By Tom Nolan
Longtime fans, or “Twihards,” joined casual and ironic enjoyers to laugh and cry – but mostly, in this case, to laugh – at the iconic 2008 film “Twilight,” screened by the Film Club to a crowd of CSUMB students Tuesday.
Just in time for the end of summer and the start of Halloween festivities, the mood at the event was both upbeat and deeply unserious. Dakota Draper, a third-year cinematic arts major and Film Club president, seemed to fully understand the cheesy camp appeal that would bring many to Tuesday’s movie night: “Everything’s so funny…watching it in front of other people, hearing their reactions. It’s so cringey.”
The reactions that Draper mentions were a highlight of the event, revealing how certain aspects of the film have aged over the years.
Robert Pattinson’s deliberately stilted and off-putting acting as vampire heartthrob Edward, for example, was a frequent source of howling laughter throughout the screening. One very seriously written scene in which he confesses to stalking main character Bella was met with a mix of gasps, groans and more laughter.
“I’m Team Edward, mainly just because I think they’re more compatible. But, like, Team no one honestly. It’s so creepy,” said Draper.
These responses to the 17 year-old film may be related to shifting generational perspectives. After all, its reception in 2008 was dominated by fans of the hit book series who may have viewed it as more of a legitimate love story and overlooked some of its cheesier elements. Many attendees of Tuesday’s screening, however, were too young to experience the movie when it first hit theaters; instead, they discovered it years later.
Yetzarely Gaspar, a psychology major who attended the event, is a part of this new generation of “Twilight” fans. “I [first] watched it, probably during COVID. They were on Prime and they were all free. So me and my cousin were like, let’s just watch the whole thing,” she said.
Draper, too, has fond memories of discovering the film with family after missing out on the original release: “I was like 8, so Twilight was big for all the teenagers, but I hadn’t hit it yet…And then my dad and I just started binge watching them because, I don’t know, we think they’re super funny, so we watch them every year together.”
In any case, with over 130 people having registered for the event, it’s clear that “Twilight” still holds an undeniable appeal to young people.
According to Draper, the event’s success may be attributed in part to a Pacific Northwestern vibe students may feel at CSUMB: “I think here, specifically, a lot of people come because it looks very Twilight-y…I remember talking to someone my freshman year, like, ‘oh my God, yeah, this is so Twilight.’ And she was like, ‘I literally chose this school because of Twilight.’ I’m like, ‘real.’”
“Twilight” takes place in the real-world town of Forks, Washington, although the movies were mostly filmed in Vernonia, Oregon. Often featuring cloudy skies, lush forests and layers of fog, it’s not hard to see the connection between the setting of the films and what many experience as far south as Monterey Bay.
Gaspar, meanwhile, has her own theories on what it is about “Twilight” that really resonates with fans: “I feel like it’s because of the whole, like, love triangle thing. I feel like everybody loves that. And also because they’re all hot.”