My “brooding, mysterious, bad boy” crush was a 108-year-old man. The kids today would never get it… but if you are like me: someone who is roughly in their early twenties, you would have been in your early teenage years by the time the Twilight book series (2005-2008) by Stephenie Meyer were made into film. To call the Twilight era a hype is an understatement. You had to be there to get it. The crying, the queuing, the crushing, the fighting over whether it should’ve been Jacob or Edward, the absolute-all-consuming obsession that was Twilight. Although Twilight had its avid supporters of mostly (but not only) teenage girls, the films did receive their fair share of criticism. The films are commonly known as cringe chick flicks and have received between 4.8 to 5.5 stars on IMDb – not the highest scores in comparison to films with the same amount of fame as Twilight.

As our beloved Robert Pattinson, who plays the 108-year-old vampire teenage boy Edward Cullen, once said: ‘It was like a book that wasn’t supposed to be published’ or be made into films for that matter. Yes, perhaps the half good acting, sparkling vampires, talking wolves, man who jumps up your window to watch you sleep and slightly uncomfortable age difference of 90 years between Edward and Bella (Kristen Stewart) are red flags. However, I do argue that to this day, Twilight (2008) will forever be one of the most iconic films of our generation.

Twilight was directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Compared to the hype leading up to the release of the remaining films of the franchise, the first Twilight movie was comparatively unknown until it was released. With a budget landing at 37 million dollars, the first movie is not exactly the ultimate indie film – however, most Hollywood blockbusters have a budget of at least 100 million dollars making Twilight‘s budget relatively less sizeable compared to other films. Twilight has a blue tone covering the scenes and a soundtrack of melodramatic songs and artists such as Muse’s ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ (which is in the background during the iconic baseball scene), Lykke Li’s ‘Possibility’, Paramore’s ‘Decode’, plus songs from Bon Iver and Florence + The Machine which all capture the aesthetic of a brooding teenager.

The more that 2000s fashion makes its comeback, the more iconic the films become, representing the actual style during that era. Low-rise flare jeans, long sleeves, layers, khaki ankle length skirts and headbands constitute a style which has previously been embodied by many other 30-year-old actors playing 16-year-old teenage girl longing for the mysterious, pale high school boy… ahem Nina Dobrev.

Have you seen the scenery of the film?! One could pause in every single scene, and I swear that every image could fit into some sort of mood board. Rainy parking lots, mountains, and fir trees, and not to mention the Cullens’ eco-friendly, minimalist, retro Barbie-dream house… ugh. All this paired with American pick-up trucks, diners, classrooms and cafeterias which serve as the embodiment of crisp autumn air mixed with an all-American teen romance. Whilst the film didn’t have as many millions of dollars to work with as its successors, I think this is what made it the iconic film it has become today; the chains of Hollywood was absent which made it feel more like a love-project rather than something that had to be filmed so one would get their paycheck.

The infamous protagonist Bella Swan has become a central figure for Twilight slander. Her character is too often described a codependent damsel in distress whose life revolves around her boyfriend Edward Cullen. However, to dismiss Bella Swan as a passive teenager obsessed with her boyfriend is not entirely a fair image. Sure, she might be a bit… invested in Edward Cullen… call it what you want, but isn’t that how teenagers are really? I mean, how else can we explain ‘Twi-hard’ fans?

To back up my statement, Bella is as a matter of fact the only person who Edward cannot perform his freaky mind reading on. Several examples in the films show how Bella often is the person saving Edward Cullen, who is the actual demoiselle. For once, Bella is the one who saves her boyfriend from committing vampire suicide in Italy. Furthermore, she insists on staying friends with Jacob (Taylor Lautner) even though he is Edward’s rival number one, she goes against her parents wishes to move back to Phoenix to stay in Forks, she insists on having her child (the creepy CGI baby known by the name Renesmee) and she takes literally all sexual initiatives and insists throughout the franchise for Edward to turn her. Her persistence on this matter is something her brooding boyfriend is not always too happy with, but she stays firm in her choices.

The attacks towards the Twilight movies have always been slightly uncalled for, but not surprising since most stereotypical ‘girly’ cultural phenomena are often seen as unserious and anti-intellectual – the frequent belittling of teenagers who obsess over Twilight is rooted in the primeval idea of female hysteria.

The bottom line is that Twilight has received its fair share of undeserved criticism, making many teenage girls feel the need to justify or not even associate with such chick-flicks. I am proud to say that whenever the air starts to feel colder, the colours of the trees change and the fog covers Edgbaston, I’m not ashamed to tap back into my inner hysteric teenager era which is Twilight – and you shouldn’t be either.

Team Edward or Team Jacob? Either way, why not try some of these other recent features from Redbrick Film:

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