A movie about a girl falling in love with a vampire? Great concept for a 13-year-old. But the execution of it starts to become questionable when you’re older. So what do you do when you have too much time on your hands? Rewatch your favorite movie from middle school, of course!
Here’s a comprehensive list of everything I find questionable about Twilight.
Incest?
Everyone in the Cullen family is both couples…and siblings?
When both Bella and the audience get introduced to the Cullen clan. They’re described in pairs, as in you know, couples.
Which at first glance isn’t weird at all, but just like it’s pointed out in the movie, they’re supposed to be adopted siblings. So, without any context of their vampirism, it is kind of weird for a family to be full of couples that are also technically siblings. Big yikes.
Rosalie and Emmett, Alice and Jasper, but then there’s one.
The man, the myth, the legend… Edward Cullen.
Toxic Relationship
Bella and Edward’s first interaction was the foundation of a kind of toxic relationship
We see that Bella has some sort of immediate effect on Edward when she walks into the room.
Of course, as the audience, we know that it’s Edward’s bloodthirst, but to Bella, it probably just seems really weird and probably somewhat offensive.
Imagine being a 17-year-old girl and seeing one of the hottest guys in school act as if you smell repulsive. Not too great on the good ol’ self-esteem.
A few days pass and this time, Edward seems much more normal (normal for him, at least).
The two even have a conversation! Well, more like Bella defending herself after Edward said he would do all the work in their lab.
But that’s still something.
So of course, Bella is a bit confused as to why this guy is so back and forth. (So would I, to be honest.) Which is why my next point probably confuses the poor girl the most.
Gaslighting
Bella is just trying to leave school (like all are when in high school), she’s by her car when all of a sudden, a car’s tires start slipping on ice and comes hurtling toward Bella. Edward uses his vampire speed to get to the other side of the parking lot to save Bella from being crushed.
Of course, this is a huge deal since Bella would’ve definitely been dead if it hadn’t been for Edward.
As she’s leaving the hospital, she sees Edward and his family convening and whispering to one another.
Then, when Bella confronts Edward, he gaslights her.
He basically tells Bella that he was next to her and many other excuses like adrenaline rushes. But, Bella doesn’t let this slide easily and stands her ground (as she should!).
Bella starts prioritizing Edward over (literally) everyone else
As the movie progresses, it seems as though Edward is just attempting to scare or intimidate Bella so that she doesn’t want to get closer to him.
Even though by being stand-offish, he’s causing her to do exactly what he doesn’t want her to do. I mean, if somebody outwardly seems to dislike you, wouldn’t you want to know, too?
Bella even goes as far as deceiving Jacob, her childhood friend, by flirting with him to get more information on the Cullen family. Bella isn’t a saint when it comes to deceit and manipulation either.
Bella almost gets assaulted and we just… brush it off?
Arriving at the dress shop, Bella and the girls end up being cat-called by a group of guys on the street.
Although their reactions are very minimal aside from saying how gross it is, there is more emphasis on this a few scenes further ahead. But, in a year like 2020 after huge movements like #MeToo, this would’ve been a really big deal but for 2008, sweeping it under the rug was a sad but accurate truth.
Once Bella leaves to go look for a bookstore, she accidentally stays out a bit late due to what I guess was not keeping track of time.
As always, men disappoint, but it was even worse this time!
The same men who cat-called Bella and her friends in the dress shop just so happen to find Bella walking alone and follow her. She then gets cornered by the rest of the group of men and starts getting surrounded by all of them.
Guess what’s next?
Well if it isn’t Edward! Here to save Bella from these disgusting men.
This is where I go to my next point.
Stalking
Edward (with his vampire eyes and face) scares off the group of scummy men and takes Bella away from the scene.
During their weird dinner after an even weirder encounter, Bella questions Edward about how he was able to know she was in trouble.
Although Edward simply replies that he didn’t know, Bella further questions if he followed her. He tries to evade the accusation by saying he feels protective of her which just further cements the fact that he was, in a way, following Bella.
I don’t know about Bella, but this screams stalker to me. Talk about a red flag.
This then dissolves into Edward succumbing to Bella and telling her that he can read people’s minds, except hers.
Nice try there, bud. But it’s still weird that you were following this girl (that he barely knows, mind you) around without her knowing.
What happened in 2008 that made teenagers think like this?
Furthermore, Bella’s just cool with dating her stalker?
Bella’s just trying to have a normal conversation with her mom when out of NOWHERE Edward pops into Bella’s room. Weird, but maybe it’s the first time right?
WRONG. Edward confesses to having been watching Bella sleep for months now.
I’m sorry, did I hear that clearly? MONTHS?
This is a huge thing that I realized when rewatching that I had turned a blind eye to for years. Edward knew Bella for only a couple of days or weeks before he started WATCHING HER SLEEP?
Are we just supposed to be okay with this? If Edward wasn’t described as perfect and magnificent as he is, he’s literally just a creepy stalker. RED FLAG, BELLA.
Anyway, moving on.
Bella confronts Edward and he’s just, cool with it?
The next day, they go into the woods together to talk about the previous night. On a side note, the way that they walked into the woods together probably looked like they were going to do a lot more than just talk if you were just a random student who noticed them.
Somehow, the film goes from Edward wanting to intimidate Bella from liking him to them essentially becoming a couple and going to school with each other? Seems a bit weird to me.
Nobody at this school minds their own business
So like, they’re dating now that Bella found out Edward’s secret?
The SECOND they step out of the car together, every single student pays attention to them. While it’s a bit of an overkill to have EVERY student stare at them, it probably would be big news at a small school that the undateable hot guy is with the new girl in school. But this type of attention is something else.
Edward was READY to sacrifice Bella’s dad
I get that not everyone gets along with their in-laws but this going too far.
Edward was willing to leave with Bella immediately for her safety which is fine but while also risking Charlie’s safety due to Bella’s scent leading James (the vampire trying to kill to their home.
I would question WHY Edward was willing to risk Bella’s father to save Bella.
That seems a bit suspicious to me, but the movie just kind of brushed it off.
Lazy vampirism
James is just using human tactics.
He decided to undermine everyone and directly threaten Bella using her mom and once she arrives, he films her?
I get that the continuity of it all is an interesting way to make his position as the antagonist stronger but it just seems wrong.
Also, it seems to me that James kind of uses the same tactics that a normal person would such as using an important person or object as leverage to meet and probably kill their victim.
This went from vampires chasing after each other to targeting the weak human by using one of, if not, the most important person in their lives to convince them to come and potentially get murdered.
Bella wants to get turned into a vampire just out in the open? At prom?
Our last few scenes are from the Forks High School prom. More specifically, Bella and Edward going to prom.
The two of them dancing is probably one of the more romantic scenes. Until, of course, one of them (I’m looking at you, Bella) ruins it by bringing up the incident.
My main question is why was Bella so ready to just get bitten then and there at their prom? Don’t you at least want some privacy when you’re being turned, Bella?
Of course, Edward doesn’t actually do anything since he, as he keeps saying throughout the movie, doesn’t want to “ruin” Bella’s life.
It’s kind of ironic but sweet (I guess) that the one who’s supposed to want to kill the other is also the one who doesn’t want to do it while the other one is begging to get turned into a vampire. To each their own, I guess.
Ending thoughts
There’s a lot that goes on throughout this movie, both good and bad. When I was watching this for the first time when I was 13, I definitely saw more good than bad, that’s for sure. But, it brings up the question of how differently we can interpret the same movies a few years down the road. I definitely would’ve never guessed that I would have this many critiques when I was first discovering the Twilight saga.
This just goes to show that what may appear to be fine, even now, can be drastically different once we grow more within our experiences. We tend to expect more out of what entertained us when we were younger, whether that’s good or bad, I’m not sure. But, I do know that I personally saw tons of red flags throughout this movie and the main couple within it.
Is it Bella’s fault that she didn’t see these red flags, to begin with? Or is it the fault of the audience for not speaking up for what was questionable even back then?
Who knows.
But, I guess red flags through rose-colored glasses just end up looking like flags. Whether it’s Bella wearing the rose-colored glasses or us as the audience, that’s up to each of us to decide.
Featured image courtesy of Summit Entertainment.