Stalkinging In Twilight And Twilight

1091 Words5 Pages
The film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight, directed by Catherine Hardwicke (2008) depicts the life of Bella Swan as she moves to Forks, Washington and begins to develop a relationship with Edward Cullen, a vampire. Throughout the first half of the film, Edward Cullen displays a number of behaviours that can be associated with stalking such as following and spying; further to this, Cullen is displayed as an anti-hero throughout the film rather than in a sinister light highlighting the way in which stalking is romanticised in the media. Additionally, Bella is portrayed as quite a weak character, illustrating stereotypical views of gender and of women. This essay will discuss the theoretical underpinnings in the ways in which gender roles are presented throughout the film and the theories relating to victim precipitation and the desensitisation and romanticising of stalking in mass media. To begin, the essay will analyse the film Twilight, looking at examples of stalking behaviours and the way they are portrayed in the film. In the film Twilight, Edward Cullen displays acts that can be associated with stalking. Frieze and Davis (2001) state that stalking is wilful and consists of the repeated following and harassing of another person; further to this they claim that “stalking can take many forms” (Frieze, & Davis, 2001, p. 1). Whilst it may be argued by some that the stalking behaviours in Twilight do not constitute the offence of stalking legally, this may be because