Demi Zaffarese Academic Genre Recently there has been chatter among women raising awareness of the presence

of feminism in film. Properties of feminism include misinterpretation of a womens role and making women appear inferior to men. It is thought that there is a relation between the gender of the director or producer and if the mo ie is considered feminist. !ales are specifically known for producing feminist pieces and there are way more men than women. "he #echdel test$ created by comic artist Alison #echdel in %&'($ asks whether a film has at least two female characters and at least one scene in which they talk to one another about something other than a man)if it satisfies these criteria$ *wedish theaters gi e it an A. Although the test isnt completely accurate$ it pro ides females with a womens point of iew and information to make the choice whether to see the mo ie or not. I think it is safe to say the Twilight series would not pass the #echdel test considering the whole focus is built around #ella being torn between two men. According to Artimaeus$ the writer of +"wilights Appeal,$ there is clearly a feminist element in the series. *he writes in her article$ +If theres any one word that I would use to describe "wilight$ it would be +pure., "wilight is compelling$ not because of its depth or comple-ity$ but because !eyer didnt allow anything to taint the purity of her fantasy. .east of all reality or

character. And unfortunately$ it seems that the narrowness and intensity of her focus has blinded fans to the genuinely unsettling aspects of the series. "he stalking$ the abusi e subte-t$ the suggestion that women should be passi e and submissi e before men$ that a girls life should re ol e around her boyfriend. "hese are the things which ha e e ery sane reader protesting., /hile many females agree with Artimaeus thoughts$ the author of the series claims that this was not her intentions. Despite all the criticism of her work$ *tephanie !eyer says she is a feminist$ and that this is really important to her. 0I think there are many feminists who would say that I am not a feminist. #ut$ to me ... I lo e women$ I ha e a lot of girlfriends$ I admire them$ they make so much more sense to me than men$ and I feel like the world is a better place when women are in charge. *o that kind of by default makes me a feminist. I lo e working in a female world.0 !eyers statement stirred a lot of confusion because of the undying presence of feminism throughout Twilight and her popular no el that was also turned into a film$ The Host. In this film$ we ha e a bit of a stronger female lead in the sense that !elanie is the only human sur i or in a world taken o er by aliens called +souls,. 1nfortunately$ *tephenie falls back into old habits by forming the main plot around two good looking guys pining o er !elanie. "his is different from the popular Hunger Games series because the female lead is strong$ independent$ and courageous. 2 en though there is also a

lo e triangle worked in$ the author$ *u3anne 4ollins$ makes it a sub plot in order to keep 5atnisss character intact. In conclusion$ many people belie e the representation of women is no longer a problem in todays society. 6n the contrary$ it is displayed in media e ery day and we are constantly surrounded by it. As I ha e discussed abo e$ one of the most popular mo ie series of the decade is swarming with feminist remarks and morals. Is this teaching people that this kind of beha ior and way of life should be desired by women7 I belie e we are in need of more powerful female roles in order to ensure that e eryday women do not contract ideas that are presented through media.

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Artimaeus. 0"wilight8s Appeal.0 Atom. 9.p.$ %' :an. ;<<&. /eb. %' Apr. ;<%=.

4antrell$ Ashe. 0%< >amous >ilms "hat *urprisingly >ail "he #echdel "est.0 >ilm *chool Re?ects. 9.p.$ %% 9o . ;<%@. /eb. %' Apr. ;<%=.

4ochrane$ 5ira. 0*tephenie !eyer on "wilight$ >eminism and "rue .o e.0 "he Guardian. Guardian 9ews and !edia$ %% !ar. ;<%@. /eb. %' Apr. ;<%=.