Acknowledgments
Introduction
Claudia Bucciferro, Editor
I. Contextualizing Twilight’s Appeal
1. Mythic Themes, Archetypes, and Metaphors: The Foundations of
Twilight’s Cross-Cultural Appeal
Claudia Bucciferro
2. Manifest Destiny Forever: The Twilight Saga, History, and a
Vampire’s American Dream
Michelle Maloney-Mangold
3. Reading Twilight: Fandom, Romance, and Gender in the Age of
Bella
Barbara Chambers and Robert Peaslee
II. Twilight Audiences
4. “Twilight Moms” and the “Female Midlife Crisis”: Life
Transitions, Fantasy, and Fandom
Laura K. Dorsey-Elson
5. Twilight and Twitter: An Ethnographic Study
Michelle Groover
6. Twilight Anti-fans: “Real” Fans and “Real” Vampires
Victoria Godwin
III. Characters and Their Cultural Referents
7. Renesmee as (R)omantic Child: A Glimpse into Bella and Edward’s
Fairy Tale Cottage
Lisa Nevárez
8. Isabella Swan: A Twenty-First Century Victorian Heroine?
Gaïane Hanser
9. "Doesn’t He Own a Shirt?": Rivalry and Masculine Embodiment in
Twilight
Nicole Willms
IV. Issues of Gender, Sex, Class, and Race in Twilight
10. Chastity, Power, and Delayed Gratification: The Lure of Sex in
the Twilight Saga
Brynn Buskirk
11. Alice, Bella, and Economics: Financial Security and Class
Mobility in Twilight
Paul Lucas
12. “I Know What You Are”: A Philosophical Look at Race, Identity,
and Mixed-Blood in the Twilight Universe
Michelle Bernard
V. Beyond the Twilight Universe
13. Mainstream Monsters: The Otherness of Humans in Twilight, The
Vampire Diaries, and True Blood
Emma Somogyi and Mark David Ryan
14. Individuality and Collectivity in The Hunger Games, Harry
Potter, and Twilight
Lisa Weckerle
15. From Twilight to Fifty Shades of Grey: Fan Fiction, Commercial
Culture, and Grassroots Creativity
Sonia Baelo-Allué
Closing Thoughts
Claudia Bucciferro
Index
About the Editor and Contributors
Claudia Bucciferro is assistant professor of communication at Gonzaga University. Her work focuses on international/intercultural communication and media studies. She is the author of FOR-GET: Identity, Media, and Democracy in Chile (2012).
Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, a dark romantic fantasy saga
between mortals, vampires, and werewolves, had an astounding
reception when it hit the shelves in 2005. Since that time the
books have gone on to be international bestsellers and the movies
adaptations have been just as well received. The fact that this
series has been an international success makes it worthwhile to
examine what it is about the characters, the storyline, and the
genre that make it appeal to such a wide audience. In this volume
the editor has compiled 15 essays, written by contributors from the
United States, France, Spain, Chile, and Australia, that examine
the intercultural relevance of the Twilight series. The book is
arranged into five parts: Contextualizing Twilight’s Appeal;
Twilight Audiences; Characters and Their Cultural Referents; Issues
of Gender, Sex, Class, and Race in Twilight; and Beyond the
Twilight Universe. Many of the essays look at how the series fits
within larger contexts including historical, philosophical, and
sociological studies. Designed for scholars and students of media,
this work will be a valuable addition to larger university
collections.
*American Reference Books Annual*
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