Of Dogs and Dead Bodies

Today was the Leslie Grinner talk about Twilight.   By the look of it, half the class or more was there.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was very interesting and there were high points with her humor.  It's been a while since I've seen (maybe a year?) or read them (2.5 years), so I was glad she did a brief summary at the beginning.  I had a laugh to myself because I cringed slightly when she mentioned that Billy was "wheelchair bound".

SCWAMP - what society values.  Delpit resides here, with the culture of power.  I was impressed with how many connections there were and how convincing Grinner's arguments were.  There was one other thing Grinner brought up that was a recurring theme in Twilight and a decreasing portion of society: virginity.  As she said, three males worked to protect her purity while Bella's mother already assumed her daughter was not so pure and Bella was working on losing her innocence.  I really like how she brought up Edward's lines about not having a soul and being a beast, yet he represents Christianity, and would consent to turning Bella into a soulless monster but not allow her to have sex with him until they married.

SCWAMP ties in with McIntosh's white privilege aspect as well.  The Quileute tribe does not have the same luxuries as the Cullens or even Bella, being on a reservation.  Another thing Grinner said that I liked was how Bella has friends of all races and is insanely attractive to them all because she "transcends race".  That phrase is extremely familiar and I can't think who/how it was used.  Of course, given how Dr. Bogad said she was influenced by Grinner, it might have been something class related. If anyone should be struck with an epiphany of where I might have heard it, I would love to hear it.  Her other point was how Laurent was singled out because of his color and accent -- being the only vampire to have either.  It make you wonder why Meyer included him in the story.  Why give him those characteristics instead of being another ordinary vampire?

The whole Twilight franchise is quickly becoming a part of our culture.  Yet because of this, it's a danger.  Our media savvy generation is growing up with Twilight.  Could it have the same effects as some of the other films we discussed from Christensen's article?  Make girls think it's okay to be whacked in the face because Emily was but stayed in the relationship?  Sneak into someone's house to watch them sleep?  Do life threatening stunts to hear someone's voice in your head?  Find a way to kill yourself because your lover is dead?  There maybe a few good themes in Twilight, but people subconsciously pick up on the 'bad things' and integrate them into their thoughts and expectations.

Overall, I really liked this.  If the opportunity came up to hear Leslie Grinner speak again, I would definitely make an attempt to go.

I'll leave off with some demotivationals and this this page.
(Demotivationals are not mine)