When I first saw the question "what is the relationship between Mormonism and Twilight", several answers sprung to mind. 1 - Both are equally difficult to follow. 2 - We are seeing greater exposure of both (see: Mormon ad's on TV and an influx of door knockers). 3 - Both have ultra devout followings. It wasn't until I did some good solid academic research (google) to find out that Stepahie Meyer the author of the Twilight series is in fact a Mormon (Aleiss, 2010). It is without doubt then that throughout the book series, whether intentionally or subconsciously, aspects of Mormonism would at some point become incorporated into the storyline. A quick read shows this is the case, particularly with the main character Bella who displays many traits of Mormonism on film (Aleiss, 2010). Abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, acffeine are just some of the dietrary constraints demonstrated by Bella that are in line with Mormon belief (Aleiss, 2010). Then there is of course the supernatural overlap between humans, and the divine, with particular reference on the path towards divinity (becoming warewolf/vampire in the film), another critical point of Mormon belief structure - becoming divine not a vampire (Aleiss, 2010). Interesting to think how many instances of an individual's religious convictions have influenced text or media for the better or worse. In this example, for me personally I couldn't care less as I have no interest in the Twilight series but I wonder how the storyline would have changed had such mormon influences been absent. With the main character a promiscuous drug taking party girl, would the movies still be as appealing, if not more?
References:
Aleiss, A (2010) Mormon Influence, Imagery Run Deep Through 'Twilight', Huffington Post, News Article, viewed 15 March 2012,
http://huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/24/mormon-influence-imagery_n_623487.html
References:
Aleiss, A (2010) Mormon Influence, Imagery Run Deep Through 'Twilight', Huffington Post, News Article, viewed 15 March 2012,
http://huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/24/mormon-influence-imagery_n_623487.html
1 comment:
Its amazing how many places religious undertones surface, especially in pop-culture. Like yourself Fraser, I had no clue till this fact was raised and its interesting how once a truth is told its kind of surprising that it wasn't more obvious. However that could quite possibly be a refection of Australians understanding of faith as not much is ever said about Later Day Saints unless your part of that community. I feel it would be an even more intriguing question to ask if a mormon who read the books if they could pick up the parallels to their own practices and morals in life.
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