The Twilight Saga: Exploring the Global Phenomenon

When Stephenie Meyer’s first novel, Twilight, was published in 2005, it had an astounding reception, selling millions of copies. The three sequels that followed—New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn—became international bestsellers as well. The worldwide success of the movie adaptations further cemented the series as a cultural force on par with other popular franchises such as Harry Potter. But why is this? What is it about Twilight that makes it so appealing to people? And what does Twilight’s success reveal about transnational cultural trends? In The Twilight Saga: Exploring the Global Phenomenon, Claudia Bucciferro has assembled a collection of essays that examine the series from a variety of perspectives. The essays in this volume consider both the books and the movies, emphasizing the relationships among the texts, the audience, the entertainment industry, and other aspects of the multimillion-dollar franchise. Organized into five sections, the chapters offer a contextualization of the series’ appeal, explore different types of Twilight audiences, analyze the cultural referents associated with the main characters, and present new ideas regarding representations of gender, sex, class, and race. Concluding essays examine the saga’s influence, unveiling its links to newer workssuch as The Hunger Games, True Blood, and Fifty Shades of Grey. Making sense of how the popular franchise fits within larger contexts, this collection addresses Twilight from an interdisciplinary framework, including insights from history, philosophy, literature, sociology, fan studies, intercultural communication, film studies, and more. Featuring contributions by scholars from the United States, France, Spain, Chile, and Australia, this book emphasizes the international and intercultural relevance of the Twilight phenomenon. The collection is aimed at scholars and students of media and popular culture, but it will also appeal to general readers who are familiar with the series.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction Claudia Bucciferro, Editor I. Contextualizing Twilight’s Appeal 1. Mythic Themes, Archetypes, and Metaphors: The Foundations of Twilight’s Cross-Cultural Appeal Claudia Bucciferro 2. Manifest Destiny Forever: The Twilight Saga, History, and a Vampire’s American Dream Michelle Maloney-Mangold 3. Reading Twilight: Fandom, Romance, and Gender in the Age of Bella Barbara Chambers and Robert Peaslee II. Twilight Audiences 4. “Twilight Moms” and the “Female Midlife Crisis”: Life Transitions, Fantasy, and Fandom Laura K. Dorsey-Elson 5. Twilight and Twitter: An Ethnographic Study Michelle Groover 6. Twilight Anti-fans: “Real” Fans and “Real” Vampires Victoria Godwin III. Characters and Their Cultural Referents 7. Renesmee as (R)omantic Child: A Glimpse into Bella and Edward’s Fairy Tale Cottage Lisa Nevárez 8. Isabella Swan: A Twenty-First Century Victorian Heroine? Gaïane Hanser 9. "Doesn’t He Own a Shirt?": Rivalry and Masculine Embodiment in Twilight Nicole Willms IV. Issues of Gender, Sex, Class, and Race in Twilight 10. Chastity, Power, and Delayed Gratification: The Lure of Sex in the Twilight Saga Brynn Buskirk 11. Alice, Bella, and Economics: Financial Security and Class Mobility in Twilight Paul Lucas 12. “I Know What You Are”: A Philosophical Look at Race, Identity, and Mixed-Blood in the Twilight Universe Michelle Bernard V. Beyond the Twilight Universe 13. Mainstream Monsters: The Otherness of Humans in Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, and True Blood Emma Somogyi and Mark David Ryan 14. Individuality and Collectivity in The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and Twilight Lisa Weckerle 15. From Twilight to Fifty Shades of Grey: Fan Fiction, Commercial Culture, and Grassroots Creativity Sonia Baelo-Allué Closing Thoughts Claudia Bucciferro Index About the Editor and Contributors

About the Author :
Claudia Bucciferro is assistant professor of communication at Gonzaga University. Her work focuses on international/intercultural communication and media studies. She is the author of FOR-GET: Identity, Media, and Democracy in Chile (2012).

Review :
Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, a dark romantic fantasy saga between mortals, vampires, and werewolves, had an astounding reception when it hit the shelves in 2005. Since that time the books have gone on to be international bestsellers and the movies adaptations have been just as well received. The fact that this series has been an international success makes it worthwhile to examine what it is about the characters, the storyline, and the genre that make it appeal to such a wide audience. In this volume the editor has compiled 15 essays, written by contributors from the United States, France, Spain, Chile, and Australia, that examine the intercultural relevance of the Twilight series. The book is arranged into five parts: Contextualizing Twilight’s Appeal; Twilight Audiences; Characters and Their Cultural Referents; Issues of Gender, Sex, Class, and Race in Twilight; and Beyond the Twilight Universe. Many of the essays look at how the series fits within larger contexts including historical, philosophical, and sociological studies. Designed for scholars and students of media, this work will be a valuable addition to larger university collections.