The Twilight Series Is Better Than You Remember - So Why Do We All Still Hate It?

Teenagers in the late 2000s and early 2010s were absolutely feasting on fantasy movies, with the Harry Potter franchise being the popular choice for most. 2008’s Twilight, meanwhile, was the slightly more rebellious, romantic route for others.

The debate over ‘Team Edward’ and ‘Team Jacob’ dominated pop culture for years. The complex love triangle between the vampire, the werewolf, and the young introvert, Bella, was at the heart of one of the most successful franchises of the 21st century.

Twilight had, and still has, a legion of devoted fans. However, at the same time, there has always been a disdain for the gothic stories Stephenie Meyer crafted. A lot of people would say it’s not cool to like Twilight. But they might be wrong.

The Twilight Movies Deserve More Credit

Let’s start with the positives, shall we? I mean, come on, a story about a generational battle between werewolves and vampires can’t ever be uncool, really. The fantasy elements and the vast lore surrounding the Cullen family and the lineage of Jacob Black are all fascinating.

Throw in human teen girl Bella, and the story takes on a Shakespearean twist, which is never a bad thing. Indeed, Twilight, even without Jacob, is very much akin to Romeo and Juliet – forbidden love, warring families, and tragedy. It’s easy to write this off as a cliché, but there’s a genuine arc to all these characters that it’s hard not to get invested in. Whether you’d describe it as poetic and touching or more cheesy soap opera vibes, there’s no denying it’s entertaining.

While we’re on the topic of the characters, let’s also not forget that this saga kickstarted the careers of two of the most intriguing actors working today. Robert Pattinson has gone on to carve out a diverse and accomplished career playing oddballs, vigilantes, and complex romantic leads. Meanwhile, Kristen Stewart is constantly pushing boundaries with her roles, from meditative ghost stories like Personal Shopper to brutal, gritty crime thrillers like Love Lies Bleeding.

In addition to all this, I have to give a special mention to the soundtrack. Even just that iconic baseball scene in the first movie, set to the grungy beats of ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ by Muse, is a stroke of genius. Alongside them, you have the likes of Paramore, Radiohead, and The Killers in the first two movies, before artists like Bruno Mars, Florence + The Machine, The Black Keys, Ellie Goulding, and, of course, Vampire Weekend, get involved in Twilight: Eclipse and the Twilight: Breaking Dawn two-parter.

There Are Issues With Twilight That We Can't Ignore

So, what’s the problem with the Twilight series, then? I think a key part of it is that a lot of fans who loved the franchise at the time have, quite naturally, outgrown it. Meanwhile, new generations have – again, quite rightly – taken issue with surface-level problems like cringeworthy dialogue, some instances of weak acting, and dodgy CGI (Renesmee Cullen is pure nightmare fuel, and we all know it).

Digging deeper, though, some genuine thematic concerns make Twilight especially problematic in the present day. Sure, Edward may be madly in love with Bella, but that doesn’t mean that we should overlook the fact that he basically stalks her before they enter into a very controlling, co-dependent, and unhealthy relationship. (Still, if it works for Nosferatu, can we really condemn Twilight all that much?)

While the character of Edward Cullen gets a rich tapestry of contextual information and backstory, Bella is a young woman with little agency. Once she falls for Edward, she becomes incredibly passive and two-dimensional. She is simply not a character you could get away with in this day and age, now, and rightly so.

However, it has to be said that a large portion of the hate for Twilight is merely bandwagon-hopping. Even Robert Pattinson thinks so. He once said, “The people who don’t like it are generally people who haven’t seen it, and they’re like all judgmental and stuff, and cynical people.” As I said before, it’s not thought of as conventionally ‘cool’ to like Twilight, which deters people from even giving it a chance.

Meanwhile, Stewart is similarly fairly defensive of her role in the franchise. She has publicly stated that she was happy with her performance, feels “lucky” to have been involved, and would even be open to directing a remake of the Twilight movies if given the chance (as per E! News). 

That would be fascinating to see. If the story were redone with a more progressive and modern point of view, I’m sure all of these criticisms would soon fall by the wayside.