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.
The Vampires:
1. Robert Pattinson, left, as head vampire Edward.
2. Peter Facinelli as Carlisle, his Dad.
3. Kellan Lutz, left, as Emmett, his brother.
4. Jackson Rathbone, left, as Jasper, his younger 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.