The Falsehood of Twilight 3-21-10
In the series Twilight, a teen-aged girl meets a mysterious young man who seems to be uninterested in her. Later this mysterious young man saves her life, revealing his ability to move with superhuman speed and strength. The girl investigates and discovers that the young man is a vampire; she of course falls in love with him. This series has become a sensational hit with girls in their teens, and with a surprising number of forty-somethings as well. The reasons for this have more to do with the false expectations and misplaced priorities of the women in question than with the stories themselves.
One thing I have never understood was the romance associated with vampires. They are, after all, undead creatures that derive sustenance from drinking blood. Why is this romantic? There is the power and the immortality, and I understand the draw of both of those. But it goes beyond that; vampire stories such as Twilight present women with romantic “bad boy” imagery that is very powerful. Look at the difference between these stories and those designed more for a male audience, such as Blade or Underworld; the vampire stories designed for men are filled with superhuman action, extensive displays of weaponry, and special effects such as sunlight-immolated vampires.
The romantic themes in stories such as Twilight center on the excitement of a forbidden love, a rescue of a “bad boy,” and a belief in finding a hidden gem that only the woman can reveal. In terms of the excitement of the forbidden love, it is the Romeo and Juliet of today – except that the new Romeo is already dead when he falls in love! This is a powerful emotion and one that girls are not being taught to resist, but rather one to which they should give in. The bad boy image fits perfectly with this forbidden love (and vampires are, after all, bad boys), with the woman being the one who awakens a true and pure love in a roguish but misunderstood heroic figure. This in turn allows the woman to reveal a gem hidden from all but her discerning heart: the tenderness and gentleness at the core of the monster.
Add to these themes the lure of immortal youth and immense power, and you have the secret to the siren’s call of the Twilight story. What reality could possibly compare with this fantasy? No man is ever going to match up to a tireless, beautiful, and powerful fantasy character. But there is a story that, if taken to heart, far surpasses the fantasy.
Look at the story of Jesus compared to the story of Twilight. The vampire, Edward, is distant and reluctant to engage in a relationship; Jesus not only seeks a relationship, but died to put right our relationship with God. Loving Edward leads to an abandonment of life and an engagement with an immortal death; loving Jesus leads to an entrance into life and an engagement with an eternal life. While Twilight represents a forbidden love and a hidden gem to be discovered, Jesus presents the only truly satisfying love and the key to revealing the hidden gem within yourself. While the fictional Edward can exhibit superhuman strength and speed, the real Jesus showed absolute control over this world and the supernatural world as creator. Loving Edward puts the girl character in mortal danger; loving Jesus frees real people from danger to their immortal souls.
I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:50-54 NIV)
Are we teaching our young girls to seek after the perishable, or the imperishable? What sort of men are we teaching them to seek? Vampiric bad boys, or men who know Jesus and who seek a partner with whom to serve God? Make sure they know the truth; otherwise, they will believe the lies.
-Charles Peterson