There are more than 100 million copies of the Twilight series in print, making it one of the most successful fiction series ever written. Teenagers are the main audience for this vampire saga, and they are the first to line up at movie theaters to watch every move and emotion of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, the two young lovers from different worlds. They recite lines from the books by Stephanie Meyer or make pilgrimages to Forks, Washington, the setting for the stories. And of course, the Twilight franchise has been busy marketing Edward and Bella video games, Barbie dolls, graphic novels, fangs, and other assorted objects.
There is little doubt that these fans consider the Twilight saga as a source of meaning and inspiration in their lives. Reading about the effect the vampire novels have had upon women of all ages, it does seem that the success of the series demonstrates a deep yearning for transcendent experiences in everyday life. That is one of the assertions in The Gospel According to Twilight by Elaine A. Heath, an Associate Professor of Evangelism at Perkins School of Theology and cofounder of New Day, a new monastic community in Dallas, Texas. This Methodist minister presents a feminist critique of the unhappy women in the series and the powerful force of patriarchy in families. Heath is upset about "the thematic representation of violence against women in a way that minimizes and normalizes abuse." These points are well taken, and it is refreshing to see them aired out of concern for series' audience of girls.
The author makes the most of her theological training in her assessments of the Twilight series treatment of salvation, heaven and hell, power, reconciliation, and resurrection. Health gives her opinion on why these novels about romantic love, vampires, werewolves, and immortality seem to appeal to those are spiritual but not religious. This is an easily-accessible and thought-provoking analysis of a pop culture phenomenon. We recommend you check it out as the first of two movies based on the final book in the series is released mid-November.
