Twilight

So, I finally watched Twilight, the first in the film trilogy based on a popular series of novels aimed at young readers, about the romantic relationship between a human, Bella and a vampire, Edward.  Having heard so much about the film in the popular press, I figured it was high time I educated myself on this pop cult phenomenon. Aside from the hilariously awful dialogue, numerous plot holes, and budget special effects, I was stunned by how the film portrayed Bella and Edwards relationship as border-line obsessive. Now, I get that teens can be highly emotional - everything seems so much more dramatic and intense when you're young (at least from what I remember) but I'm not convinced that the type of romantic relationship depicted in the film is productive in any way, other than to reinforce very outdated ideas of heterosexual love. I remember when the first film came out, and I was reading all the online debates and reviews, and I was under the impression that many fans loved Bella as they viewed her as a positive role model for young women. Again, I found little evidence of that in the film. In fact, I found her character to be rather weak; one who is not assertive but who's agency is totally usurped by the creepy hold of a 'man' she barely knows! far from a love story, Twilight perhaps reveals the troubling nature of unhealthy relationships which, at any moment, might become violent. I mean, Edward convinces Bella to leave her family, after convincing her to lie (in a very hurtful manner) to her father, and basically uproots her from her whole life...there is a scene towards the end of the film where she is being driven off and she passes a restaurant where her friends are hanging out and having fun, doing teen things...I thought there seemed to be a moment of self-reflection and maybe regret but no. There is no discussion about how she has given up this life to be with a man she barely knows! Twilight then, looks more like a warning narrative for teen girls than a love story, at least from where I stand.

As many reviewers have already pointed out, Twilight also appears to be a story about abstinence; indeed, throughout the film, the two must constantly restrain themselves, for if Edward becomes too 'aroused' he might not be able to 'stop himself' from biting Bella, even though he is later put in a position where he must 'taste her' to save her life. Oddly enough, I think I found this one of the more interesting aspects of the film...not so much because I read it as an abstinence narrative per se, but because it seems to me to be more about male (hetero)sexuality. The film doesn't go far enough in troubling these expectations though but tends to uphold a rather stereotypical notion of heteromale sexuality as potentially out of control and dangerous...that young men are not in control of their sexual feelings and therefore women must be careful in their temptation (i.e., the bedroom scene where Bella, for a moment, sexually asserts herself only to have Edward, rather aggressively, rebuke her because of his 'blood lust').
However, this brings up many of the same questions and feelings I had about the cosmetic surgery debate, I don't want to assume that all young women who watch these films interpret them uncritically, or as Hall would say, in the 'dominant' way. I'm sure there are researchers already putting together focus groups and whatnot to understand how young women have received the film, and I look forward to reading that literature someday. I definitely adhere to the idea that women are NOT cultural dupes (again, me thinks I need to consider that more in relation to the cosmetic surgery debates) but dammit, I can't help but feel annoyed that so many women (and yes, many adult women love the films!) find pleasure in these representations. There is such a lack of diversity when it comes to women and Hollywood, that such mass appeal tends to reinforce the idea to all those sexist male producers that this is indeed what women want! ugh, the ongoing struggle for representational equality has been a long one, but one worth fighting for.

Thinking about cosmetic surgery

Ok, so I just read this really interesting piece on the Nation's website about a proposed sales tax for all elective cosmetic surgery procedures (i.e., Botox) and oddly enough, one of the most vocal opponents has been the mainstream feminist organization NOW.  I was really angry and surprised when I read this. The author notes that their position appears to be steeped in 'choice rhetoric' - that is, they are basically taking the position that women need to have access to this choice in order to stay competitive in the marketplace. While I can, sort of, see where they are coming from, I find it shocking that they would be willing to ultimately support the idea that women are the ones who need to change and adapt, rather than the workplace and/or employers. How very retrograde! This seems to be taking the fight for women's equality several steps back, in the wrong direction. My feeling is that by making such claims, NOW is attempting to appeal to a younger, perhaps more mainstream audience but I'm not sure that all women who are strong advocates for 'affordable' cosmetic surgery would necessarily identify as feminist anyway. Making elective cosmetic surgery a 'woman's issue' in the same way that we have daycare, abortion, equal pay, and so on leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Perhaps this then becomes a subjective position based on one's own definition and/or understanding of feminism. But then the problem becomes, what does feminism mean when it can mean anything to anyone? It would seem to me, that it becomes rather meaningless. There must be another way for feminists to tackle the issue of cosmetic surgery without uncritically endorsing it.

I find that I straddle a very odd position here because in some ways, I am totally supportive of a woman's right to bodily self-expression through various means like tattooing, piercing, and so on but I have a hard time accepting the alteration of one's face and/or body which functions as a way of upholding capitalist-patriarchal definitions of femininity. Yes, I think this is what lies at the heart of my own personal opposition and concern over these procedures because I don't see them as resisting gender norms, although I am sure they could be used in that way (here I am thinking of the French artist Orlan) but rather, they serve to create an unfair and unequal hierarchy between women who are able to afford such procedures and therefore can attend to the maintenance of the self which is so much part and parcel of our neoliberal, postfeminist culture, and those women who are either unable to or do not wish to partake in such activities. Not to mention that most of these procedures also privilege certain racialized features of Caucasian persons (i.e., small nose, eyes) and I rarely see any discussion of that! And yet, I am not oblivious to the ways in which we alter our bodies in other ways, however subtly, whether through exercise and diet, personal style and fashion, and yet, many of these techniques are not so permanent, allowing for more flexibility and playfulness perhaps. I guess I'm still thinking through what this whole thing means to me, to other women, to feminism...

And so it begins!

Well, I am finally jumping into the world of blogging! I have been thinking about doing this for some time but always found a reason to put it off. While I regularly write for myself (the kind of writing no one ever sees), I thought it might be nice to have a semi-private, semi-public space all my own. I have no idea if anyone will read this (!) but in many ways, I'm doing this for me, not so much for others. However, if anyone else finds what I have to say amusing, interesting, and/or even mildly thought-provoking well, then I guess I'll take that too. I suspect this blog will become a dumping grounds of sorts, for my often conflicting and contradictory feelings about television, and more generally popular culture. Part of this internal conflict stems from my identity politics, as I'm sure my writing will make painfully clear. It feels like a constant balancing act; like I have a second-waver on one shoulder, and a third-waver on the other constantly battling it out for ideological supremacy. I love television, I hate television. Television can empower women, television is harmful. Of course, exploring one's relationship to popular culture is much more complex than I might be making it out to be.This is part of the struggle...hopefully I can work through some of my feelings in this blog and come to a better understanding of the bigger picture, especially as it relates to my research. I guess we'll see what happens!

xo