Stephanie Meyer's Twilight saga has maintained a tight grip on the contemporary culture's imagination. This timely and critical work examines how the Twilight series offers addictively appealing messages about love, romance, sex, beauty and body image, and how these charged themes interact with cultural issues regarding race, class, gender and sexuality. Through a careful analysis of the texts, the fandom and the current cultural climate, this book argues that the success of the Twilight series stems chiefly from Meyer's savvy negotiation of cultural mores. An insightful and scholarly addition to commentary on the Twilight phenomenon.
Seduced by Twilight
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About the Author
Natalie Wilson teaches literature and women's studies at Cal State San Marcos. She has lectured widely on the Twilight series and writes the blog, Seduced by Twilight.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By MPBridgeman
Format:Paperback
Natalie Wilson's book Seduced by Twilight provides an excellent examination of the pop culture phenomenon know as Twilight. Countering the simplistic reactions to this incredibly popular series in the media and some feminist scholarship, Wilson presents a nuanced exploration of both the conservative and subversive aspects of the texts. She avoids the trap of constructing Twilight readers as cultural dupes passively consuming a straight-forward conservative message, rather she respectfully considers the contradictory messages at work both in Twilight and in the wider American cultural imagination. In this way she roots her analysis in specific sociohistorical contexts. This lends her work greater impact, as Twilight is used as a lens through which cultural understandings of difference are refracted.
This book is required reading for anyone working in the area of 21st century feminist popular cultural criticism and would also be of interest to those fascinated by Twilight but feeling somewhat uneasy about that very fascination. Well-researched, well written, and highly engaging, it was a pleasure being Seduced By Twilight.
This book is required reading for anyone working in the area of 21st century feminist popular cultural criticism and would also be of interest to those fascinated by Twilight but feeling somewhat uneasy about that very fascination. Well-researched, well written, and highly engaging, it was a pleasure being Seduced By Twilight.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book offers some fascinating insights up until the last few chapters, where in the author contradics many of the things she said earlier in the book. The conclusion she ultimately comes to also feels like a bit of a cop-out.
It also irked me that she completely ignored the large percentage of females who dislike Twilight and instead resorted to the typical assumption that all people who hate Twilight are male and all hatred of Twilight stems from the fact that it's "a girl thing." I think that, in ignoring the large faction of female Twi-haters who dislike the books on their on merit (after having actually read them) as well as the variety of reasons a person might dislike Twilight, the author neglected to discuss a huge portion of the books sociological and cultural impact and made her bias in the books favor painfully clear. This is ironic, since most female Twi-haters dislike the same things about the series that the author does.
It also irked me that she completely ignored the large percentage of females who dislike Twilight and instead resorted to the typical assumption that all people who hate Twilight are male and all hatred of Twilight stems from the fact that it's "a girl thing." I think that, in ignoring the large faction of female Twi-haters who dislike the books on their on merit (after having actually read them) as well as the variety of reasons a person might dislike Twilight, the author neglected to discuss a huge portion of the books sociological and cultural impact and made her bias in the books favor painfully clear. This is ironic, since most female Twi-haters dislike the same things about the series that the author does.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By James
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have to start by raving about this author. She was able to create an educational and insightful book that was interesting to read. Her writing is phenomenal. I am anxious to see what else we see from this author.
This book takes a critical and thoughtful look at the messages presented in the Twilight saga that are accepted as the norm. Inspiring us to think more deeply about what this series is truly stating. Not to mention who this is series is targeted to! Thank you for opening our minds about things that are so often over looked!
This book takes a critical and thoughtful look at the messages presented in the Twilight saga that are accepted as the norm. Inspiring us to think more deeply about what this series is truly stating. Not to mention who this is series is targeted to! Thank you for opening our minds about things that are so often over looked!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you Loved Twlight, You'll Love "Seduced by Twlight" Even More
September 21, 2011
Format:Paperback
Natalie Wilson's collection of essays about the Twilight series are wickedly seductive, and they provide a more substantial view of modern day romance than the novels themselves. With provocative chapter titles such as "Sexuality Eclipsed: The Taming of Female Sexuality via Vampire Abstinence," Wilson examines the novels' allure through an eye both critical and fair. I used this collection in a college English class. My students LOVED her essays. I will be using the book again this semester, without the novel, because the critical nature of the essays provides all a class needs for a rousing conversation.
By JMV
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you're interested in delving into the many perspectives of looking at the 'Twilight Saga' novels and films, then this book is a good choice. I have read many books on the saga from many perspectives and schools of thought, and this is among the better books, and definitely is worth the money. As a writer and an educator this is a great resource to have, and a great place to start discussing the novels and the films, at any depth.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Mark Twain
Format:Kindle Edition
I can't believe anyone would bother to write a book like this, much less read a book like this. You do realize the Twilight books are just pretend stories, right? No one is living their lives waiting for the perfect vampire to come along. Women love the books because they are fantasy romances, and the love of the stories was only enhanced with the casting of the movies. The fact that so much introspective thought has been spent on this is incredible. You must have a lot of free time on your hands.
