Our new Sunday morning series, Movie Messages, is generating closer looks at the themes of popular films. Here’s Terry O’Daniel’s take on Twilight.
I tried to avoid the Twilight craze. When I saw Stephenie Meyer at the Texas Book Festival in 2006, I didn’t know who she was. All I saw was her seated at a table inside a large outdoor event tent with a line of what appeared to be teenage girls stretching out the opening at the other end. Many of these girls wore tshirts with a boy’s name on it, which meant nothing to me. Years passed. I would see women my age reading one of her books while waiting for a child to finish a swim class or sitting in a doctor’s office waiting room. I shook my head in amusement. How were these books so popular with such a broad age of young to middle-aged women?
About a year ago while driving to visit my mother, I stopped to refuel the car. I had my then-11 year-old daughter with me. I was approaching the cashier, a young man in his late teens or early 20’s. He was ranting about how frustrated he was with girls who thought Edward or Jacob were realistic standards for a boyfriend. He was complaining about how unfair it was to real-life guys (like himself) who couldn’t live up to the expectations of girls who believed they deserved nothing less than an Edward (or Jacob). I honestly had no idea of the qualities he described but tried to show some compassion for the clearly tortured young man.
Recently, my husband brought home a DVD of Twilight. I grimaced. “Really?” I asked. But, we sat down to watch it together. Sure, the male lead was an attractive actor, but I remembered seeing him in another movie a year or so earlier. He didn’t overwhelm me in any way. In fact, I remember thinking at that time that he was the Twilight actor and wasn’t so amazing to spark a huge craze with almost 12 million Facebook fans to his fictional character of Edward Cullen.
Then, I started to see the character of Edward Cullen in Twilight. I thought about it after the movie was over. Sure, there is that dark side of him being a vampire (but it wasn’t his choice to become one and he fights against those urges) that is unavoidable. But, his true self is shown to Bella and his “family.” He is loyal, faithful, generous and selfless. But more than that, he is powerful and godlike (as described in the book) in both appearance and abilities. He can read minds, has super speed and strength. His love for Bella is unconditional, self-sacrificing, protective and like that of a parent in the sense that he would rather disappoint her than have her be hurt or damaged in any way. He is unwavering in his devotion, unchanging in his commitment to her and not offensive in any mere human way. But the real and lasting thing he can give Bella is immortality. It hit me with such a powerful realization. He is the image of Jesus. He is greater and more powerful than any human, judicious and careful in his reactions, self-sacrificing in his love, always putting her best interest ahead of her more limited judgment. Protecting her soul and virtue is crucial to him.
It’s the need for Jesus that draws us to a character like Edward. Seeing someone with flesh, who displays such love and power, who can offer immortality, is almost too much to resist. We all long for such a perfect (or near perfect) love and to be free from the frailties of this human life. Is someone like Edward a realistic standard for a boyfriend or husband? No. There are aspects of his character in many good young men. They should take heart. Knowing that Jesus is the longing we feel can help relieve the pressure to measure up. We all feel like the ordinary and flawed Bella next to Jesus.
Thankfully, we really do have Jesus and can look forward to the promise of eternal life and heaven beyond this earth. For now, we are here, all flawed and needing grace from one another while we wait for our Savior to rescue us.
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