Hoover fans receive has less to do with her writing style or her clunky portrayal of domestic violence, and more to do with the fact her readership is predominantly made up of young women. Furthermore, when it comes to producing art like books, music, and films, when women succeed in their fields, the work they produce is often devalued and considered âwomenâs mediaâ. Stephanie Meyer and Twilight are a great example of this, but another obvious example would be Taylor Swift. Despite holding the record for the highest-grossing tour ever, Taylor Swift has throughout her career been torn down and antagonised, criticised for only writing about her exes or slut shamed for having lots of exes. Yet again, plenty of valid criticisms can be made against Taylor Swift, but so often it comes down to underlying misogyny. When women excel at what they do, their art and success threatens men.
By saying this, I am not here trying to claim that Twilight is a work of exceptional literary or cinematic merit, but rather that, I consider a lot of the criticism levelled at Twilight overly harsh and based, to a degree, in misogyny. In the words of Jamie Kahn, âteen girls deserve the opportunity for escapism, wish fulfillment and fun that popular media has always created for boys without batting an eye.â Thanks to the Twilight Renaissance of 2020 and the return of âromantasyâ as a literary trend, it seems that most people have realised itâs really not that cool to hate things just because teenage girls enjoy them. Twihards are finally free to just enjoy Twilight! Catherine Driscoll argued that the franchise âappeals to girls simultaneously as an embrace and as a rejection of contemporary girl culture,â and after sitting in the BFI IMAX for around six and a half hours, I couldnât agree more.Â
The screen was mostly made up of young women, many of whom were sporting âTeam Edwardâ and âTeam Jacobâ memorabilia to mark the occasion. Wolf-whistling when the most swoon-worthy characters came on screen and screaming out the silliest quotes in unison, I was transported back to my initial viewings of the films around age twelve, at my first sleepovers with friends, fuelled by girlish giggles and too much sugar. There was not an ounce of shame or embarrassment in the cinema. The first film seemed to get the most reaction from the audience – in part, because everyone was still awake at this point. Watching in IMAX, I was struck by just how beautiful the cinematography actually is and it was very easy to find myself enamoured, just like I was as a tween, by the campy acting, the moody soundtrack, and the ridiculous plot. Watching New Moon, I found myself finally understanding all the Team Jacob followers and watching Eclipse, I then remembered why I have always been so firmly Team Edward.Â
The Twilight films recognise and elevate the desires of teenage girls. To immerse myself in this for over six hours in a room full of vocal Twihards, unimpeded by criticisms from fragile male egos, I was reminded exactly why for years I have loved being a fangirl. Sitting on the bus home at 6.30am, delirious with tiredness and fighting to stay awake, I felt giddy, delighted to have fallen back in love with the films I had been told for years I was supposed to hate, and eager to organise a sleepover with Louise, where we could watch Breaking Dawn part 1 and 2 and finalise our rewatch.