Twilight, a series of four young adult paranormal fantasy novels by Stephanie Meyer, was published between between 2005 and 2008, with sequels in 2015 and 2020. They have been translated into 49 languages, with worldwide sales of 140 million. The movie series, which appeared between 2008 and 2012, grossed $3.36 billion worldwide.
The premise: teenager Bella moves to Forks, Washington with her parents, and falls in love with the vampire Edward. When he leaves town, she falls in love with the werewolf Jacob. Eventually she has to choose between them: she chooses Edward, and they get married and have a daughter.
There were lots of sexy, tortured vampires before, on Dark Shadows and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in the novels of Anne Rice, but never whole tribes of them. And uber-muscular, macho vampires, not sophisticates and androgynes. Perfect for erasing the gay symbolism from the vampire mythos and producing a totally gay-free world.
And it is. There are dozens of vampire, werewolf, and human characters, but not a single gay one, in the books or any of the movies.
Are you really surprised? The series is aimed at an audience of teens, who are never allowed to know that gay people exist. It's fantasy, and gay people appear almost exclusively in comedies set in the real world. Kristen Stewart, the actress who played Bella, claimed that the series had a "gay inclination...it's all about oppression."
And it is. There are dozens of vampire, werewolf, and human characters, but not a single gay one, in the books or any of the movies.
Are you really surprised? The series is aimed at an audience of teens, who are never allowed to know that gay people exist. It's fantasy, and gay people appear almost exclusively in comedies set in the real world. Kristen Stewart, the actress who played Bella, claimed that the series had a "gay inclination...it's all about oppression."
Big deal. This was in 2012, not 1965.
But that doesn't mean that gay teens must be content to watch actors looking sullen with their shirts off. There are always subtexts, either intentional or accidental, especially among the gay or gay-friendly members of the cast:
The Vampires:
1. Robert Pattinson, left, as head vampire Edward.
3. Kellan Lutz, left, as Emmett, his brother.
5-6. Christopher Heyerdale and Cameron Bright as Marcus, leader of the Volturi vampires, who have lived in Italy since Etruscan times.
7. Xavier Samuel, left, as Riley, companion of the evil vampire Victoria, who is trying to kill Bella.
More after the break. Caution: Explicit.
The Werewolves
8. Taylor Lautner as Jacob the Werewolf. He and Edward sniff suspiciously at each other, compete for Bella's affection, and eventually work together to save Bella, a classic triangulation.
11. Boo Boo Stewart, left, as Seth, a young werewolf adopted by Jacob and Bella.
12. Michael Welch, left, as Mike, who has an unrequited crush on Bella.
13. Gregory Tyree Boyce as Tyler, who has an unrequited crush on Bella.
14. Justin Chon as Eric, who has an unrequited crush on Bella. It's unrequited crushes all the way down -- the girl just ain't into humans.
15. Matt Bushell, top photo, as Phil, the minor-league baseball player who marries Bella's mother.
Lutz who has aged very well does not like to do nudity in films - yes he did play Hercules
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