A Dull Watch: Disappointing Plot and Lackluster Representation in “Twilight; New Moon”.
In "Twilight: New Moon," the second installment in the Twilight Saga film series, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is devastated by the departure of her vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). The movie was released in November 20, 2009 and is directed by Chris Weitz, based on the series of books by Stephenie Meyer.
After Edward's sudden leave, Bella becomes withdrawn and depressed, and she becomes closer to her friend, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).
Jacob is a member of the Quileute tribe which is the “enemy” of the vampire coven. As Bella spends more time with Jacob, she begins to develop romantic feelings for him.
Meanwhile, Edward is living
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One common criticism is that the character of Jacob Black, who is Native American, is portrayed as a stereotypical "magical Native American" figure. In the books, Jacob is a werewolf who has a special connection to his tribe's history and culture. He is often depicted as more in touch with nature and spirituality than the non-Indigenous characters, which reinforces the harmful stereotype that Indigenous peoples are inherently more mystical or spiritual than other groups. This portrayal reduces Indigenous identity to a stereotype, rather than acknowledging the complexity and diversity of Indigenous cultures.The tribe that Jacob is part of is called The Quileute Tribe, It is a real tribe located in La Push, Washington. All of the places in the movie are filmed and based on the real locations in Forks, Washington. After the release of the books and the first movie, members of the Quileute Tribe had opinions; some have enjoyed the newfound public interest in their culture, while others find the whole story and “information” about their tribe and all the attention distasteful. In my opinion, I think that it was disrespectful to include a real Indigenous tribe and not do any previous research about it before writing books having the majority of side characters be members of the tribe. I think that it was also very ignorant of Stephaine Meyers (The author) to not consult the Quileute Tribe before writing their tribe into her fictional universe despite it being a real tribe. As of 2010, Meyer had failed to financially compensate the Quileute Nation despite the first book releasing in 2008. Still, to this day, the Quileute nation has yet to receive the millions of dollars of compensation that Stephanie Meyer had